by Glen Cook
Silence it was. We’re good at silence. All of our lives have depended on silence at some point. And we’re all still here.
We got around by light that leaked through gaps in roofs and walls. There were plenty of those. Unfortunately, they also let in critters and the weather. Eventually, Singe smelled smoke. Flickering light appeared ahead and below. “Looks like firelight.”
We entered the loft of what once had been a vast stable. Moldy hay still lay here and there, inhabited by Singe’s unimproved cousins.
The flickering light came from an indoor campfire. We advanced carefully. Everybody wanted to see. And what we saw was half a dozen people trying to keep warm around a fire being fed wood torn from nearby horse stalls. There were tents around the fire, four of them, facing the warmth.
The camp had been there awhile. There wasn’t much lumber left. There was trash. Laundry hung on lines. That included green plaid pants. Which I noted only in passing. I concentrated on Harvester Temisk and the old man in a wheelchair. Who looked more lively than a man in a coma ought.
I got down on my belly, at the edge of the loft. Morley dropped beside me. Chodo wasn’t talking, nor was he moving. Still, he was farther into our world than when last I’d seen him.
John Stretch settled to my right. Ordinary brown rats collected around him, worshipful.
Were Temisk and Chodo prisoners? Guests? Or in charge?
The unrelated things were converging, suggesting potential cause and effect relationships.
Chodo had an arrangement with the A-Laf cult. It went back a long time. A-Laf’s thugs came to town to charge their nickel dogs with misery. Before Temisk got in touch with me. Before Penny Dreadful turned up with her spooky kittens.
The appearance of the Green Pants Gang must have emboldened Harvester Temisk. He decided to rescue his boss. Powerful old allies had arrived. And they owed Chodo.
But that left plenty of questions. How had Temisk meant to use me? Surely, Teacher White, Rory Sculdyte, and others hadn’t been factored in fully. They hadn’t been expected to survive the Whitefield Hall fire. Then there was Penny Dreadful. Her kittens had been a jinx on everybody.
Was Penny the straight goods? Was she getting up all our noses for a reason? Was most of what she’d told Dean true?
Her presence certainly excited the Green Pants Gang. My front door was proof.
And the human combustions? I had only hints.
And now a new question arose. How the Tersize family fit. Warehousing stolen goods and housing out-of-town religious gangsters wouldn’t happen without them noticing. Hell, they were using A-Laf’s Ugly Pants sextons for security.
And why had that stone been slung my way? I couldn’t make that fit. It had gem-plus value because of its dark capabilities.
Had Colonel Block and Director Relway taken stones off the Ymberians they’d arrested? Would they guess what they had?
Something to think about.
60
A tall, thin old man with wild white hair and exaggerated facial features rushed into the camp. He moved fast for his age but had a major stiffness in his hips. He walked goofy. I couldn’t hear what he said, but it had to be about ratman raiders. Everybody but Temisk and his buddy moved out fast, armed.
“Showtime,” I whispered. Morley nodded.
I didn’t sneak now. I went to a ladder and climbed down. Those two weren’t going to run.
As I descended I noted a coach hidden in a shadowy corner. No doubt the vehicle used to spirit Chodo away from Whitefield Hall. There was no sign of a team.
My advent startled Temisk. He pulled himself together quickly, though. “How did you find us?”
“That’s what I do.” Chodo, I noted, seemed fully alert.
“The trouble outside is a diversion?”
“No. But I’m taking advantage.”
“So you found us. Now what?”
“Now you tell me what’s going on.”
He thought about that. Then he leaned aside and stared, eyes widening in fright.
I’d been joined by several hefty rats. They perched on their haunches like squirrels, studying Temisk.
Temisk gaped. More rats arrived. He gasped, “You… you have the power to control rats?”
“We have a working arrangement.”
Temisk shuddered. Squeaking, he took a swipe at a big bull clambering into Chodo’s lap.
“Don’t do that.” How did John Stretch know Temisk had a problem with rodents? “There’re more of them than there are of you.”
