The Blood Debt Part 35

*We should look for Kail and the Homunculus,' said Sal. *They're both still down there somewhere.'

*I know exactly where Kail is, thank you very much. He's doing his job, as we should be.'

A small piece of the puzzle fell into place. Shilly remembered the lone figure she had seen watching Sal and the others from a distance. *Kail is still tracking the Homunculus, isn't he? He was keeping back in case it made a break for it. When it did, he followed.'

*No,' said Sal. *That's not how things went. The Homunculus isn't running away at all. It's been taken hostage by Pirelius - the man who kidnapped Skender's mother and the others. It's his prisoner.'

*No honour among thieves, huh?' she asked.

*I don't think they knew about each other,' Sal said. *In fact I'm certain of it.'

*The Homunculus wasn't coming to the Aad after all?' Shilly abandoned her previous theory with a slight feeling of foolishness. *I was so certain of it.'

*Laure it is and always has been,' said Marmion. *And here we are chasing after some fool girl's lost property!' He stormed off to bother someone else. Shilly was glad to see him go. The blue of his eyes had faded along with the mote of light in his tore, leaving both dark and glowering.

*Listen,' Shilly said to Sal in a low voice, with her mouth right against his ear. *Your father woke last night. He told us what the Homunculus is.'

*It's from the Void,' he said, nodding. *Skender says it's actually two people in one body - twins from before the Cataclysm.'

*Twins?' She knew she shouldn't be surprised that he knew as much as her, and more besides. He had been with the Homunculus on the ground, whereas she had been hearing about it second-hand. *There's so much to catch up on,' she said.

Sal nodded distractedly. He had her stick in his hands again, and he stared at it, not her, as he asked, *How is Highson? Is he well?'

*He'll be okay.'

*You don't sound certain of that.'

She took Sal's hands off the stick and put them back in hers. *He's had a tough time of it. You'll have to be patient with him.'

*We could take him back to Fundelry with us. That's the perfect place to recuperate.'

Shilly thought of Tom and his prophecy regarding the ice cave. She knew better than to relax just yet, or even to think about home. Although she missed the workshop and the friends she had left behind, they still had to get back to Laure - and only the G.o.ddess knew what sort of reception awaited them there.

*I'd rather just be here and now for a bit,' she said, *if that's okay with you.'

Sal smiled, and kissed her.

The heavy lifter headed deeper into the Aad, then dipped over streets Sal thought he recognised. It took him a moment to realise what was going on. When ropes went over the side, followed by Skender and two wardens, he understood.

The propellers thrummed as Chu held the dirigible in position, defying the prevailing winds. Sal kept an eye out with the others for man'kin or bandits, but apart from some rogue statues disa.s.sembling walls several blocks away, the ruined streets were clear. The bandits appeared to have completely vanished. They were either dead, Sal thought, or had gone to ground.

Although he knew he was safe in the air, he was still relieved when Skender and the wardens returned, carefully suspending Chu's wing on a rope between them. He couldn't see the flyer's reaction, but he could tell that Skender was pleased with himself.

*If we're finally done here,' shouted Marmion from the rear of the gondola, *perhaps we can get moving!'

Chu tilted the dirigible into the wind and gave it its head. They were soon rising high above the Aad and picking up speed.

Sal stretched his legs out as far as he dared. Compared to his one brief jump with Skender, this was a much better way to fly. But he didn't feel relaxed. They had forgotten something important; he was sure of it. And not just the Homunculus, temporarily abandoned to its fate ...

*You can see the damage so much better from up here,' Shilly said, her chin propped up on the edge. *The man'kin could flatten a city in days, easy. No wonder people in Laure are so scared of them.'

Sal picked out the spoor of several ma.s.s-migrations hanging in plumes over the mighty canyon. He wondered what held such allure for them in the west, and how it related to the enigmatic Angel.

He told Shilly about the artefact they had found in the bandits' lair. It seemed reasonable to a.s.sume that it had been there ever since the Divide's formation, since without it the man'kin would have destroyed the ruined city years ago.

*So this Polonius guy -'

*Pirelius.'

*Whatever. He was just taking advantage of something he found? It wasn't part of a big plan or anything?'

*He didn't strike me as much of an original thinker.'

*I'll bet it was him and his gang who buzzed us after you and Skender went after the Homunculus. They were probably coming to warn us away, not to meet anyone.'

