"Until?" Che asked him.
"Until I say go." He had hunched himself as low as he could in his cloak, slumped and abandoned-looking as any local. Osgan was lying on his side, breathing heavily, coughing again.
"Have we lost them?" Che whispered.
Thalric kept his eyes on the sky, surrept.i.tiously. "I don"t see any fliers. They"ll broaden their net in a while, thinking they"ve missed us, that we"re still running. They know they can move faster than us, so they"ll try to make the best of that advantage. So we use it against them instead. We just let them fly away." He was still grinning slightly, not at his own cleverness but at the game. It was the only game, once you had tasted it: the spy game, the intelligencer"s game the Dance, as the Spiders called it. He was in the thick of it again, and it seemed to have taken years off him.
"You look like Tisamon," she told him.
"The Mantis? What do you mean?"
"He was like that, too. When he was up against it, he"d be smiling always. He loved being challenged."
"Tell me you don"t feel it," he said, fixing her eyes with his.
And she did, that was the terrible thing. There was Osgan to protect, and there were Trallo and Manny and Petri dead, and there was a city out there that would be put to the torch tomorrow, but through all that she felt a leaping spark of excitement inside her. She was an agent again, not an amba.s.sador, and it was just like old times. She let herself smile, just enough for him to see.
"Stenwold was always lucky, having you as his left hand," Thalric said softly, surprising her.
"You"ve taken every cursed chance you"ve been offered to point out my inadequacies in that field," she reproached him. "How can you say that now?"
"You must have something going for you, Che, some trick of the trade that I"ve never grasped. Think of all you"ve survived, all you"ve come through intact."
Not intact, she thought. Not when you tally the friends I"ve lost Not when you tally the friends I"ve lost. Thalric bent over Osgan and she heard him say, "We"ll have to move soon enough. Unless they find us again, we"ll take it slowly. If we"re lucky, we can get to another hiding place without them picking up the trail."
"We should head for the Scriptora," Che suggested. "We"ll be safe there."
"You might be," Thalric told her, "but those old men and women will have us two executed as Imperial agents. The funny thing is I"m not sure whether that"s true or not."
"I"ll speak for you. Ethmet will listen to me."
"Not unless we have no other hope," Thalric argued. "I don"t trust the Ministers an inch. If they come to believe that the Empire does want me dead, they"ll probably hand me over to the enemy to try and buy their city back."
"You"re not a trusting person, are you?"
"A very good judge of character is what I am. Now, let"s make a move slowly. Try your best to look local."
They had picked their way halfway down the narrow street, stepping over legs and bodies, moving as steadily and wearily as any evicted local, when Thalric"s hiss alerted them: "They"re on us already. Run!"
Here? Che thought, already automatically picking up her pace. There were people all around them, a hundred witnesses to each move they made. It seemed impossible that the Wasps would make such a public move against them. Che thought, already automatically picking up her pace. There were people all around them, a hundred witnesses to each move they made. It seemed impossible that the Wasps would make such a public move against them.
But they will be gone, she thought. They will be over the rooftops and away They will be over the rooftops and away.
She heard the first crackle of a stingshot, and the people all about her were suddenly jumping up, panic on their faces. Most of them must have thought it was some Scorpion advance guard, over the river already along with their Imperial allies. Instantly the alley ahead of them was choked with alarmed people, a wall that Che crashed into, fighting her way through them with Osgan stumbling in her wake.
"Push on! Push through!" she heard Thalric shout, with two or three more stings backing up his words. Che tried, but her ability to forge a way through the Khanaphir crowds had deserted her. She was just one more awkward foreigner, and the Wasps were closing fast.
Thalric cursed, catching up with her. She saw his hand jut forward, but until he loosed his own sting she had not realized what he intended.
"No!" she yelled, but people were already recoiling from them, seeing his pale skin and features, falling before the golden fire his Art unleashed on them. He was aiming deliberately high, enough to scare and disperse them. She hoped he had hit n.o.body.
