The Blood Debt Part 22

Skender smelled someone large and male coming out of the darkness, arms spread wide to capture him. His paralysis broke. He ducked and ran for the door, feet scrabbling on dirt. His would-be captor laughed again but made no move to follow. Only as Skender reached the door did he realise why.

A foot kicked out of the darkness and tripped him before he sensed a second person waiting for him. He fell heavily and skidded across the floor, into a wall. Stars exploded behind his eyes. He tried weakly to right himself and to run but was too slow and stunned. Strong hands went over his mouth and under his left armpit. With a grunt of effort, his captor lifted him up and carried him away.

The Letter.

*In cultures where blood is valued, the dead are frequently drained of fluids before interment.

The liquid remains are preserved in perpetuity by any means available: in ornate vials, sacred ponds, vase-like reliquaries or even private lakes; or, where water is not readily available, the remains may be carefully dried and placed in urns, for even dust retains a measure of potency.'

THE BOOK OF TOWERS, EXEGESIS 28:9.

F.

lash your headlamps,' said Chu, leaning over Banner's shoulder as they approached the city Wall. *That way they'll know we're not ghosts.'

The vast expanse of stone threw the sound of snarling engines back at them as the convoy approached. Surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs and the Wall ahead, she was already feeling closed in. The renewed threat of the man'kin - a second wave coming in from the east - lent the situation an urgency that was alarmingly real. If the Laureans didn't let them through in time, they would be caught between sentient rocks and a very hard place.

The warden followed Chu's suggestion. The lower lines of giant charms reinforcing the Wall's mighty stone blocks stood out sharply when the light returned. Giant circles overlapped squares and triangles with bold, thick strokes in a variety of colours, combining to form a single, sprawling pattern. She could see where other, now faded, signs had once done the same job but been painted over down the years. Their intricacies appealed to her.

Far above her, at the summit of the enormous stone edifice, a light flashed back.

*Well, that's a start,' Chu said. She didn't sound especially relieved. They had tried attracting the attention of flyers far above, but Shilly couldn't tell how successful they had been. The closer Chu got to the city, the more nervous she became. *Keep going, right up to the base of the Wall, and let's see what they do.'

*Is there a chance they won't let us in at all?' asked Banner.

*A small one,' Chu admitted. *It's not as if people come this way very often. At all, actually; the usual entrance is on the far side of the city. I don't know what they'll make of us.'

*Great,' said the warden. *You could've told us this before we left.'

*It didn't seem relevant. Given time, I'm sure we can convince them.'

Shilly glanced behind her, unable to make out the man'kin on their tail through the headlights of the buses. Time was something they definitely didn't have much of.

The buggy bounced over a series of deep ruts in the baked-hard earth then skidded to a halt in front of the Wall. A cloud of dust enveloped them as Banner swept the beams of the headlights across the impeccable stonework. Mighty grey slabs formed a vertical, mortarless barrier that curved for a hundred metres on either side. It seemed to bulge inward, but Chu a.s.sured her that it looked the same on the far side. The Wall was thickest, therefore, where it met the sides of the Divide, and thinner - relatively speaking - in the middle. She wondered if it was hollow. The top was too far away to make out in the darkness.

*Over there,' said Tom, pointing, the first to notice the gate. Banner accelerated for it, jerking Shilly back into her seat. The gate was an unprepossessing metal hatch three metres square with hinges that looked strong enough to withstand the end of the world. A circle with an X through it stood out in faded red paint.

Red, thought Shilly: the colour of ancient deserts and Stone Mages. The colour of blood.

A shiver of apprehension went through her at the thought of the Blood t.i.the.

Chu jumped out of the buggy as soon as it came to a halt. Tom and Banner weren't far behind. Shilly limped stiffly after them, squinting in the brightness of the headlights focused on the forbidding portal.

Chu banged on it. *Open up!' she cried. *Let us in!'

There was no immediate reply from within.

*h.e.l.lo? I know you're listening. We haven't got all night!'

The two buses chugged to a halt behind them, adding yet more light and dust to the scene.

*What's going on?' asked Marmion, jogging up to them. *Why isn't the gate open?'

*Give them a moment,' said Chu, shifting from foot to foot. *Someone must be on duty. They might have forgotten how to -'

*STATE YOUR NAME,' boomed a voice from the hatch. Tom, who had been examining the hinges closely, jumped backwards into Shilly. She barely kept her balance.

*My name is Chu Milang,' said Chu with a pained expression. The voice from the other side of the hatch was loud enough to physically hurt.

*WHO? SAY THAT AGAIN.'