*What happened? Did he attack you, like he did Abi Van Haasteren?'

*No. You scared him off with your little storm trick. Otherwise we might have ended up down there, too.'

Sal didn't know exactly what had happened to Skender and the others in the cells, but the thought of Shilly in the hands of the bandits made his stomach turn. Kemp had a thick bandage around his throat, and seemed to be sleeping with his head lolling half out of the gondola. Skender's mother was still being cleaned and treated; Sal heard grim mentions of broken ribs and st.i.tches were being sewn by the wardens looking after her. Shorn Behenna's eyes were open, but he wasn't looking at anyone in particular. His fists were tightly clenched, constraining a powerful rage.

Sal caught Tom's eye, and nodded. The young Engineer pointed at the view over the side of the gondola.

*Ah,' said Shilly, noticing. *His dream.'

They were above the edge of the Divide, flying much higher than Sal and Skender had the previous day. Sal could see where they had laid the ambush for the Homunculus, and where they had jumped off the edge. The creek they had followed to the Aad was a tiny track barely visible from the air.

His eyes drifted southward, to the plain rent in two by the mighty canyon. Parched landscape stretched forever to the south. Somewhere out there, at the end of a very long journey, was Fundelry and their home. If he let his eyes unfocus, he could almost see waves in the shimmering mirage that lay at the limits of his vision. He wished he could step through a Way and breathe deep of the salty air, just for a moment. It would steel his nerves for what lay in store for them.

Chu turned the gondola so it was heading north, to Laure.

*Why wasn't Marmion surprised about Kail?' Shilly asked him.

*I guess Kail talked to him when the Caduceus broke, just like I talked to you,' he said. *Now Kail isn't affected by the wake because he isn't in it. He could've been keeping Marmion up to date the whole time you were coming.'

*That would explain why Marmion agreed to leave so readily. I thought he caved a little too easily.' She looked annoyed at herself. *He could've said something, especially if he knew you were alive. That selfish b.a.s.t.a.r.d was just covering his hide. If things went wrong, he could always blame me.'

*Unfortunately,' Sal said, *that does sound true to character.'

She shook her head. *Just when I think he might have a little bit of Lodo in him, somewhere -'

*Don't, Shilly. He's not Lodo, and he never will be. The fact they're related doesn't mean they're at all alike. Look at my relatives, for instance.'

She smiled wanly. *True. But I can't help wishing, you know? He's the closest thing I've got to family, apart from you. It'd be nice if blood did run true, just this once. Is that too much to ask?'

*Maybe.' Sal's experience with family had been universally bad: not just the Syndic wanting to control him, but a grandmother deep in the Interior who had tried to do the same. He felt no kinship with these people, whom he hadn't known existed until five years earlier. He owed them nothing.

His real father, however, was a more complex issue.

A small commotion drew their attention back to the distant ground below. Skender had spotted the wake of the Homunculus. Several bra.s.s telescopes - standard equipment on the heavy lifter - were being pa.s.sed among the wardens. Sal heard references to Kail and man'kin, and he eagerly took his chance to look when his turn came.

He saw three people on the rugged, red-earthed ground, not far from the Aad. Two walked ahead of the third: Pirelius and the Homunculus, followed by Kail. Even the tracker looked tiny from that height. All headed towards Laure. Behind them were several man'kin. More converged on the three travellers like feral dogs to unattended cattle.

Sal pa.s.sed the telescope to Shilly, who confirmed his impression.

*We have to rescue it,' he said. *Them. Whatever.'

*How?' she responded. *If we come within a hundred metres Pirelius will cut its throat. And even if he doesn't, how would we get away? It would kill the charms as soon as we brought it aboard.'

A ludicrous image of the Homunculus dangling from a rope ladder all the way back to Laure occurred to him. He quashed it. *We have to do something.'

*And we will, but not now. In a strange way, it's probably safer down there than it is up here.'

*How do you figure that? If Marmion wants the Homunculus dead, all Kail has to do is attack Pirelius. Either he beats Pirelius to it and kills the Homunculus himself, or Pirelius holds good to his threat and kills the Homunculus for him. It's a win-win situation.'

*Not for Kail,' she said. *Killing the Homunculus makes them all vulnerable. You said it yourself: the only thing keeping the man'kin at bay is the wake, so neither of them will want to get rid of it.'

