A doctor came and cut me again, and there he was, covered with my
blood and dripping. My son. They wanted me to nurse him, but I
wouldn't. I knew that she'd blinded me, Ophidian Echidna had
blinded me to the gods for what I'd done, but I thought that if I
didn't nurse it she might relent and let me see her after all. She
never has.'
Silk said, 'You don't have to tell me this, Maytera.'
'They asked me to name him, and I did. They said they'd find a
family that wanted a child and would take him, and he'd never find
out, but he did, though it must have taken him a long while. He
spoke to Marble, said she must tell me he'd bought it, and his name.
When I heard his name, I knew.'
Silk said gently, 'It doesn't matter any more, Maytera. That was
long ago, and now the whole city's in revolt, and it no longer
matters. You must rest. Find peace.'
'And that is why,' Maytera Marble concluded. 'Why my son
Bloody bought our manteion and made all this trouble.'
The wind wafted smoke from the fig tree to Silk's nose, and he
sneezed.
'May every god bless you, Patera.' Her voice sounded normal
again.
'Thank you,' he said, and accepted the handkerchief she offered.
'Could you bring me water, do you think? Cool water?'
As sympathetically as he could, he told her, 'You can't drink
water, Maytera.'
'Please? Just a cup of cool water?'
He hurried to the manse. Today was Hieraxday, after all; no
doubt she wished him to bless the water for her in Hierax's name.
Later she would sprinkle it upon Maytera Rose's coffin and in the
corners of her bedroom to prevent Maytera's spirit from troubling
her again.
Cassava was sitting in the kitchen, in the chair Patera Pike had
used at meals. Silk said, 'Shouldn't you lie down, my daughter? It
would make you feel better, I'm sure, and there's a divan in the
sellaria.'
She stared at him. 'That was a needler, wasn't it? I gave you a
needler. Why'd I have a thing like that?'
'Because someone gave it to you to give me.' He smiled at her.
'I'm going to the Alambrera, you see, and I'll need it.' He worked
the pump-handle vigorously, letting the first rusty half-bucketful
drain away, catching the clear, cold flood that followed in a tumbler,
and presenting it to Cassava. 'Drink this, please, my daughter. It
should make you feel better.'
'You called me Mucor,' she said. 'Mucor.' She set the untasted
tumber on the kitchen table and rubbed her forehead. 'Didn't you
call me Mucor, Patera?'
'I mentioned Mucor, certainly; she was the person who gave you
the needler to give to me.' Studying her puzzled frown, Silk decided
it would be wise to change the subject. 'Can you tell me what has
become of His Cognizance and little Villus, my daughter?'
'He carried him upstairs, Patera. He wanted him to lie down, like
you wanted me.'
'Doubtless he'll be down shortly.' Silk reflected that the
Prolocutor had probably intended to bandage Villus's leg, and lost some
time searching for medical supplies. 'Drink that water, please. I'm
sure it will make you feel better.' He filled a second tumbler and
carried it outside.
Maytera Marble was sitting in the arbor just as he had left her.
Pushing aside the vines, he handed her the tumbler, saying, 'Would
you like me to bless this for you, Maytera?'
'It won't be necessary, Patera.'
Water spilled from the lip; rills laced her fingers, and rain
panered upon the black cloth covering her metal thighs. She smiled.
'Does that make you feel better?' he asked,
'Yes, much better. Much cooler, Patera. Thank you.'
'I'll be happy to bring you another, if you require it.'
She stood. 'No. No, thank you, Patera. I'll be all right now, I
think.'
'Sit down again, Maytera, please. I'm still worried about you, and
I have to talk to you.'
Reluctantly, she did. 'Aren't there others hurt? I seem to
remember others--and Maytera Rose, her coffin,'
Silk nodded. 'That's a part of what I must talk to you about.
Fighting has broken out all over the city.'
She nodded hesitantly. 'Riots.'
'Rebellion, Maytera. The people--some at least--are rising
against the Ayuntamiento. There won't be any burials for several
days, I'm afraid; so when you're feeling better, you and I must carry
Maytera's coffin into the manteion. Is it very heavy?'
'I don't think so, Patera.'
'Then we should be able to manage it. But before we go, I ought
to tell you that Villus and an old woman named Cassava are in the
manse with His Cognizance. I can't stay here, nor will he be able to,
I'm sure; so I intend to ask him to allow you to enter to care for
them.'
Maytera Marble nodded.
'And our altar and Window are still out in the street. I doubt that
it will be possible for you to get enough help to move them back
inside until the city is at peace. But if you can, please do.'
'I certainly will, Patera.'
'I want you to stay and look after our manteion, Maytera.
Maytera Mint's gone; she felt it her duty to lead the fighting, and
she answered duty's call with exemplary courage. I'll have to go
soon as well. People are dying--and killing others--to make me
calde, and I must put a stop to that if I can.'
'Please be careful, Patera. For all our sakes.'
'Yet this manteion is still important, Maytera. Terribly
important.' (Doctor Crane's ghost laughed aloud in a corner of Silk's
mind.) 'The Outsider told me so, remember? Someone must care