"Go!" he snapped and muscled forward, virtually throwing aside any local who had not already retreated. His sting spat again, and then another bolt seared past on Che"s other side. The Rekef! The Rekef! she thought, but it was Osgan, his one good arm extended, following Thalric"s lead. Injured and weak as he was, she had almost forgotten that he too was a Wasp. she thought, but it was Osgan, his one good arm extended, following Thalric"s lead. Injured and weak as he was, she had almost forgotten that he too was a Wasp.
She had no choice but to keep up with Thalric. There were people screaming and sobbing on all sides, and she made sure she did not look at them too closely. She did not want to see charred wounds, to become an accomplice to murder.
Thalric suddenly shoved her, knocking her sideways into Osgan. A figure had landed ahead of them, hand already extending to sting. Thalric"s hand flashed first, punching the other Wasp off his feet. Then they were running again, virtually trampling over his body, taking an abrupt left on to a broader street, straight across into another narrow one. There were no cluttered refugees here, only a couple of late-returning citizens who got out of their way in a hurry.
"Where now? Where"s the safe house?" Che asked, trying to keep pace with Thalric. Osgan was still with them, for the moment, driving himself hard. His face was shiny with sweat.
"Behind us," Thalric got out. He turned in mid-run, loosed a couple of shots backwards, and then was catching them back up again. "They"ve done their research," he said.
"Scriptora!" Che said. "Only chance."
He bared his teeth. "No, we"ll tire them out. Flying and stinging"s like all Art, it drains the strength. We"ll just wear them out." He had done this before, she realized. He was reliving some other chase, perhaps being hunted by Mercers in the Twelve-year War. He dragged them down another street, changing direction without warning, seeking out covered places where the airborne might lose sight of them.
"Thalric!" Che yelled at him. "Osgan won"t last! Look at him. The Scriptora"s our only chance. It isn"t far."
He led them without answer into the courtyard of some wealthy man"s residence. There were steps up to a roof garden, and Thalric took them three at a time. At the top he turned, dropped to one knee, hand flashing. Che and Osgan hurled themselves past him, into the greenery beyond.
There was little enough cover in the roof garden but, between the low parapet, the urns and the plants, there was just enough to conceal the three of them. She heard Thalric"s sting crack three more times. Then he said, "That put their heads down. They"ll be working their way round. I"ve been a fool."
"How?"
"In forgetting they have a Beetle-kinden with them too. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d Vastern, I saw him as we were running. Shaved bald as a native and keeping track of me. No wonder they found us so fast. He was right there all along."
Che had no answer to that. Some old memory within her hands itched for a crossbow, but of course she would not have been able to shoot one even if she could somehow find one here. The locals had bows, but she had never used a bow. It was not a weapon her homeland placed any stock in. Perhaps I"ll have to learn Perhaps I"ll have to learn.
"The Scriptora." Thalric did not sound happy about it. "You"re right, it"s our best chance. But you"d better be able to talk the Ministers round."
"I will," she promised, hoping it was true.
"We"re going over the wall to our left, then we fly down into the street and run for it. We"re almost at the emba.s.sy now. It"s only three streets from here to the Scriptora proper. Osgan, reckon you can make that?"
"Only one way to find out," the other Wasp gasped.
Thalric nodded. "Then now now," he hissed, and was up and running for the edge, vaulting over it. Che let Osgan follow first, the Wasp simply toppling off and out of sight. She heard the sizzle of stings even as she herself followed suit. Her wings bore her raggedly and she stumbled as she landed. Thalric was already running across the street, lancing bolts of fire. She saw two or three figures at roof level, drawing back to avoid his aim. Osgan pitched a sting at them, too, before lurching after Thalric. If only Beetle Art provided some facility like that! If only Beetle Art provided some facility like that! Che ran after them, an enemy bolt scarring the ground close behind her. Che ran after them, an enemy bolt scarring the ground close behind her.