The thought rea.s.sured him somewhat. Brother or half-brother or whatever, he still felt guilty at abandoning the Homunculus. Later, he promised again. Later.

*I talked to Kail after you left,' she went on, *and he seemed reasonable enough, within reason. He's Marmion's man through and through. He'll obey orders even if he doesn't want to.'

*He probably saved our lives back there.'

*Maybe because Marmion hadn't ordered him not to. He didn't step in when Kemp was under the knife, remember.'

*I a.s.sumed that was because there was nothing Kail could do about it. If Pirelius had so much as jumped, he'd have cut Kemp's head half off.'

*He would have done it,' said the albino from the far side of the gondola. *He would've done it just to hurt you. Pirelius is crazy. I'm surprised he didn't do it anyway.'

Sal sensed that the wound to Kemp's dignity ran deeper than the shallow cut to his throat. Beside the albino, Mawson sat squarely upright, watching the world with the patience of stone.

*It's good to see you again, Mawson,' Sal said to break the tension. *You've obviously been keeping busy.'

The bust didn't look especially pleased to see him. *You gave me the freedom to pursue my own interests. I do so to the fullest extent of my abilities.'

*Why the Surveyors? I didn't know you were the curious type.'

*This world has many secrets. Some have dwelt long enough in the dirt. Some must never be uncovered.'

*I'm sure the Surveyors don't see eye to eye with you on that last point,' Shilly said.

*That is correct.'

*Was it you who brought Skender's mother here, then?' Skender had looked around, twisting in his seat to overhear the conversation. *Did you tell her there was something to find?'

*I did not.'

Abi Van Haasteren stirred. *We came here for the Caduceus,' she said, her left eye fluttering open. The right was swollen shut. *There are references to it in several very old texts, but only one talks about its final resting place. I deciphered it two months ago. As soon as I could put an expedition together, we came to claim it. I didn't know it had already been found.'

Skender peered askance at her. *The Caduceus? But I thought you came here to meet the Homunculus.'

*Why would you think that?'

*Well, it was coming to the Aad, and so were you.'

*That's the extent of your reasoning?' An affectionate smile took the edge off her rebuke. *No wonder you're not a Surveyor.'

Skender's ears went bright pink. *I should have guessed there was more to it when Pirelius got so angry at you for trying to steal from him.'

*We weren't stealing from him. Not knowingly, anyway. And it wasn't me he was angry at. It was the Magister.'

*Why?'

She shrugged. *He wasn't one to talk much about his reasons.'

*At least you know the Caduceus is there for certain, now,' said Shilly. *You can go back to get it once things settle down.'

Abi Van Haasteren nodded. *Believe me, I'd like to.'

Skender was still frowning. *So the twins are going to Laure, as everyone first thought. What could they possibly want there? They've been in the Void Beneath since the Cataclysm. The city didn't even exist when they were born.'

There was no sound apart from the droning of the engines. Sal hadn't absorbed all the facts that had been thrust upon him in the previous hours. They were slippery, and didn't quite fit together. Shilly had explained that his father had been trying to rescue his mother from the Void. The twins Highson had summoned by mistake originated in a time before his world had even existed. This was worse than ghosts and golems. This just didn't make any sense.

*Maybe Highson isn't telling us everything.'

*I don't know about that,' said Abi Van Haasteren, *but I know what's waiting for us in Laure. The Magister has placed the people we left behind under house arrest and impounded our vehicles.'

*All of them?' asked Skender.

Shilly nodded.

*Great. Now we're really stuck here.'

*How do you know this?' Marmion asked.

*The quartermaster is an old friend. I called ahead to let him know that we were safe, and he gave me the news.'

*I didn't know he was a Stone Mage,' said Skender.

*He isn't. He studied at the Keep for a while when I was a student, then followed his own calling. The yadachi don't encourage other forms of Change-working in their city, but he always had a penchant for things that fly. They welcome his skills and tolerate his methods.'

Sal didn't know who they were talking about, but put that mystery away with all the others. Someone would fill him in while they travelled.

*I guess we know what we're getting into, now,' Shilly said. *The question is: what are we going to do about it?'

*We'll think of something,' Marmion said, his expression dark and determined. *Just take us back to Laure as fast as possible, Chu. That's where the Homunculus is headed. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can sort this mess out, once and for all.'