“There were rats in the kitchen at Whitefield Hall. The rats told you how to find us.”
“Rats go everywhere. They see everything. They hear everything.”
Temisk had the full-blown heebie-jeebies now, but his brain hadn’t shut down. “You got this connection because of the ratgirl, eh?”
“Talk about what you’ve up to, solicitor. Not about rats. I know all I need to know about rats.” No horses for the coach. I wouldn’t get Chodo and Temisk out the easy way. “I’m not happy with you.”
“I just wanted to get Chodo away from those people. All right?”
“You tried to kill people. A lot of them. Deliberately. Including me. With fire. But none of us died.”
He put on a show of confusion.
“You tried to set me up, Temisk. But it fell apart. Before it came together. Same for your friends from Ymber.”
I kept an eye on Chodo. He was intensely interested.
I waved at the air. Morley and Saucerhead materialized. Singe took longer. She climbs ladders faster than she comes down them.
John Stretch remained unseen.
I said, “We need to move these two out before those thugs come back. Singe. You recall that evil stone?”
“Yes.”
“Sniff around. See if you can find another one. Or anything else interesting. Morley. Peek out that street door. Check for witnesses.”
“You aren’t thinking about just rolling them out of here, are you?”
I had been. But I saw the problem before he pointed it out.
“You really think you can wheel Chodo around in public and no one will notice?”
“Let me think about that.”
Morley reported, “We don’t want to leave this way. There’s a mob out there grabbing stuff the ratpeople didn’t get before they took off.”
“We’ll go back the way we came. Me and Saucerhead will take turns lugging Chodo.” Tharpe put on an expression of pained disbelief. “You and Temisk handle the chair. Singe. You find anything?”
“I just started. You should stop talking and start doing.”
Temisk was terrified now. He had a notion what the future held. He didn’t want to go there. Chodo wasn’t thrilled, either.
Saucerhead hoisted Chodo as though he were weightless. And there wouldn’t be as much of him as once there had been. I told Temisk, “Grab that chair and start climbing, solicitor.” I heard voices approaching. “Singe, hurry up.”
She beat me into the loft. “I will lead the way.” There was no sign of John Stretch.
He would be watching, though.
61
Morley peeled off near The Palms. He needed to clean up for the evening trade.
I was squeezed up inside a borrowed covered goat cart with Chodo and his wheelchair. Saucerhead and Harvester Temisk pulled. Renewed weakness had overcome me soon after we escaped unnoticed from the Tersize Granary, with a battle between Green Pants guys and wannabe looters warming up around the corner.
So now another stolen cart would turn up outside my place.
Singe hurried ahead to alert the Dead Man. Complaining about her cold, wet tail as she faded into the distance.
Occasionally, I suspect Saucerhead of being less dim than he pretends.
My nap ended when he backed the cart up suddenly-bang-into the corner of a building. The cart’s tongue rose slowly, putting me at increasing risk of getting dumped into an icy mess in the mouth of a dark and fetid alley.
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A voice said, “How about you grab back onto that cart, Tharpe? Otherwise, you could get hurt.” I didn’t recognize the voice.
Saucerhead let me know. “You kidding, Fish? I’m on a job. I ain’t gonna let you mess it up.”
Fish? That would be Fish Bass, then. One of Rory Sculdyte’s less daunting associates. A manager, not a serious physical threat.
“Plenty, get Temisk. Bobo, Brett, spank Tharpe if he interferes. And see what’s in the cart. Chodo Contague his own self, I’ll bet. Because where would Chodo be if he wasn’t with his lawyer pal? Rory wants to talk to you, Temisk. Damn it, Tharpe-” A meaty thump interrupted. “Shit!”
Harvester Temisk squealed. Suggesting Saucerhead had laid a good one on Plenty Hart.
Saucerhead said, “You try to run, lawyer, you wake up wishing you was dead.”
Meanwhile, I dribbled out the back of the cart, counted arms and legs to make sure I hadn’t left any behind, then unlimbered my head knocker and iron knuckles.