They were close to the Scriptora now and she experienced an odd sense of antic.i.p.ation, beside and beyond her own feelings. Achaeos? Achaeos? It was the same sense as before, that feeling of invisible company. It was the same sense as before, that feeling of invisible company. Oh, if I ever had need of you, Achaeos, it"s now Oh, if I ever had need of you, Achaeos, it"s now.
In the air, the Rekef hunters easily outpaced them, but Thalric used the city to his advantage. The walls of Khanaphes"s buildings, its uneven skyline of huge old buildings surrounded by the cluttered new ones, became their allies. Thalric changed direction over and over, each time bringing them back towards the Scriptora. Sometimes he was way ahead, sometimes he lagged, letting Che and Osgan build a lead. Often she heard his sting as he used it to warn off their enemies, forcing them out of his sight, buying a little extra time.
He is a hard man to hunt, Che thought. Thalric backed into a corner was a dangerous beast, was at his best, his most alive. It made her heart jump to see him so fervently defiant of all the odds. He was a proper b.a.s.t.a.r.d, she knew, but he would make them fight for his blood. None of it was for giving away easily.
"Here! Run! Run!" he snapped, as though they had not been running already. Abruptly there were no walls about them. They had hit the Place of Government from an unexpected angle, directly across from the arch to the Place of Foreigners. Ahead of them was the stepped pyramid with its crown of pale statues; to their left rose the Scriptora, huge and dark. There was not a single light in its windows. It looked like a tomb.
But the Ministers ... Che wondered, but there were a hundred possible reasons. They might be sleeping, readying themselves for tomorrow"s battle. They might also fear Wasp a.s.sa.s.sins, and with good reason. They might still be working somewhere out in the city, housing refugees. There was not a sign that anyone remained behind those closed doors. Still, they had nowhere else to run to. Che wondered, but there were a hundred possible reasons. They might be sleeping, readying themselves for tomorrow"s battle. They might also fear Wasp a.s.sa.s.sins, and with good reason. They might still be working somewhere out in the city, housing refugees. There was not a sign that anyone remained behind those closed doors. Still, they had nowhere else to run to.
Figures were dropping down ahead of them, swiftly cutting them off. She saw at least four Wasps falling into place. Thalric"s sting spoke, but they answered in kind. The range was long, but Che flinched back, changed direction. The Wasps were already barring them from the Scriptora doors.
And so it ends.
Thalric had thrown himself backwards, a winged jump of ten feet that put him seven steps up the side of the pyramid, returning golden fire from his open palm. Osgan collapsed beside him, shaking, gasping, one hand held fitfully out towards the enemy.
Cheerwell Maker!
That voice, all within her head, was enough. It caught her by the chin and dragged her face round until she was looking back back and and up up up the stone slope, up past the poised stone giants. up the stone slope, up past the poised stone giants.
He hung there, clearly visible even at night, a grey ghost in a foreign city. Here, girl! Here, girl! The voice snapped in her head, admitting no patience with her. The voice snapped in her head, admitting no patience with her.
The Wasps were advancing: another two had dropped down, one to each side. The square was broad, so the range still defeated their stings, but they were moving in. Thalric was retreating up the pyramid side.
"Up!" Che shouted at him. "To the top now." And why? And why? "Take cover among the statues!" "Take cover among the statues!"
Thalric glanced at her and nodded grimly. He has no illusions about how this will go He has no illusions about how this will go. He reached the flattened top in a sudden rush, darting behind a stone thigh as broad as his own torso. A moment later he was calling out, "Osgan! For the Emperor"s love, come on!"
Osgan picked himself up, stingshot bursting close by him, and looked up.
He screamed, falling back, rolling down the steps and landing on his side at the pyramid"s foot. Thalric cried out his name, but Osgan was pointing pointing at something past and through Thalric. Che, halfway up, stopped in horror and realization.
He does see it. He sees Achaeos. She recalled Osgan"s history, his fears. He saw Achaeos at the Mantis village: he thinks he"s a Mantis He saw Achaeos at the Mantis village: he thinks he"s a Mantis.
