"How long?" Torgo asked, looking that way.
Azel shrugged. He looked at the Witch. "How long you going to be, woman?" Thekid was whispering back, stammering, resisting. Maybe the Nakar soul didn'twant to come out and risk Ala-eh-din Beyh's final vengeance.
He never understood what that was about. Nakar hadn't talked about his enemies, back when. But a long time ago he'd offended somebody bad and there'dbeen a cabal out to get him ever since. A new assassin-wizard had turned upevery few years, each cleverer than the last. Maybe the gods themselvescontended against Nakar. If there was ever a guy who could get the gods downon him, Nakar had been him.
Azel glanced at the time-locked Nakar, at the Witch. What the hell did sheever see in him? "Torgo. You thought about what we discussed?"
The eunuch paused, glanced at the besieged wall, at Azel, at the woman, lookedashamed. He nodded.
"You in?"
Torgo nodded again.
"Good. Maybe we'll get out of this yet." If the ball-less wonder really couldstick a knife in Nakar's back. "Looks like she's getting through." The kid wasstirring, reluctantly.
A stone fell from yon wall. Dust puffed away. "About out of time, Torgo. Canyou wake her up so she can take care of them?" The Witch hadn't responded tohis earlier question.
"I don't think so." Another stone fell. A hand reached through, felt around.
'Til try."
"You do that." Azel stalked over and drove a knife through the hand.
Torgo tried. Azel gave him that. But the Witch wouldn't wake up. Azelsuspected she didn't want to leave the trance's comfort.
The hole in the wall grew. Azel discouraged the Dartars with a spear till henoticed the Zouki brat stirring.
Thunder shook the citadel when the kid raised his gaze to the Witch.
Azel clouted him in the back of the head. "That's enough, Torgo. We can'tforce her. Pick her up. Follow me."
"What?"
"You want to just sit here and wait for those assholes? Or you want to movesomeplace safe?"
"Where?"
"Trust old Azel. He was Nakar's number one buddy. I know stuff about thisplace even she don't. There's a place he put in before any of us was born.
They'll never find it." He didn't believe that but it wouldn't hurt if Torgodid. "We'll have everything we need to finish up." He grabbed the Witch'sthings.
Torgo looked like a condemned man given an unexpected reprieve.
The pounding on the wall continued. A head poked through, ducked back.
Azel limped to the wardrobe, dropped the stuff he carried, opened the panel, tossed the junk through, helped Torgo ease the Witch into the hidden room.
"Let's get the rest." He rubbed his leg. It ached badly. His hand came awayspotted with blood.
They rounded Gorloch's flank as a slim Dartar slithered through the wall. Azelchuckled. "I'd say their timing is about perfect." Torgo gave him a puzzledlook. Azel chuckled again. He was going to find out real soon now. "You'restronger. You lug Nakar. I'll get the kid." He slashed the straps binding theboy to the altar.
The skinny Dartar stayed where he was, helped make the hole in the walllarger.
The boy opened his eyes. His face had changed, darkening somehow. Nakar wasthere. He had heard the Witch's call but hadn't come into this world quiteyet.
Thunder boomed.
Azel grinned as he hoisted the brat. Some lord of Hell was favoring him today.
He stepped to the other kid, lashed out, meaning to break the brat's neck. Heglanced at the Dartars. Four were through the hole now, getting brave, gettingset to charge. He gave them a grin, a wave, said, "Good-bye, assholes," andtook off.
Torgo was lifting Nakar as Azel passed him. Azel clipped him behind one knee.
He collapsed. Azel chuckled again as he rounded Gorloch's image, listening tothe Dartars roar toward the eunuch. One of them howled, "Arif!"
Fa'tad peeped through a crack in the shutters of a second-storey window of acommandeered house. The Living's soldiers had entered the citadel. Finally.
They had dithered forever. "Excellent. Give the signal."
One blast from a horn, taken up at a distance. Black figures, like soddencrows, raced toward the citadel. A wagon appeared. It carried bricks.
At least four of the Living's top men had been sucked in. And Fa'tad knewwhere to grab their commander. Once the' citadel was sealed up the Livingwould be nothing but a nuisance anymore.
"Collect Colonel bel-Sidek," he ordered. He remained rooted, staring out, troubled. Mo'atabar should have reached the top of that tower by now. Butthere had been no signal.
Where was he?
Would Nakar have to be paid, after all?
Dartars scrambled through the hole like rats in flight. Aaron scrambled withthem, clambering atop men, feeling elbows and fists and knees dig into hisflesh as others climbed on him. He tumbled to the floor, glimpsed Arifbouncing on the shoulder of a fleeing man. He yelled, "Arif!"
The Dartars charged a man who was floundering around trying to disengagehimself from a stiff corpse. Aaron froze. That was Nakar! Terror held himrooted.
The man shook loose and rose. He was huge. He hurled Nakar at the Dartars.
Several went down. The rest hit him. He grabbed a javelin from one and a swordfrom another and struck out like a lioness beset by hounds. For a moment itseemed he might overcome them all.
Bellowing, Mo'atabar got his men to back off. The big man began to retreat.
Arrows and javelins hit him. He made no sound. He just looked puzzled, like hecould not believe it.
Reyha brushed past Aaron, keening. "Zouki!" The boy's head hung at an oddangle. She dropped to her knees by the chair where Zouki was tied.
Yoseh grabbed Aaron's arm. "Come on!" He hardly glanced at the idol as he flewpast, into the darkness beyond.
Aaron stumbled after him, averting his eyes from Reyha's pain, from thescarlet ruin of the big man and those he had slain, from the ugliness of themonster god who still had the power to torment Qushmarrah. He went numbly, without hope, unable to restrain a moan when Reyha started wailing.
The Herodian witch yammered at Mo'atabar. Mo'atabar yelled at his men. Somepaid attention. Nogah's bunch wolfed after Yoseh and Aaron. One had enoughsense to bring a lamp.
Ten minutes whirled away, time flown on the wings of vultures. They found nosign of Arif. Hopeless, Aaron trudged back when Yoseh and Nogah went toconsult Mo'atabar.
The sergeant and sorceress were shouting at one another. Mo'atabar stoppedlong enough to order the hole through the wall plugged.
"What's going on?" Aaron asked.
Nogah said, "It seems that if everything has gone Fa'tad's way we have severalhundred of the Living in here with us now. Nice of Mo'atabar to tell us theplan. We were supposed to go up instead of down. They say a fortress'sdefenders always retreat upward. We were supposed to go to the top of the hightower, then climb down outside. That's why all the ropes and stuff." Nogahcursed in dialect. "That's the Eagle. We'd have the Living's captains and bestmen trapped like we have the Herodi-ans caught in the maze." "Why?" Aaronasked.
"Fa'tad knows." Nogah shrugged. "Ask him when you see him. In Hell. It didn'twork. We came down. We prevented Nakar's restoration but got caught in our owntrap."
"I don't want to make you cry, boy," Mo'atabar said. "But we haven't preventedanything." He kicked Nakar's corpse. "The sorceress says they can managewithout this. If they can waken Nakar inside the boy."
Aaron groaned, began to weep, his calm proving more fragile than he hadthought. He went to stand beside Reyha, as though somehow two miseries mightcancel one another, a little.
The Herodian sorceress edged him aside, knelt before Zouki, studied him for along time. Finally, she grunted. "What?" Aaron and Reyha asked together.