Women leaned from upperstory windows In the decaying houses, throwing down offerings of grain and bits of cloth and colored paper, a rain of prayer for fertility and empowerment.
Bands of Na-priests and pairs of heavy-armed kipaos watched from side streets, waiting for the order to break up this defiant and patently subversive festival. It would come, they knew it, they just had to wait until the edge was off the crowd, until the miserable Makas had exhausted themselves and their passions.
CELL 1
Shadith lay cuddled next to Rohant, both unconscious, the cats were slung across the Ciocan's legs, also out. Kikun sat beside them, watching events with his usual detachment. They were In a cage made from limbs the site of a man's arm, pointed and pounded into the dirt, net over the top, ropes pulled taut around them and around, knotted and reknotted to each of the uprights. The hawk flew in. uneasy circles overhead, having followed the flier that brought the captives to this clearing in a forest of antediluvian trees forty meters across at the base, the smallest a hundred meters tall. Half a dozen men sat round a fire In the center of the clearing. Several others were moving in and out of the moonlight, busy at obscure tasks. Tvio men stood arguing in low tones, stiff with anger. Sisipin had set long ago, Natamin was a faint glow behind the tree tops, Niskikin was a fingernail crescent directly overhead.
Ginbiryol Seyirshi ran his eyes across the cells, caressed his pathecorder with the side of his thumb. It was all going very well despite the girl's unexpected Talent. He wasn't about to let the others see his satisfaction, however; they worked best with spurs in the ribs. He thought about spurs and began to feel excited, Praisesong soon. Must be soon. Yesss. In the meantime… "Aina'iril is developing satisfactorily, Puk, the Pliciks are frightened, they smell the hate growing day by day and everything they do breeds more, but the farmers and factory workers out on the Plain seem reluctant to rebel against the landlords. Get hold of that man of yours and set up some incidents to stir the yokels out of their lethargy. I do hope it will be accomplished more efficiently than the pickup."
Pukanuk Pousli nodded. "The Makh Hen needs a boot in sometimes, he's got his mind on his own ambitions. I'll remind him he can be replaced real easy." He scratched at his nose. "Truth is, Ginny, we can't do better than the Head of the Nistam's secret police. There's no one else with his scope, at least no one we can get at. We'd have to try Ayawit and his Na-priests," he giggled suddenly, "that was a good one No-legs got off, Ay-no-wit, that's him all right, mean as a snake but he couldn't find his asshole with a map…" He saw Ginbiryol frown at him, went on hastily, "We could try him, but I don't know how far we'd get…"
"Don't be absurd. We will obtain whatever services we need, Puk. We always do. It is only a matter of correctly assessing the price. Keep an EYE on that legless street-singer. I read her as a developing vortex. She evokes powerful emotions, even a spark of hope, which makes an effective counterpoint to the rage and increases the eventual pain." He glanced at Cell 1. "I think we should permit the Avators to escape the Question and the Na priests. It will enhance their value. When they've been loose a day or two, guide Kiscomaskin's forces to them. I believe the girl will be especially attracted to him, she is at base a disruptor. Luck was truly with us that day she came to us."
Chapter 8. On sale/marked down
"Sssh." A hand was cool on her mouth. Kikun. She touched it and when he took it away, tried to sit up. The pain in her head was so bad she nearly bit through her tongue trying to hold in a groan. Stun rifles here were effective all right, but probably not too safe. She sat with her head in her hands, wondering with considerable trepidation just how mangled her brain was.
Kikun took hold of her wrist. "Shadow," he murmured, his mouth close to her ear, "the cats are waking and Rohant's still under."
"Yahhh," she breathed. "If their heads are like mine…"
"Can you…"
"See what you can do about him." She pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes and tried to think. We're in some kind of cage. This isn't the first time they've held prisoners here. This thing's been around a while. Ahlahlah, it's cold. Pouches in here? No. If those d'dabs junked my harp, I'll… I don't know, something… Smells like rain, they going to leave us to catch pneumonia? Gods! I'm wandering all over the place. Get your head together, Shadow, before you have to pull it out of a cat's mouth. Preposterous gowks, putting those carnivores in with us without bothering to tie them down! Ya-Yah! My head's going to blow apart…
She thrust her fingers into her hair, massaged the back of her head, a futile thing to do, but the breathy broken growls from the cats, the scrabble of their claws across the packed earth of the cage floor sent shivers crawling up her spine and tied knots in her stomach, especially since every time she reached for them, her brain whited out.
She scowled at the black figures seated by the fire, two of them standing, and shivered involuntarily as she heard the two on their feet arguing on and on about something she couldn't make out. Fragments of words in the seried staccatos of the liquidly rhythmic local langue floated to her on the wind. One voice: "Itwewe, Kiscomaskin p'taw.." Another voice: "Gospah Ayawit sh'pikew omish…"
It was about her and the others, she knew that, it was like an auction in a way, as if they were agents bidding for the contents of the cage. She squeezed her eyes shut, her head was trying to translate the jumble and not quite making it and generating another humungous headache. Ahlahlah, ya-eeh! Forget that, Shadow, think about getting out of here. Mmh, I wonder… Yesss…
She thrust two fingers into her boot, smiled as she touched the hideout's hilt. And the needler was a cool spot under her breast. The locals hadn't bothered to search their catch-at least, they'd left her alone, maybe they'd gone over Rohant and Kikun, that pair being more obviously dangerous. Sometimes it pays, I suppose, looking like a child.
She jumped as Magimeez produced a coughing spitting snarl. Sheesh! Once they shake off the stun, the cats'll turn this cage into an abattoir. No running room in here, hardly big enough for the lot of us. Ginbiryol Seyirshi and his Limited Editions! It's a farce he's producing, that gormless cretin. His god/avatar heroes are going to be hamburger before the first act begins.
Behind her, she could hear Kikun massaging Rohant, murmuring to him with no response that she could detect. She pushed onto her hands and knees, but froze in place as Magimeez lifted her head, shook it, her ears flattened against her skull; her tail switched back and forth slapping against Shadith's left arm. Beside her, Nagafog was sheathing and extruding his claws, his snarls peaking to squeals as pains like those stabbing into Shadith's brain ripped into him. She smelled rage rising in both cats as their bodies began to respond. Magimeez was trying to get to her feet. Her hindquarters were still numb so she whipped around, bit at her own flank. Gods! One, breathe, two, breathe, three, breathe, pussshhhh, Here we go round the ambury bush Ambury lambury diddledee hussshhh Out of the cradle.endlessly… something.. Where did I hear that? I know it's not mine. One, breathe, two, breathe, three, breathe, pussshh, Turning and turning in a widening… something… Sorrow is a forest of black widows, red bellies shining… There was a time when I believed in, gods… All right, Shadow, you can do it. Reach!
Focused at last, she plunged into the hot red brains of the furious, hurting cats, took hold of them, locked them down, then spent the next minutes soothing them, comforting them, working away their pain, losing her own pain as she worked.
Rohant's hand closed on her shoulder.
Impatient at the interruption, she snapped, "Leave me alone, five minutes, will you?" She didn't bother lowering her voice, she wasn't thinking about the cage, only about the cats; she continued to work with them until they were relaxed and purring like idling dynamos. Then she sighed and sat on her heels. "All right, what is it?"