"Come on, you drunken b.l.o.o.d.y fool!" Thalric roared at him. Che got most of the way to the top before turning. Osgan was clenched up into a ball, but she could still hear him cry out, "It"s him! He"s come back!"
"It"s not him, Osgan!" Che called. A stingblast cracked against the stones near her and she fell back, clawed her way over to where the statues could be her shield. "Osgan, please-!"
The Rekef were now reaching the pyramid"s foot. still spread out. Thalric"s occasional shots made them start back, leap briefly into the air with a flurry of wings, before settling down again. Despite Thalric"s promises, it did not seem that either flight or shot had tired them. They seemed all patience, closing carefully, while they kept a wary eye on Osgan. They could have killed him easily, but it was clear they would take him alive when they reached him. He would provide the leverage to force their other quarry into reach.
It was surreal, Che thought: they were standing in sight of the very fount of governance for Khanaphes, an armed insurrection in the heart of the city, with Rekef a.s.sa.s.sins running riot, and n.o.body else seemed to care.
"Osgan!" Thalric bellowed, just as a stingshot blazed from the Wasp on the leftmost flank and seared Che"s shoulder. She cried out in pain and fell back. And fell further.
There was no solid ground behind her. What the grey stain of the ghost had been hovering over was the pit: the shaft sunk into the middle of the pyramid. She plummeted, too startled to call upon her wings. One outstretched hand sc.r.a.ped the pit edge, dragging its way through a layer of slime inches thick. Then she was gone, dropping into the darkness.
She heard Thalric call out her name and then he was diving after her. Still falling, in shock from the pain of her wound, she watched him outpace her with his wings flaring, sparking against the sides of the shaft.
Then he had her, arms tight about her, unimaginably painful where he grasped at her injured shoulder. His wings backed, trying to fight against their descent, their combined weight. She had a split-second glimpse of his face, his expression gone taut with the effort.
They struck bottom. She spilled from his arms, landing on her good side, scrabbling for purchase. It was dark, which did not matter to her, but it mattered to Thalric. He went stumbling away from her, arms out blindly. She tried for her feet and got there, swaying. "Thalric," she said, and he swung towards her.
There was a light, a lamp. It was getting brighter: from the shaft.
"They"re coming!" he spat, backing away from it. She tried to make sense of their surroundings. The shaft gave on to a narrow room Just how far below the ground are we? and she saw a single pa.s.sage beyond, branching three ways almost instantly. Thalric was making for it, hoping for cover, and she stumbled into him, clutching at him to hold herself upright. It hurt to move her right arm, but she could still move it. The sting must have just clipped her, for all the pain. and she saw a single pa.s.sage beyond, branching three ways almost instantly. Thalric was making for it, hoping for cover, and she stumbled into him, clutching at him to hold herself upright. It hurt to move her right arm, but she could still move it. The sting must have just clipped her, for all the pain.
There was something about the tunnels ahead. She could not reconcile it, but there was something wrong there, hanging in the air like a ghost.
A pair of Wasps dropped down the shaft behind them, their stings blazing blind even as they did so, bolts of fire scattering within the confined s.p.a.ce, their lantern glaring beyond. Che saw Thalric back away into the pa.s.sageway, and a stab of panic overcame her, without any reason.
"Run!" she cried, then her wings hurled her at him fast, spoiling his aim as he tried to shoot back. The two Wasps were almost on her heels, charging forward to close with swords drawn.
She felt the stone around them shift, even as she collided with Thalric, striking him full in the chest, propelling him down the centre corridor. There was no mechanism, no click and grind of machinery. The stone moved as if it was alive.
She landed on Thalric hard enough to expel the breath from his lungs with a whoosh.
What landed on the two Wasps, only feet behind her, was the ceiling itself. A colossal block, the same height and width as the pa.s.sage, thundered down on them. It cut off their scream, which was mercifully brief.
Thalric"s eyes were wide, staring, unseeing in the pitch darkness.
