Zenobel did not comment for a long time. Finally, he said, "I'll see what I can do with him. I like the idea of getting the Herodians and Dartars at each other's throats. That might set the fur flying all along the coast. But don't you think taking Cado out gives Fa'tad too great an advantage?" "What do you mean?"
"Ha! Don't be coy. It's all over the city. The Living have taken Cado captive.
That's the other reason I came. Bruda has put all Herodian troops on alert. He has patrols in Herodian residential areas to warn Herodian citizens that there may be trouble. The guard on the Gate of Autumn has been trebled. The Dartar compound has been warned to be prepared for civil unrest."
"That snake!" Bel-Sidek muttered. "That bloody damned snake!" Al-Akla had grabbed Cado and was handing the credit to the Living. Had to be. There was no other explanation.
Though that one did not make much sense.
"What?" "Nothing. Go see Brother Carza. I have to do some thinking."
He did a lot of thinking but did not get anywhere. He was not sure where he wanted to go now. He could make no strategic choices because he had no idea what Fa'tad or the Herodians hoped to accomplish, beyond the obvious. There were tactical steps he could take. He did so, beginning with patrols meant to sweep the neighborhood of watchers.
One possibility nagged: suppose al-Akla had not grabbed Cado? Suppose some of his own people, in sympathy with those in the citadel, had? He was a troubled and beleaguered captain, was Sisu bel-Sidek.
Aaron hunched against the wind whipping the rain in under the portico of theResidence. This was not going to work. They would just give him the runaroundand not let him see anyone. And right now he was so miserable it was hard tocare. Had the citadel not been right there, so close he could sense its evil, he would have gone home.
But it was there, a pitiless reminder that Arif was imprisoned, at the mercyof evil, and he was out here, able to do nothing but this to help.
The man he had spoken to earlier finally returned, seemed surprised to findhim still waiting. "The governor will see you, Mr. Habid." That seemed tosurprise him, too. "If you will come with me?" He led the way past blank-facedMoretians. They made Aaron's skin crawl. He had heard that they ate humanflesh.
His guide's Qushmarrahan was atrocious. Other than native staff, though, whowere part of the furniture of the place, and beneath notice by officialoccupants, he was the one man in the Residence who spoke the language at all.
The man led him to a poorly lighted room where Governor Sullo was watching hiswitch. She was seated at a table, bent over a chart, using draftsman's tools, working out something Aaron did not understand.
Governor Sullo greeted him with a limp handclasp and an insincere smile. Hejabbered at the man. Aaron caught a few words, though not enough to makesense. He waited for the translation.
Putting it more politely than the governor, the interpreter asked what hewanted.
"I went to Government House but they told me General Cado was unavailable andColonel Bruda didn't have time for me and nobody else was authorized to dealwith me, so I came here."
"But what do you want?"
"I want to visit my family. I want to take them home."
Governor Sullo was impatient with all that and barely pretended that he wasnot. "Yes. Yes. I understand. We'll take care of it. You had something to tellus about Fa'tad."
"Oh. Yes sir. I don't know if it's important or not ..."
"Will you tell it?" Exasperated.
Good. "Yes sir. Sir, all afternoon and evening Fa'tad and his captains havebeen in the Shu, especially in my part of Char Street, dashing in and out ofthe maze." It came easier than he had expected. He might get through itwithout freezing up. If the witch did not catch on. She had given him one oddglance but seemed preoccupied, uninterested. "They were excited. After a whileI overheard enough to find out why. They found out how to get into the citadelfrom the maze. When I left to come here they were talking about how they werealmost through and pretty soon it would be too late for anybody to keep themfrom grabbing the treasure. They were asking each other what they were goingto do with their shares."
Was he feeding it to the governor too fast? No. Not with the translationslowing it, keeping Sullo impatient to hear what came next.
"How long?" Sullo demanded, apparently conversant with the myth al-Akla hadbeen spreading. "How long before they penetrate the citadel basements?"
Aaron tried to look bewildered by Sullo's intensity. Never had a fish been soeager to take the hook. If only the witch didn't come out of her reverie ...
"Just before I left, one of them was talking about five more hours."
"Five hours," Sullo muttered. "Before dawn. By damn! Carpenter, how long agowas that?"
"I don't know." Aaron scratched the back of his neck. "At least two hours. I guess. I went to Government House first. Then I came here. I don't know howlong I was out in the rain, trying to get somebody to talk to me."
"Two hours? Damn! There might not be time. Thank him and get him out of here."
As the translator tried to move him out Aaron protested, "What about myfamily?" He threatened to get stubborn.
Governor Sullo cursed, snatched pen and paper from his witch. She frowned athim momentarily, faded into her thoughts again. He scrawled something, sandedthe message, thrust it at Aaron. "Go on! I'm busy." He turned his back.
Aaron placed the note inside his clothing, safe from moisture, as he allowedhimself to be steered toward an exit.
From the Residence he headed straight toward Government House. Along the way avoice from the darkness asked, "How did it go?"
"He swallowed the bait whole. He hardly asked any questions."
"Excellent." Footsteps hurried away.
Aaron kept walking toward Government House.
Sullo very nearly did a jig. "Fortune is grinning at me," he said. "First Cadosends both generals out of the city, then he lets himself get grabbed by thesepathetic Qushmarrahan rebels. There's no one between me and complete controlbut that fool Bruda. And now this. The citadel on a platter. If I move fastenough to take it before the savages."
Without looking up Annalaya cautioned, "Fortune wears many faces. Some aredeceitful masks."
"I need Bruda put out of my way."
She looked up then, her ugly young face empty of expression.
"I know. I know. You don't want to hurt anybody. So don't hurt him. Dosomething that will make it look like he's had a stroke. I'll only need a day.
That's time enough to get hold of all the reins. After that if he wants tostay a colonel he'll do what I tell him."
Annalaya sighed, pushed back from the table, went to where she stored her tools.
Half an hour later she told Sullo, "It's done." The Governor was dressed forthe weather, waiting. She went back to her table.
"Aren't you coming?"
"No. I'll continue my research. In case your miracle doesn't work out."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm not saying anything but what I said. You don't need me over there. If Istay here working we won't have lost any time if we do have to go in the frontdoor, after all."
Sullo was not satisfied with that answer but he did not have time to cajole orbeat the truth out of her. He joined his surviving Moretians and launchedhimself into the rain.
They were pleased to see him at Government House, almost. It had been a day ofdisasters. With Bruda suffering a seizure the entire city, for the moment, rested on the shoulders of ensigns and appointive tribunes who still had alltheir hair. They did not want the liabilities and responsibilities ofdirecting more-senior professionals elsewhere in the city.
Sullo became impassioned with a malicious glee. Welcomed as a savior! How muchbetter could it get?
"Let me see where the troops are," he said. "Tell me what they're doing now."
They showed him and told him.
Bruda's priorities had been protection of Herodian life and property, thenreinforcement of strongpoints. He had put the garrison on alert but had keptthe mass of troops out of sight for fear of provoking something.