"What's the implication here? Sullo had his witch avenge his Moretians?"
Bruda shook his head. "It would be something deeper. The acts don't balance.
If Sullo had bel-Karba killed it wouldn't have been because of the Moretians.
I don't think he knew about them till he opened that trunk."
"Uhm? Spin me a fable."
"I'll posit you a problem first. You know Sullo. He comes to Qushmarrah andright away stumbles onto the fact that Hanno bel-Karba is alive and runningthe Living. Even better, he finds out where to lay hands on the old man. Whatdoes he do?"
That was an easy one. "He snaps him up, whatever the cost, parades him around, and gets us laughed out of town as raging incompetents."
"He didn't."
"He didn't. Could he be playing for higher stakes?"
"Maybe." Bruda stared out the window, rehearsing his theory. He had given it agreat deal of thought since first he had read Rose's letter. "You recall thedeath in the Hahr the other day? The reputed khadifa of the Hahr?"
Cado grunted.
"The public consensus in the Hahr now is that he was put away by the Living, not thieves. Because he had been using his position to enrich himself and hiscronies, not to work against Herod. He was moving into all the usualunderworld activities. His death was an example to the other khadifas, some ofwhom were involved in rackets in their own quarters. He was proof that nobodywas immune to the law of the movement."
"You're going to spin me that fable now?"
"Yes. I think Marteo Sullo is an ambitious man. I think he harbors notions toward achieving the imperial honors. I think someone inside the Livingoffered him an alliance in return for removing that pesky old man. Access toan organization like the Living, which has contacts with malcontentseverywhere, would be invaluable to an ambitious and unscrupulous man."
"Maybe so." General Cado read the letter for the fifth time. It containedother speculations of interest. "Suppose Sullo is up to something? How do wecatch him?"
"We don't need to. I can manufacture evidence."
"What are you thinking?"
"Suppose we have Rose send Sullo away in imitation of a Living execution, thenthe story of a deal with a khadifa of the Living, who reneged, gets out?"
Cado laughed. He got up and joined Bruda at the window. Bruda watched biddersof water slide down its outer face.
"You're more devious than I suspected."
"We'd be rid of Sullo, with the onus on the Living. They'd be discredited andchasing each other around trying to catch the villain."
"A double kill. I like it." Cado chuckled. "Give me a day to think about itand see what develops. You look for holes in it."
In the Dartar compound, with security verging on the absurd, Fa'tad al-Aklacloseted himself with his ten most trusted captains, all of them men who hadridden with him twenty years or more. He had digested the day's reports fromthe Shu maze and was confident both that the myths he was feeding weregroundless and that the denizens of the labyrinth were compressed just shortof the point where desperation would overcome terror and they would fightback.
The Eagle told them what he intended.
They were appalled. They were aghast at his daring. They enthused. Theirresponse delighted him. He was a mischievous old devil.
One of Joab's brothers, Bega, sometimes a too-practical sort, said, "I'm nomason. Will the mortar set up properly in this weather?" The rains were lightbut steady now.
Fa'tad did not know. It did not seem a critical question. All but a few exitsfrom the maze had been sealed already. Tomorrow the masons would close theexits to the roofs. And that would be that, except for the final, criticalfew.
In the Shu, Yoseh retreated from the mouth of Tosh Alley, found Nogah. "You'dbetter come look," he whispered. "Something is getting ready to happen outthere."
In the citadel, Zouki wakened for the first time since his encounter with theWitch. He was confused and frightened though he did not remember much. Thememories he did have seemed half alien. Dreams awake. Places and events he never saw. Everything too elusive to grasp. Something worming around insidehis brain. Someone else. Terror.
Thunder crashed outside.
Merciful sleep took him again a moment later.
In his quarters, Torgo paced. He was worried. He was frightened. Somethingunusual had happened. He did not understand. He needed the Witch to tell himwhat to do. And she could not be wakened.
Azel had not yet come for the boy. He was late. Way late. And it was almosttime for Ishabal to show. Should he carry out his orders?
In his home in the Shu, Sisu bel-Sidek asked his khadifas to put forward thenames of men they considered worthy of becoming their equals.
In Char Street, Ishabal bel-Shaduk gave his henchmen the agreed signal.
The boys were over the excitement and asleep. The women were not. Aarondoubted he could fall asleep easily, either. But it was time. He had to worktomorrow. Weather permitting.
One more day. Then his day off. By the time he went back, he hoped, theHerodian managers would have worked out their political differences andeverybody could get back to building ships.
He reached out to snuff the candle.
Someone knocked on the door.
He cursed softly. Then thought the hell with them. Then realized that theknock was much firmer than those of Reyha or bel-Sidek. He felt a little twirlof fright.
The knock came again. Laella, her mother, and Mish all sat up and looked athim.
There had not been a major crime in Char Street since the Dartars had becomeinterested in the maze. Nobody would be dumb enough to try something with adozen of them watching from Tosh Alley.
He went to the door, glancing bemusedly at the carving knife. He had forgottento remove it. The women were not about to touch it. They were going to pretendhe was lord and master for a day or two.
He slipped the latch, drew a breath to speak as he started to pull the doorinward.
It slammed into him, knocking his breath out and hurling him back to land onhis seat. Two men charged inside. One tripped over his outstretched leg andplunged headlong into the opposite wall. Two more charged in behind the firsttwo. One stopped, held a knife at Aaron's throat. He gaped up at the man, lost.
The women started screaming.
A man in the doorway snapped, "Hurry up and grab him, damn it!"
One inside said, "Where the hell is he? Ho. There."
Laella shrieked, "Arif! No!"