‘One that’s already out in the open,’ said Halie.
‘Only Irisis knows, and Flydd, Jal-Nish and us. The soldier witnesses can be discounted. Flydd won’t spread it around; it threatens him as much as it does us. Jal-Nish likewise. That only leaves Irisis.’
‘And the seeker,’ said Fusshte in a tone that sent chills up Ullii’s back.
‘That squeaking little mouse,’ sneered Ghorr. ‘She can barely dress herself without bursting into tears. Spare me, Fusshte.’
‘Besides,’ said Halie, ‘we plan to use Ullii later on.’
‘Irisis must die,’ said Ghorr. ‘She’s too much of a risk. But not tonight. I’ll wait till Flydd is safely away. He might become uncooperative, otherwise.’
‘A pity,’ said Fusshte. ‘The woman is a great beauty, and of child-bearing age. And quite a lover, too, I’m told.’ He gave a lascivious snort.
‘Beauty is everywhere,’ said Ghorr coldly, ‘if that is all that you require. Irisis must die. Agreed?’
The scrutators voted. Most agreed. Several did not, Halie among them.
‘Tomorrow,’ said Ghorr. ‘After he’s gone. Keep an extra watch on him tonight. No, lock him in. I wouldn’t put it past Flydd to try again.’
Chairs were thrust back all at once, creating such a racket that Ullii had to push in her earplugs. She heard nothing else. She crouched under the table until they were all gone, making sure by the smell of each. Her heart was thumping. Irisis was going to be murdered.
Ullii flooded with memories of all the times the crafter had treated her kindly, most notably when she’d knocked down Jal-Nish after he had struck Ullii. That had been one of the greatest moments of her life: she’d realised she had found a true friend. Since then, Irisis had sometimes treated her unkindly in little ways, but that no longer counted.
Ullii wanted to help her friend, though she would not have dared had it not been for Myllii. She was too selfish – she had to be – and too afraid. She’d always been helpless. What could she do, if even the scrutator could not save Irisis?
The seeker spent another hour or two under the table. It was as good a place as any to agonise. Dare she try? She dared not. She dared. She dared not. As she was sitting there, a mouse emerged from a crack between wall and floor and scurried along the line of chairs, snapping up crumbs and other morsels fallen from the table. There was not much; the room had not been used since breakfast. Ullii smiled and felt in her pocket, where she had a piece of bread. She did not like large meals, preferring to snack through the day.
Breaking a corner off, she flicked it across the floor. The mouse skittered away, then came creeping back and swallowed the morsel before fleeing again. She flicked another piece of bread, not so far. This time the mouse did not run. She rolled out her hand, containing a larger morsel.
The mouse was more wary this time. It sniffed the air as it watched her with little pink eyes. She approved of its caution. Its whiskers twitching, it ran forward, grabbed the piece of bread and ducked behind the leg of a chair.
Very slowly she put out her hand with a length of crust held between two fingers. Ullii had often watched mice in her dungeon cell, and grown friendly with them. This one was young. An older mouse would have been more careful.
She consulted her lattice but of course the mouse did not appear in it. Animals rarely did. Only lyrinx – not that she thought of them as animals, the nylatl, and those flesh-formed monsters in the ice houses.
Claws dug into her fingers, painfully. Ullii had to restrain herself. The mouse had climbed onto her hand and was nibbling at the crust, trying to get it out from between her fingers with its front paws. She held on for a moment, then let it go. The mouse took the morsel in its mouth, swallowed, and sat back on its haunches, staring at her. Its long snout twitched.
What do you want, little mouse? More bread? Then you’ll have to trust me. She slowly raised her hand until the mouse was level with her face. Its back legs tensed but it did not spring off. She twitched her nose. It twitched back. It must like her. ‘I have some bread in my pocket,’ she said softly. ‘Would you like it?’
She lowered her hand until it was level with her pocket. The mouse sniffed the fabric, thrusting its snout right against it. Ullii lifted the flap to reveal the opening. The mouse darted inside. She felt it munching at the bread. Ullii sat there while it ate, not wanting to frighten it. She loved the little scurryings and munchings it was making there.
It gave her courage too. If the mouse could be so brave, maybe she could. She crept out from under the table. The mouse tensed, relaxed. There was no one about. She looked through the door into the scrutators’ dining hall. The table had not been cleared. She filled her pockets with leftover bread and fruit, then made her way back to her room.
‘Well, mouse,’ she said, sitting on her bed. ‘What can we do?’
It poked its snout out of her pocket. She stroked its brow. The mouse ducked out of sight. Where was Irisis? Ullii searched her lattice and located the crafter, who was away towards the other end of the building, and lower down. The direction was precise but how to get there was unclear.
She went along the hall. The ceiling was nearly six spans above her head and Ullii felt like a little mouse herself, creeping along, ears cocked for anyone coming. She was afraid; there was nowhere to hide. But then, she didn’t have to hide. Nobody noticed her.
It took her a long time to get close to the crafter. Ullii felt as though she was walking though a series of endless rectangular tunnels. The lower floors were dark at this time of night. Irisis was that familiar black ball in her lattice, unlike others because it was impenetrable. It covered up a carefully concealed secret.
It was hard to keep Irisis in mind as she walked, for her position in the lattice no longer seemed to match the shape of Nennifer. Ullii went down a set of steps but at the bottom lost the crafter for a moment. She had to crouch down in the dark and search all over again.
Irisis was not there. It was as if her knot had shifted. Ullii felt more afraid. Things should not shift in her lattice unless, like air-floaters or flying lyrinx, they were moving away rapidly.
Were they taking Irisis away to be killed? Ghorr had said it would be done after Flydd left in the morning, but maybe that had been a lie. What if Ghorr had known Ullii was out there, spying on them? This might be a trap. Maybe he was hunting her right now. Manipulating her lattice.
She searched it for the chief scrutator. He was up in one of the towers of Nennifer. Relief was followed by panic. Some of the other knots seemed to be moving in her direction.
Ullii resisted the urge to run into the dark. It took all the courage she had, which was not very much. Life had taught her that bravery was stupidity. Were they coming towards her? It was impossible to be sure. Another problem: normal, human, talentless guards did not show up in her lattice. Ghorr might have a hundred of them hunting her and she would not know it until she heard them coming.
I can’t, she thought. It’s too hard. Irisis, where are you? Ullii turned left at the bottom of the steps and immediately knew that was the wrong way. She went the other way, then stopped, listening. Was that a boot on the steps far above?
She took off her own boots and socks, tying the boots together by their laces and pressing her socks well inside. She liked the feel of the tiles under her bare feet. It felt more secure. Fleeting down the hall, making no more sound than the mouse in her pocket, Ullii tried to reassure herself. No one here had her talent. They could not track her unless they used dogs, and she had not smelt any in Nennifer.