Mish was particularly intrigued by what happened between men and women in thedark. Her interest disconcerted him, and at times touched him with thoughtsand temptations that left him aghast at what could happen inside a man's mind.
That left him so ashamed he could not face Laella for hours after he caughthimself thinking them.
If she just wouldn't try to spy!
Laella got Stafa back to sleep. She moved in next to him, whispered, "I thinkI should tell Reyha."
"No. That would be too much of a burden for her. She'd end up calling him onit. Then how long would it take for him to find out where she got the idea?"
After a while, she said, "That could be dangerous, couldn't it?"
"Scared men are desperate and desperate men are dangerous. And unpredictable.
He might get the idea he could cover up."
"Then why don't you tell bel-Sidek? Everybody says he has something to do withthe Living."
"If he really does, then Reyha would be alone in the world."
"Maybe they wouldn't ..."
They'd kill him, Laella. They're hard men. They kill people every day forcrimes less than Naszifs. For him it might be a very prolonged and unpleasantdeath."
"Then there's no way out, is there?"
"Not without choosing who gets hurt. And I don't want that on my conscience."
The old man watched bel-Sidek slip into the house, barely in time to get the stage set for the meeting. "Did you have an enjoyable dinner with our lady ofthe ships, Khadifa?"
"Yes sir. She was highly amused by what she called today's preposterouscircumstances. Meaning her sense of irony got fat because the Living completedits biggest weapons-smuggling operation ever virtually without risk because ofHerodian arrogance. If the new governor and his escorts hadn't bulled throughthe traffic waiting to enter the straits her ships would have come in firstand we would have had to dodge and trick customs men all morning."
"Perhaps one of those very weapons will cut the pig's throat."
"You know him, sir?"
"I remember his father. They say this Sullo is identical to the beast thatsired him. Your man is being watched. If the letter he received doesn't sendhim running to Bruda he's innocent."
"Yes sir. Did you eat, sir?"
"It can wait."
"You have to develop some regular eating habits, sir."
"I'm sure. Your mothering can wait, too. Answer the door."
Bel-Sidek had not heard the discreet knock. He went to the door expecting tofind King early as usual. Instead, Salom Edgit greeted him. Bel-Sidek steppedaside. Edgit came in very carefully. He looked awful. The news about OrtbalSagdet must have given him no peace.
Edgit went to his usual place and settled. Though he was early he had nothingto say.
Hadribel arrived next. He exchanged looks and nods with the old man. Guided bybel-Sidek he took the place usually occupied by Sagdet. If Edgit noticed heshowed no sign.
Then came King Dabdahd. He looked as ragged as Edgit. Then the fanatics, together again and looking smug about recent events.
The General surveyed the lot. "As stated previously, the khadifa of the Hahris with us tonight." He did not introduce Hadribel. He and bel-Sidek were theonly ones supposed to know the names of everyone there-though, of course, everyone knew everyone. They had all been officers together in the same smallarmy.
"New business. The arrival of a new civil governor. His advent appears to haveconfounded and exasperated our oppressors as much as it has surprised us. Thisintelligence should be of interest to you alclass="underline" he has in his train a sorceressof modest talent named Annalaya. She hails from Petra or some such place onthe Allurican coast, where they make so many minor witches. Does anyone haveanything to tell us about the new governor?"
King said, "One of my men heard that Sullo refuses to stay in the Residence."
The Residence was the seat of the Herodian civil governors. Like GovernmentHouse, it was in the acropolis, just a quarter mile away. Before the conquest it had been the main temple of Aram the Flame. "He wants a place in the hillseast of the city. My man suspected him of a superstitious dread of a placewhere so many villains met their fate."
"Keep an eye on that. Also under new business. Has anyone got any idea whatFa'tad is up to, invading the Shu labyrinth, other than tugging Cado'smustache?"
Headshakes.
"Salom? You have resources among those who work in the Dartar compound. Whatdo they have to tell us?"
"Nothing yet, sir. It's too soon. But I'll bet there'll be nothing.
Fa'tad is close. So close he doesn't tell his captains what he's doing halfthe time. Sometimes he doesn't know himself. Something catches his fancy, likea shiny coin fascinates a crow, and he plays with it. Sometimes he's like akid pulling the strings on a knit garment. He just wants to see what willhappen."
The old man ignored a pain that nipped at him like a malicious puppy. "We'lltable that. Anything else new? No? Old business, then. We continue to becomeless apparent among the people of Qushmarrah. We lull the oppressor with thethought that time and frustration are disarming us. We begin a phase lessactive toward Herod but more attentive toward Qushmarrah."
He winced. The pain was particularly persistent. "Sometime soon an event willtranspire which will make possible a serious attempt to reclaim our heritage.
I have no control over when. It could be as soon as next week or as distant as six months from now. But the result will be very much in the hands of themovement to exploit. Comes that day we will launch the general uprising someof our brothers find so attractive.
"Your orders are these: reduce conflict with the oppressor and our own people.
Expend the energies of your people in identifying the widest possible body ofsympathizers. When the day comes we will be able to arm hundreds beyond ourown number. I would prefer to offer those arms to men of known persuasion. Thefirst hours, while the news spreads and the oppressor responds, will becritical. We must confuse and unbalance the enemy well enough and long enoughfor the insurrection to generalize. There will come a point where Cado andFa'tad will not be able to cope."
Why am I making this speech? They had heard it till they were sick. "I amrepeating myself. I apologize. The message is this. We are gathering ourstrength against an indefinite someday no longer. The date itself is not fixedbut it is not likely to be more than six months away. You must prepare for it, and at the same time create the illusion that it is farther away than ever.
One final word. You will tell no one the day is coming. No one. No exceptions.
No excuses. He who speaks, and whoever hears him, will immediately join theformer khadifa of the Hahr. Silence is that important to me. Do youunderstand?"
He did not get a chance to force acknowledgments. Someone knocked at the door, and yelled. Irritated, the old man waved at bel-Sidek, then gestured theothers into the bedroom.
Bel-Sidek opened the door a crack and mumbled with someone. He closed up, cameto the old man. "A boy, about ten, with this. For you, I assume."
The General looked at the folded paper with the sparrow on the outside. "Openit. Place it so I can read it." He willed his eyes to work well enough.
His correspondent had taken his disabilities into account. The message waswritten in large block print. He grunted and read it again, then found theshape he recognized as bel-Sidek. "Khadifa, you were right. Your man isvisiting Government House right now." He offered the message to bel-Sidek.
"Handle it as you see fit."
Bel-Sidek read the message twice himself, then remained contemplative forseveral minutes. It meant a great deal more than an enemy agent reaching aplace of high trust within the movement. It could mean that all the guilt ofthose who had failed at Dak-es-Souetta, and the search for atonement andredemption implicit in their commitment to the movement, was moot, if not aprideful arrogance of false guilt. Had Qushmarrah fallen because an apprenticemetalworker of no breeding or standing whatsoever had lost his nerve duringthe course of something that wasn't even a battle?