*Stop shouting! I'm Chu Milang and I'm a miner. Check with the Magister if you don't believe me.'

*WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT THERE?' asked the voice at a slightly reduced volume. It seemed to be coming from the hatch itself.

*Trying to get in. What do you think I'm doing? Open the door and let us through!'

*I DON'T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO DO THAT.'

*Who does?'

*MY SUPERVISOR'S ON HER WAY DOWN. YOU NEED TO TALK TO HER.'

*Listen to me,' growled Marmion, elbowing his way through the crush. *I'm not going to stand here arguing over who has the authority to do what and who doesn't. My name is Sky Warden Eisak Marmion and I am on the business of the Alcaide. If you don't open this door right now, there will be consequences. Do you understand?'

*I UNDERSTAND, SIR, BUT THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES IF I DO OPEN IT'

*You're not likely to be flattened by several hundred tonnes of stone. Open this door immediately or you'll have our deaths on your conscience!'

Nothing happened for a moment. Shilly a.s.sumed that the gatekeeper had gone for advice. She could clearly picture him: a young, inexperienced functionary given a forgotten responsibility in order to keep him out of the way. He might have had his feet up on a desk somewhere, dreaming of promotion; he might even have been literally dreaming when their call came through. The promotion he desired probably hinged on what he did next, just as their lives did.

*I think I can open it,' whispered Tom to Marmion.

*Give him a moment,' said the warden in a loud voice. *I'm sure he'll see sense.'

Ancient metal bolts clunked deep within the Wall. A faint layer of rust shook from the hatch. With a deep groaning sound, it swung open towards them. Shilly hopped out of the way as it picked up speed and slammed into the stone beside her. The crashing sound it made echoed for a full ten seconds.

*Right,' said Marmion, his mood taking on a self-satisfied edge, *let's get out of harm's way.'

The small crowd scattered. Rather than walk back to the buggy, Shilly stayed where she was, with Marmion. The open hatchway revealed a tunnel leading through the base of the mighty Wall. It was easily wide enough to accept the three vehicles, and they roared through without fanfare.

Marmion waved Shilly ahead of him once the last bus was past, and then he followed.

The Divide looked very dark without headlights to illuminate it. Shilly, looking back the way they had come, could barely make out the man'kin and the cloud they were kicking up. But she could hear their cries of frustration and anger.

*Okay, you can close the hatch now,' Marmion called to the gatekeeper.

*WHAT DID YOU SAY? IT'S HARD TO HEAR YOU FROM THE -'

*Just close it!' he yelled.

The heavy metal door creaked and swung solidly home. The boom seemed even louder in the close confines of the tunnel than it had outside.

*WAIT THERE,' said the gatekeeper through the ringing in Shilly's ears. *DON'T GO ANY FURTHER.'

The smell of burnt alcohol was thick in Shilly's nostrils. Marmion overtook her without a glance as she limped along the corridor. It led to a large antechamber lit by a faded orange glowstone anch.o.r.ed in the high ceiling. That more than anything reminded Shilly that she was no longer in the Strand. She had crossed the Divide and entered the Interior for the second time in her life.

Highson Sparre lay still and unresponsive in the back of the second bus. She wondered what he would think when he woke up and found himself on the other side of the world.

*Chu!' The young flyer's head snapped up at the whip of command in Marmion's voice. He pointed at the far side of the room. *This road must lead somewhere. Take us. We're in your hands.'

Chu looked as though she would rather have anything in her hands than Marmion and his demands. *Aren't we supposed to wait here?'

A barrage of heavy blows rained on the hatch behind them. Marmion glanced at the tunnel, then turned back to Chu. *Do you know if that door can withstand the combined weight of a hundred man'kin or more?'

She shook her head.

*Well, neither do I,' he said. *I'm not waiting here to find out.'

*Hang on,' said Shilly, looking around at the gathered wardens. *Where's Kail?'

*He stayed behind,' said Marmion.

*What?' An image of Kail being squashed by the tide of man'kin flashed horribly through her mind.

*He got off when we stopped on the Fool's Run, after the first attack. I ordered him to track Sal and Skender while we went on ahead.'

*He didn't mention that to me.'

A suspicious look crossed Marmion's face. *Should he have?'

She turned away, face burning. Kail hadn't betrayed her, she told herself; he simply had to obey Marmion's orders.

*No,' she said, already wondering what chance she had of convincing Marmion to go to the Aad without Kail to back her up.

*Good. Now, no more talking.' His voice echoed dully in the large chamber as he addressed the group as a whole. *Let's be on our way. Chu, over to you.'

He inclined his head to the young flyer and hurried back to his bus.

