Zenobel made a sound of disgust. He was prejudiced.
Bel-Sidek rose. "I know nothing about child-stealing, by the movement oranyone else. But I suspect some of you might." He dragged his aching legtoward the door. "I want to be informed if you do. There is a growing publicperception of us as responsible, or at least involved, and that could destroyus." He opened the door a crack.
The tramp-tramp-tramp he'd been hearing was what it sounded like, soldiersmarching. "They got here fast." He noted the dread Colonel Bruda with them andshuddered.
There was too much interest in this part of the Shu.
He saw tendrils of fog just rising into view. It was that early still? Itseemed it should be much later.
What a day. What a hellbiter of a day.
How come Bruda had had troops armed and ready to move at a moment's notice?
Had the jaws of doom begun to close?
"The fog is coming," he said. "The man gave us a chance. As soon as it cancover us we get out of here. Hopefully before those Dartars have an attack ofintuition and realize what they missed scooping up. Don't ever come back here.
I'm moving out. I'll contact you later. Make your own arrangements todisappear, just in case."
He watched the soldiers. His small hope they would clash with the Dartarsdied. Tempers flared but never flew out of control.
"I want that boy, gentlemen. He's somewhere in Qushmarrah and we have theresources to find him. If he's not in my hands by sundown I'm going to want toknow why not. And I'm not likely to be in a very pleasant mood. Do youunderstand?"
Azel had had a good many years in which to learn to carry on despite pain. Hehad been injured worse and had managed. But he had been younger then and, tobe truthful, better motivated. He was losing his zest for the game. Tonightthe sinkhole country looked like a lot more than a pleasant fantasy. It lookedlike the sanest bet for sliding out of this without getting carved up intolittle pieces.
But he had a mission. Spying on everybody, playing games with them, that couldgo to hell. Bruda having him watched proved he had worked those angles for asmuch as he could. A smart man got out while he was ahead.
He was out. As of now. Let Bruda and Cado stew and fuss because he was not there to be used. They could buy another knife. Always plenty of those around.
Let that new General of the Living fume because he did not keep hisappointments, because he did not pass along all his secrets.
In five minutes he would disappear from the face of the earth.
But the thing with Nakar still had to be played out.
In these new circumstances he would have to work on that idiot Torgo, whomight be the only tool available.
He stayed on the rooftops till he ran out of houses to cross. He came downonly when he had to, to cross gaps too wide to leap. His wounds nagged him, the leg the worst. He successfully evaded trouble though the Shu continuedfull of excitement.
He perched on that last rooftop and watched the acropolis. The kid lay on thetiles beside him, snoring. The precipitation had picked up a little but stillcould not be called a rain.
Awful lot of activity tonight. Especially around Government House. Looked likea lot of sneakery. A lot more than could be accounted for by the excitement inthe Shu. Lot of soldiery slithering around ...
Cado was sneaking a bunch of his men down to the waterfront while there was agood chance their movement would not be noticed.
The boy showed no sign of coming around so Azel waited with the patience of alizard, rubbing his wounded calf. Once a whole parade of soldiers, civilians, and Dartars came out of Char Street and headed for Government House. The seeing was not good enough to be sure but he thought Colonel Bruda was the manin charge.
One more reason to get out of the game now.
He'd have to get a message to Muma, give him the same option. The man had beenthe perfect and faithful partner for years. He deserved his shot at gettingaway clean. He had his arrangements made. All he needed was the warning word.
Azel saw his chance soon after the crowd passed. He got hold of the kid anddropped down ... His leg buckled. He almost lost the brat.
He managed to walk only by keeping his leg completely rigid. That made movingthrough the pattern to unlock the Postern of Fate abnormally difficult but hegot it right the first time.
He found Torgo dozing inside, having failed to respond to the alarm or, morelikely, having failed to arm the damned spell. "Torgo."
The eunuch surged up, reached for a blade like an overgrown pirate's cutlass.
"Easy, boy."
"Azel. I gave up on you ... What happened to you?"
"We got trouble, brother. You want to take this kid? Before I collapse?"
Torgo looked at the boy like he was a poisonous snake.
"Easy now. He's the one you wanted bel-Shaduk to grab so bad. Ended up hecouldn't, so I finished the job for him."
The eunuch took the boy almost tenderly, looked at Azel suspiciously. "Whycouldn't Ishabal bring him in? How come you even know anything about it?"
"He didn't bring the brat in because he's too dead to walk. Come on. I'll tellyou about it while I'm getting myself patched up."
Torgo took the child to the cage first.
Azel told the thing exactly as it had happened, from his sighting of Torgo tothe moment Bel-Shaduk fled Char Street with the boy. Invention came into playonly when he described how Ishabal had been cornered and killed by hispursuers.
He did wish he had been able to finish those two. It wasn't likely Torgo wouldrun into them, and it probably wouldn't matter if that part did get unraveled, but any loose end was an artistic flaw.
On the other hand, he was a practical man. He could not take risk just to makesure loose ends got snipped.
"What about the boy you were supposed to deliver to the Living? Something badhappened with him, Azel. She was hurt. I had to hit her ... She could be daysrecovering."
Azel frowned. What now? "Tell me. Everything."
Torgo showed his teeth, ready to balk. Then he gave in, obviously at a lossand desperate for direction. He described events minutely.
Azel had watched some of Nakar's sorcery in the old days. He did not know, buthe suspected what had happened. She had encountered a strong soul and had notbeen prepared. Perhaps even Ala-eh-din Beyh himself.
The eunuch stared at the new brat. The one, if the woman was right. Azel wasgrim now, thinking how diminished he would be when this one was opened. Timeto start wooing Torgo, lest he come up with a crazy idea of his own. "Two daysand today turns into yesterday again, eh? That don't excite me the way it usedto, Torgo. The other brat can wait. The Living can make do without. I wouldn'tgo back out there now if I could."
Best to make a thing of his injuries. Never hurt to have them underestimateyou. "Too many people out there looking for me now. Hell. If the Living can'tcontrol their traitor for two days they don't deserve to share the fruits ofvictory. Do they?"
Torgo grunted. Azel was sure he was thinking about what he would lose in a fewdays.
Good. Perfect. Feed his obsession. But don't underestimate him. They'd robbedhim of his balls, not his brain.
"I need a big favor, Torgo."
The eunuch gave him a suspicious look.
"There's this guy who's been helping us since the beginning. He don't know what he's been doing, of course. But he's played square all the way. Hedeserves a break. And he does know a lot somebody would find interesting ifthey grabbed him and made him talk. I need you to take him a warning from methat it's time to disappear."
Torgo frowned. "Why?"
"Crap, man! Because I owe him and I can't go out there. In another hour Iain't going to be able to walk. You understand a debt of honor? Hell. I don'tknow. Look. You and me, we never got along good. We don't like each other. Wenever took no trouble to hide that. But we been working together. Getting thejob done. We got the same friends and the same enemies. Despite we don't likeeach other we done each other straight. So if it was you out there that neededwarning I'd see you got it. If only because I don't never want nobody else towring your fat ugly neck before I get my shot."