I heard grunts and thuds as Tharpe exchanged love taps with Rory Sculdyte’s infantry. There was some chatter farther off as people gathered to be entertained. The cavalry didn’t arrive.
I checked the situation from ground level. Saucerhead had gone into action on the side of the cart where it butted against a wall. So, although he was cornered, nobody could get behind him. And I had room to go to work.
I sucked in a bushel of air, bounced into the contest. I smacked a startled Fish Bass between the eyes, whacked Harvester one that put him down and discouraged him from taking a powder, then popped Fish again so he wouldn’t interfere.
I approached Saucerhead’s dancing partners from behind. “Can I cut in?” Bobo Negry was no problem. Saucerhead had hold of him with his left hand, using him as a crutch. Iron knuckles to the back of his head shut him down.
Which left Brett Batt. Brother Batt had a big mouse over one eye, a bloody nose, and several split lips. And was having the time of his life hammering on Saucerhead. Tharpe was going to lose this one. He was too exhausted to fight much longer.
My first mighty swing missed Brett. My second was a glancer that did little but get his attention. I didn’t have much go left myself.
Brett flailed behind him, knocked me down, resumed demolishing Saucerhead.
I put everything into a whack at Batt’s right knee.
Good enough. Brett yelped. His leg folded. Saucerhead launched a roundhouse kick he’d saved for the right time, connected with Batt’s left temple.
Two more kicks and a few more love taps from my stick and the wide load went to sleep. Finally. He would enjoy aches, pains, bruises, a headache, and a bad limp for days to come.
I got my feet under me. “We’ve got to get out of here.” I checked the others.
Fish Bass had him one thick skull. He was a hundred feet down the street and gaining speed, though unable to navigate a straight course. Harvester Temisk was inclined to make an exit of his own, but his world was spinning so briskly he couldn’t keep his feet under him. I tossed him in with Chodo, then asked Tharpe, “You all right, man? You look like shit.”
“Just shut up and get me to your place.”
“But-”
“He got me in the goolies, all right? Go! We got to disappear.”
Yeah. Word was spreading. I hadn’t heard any whistles, but Watchmen would be closing in. Let them find nothing but broken Sculdyte henchmen. And better hope none of the gawkers were civic-minded enough to follow us.
We ran into Singe on Wizard’s Reach, tail in paw, coming back to meet us, a block from where the Dead Man would be able to offer some protection. A swarm of shivering pixies accompanied her. Saucerhead and I had kept one another going while making sure Harvester didn’t escape. And he did try.
“What happened?” Singe asked. Melondie Kadare hovered behind her, trying to keep warm.
“Ran into some bad guys. His Nibs ready to bring us in?”
“Yes. But-”
It hurt to talk. Still, “We got to hurry. Then this cart needs to go away. Fast. People will be looking for it.”
“So move if you need to move. Mr. Tharpe should get somewhere…”
“I think it’s going to snow again.” We resumed trudging.
“What? What the hell do you mean, Garrett?”
“I mean you ought to calm down and-”
“Look out!”
I was supposed to look out for Teacher White, leaping out of cover with wild eyes, wilder hair, and no obvious awareness of the misty drizzle. He looked like he had been living on the street. But he did come equipped with a fully loaded, cocked, safe-catch-off war surplus crossbow. It looked huge from my downhill end. A wild grin full of bad teeth shone behind the weapon and a seedling beard. “You ruined me, you son of a bitch! But I got your freakin’ ass now!”
A man ought not to get so worked up he forgets what he wants to do. I know. I overthink all the time.
I never broke stride. Teacher swung his aim to track me. Melondie Kadare darted into his face, stabbed him in the tip of the nose. His eyes crossed. Melondie’s companions buzzed his ears.
Teacher let go the crossbow with his left hand. I placed a long jab on the back of the hand he’d raised to his nose. He yelped. Tears blinded him.
He dropped the crossbow. It discharged. The bolt whizzed away, ricocheting off brick walls.