Shilly watched Chu closely as she directed them along a series of broad stone pa.s.sageways that sloped upward at a steep angle. If the flyer were to make a bolt for it, it would be soon.

Four wardens dismounted to swing aside a heavy metal door and slam it shut behind the buses when they had pa.s.sed. The air became stuffier and more full of fumes the further they went. Shilly imagined themselves burrowing out of the ground like worms. She had no idea what to expect of the surface. All she had seen of Laure from a distance was one tower-top peeking over the vast stone Wall. Would its citizens be white like Skender and most other people in the Interior? Or would they have the same skin and eyes as Chu? Anything was possible so close to the Divide.

Another door, heavier than the others, required six wardens to push open. Banner almost ran over a skinny youth standing behind it, waving his arms.

*Stop!' he yelled. *You must stop!'

Banner obeyed. Shilly recognised the voice of the gatekeeper, even though it was much reedier than it had been when amplified by the metal of the hatch.

*You can't just drive away like this!' he protested, coming to stand over the buggy. His skin was a blotchy white and his blond hair stood in disarray. He wore a scruffy uniform of gold on black - with no robes, torcs or tattoos visible - and looked about eighteen. His darting gaze took in the buggy and its pa.s.sengers, and settled on Marmion as he approached from the rear.

*Why not?' Marmion asked.

*The t.i.the ... my supervisor ...'

Marmion waved away the stammered protestations. *Chu. Who was that you mentioned before? A magistrate of some kind?'

*The Magister,' she said.

*Take us to him.'

*She doesn't take kindly to people just turning up on her doorstep.'

*I'm sure this good fellow will give us an introduction.'

The guard backed away, his hands waving in front of him and his eyes wide. *Oh, no. You wouldn't dare.'

*I'm afraid we have no choice. We're on a mission from the Alcaide and nothing must stand in our way.'

The guard's larynx bobbed. *I, er -'

*Come on. Misery loves company.' Chu scrunched over to make room next to her in the back seat. *We need you to show us the way out of here, anyway. I'm only going to get us lost.'

Moving slowly, as though unwilling to believe he was actually going along with it, the guard climbed aboard and sat down. His long-fingered hands gripped the metal frame tightly.

*Which way?' Banner asked, glancing over her shoulder at him as Marmion jogged back to his bus.

*Go -' His voice broke. He swallowed and tried again. *Go straight on. Turn right at the junction.'

*Thank you,' said Chu. *Do you have a name?'

*Gwil. Gwil Flintham.'

*Thank you, Gwil. I'm sure the Magister will understand.'

He couldn't possibly have gone any paler, Shilly thought, but he did.

Any hope that they might emerge into fresh air was soon quashed. The city stewed in a thousand odours, each stronger than the last. Many were completely unfamiliar, but some she recognised, buried deep in the mix: coffee, rich and warm at the back of her nostrils; camel and goat s.h.i.t, and wet animal hair; incense and tobacco smoke; meat sizzling on a grill, making her mouth water; rot, and human everywhere.

The streets possessed no clear regularity, branching and re-branching without warning, and tending to tip from side to side as though the ground beneath had buckled and been paved without being graded flat. Every free s.p.a.ce was used in one way or another, built upon or over to bewildering effect. Buildings teetered at odd angles, clumsier and shorter than the buildings of the Haunted City and made from plaster and brick, not gla.s.s. They had a lived-in, almost temporary air; she wouldn't have been surprised to come down the same street a week later and find half of them gone. Banners stretched across the streets between them, declaring street names, advertising products, warning of hazards. The brightly coloured fabric didn't move in the still, thick air. Their florid, hand-painted characters added to the garish nature of the streets, with their tiled walls and gilded window frames. Beads and bells hung from every doorframe. Chalk graffiti added embellishments to anything found lacking. The local alphabet was more angular and fragmented than the curling, spiralling script of the Strand, but Shilly didn't question the fact that she understood the signs as easily as the speech around her.

And the people! Shilly tried not to stare, but it was hard; the streets were crowded under warm, glowing lamps bright enough to dispel the stars above. Laure's citizens displayed a mix of all colours and shapes adorned in all manner of fashion. Some draped themselves in brightly dyed robes. Others adopted styles similar to Chu's, with women wearing-pants and tight-fitting tops. Some men and women wore translucent veils across their faces; many sported tattoos and piercings of great diversity. Their voices blended in a rich melange of accents, too complex and dissonant to disentangle as merchants argued with buyers, commuters squabbled over who had right of way, and uniformed guards did their best to keep order. Not since the underground metropolis of Ulum had Shilly seen such chaos.