He could not believe this was him talking. Never in his life, that herecalled, had he threatened anyone.
"I've kept quiet for six years, out of concern and respect for Reyha andZouki. But now you've forfeited my silence by denying me and mine an equalconcern and respect. Now you have to buy my silence. You will go out of myhome and out of my life and forget I even exist. If you ever speak my name toanyone and I hear about it I'll see that yours is mentioned to those of ourcompany who survived."
Naszif met his gaze briefly, saw that there was nothing more that could besaid or done. He rose.
Raheb turned from the hearth. Clutching a large, greasy carving knife, shethrew herself at Naszif. Aaron did not move fast enough to deflect her assaultcompletely. The knife ripped a gash almost the length of Naszifs left arm.
It was eerie. Nobody made a sound. Faces pale, eyes filled with horror, theyall watched in silence as Aaron disarmed the old woman, who stopped strugglingthe instant he did so. In a calm voice she said, "Sixty thousand murdersblacken your soul, Naszif bar bel-Abek." She spat on him as Reyha, eyes stilldowncast, tried to look at his arm. "Sixty thousand curses upon your grave, may it be an early one."
Pale and terrified, Naszif backed toward the door. Reyha opened it for him.
They went out. Aaron closed it behind them.
Still there was no sound except a soft sniffle from Laella. Raheb went back toher chores. The boys clung to Mish, frightened. In some symbolic gesture hedid not understand himself, Aaron stabbed the carving knife into the door andleft it quivering there as he went to comfort his sons.
He eased back from the boys and told them, "Go hug Mom. She needs you." Theytoddled right over, somewhat reassured.
Aaron watched, the fear snarling inside him.
"Aaron?" Mish said in a small voice.
"Uhm?"
"When I was talking to Yoseh ... His brother Nogah said he stayed all nightin Tosh Alley last night. In the middle of the night, he said, he saw the mostbeautiful woman he's ever seen. She came from up the hill. She came down andstopped in front of our door for a few minutes. Then she disappeared in thefog."
"Uhm?" The fear grew stronger.
"That man said they thought a woman k-killed Mr. bel-Sidek's father. If Nogahsaw a beautiful woman, that couldn't have been Reyha."
"I suppose you're right."
Someone knocked.
Fear filled Aaron's home.
Bel-Sidek was just steps from his door when he saw the traitor and his womanleave the carpenter's home. What now? Didn't he have troubles enough? Now thetraitor was going to go roaming around anywhere he felt like?
He eased into shadow and let them pass. They did not notice. They wereengrossed in themselves. The woman moved with difficulty, still feeling theeffects of her stubbornness this morning. The traitor carried his left armoddly, as though it was injured.
The khadifas would begin arriving any moment. But this bore investigation.
With a resigned sigh he limped to the carpenter's door. He knocked.
The door opened. The coldness that came into the man's face was so intensebel-Sidek retreated a step. "May I come in?"
"No."
Forthright and rude, that answer flustered him. What could he do?
But the carpenter surrendered some of his advantage. He stepped outside, closed the door behind him. "We aren't interested in the games being playedaround here, old man. By you or anybody else. Leave us alone."
"Qushmarrah ..."
The carpenter spat at his feet. "You're not Qushmarrah. Thieves andextortioners, torturers of women and stealers of children, claiming they speakfor Qushmarrah?" He spat again.
Bel-Sidek could not restrain his anger. It had been piling up all day. "Aaron, we've never touched a child!"
"If you believe that, you're a fool. A fool without an idea what those who owehim allegiance are doing in his name. And for that I fear you more than I fearyou for all the knives you can send in the dark. A knife can kill a man but afool can kill a city."
"Aaron ..."
"Ask yourself, if you truly believe the Living aren't stealing children, howit is that they can show a man the child that was taken from him. When youhave an answer, if you care to share it with me, you might find me moreinclined toward conversation."
Bel-Sidek did not know what to say. The carpenter was behaving so far out ofcharacter, was so upset, that anything might make him do something crazy.
"Aaron ..."
"Just stay away and leave us alone. You ignore me and I'll ignore you."
"All right, Aaron. I'm a reasonable man." And it was no time to press.
"I'm glad to hear that. If it's true. One thing I might owe you. A Dartar warrior who spent the night hiding in Tosh Alley saw a woman pass in themiddle of the night. He didn't know her. He described her as the mostbeautiful woman he'd ever seen. Dartars are strange but I don't think they'restrange enough to confuse my wife's friend Reyha with beauty. Good night."
Bel-Sidek stood there a minute after the door closed behind the carpenter, theonly thought in his mind the certain fact that the Living were losing the warof the heart even where men had the most cause to hate the conqueror.
He turned away and began to labor uphill. This might be somethinginstructional he might mention during his confrontation with the khadifas.
Azel left Muma's Place soon after sundown. A few experimental maneuvers showedhim that Colonel Bruda's men were still on him. He spotted four. That big aneffort suggested there might be more, less easily spotted. He must havestumbled good.
He took only the routine precautions of a man who did not expect to befollowed. Let them get comfortable and confident. He would shake them later, when he needed to.
He drifted into the Blessed Way, a waterfront to acropolis avenue a quartermile north of Char Street, but left it immediately. Herodian soldiers werebusy there, questioning anyone who ventured into the street. He wondered whatwas up but had no time to find out.
The watchers tracked him through the narrow ways only because he did not carewhether they stayed with him or not. They would not leam anything interesting.
Shortly before he reached the place where bel-Shaduk stayed, he did lose themsimply by stepping around a corner, then scrambling to a rooftop. He scurriedacross the tops of several houses, to a point from which he could watch belShaduk's place.
It leaked a lot of light.
Most Qushmarrahans went to sleep soon after nightfall, their working hoursdictated by economics and the availability of natural light. Ishabal's placebeing so lighted suggested that all Azel's guesswork was adding up the way heexpected.
"I thought he had better sense," Azel muttered.
The lights faded soon after he took his position. A man stuck his headoutside. He saw nothing. He came out. A whole squad, seven more men, followed.
They scattered but it looked like they had some common destination.
Azel thought he knew what that was. He set off across the rooftops, headedsouth. Easier to do that than try to follow somebody and maybe get spotted. Aslong as he'd guessed right about where they were going.
"The damn fool," he grumbled to himself. "She must have offered him afortune."
He ran into no trouble. The lords of the roofs were lying low tonight. Hewondered if that was an omen. He hoped it was just the weather. The drizzlemade the footing troublesome.
He found himself a perfect position overlooking Char Street long beforeIshabal's gang arrived. He even had time to scout his, and their, most likelyavenues of retreat.
The damn fool was going to try it.
Ought to be interesting.
He settled down to watch. His vantage was perfect, tactically, but it wasdamned wet.
General Cado went over Rose's letter for the third time, almost character bycharacter this time. Colonel Bruda stared out a window, toward the harbor, pleased that there was an overcast and an unseasonable chill. That would keepsome people off the streets tonight. Maybe the troops could be moved withoutbeing noticed at all.