Long Sun - Nightside The Long Sun Part 16

"You win, Patera. I got to shrive you. Only you got to tell me all about it, too. I need to know what's going on here."

"The Ayuntamiento has sold this man our manteion."

Silk heard Auk's exhalation.

"It was bringing in practically nothing, you realize. The

income from the manteion is supposed to balance the loss from the palaestra; tutorage doesn't cover our costs, and most of the parents are behind anyway. Ideally there should be enough left over for Juzgado's taxes, but our Window's been empty now for a very long while."

"Must be others doing better," Auk suggested.

"Yes. Considerably better in some cases, though it's been many years since a G.o.d has visited any Window in die city."

"Then they-the augurs there-could give you a little something, Patera."

Silk nodded, remembering his mendicant expeditions to those solvent manteions. 'They have indeed helped at times, Auk. I'm afraid that the Chapter has decided to put an end to that. It's turned our manteion over to the Juz-gado in lieu of our unpaid taxes, and the Ayuntamiento has sold the property to this man Blood. That's how things appear, at least."

"We all got to pay the counterman come shadeup," Auk muttered diplomatically.

"The people need us, Auk. The whole quarter does. I was hoping that if you-never mind. I intend to steal our manteion back tonight, if I can, and you must shrive me for that"

The seated man was silent for a moment. At length he said, "The city keeps records on houses and so on, Patera. You go to the Juzgado and slip one of those clerks a little something, and they call up the lot number on their gla.s.s. Fve done it. The monitor gives you the name of the buyer, or anyhow whoever's fronting for him."

*'Sx) that I could verify the sale, you mean."

"That's it, Patera. Make sure you're right about all this before you get yourself killed."

Silk felt an uncontrollable flood of relief. "I'll do as you suggest provided that the Juzgado's still open."

86Gene Wolfe

NlGHTSIDE THE LONG SuN

87.

"They wouldn't be, Patera. They close there about the same time as the market."

It was hard for him to force himself to speak. "Then I must proceed. I must act tonight." He hesitated while some frightened portion of his mind battered the ivory walls that confined it. "Of course this may not be the Blood you know, Auk. There must be a great many people of that name. Could Blood-the Blood you know-buy our manteion? It must be worth twenty thousand cards or more."

"Ten," Auk muttered. "Twelve, maybe, only he probably got it for the taxes. What's he look like, Patera?"

"A tall, heavy man. Angry looking, I'd say, although it may only have been that his face was flushed. There are wide bones under his plump cheeks, or so I'd guess."

"Lots of rings?"

Silk struggled to recall the prosperous-looking man's fat, smooth hands. "Yes," he said. "Several, at least."

"Could you smell him?"

"Are you asking whether he smelled bad? No, certainly not. In fact-"

Auk grunted. "What was it?"

"I have no idea, but it reminded me of the scented oil-no doubt you've noticed it-in the lamp before Scylla, in our manteion. A sweet, heavy odor, not quite so pungent as incense."

"He calls it musk rose," Auk said dryly. "Musk's a buck that works for him."

"It is the Blood you know, then."

"Yeah, it is. Now be quiet a minute, Patera. I got to remember the words." Auk rocked back and forth. There was a fault noise like the grating of sand on a shiprock floor as he rubbed his ma.s.sive jaw. "As a penance for the evil that you're getting ready to do, Patera, you got to perform two or three meritorious acts I'll tell you about tonight"

"That is too light a penance," Silk protested.

"Don't weigh feathers with me, Patera, "cause you don't know what they are yet You're going to do 'em, ain't you?"

"Yes, Auk," Silk said humbly.

"That's good. Don't forget. All right, then I bring to you, Patera, the pardons of all the G.o.ds. In the name of Great Pas, you're forgiven. In the name of Echidna, you're forgiven. In the name of Scylla, of Molpe, of Tartaros, of Hierax, of Thebdepeia, of Phaea, of Sphigx, and of all the lesser G.o.ds, you're forgiven, Patera, by the powers trusted to me."

Silk traced the sign of addition, hoping that the big man was doing the same over his head.

The big man cleared his throat. "Was that all right?"

"Yes," Silk said, rising. "It was very good indeed, for a layman."

'Thanks. Now about Blood. You say you're going to solve his place, but you don't even know where it is."

"I can ask directions when I reach the Palatine." Silk was dusting his knees. "Blood isn't a particular friend of yours, I hope."

Auk shook his head. "It ain't there. I been there a time or two, and that gets us to one of those meritorious acts that you just now promised me about. You got to let me take you there."

"If it isn't inconvenient-"

"It's s.h.a.ggy-excuse me, Patera. Yeah, it's going to put me out by a dog's right, only you got to let me do it anyhow, if you really go to Blood's. If you don't, you'll get lost sure trying to find it Or somebody'll know you, and that'll be worse. But first you're going to give Blood a whistle on my gla.s.s over there, see? Maybe he'll talk to you, or if he wants "to see you he might even send somebody."

Auk strode across the room and clapped his hands; die monitor's colorless face rose from the depths of the gla.s.s.

88 Gene Wolfe

NlGHTSIDE THE LONG SUN

89.

"I want Blood," Auk told it. "That's the buck that's got the big place off the old Pal.u.s.tria Road." He turned to Silk. "Come over here, Patera. You stand in front of it. I don't want 'em to see me."