Before sunset Joab and the Dartar elite, and Lucillo and his twenty-fivehundred, would be off to stalk the ferocious Turok. Tension in the city wouldsoar as everyone waited for the Living to try something because garrisonstrength was at low ebb.
Azel did not expect the Living to act. But a few fanatics might, and might setoff the explosion the old man had feared from the moment he had made his dealwith the Witch.
Qushmarrah might throw the yoke of Herod in a sudden savage uprising but therecould be no realistic hope of keeping its independence unless the flame ofrebellion scorched the entire coast or the Living came up with a weapon morepotent than the Herodian legions.
Nakar could be that weapon. Nakar the Abomination. Without Ala-eh-din Beyh to hold him in check.
He should not be thinking of that in Government House. Here he should remainthe perfect Herodian agent in thought as well as appearance.
The military men had begun moving out. Sullo had gone with his shadowinstrument. Cado and Bruda were whispering with Lucillo and Marco while Fa'tadeagle-eyed them from across the room. Cado suddenly bobbed his head and turnedaway, beckoned his bodyguards, stalked out of the room. He dismissed all ofthem but Azel immediately. "We didn't learn much from that, did we, Rose?"
"Found out the governor can keep his mouth shut when he wants."
"I guess you could call that a blessing. Yes."
"I need to get up on that balcony on the third level on the southwest corner.
To see what direction somebody goes when he heads out."
"All right." Curious. He did not ask who or why.
Damned man trotted along with him, picking at this and that like he was maybetrying to circle in on something. Whatever it was, it had Sullo near thebull's-eye. And it wasn't like he was hinting that something should happen tothe governor. He would come right out with that. No. It was like Cado's levelof trust had suffered ...
The damned Moretians! Of course. Cado had mentioned them to him. He had mentioned them to the General. The old man had had their heads chopped off.
Cado was asking himself how the Living had found out so fast and he didn'tlike one of the possible answers.
He would have to give Bruda something that would ease Cado's mind.
The Dartars did not scatter the way they should have. They paused out front, in a cluster, then moved into the streets west of Government House. Thestreets somebody exiting the side door would head for if he wanted to get outof sight quickly.
He could handle that. He'd just go out one of the public doors on the otherside, maybe drift down and see what bel-Shaduk was up to before he went outfor his look at what was left of the old man.
Meantime, Fa'tad deserved a tweak.
"One thing I did hear but didn't have a chance to check the rumor. Fa'tadsupposedly left a couple hundred men in the city last night, in the Shu maze."
"That's useful. You didn't mention it before."
"Didn't know if it was worth it. It's just a rumor I never got a chance tocheck. You want I should go ahead and figure how to set Sullo up? Or do youreckon you're going to get along?"
That did for the moment. Cado said of course Rose should be ready if a movehad to be made. Azel said he would do it and made his exit wishing Cado wasnot so interested in him. He'd rather deal with Bruda.
The sinkhole country looked better all the time. If there was a blowup, he wasgone till the dust settled.
Yoseh realized he had been chattering for hours.
Actually, once she got over her initial shyness the girl did most of thetalking. It was plain she did not get much chance to say what she thought athome. She offered him an ill-informed opinion on almost every subjectimaginable. Yoseh found himself smiling and nodding in agreement just to keepher there.
Medjhah finally came back. He wore a look of awe. He sat down beside Nogah, shook his head, said, "You wouldn't believe it. I don't believe it. And I wasthere."
"Fortune smiled upon you?"
"Fortune crawled all over me. If I'd wished for gold I'd be the richest man inthe world."
Nogah snorted derisively.
A pair of mason's helpers came out for more bricks. Yoseh wondered what washappening inside the labyrinth. It had been a quiet day. He had expectedexcitement but they had not brought out a single prisoner yet. Medjhah thoughtmaybe most of the villains had slipped out during the night. Nogah grumbledthat it was probably because the men he had sent in were loafing. Yosehsuspected the whole maze thing had been overrated and there had not been thatmany people in there to begin with.
Medjhah started playing catch with Arif, using an orange somebody had stolenfrom one of the groves beyond the compound. The boy was very inept, mostlybecause he was too afraid he would get hit. Yoseh thought his parents probablyprotected him too much. These veydeen all sheltered their children more thandid Dartar parents.
Mo'atabar came down the hill alone. Nogah went to talk to him.
Stafa tried to get into the game with his brother and Medjhah. His idea ofcatch was to grab the orange and scurry around among the animals laughing tillsomebody ran him down. Medjhah caught up, started to lift him, thought betterof it, set him down, and said, "Phew! This one needs to be changed."
Whereupon Stafa, still armed with the orange, headed for home yelling, "Mom!
I'm pooped!" Like he had not known perfectly well and been .too busy to bebothered.
Tamisa said, "I'd better go. Chores to do. Mother is going to be crabby enoughas it is. Arif, come on."
Yoseh said his farewells and watched them go. He had disappointed Arifseverely, he knew, being more interested in the girl than in him. But whatcould you do? How could you explain?
Mo'atabar went on down the hill. Nogah went back and sat down, preoccupied.
"What's up?" Medjhah asked.
"Joab. He's taking fifteen hundred men out to chase those Turoks."
That scaly thing inside Yoseh wakened and started wriggling.
"We going?"
"No. We're staying to play Fa'tad's game. He's taking all horsemen. He wants to hurry and get between the Turoks and the herd. Just in case."
Yoseh tried not to show his relief. There was nothing dishonorable about it but he did not want to admit that he had no taste for fighting and glory and riding around in the weather.
There were a few more clouds now. The veydeen did not seem excited so it seemed unlikely they would turn to rain. He wished it would rain.
The city was a madhouse. Troops were on the move, headed south to assemble outside the Gate of Summer, whence they would march before sunrise. Azel was not pleased by the dislocations. They made it difficult to be as cautious as he liked.
What about tomorrow, when the garrison was reduced? Would the Living's crazies make themselves heard? Something. From somewhere. He felt the first tingle of it. He did not like it because he had no idea from what direction disaster might strike.
He took position in sight of the place where Ishabal bel-Shaduk lived in the northern Shu. He watched for an hour. Several men visited. He recognized two as thugs. Guys who would do anything for money.
He had a notion what bel-Shaduk was doing. He did not like it. He'd thought bel-Shaduk possessed of better sense.
Gold and women had their ways of dribbling blindness into even a wise man's eyes. The day was getting on. If he wanted to get out the Gate of Autumn and back with plenty of time he'd better waste no more here.
He overtook the cavalcade moving the old man two miles east of the Dartar compound. The new gimp General told him to get up inside the covered wagon where the stiff lay. One look at that black print and he knew his suspicions were feet.
The damn woman had gone mad! She would set the city on fire.
And she didn't care. That was the hell of it.
He climbed out of the wagon, drifted back to walk beside the gimp on his donkey. A comedown for him. He'd probably ridden a purebred stallion out to Dak-es-Souetta. "I got an idea where to start looking."