I said, “Go home, Teacher. Better still, go somewhere where Rory won’t look for you. Lay low. The Sculdytes won’t last out the week.”
“You broke my nose!”
A good pop in the snot locker has a way of clearing the mind behind. “You’re right. And if you don’t want it getting uglier, disappear.”
Anger and humiliation hadn’t abandoned Teacher, but his nerve had. He limped away, holding his nose, glowering.
Saucerhead hadn’t said a word or done a thing. He glowered back. He was not in a good mood. He’d have bloodied somebody if he’d had the strength to do anything but keep on putting one foot in front of the other.
Teacher kept moving. Melondie and her friends buzzed him, kept him going. Singe collected the crossbow. “Damn! This thing is heavy.”
“Dump it in the cart. It’s illegal. We don’t want to attract any attention.”
A sense of foreboding came over me as we approached the house. But I didn’t see even one obvious watcher.
62
The Dead Man’s glee was almost malicious. He couldn’t believe I’d enjoyed such complete success. But, boy, was he eager to capitalize.
Singe and I got our captives, our cargo, and Tharpe inside as fast as we could. Dean even lent a hand. Then he grabbed the cart’s tongue and took off downhill. I gawked.
Isent him. He was doing nothing useful. Come inside, please.
Uh-oh. He was being polite. That’s never a good sign.
You will find yourself dealing with the Watch if you do not cease dallying immediately.
Now he was seriously impatient.
With cause. We were about to be visited by Captain Ramey List and his shadows. Both henchmen now wore complete new uniforms.
I got in and closed the door. Old Bones told me, Something big is happening. Captain List is the only body the Watch can spare for a stakeout.
“There’ll be a big dance with the Outfit. Going on already, I think. Because of the material we provided.” I had to get a copy to Belinda still. I’d been too sick or too busy to figure out how. “Did you pry anything useful out of our guests?”
Absolutely. I understand much of it now. It all ties together through the people involved. None of whom are pulling in the same traces. But I see that residual weakness is about to bring on a collapse. Take a nap.
“I can last awhile. With your help.”
Ido not have the attention to spare. Mr. Tharpe is injured. We will not be able to get a physician past the Watch anytime soon.
I let it drop. You can’t win with Butterbutt. And fatigue was about to overwhelm me.
Captai
n List hammered on the front door. He bellowed nonsense that would amuse the neighbors. His best effort was embarrassingly feeble compared with those of the Green Pants guys.
“I’ll just park it in my chair. You need to know what I got from Buy Claxton. Poke around when you get time.”
Vaguely, as I drifted off, I heard Saucerhead groan.
The Dead Man couldn’t read my mind and control Tharpe’s pain, both. He must have been using all his mind power to control the Ymberians and deal with Captain List. List’s essential nature would make him try to win himself a name.
I slept.
63
I wakened. There was something in the air. Cooking smells. And a girlie fragrance suggesting something tastier.
Something tastier arrived with a steaming tray.
Clearly, Captain List had gone away.
An agent from the Unpublished Committee came. Captain List was needed for a secret assignment that could be handled only by one of the top members of the Watch. Director Relway and Colonel Block were tangled up in obligations they could not shed. It was critical that this assignment be handled immediately.
I chuckled. “And he took the bait. Along with the hook, the line, and the pole.”
He did.
“I love it.” I felt good despite my fresh collection of bruises. “It’s got to be something that will end up with Ramey List embarrassed in a big way.”
The possibility bubbled in the back of Mr. Scithe’s mind.
I gave Tinnie a peck on the cheek and a suggestive leer a foot to the south, then prepared to pile into an equally beautiful omelet. “I thought you had what I had, darling.”
“I do some. But mostly I was just tired.”
But I think it more likely that Captain List will die an heroic death.
“Really? Do they hate him that much?”
Mr. Scithe came on behalf of Director Relway, not Colonel Block. Mr. Relway, you may have noted, has simple, direct ways of handling personnel problems. This time because he sees an opportunity to end a threat to the Watch.