She rolled off him with a groan, and lay flat on her back. Traps Traps, she thought, traps for the intruder, the unwary traps for the intruder, the unwary. Traps laid by the Inapt, though. There had been no pressure point, no tripwire, that had brought that fatal load down. There had been a watching magic, and she had sensed it somehow, where Thalric and the dead Wasps had not.
She peered about herself at last, saw that the room was not large. There was Khanaphir picture-writing on the walls, but in bolder and larger characters than she had seen before.
There were no doors.
Sulvec perched on the lip of the pit, as the resounding crash died away below him. He had heard the momentary cries of the two men he had sent after Thalric.
"Gram!" he called down. "Gram, report!"
Only silence replied.
Marger and the soldiers joined him there, crouching among the statues. They would have to go in, he realized. No matter what had happened to Gram, they would still have to go in. He opened his mouth to give the order.
At that moment he felt fear. It came steaming up like cold breath from the slime-edged mouth of the pit. It caught him in mid-word, freezing him, wrenching at his stomach. He felt himself gripped by an unreasoning terror.
We should not be here. The placid faces of the statues had become nightmarish without ever changing expression. They looked down upon the intruding Wasps with condemnation. Sulvec heard his own breath sounding ragged in his throat. We should not be here. This is a terrible place. Something terrible has happened to Gram We should not be here. This is a terrible place. Something terrible has happened to Gram. Those screams, so brutally stopped, had unnerved him, but now fear had taken hold and was shaking him in its jaws.
I am a Rekef officer! But in this faraway city the Rekef seemed just a pale dream. He looked over to Marger, saw the man"s eyes wide, his hands shaking. The other soldiers were retreating down the pyramid, away from the statues and the dreadful pit. But in this faraway city the Rekef seemed just a pale dream. He looked over to Marger, saw the man"s eyes wide, his hands shaking. The other soldiers were retreating down the pyramid, away from the statues and the dreadful pit.
"Back." The word was dragged from him. "Go back. We ..." He could give no reason for it, could not justify the order. He only knew that to stay where they were, in this forbidden place, meant death.
None of them needed to be told again. They fled down the side of the pyramid gratefully, gathering near the archway to the Place of Foreigners.
"They must be dead," Marger was saying. "Thalric and the Beetle girl. Surely they must be dead, all of them."
Sulvec wanted badly to agree with him, but he had been given his orders most specifically. "He"s survived a lot," he got out. "We have to see the body. Absolutely sure." Two of his men had a prisoner, he noticed. The wretched Osgan was hanging limply in their grip. The man looked half dead.
"What now, sir?" Marger asked him, a man with the luxury of not having to make decisions. At that point, Corolly Vastern caught them up, looking like a local with his shaved head.
"Why did you come down, sir?" he asked. He had obviously seen something of what went on. Sulvec opened his mouth, reaching for answers. I can"t just say "because I feared." I can"t just say "because I feared." His mind progressed to: His mind progressed to: So that cannot be the reason, but I must have had a reason. I do nothing without a logical reason So that cannot be the reason, but I must have had a reason. I do nothing without a logical reason.
"Sir, Guards coming," said one of his men, and his mind leapt. There was a squad of Khanaphir soldiers arriving at the far side of the square, no doubt drawn by all the noise. I must have known that I must have known that, Sulvec told himself. I heard them coming. I knew that they would catch us, if we were still up there I heard them coming. I knew that they would catch us, if we were still up there.
"Marger, keep a watch on this place. If Thalric comes out again, I want to know about it," he snapped out. "The rest of you, fall back with me. We"ll return tonight if they leave it unguarded, or we"ll be back tomorrow night, whatever. We have a job to do here. Come on."
He could not entirely keep the trembling from his voice, still feeling that dread gnawing at his innards. A perfectly rational feeling: fear of discovery. Good trade-craft. A Rekef agent"s instincts A perfectly rational feeling: fear of discovery. Good trade-craft. A Rekef agent"s instincts. The words rattled about inside his skull looking for acceptance.