in Caitlin's mind as she left the Sun, but she had no time to act on it before the captain of the guard and three others came sweeping up to her from one of the many side streets.
'Our Lord requests your presence,' the captain said in a manner that suggested it was not a request at all.
Caitlin was led briskly back to the palace and then along the miserable corridors to the same darkened room where Lugh sat in the same chair, staring into the blazing fire as if he had not moved since the last time she had seen him. As the guards retreated, Lugh acknowledged her with a morose glance and then returned his attention to the flames.
'There has been trouble at the walls,' he said. 'A breach by those who wait without.'
'Oh.'
'They come for you, Sister of Dragons. Your presence here compromises the security of the Court of Soul's Ease. This degree of threat is more than we can tolerate.'
'You're scared of them. I understand.'
He glared at her so suddenly and murderously that she backed away a step. But then he relented and waved her towards a chair on the other side of the fire. 'My race is above all, as always, for ever. Yet what these things represent is not to be taken lightly.'
Despite his words, his tone suggested deep fear kept tightly in check.
Caitlin sat. 'What do they represent?'
'You do not know?'
'No.'
'You do not know why they pursue you?'
She shook her head.
He held out his hands to the fire. Despite the stifling heat it radiated, he couldn't seem to get warm. 'Then it is not for me to say, Sister of Dragons.'
'But you could help-'
Lugh allowed himself a bitter laugh. 'The Extinction Shears are the only thing that could fend off what is coming, but their whereabouts is unknown.' He examined her intently.
'What is it?' she asked.
'It is intriguing to meet you, Sister of Dragons. You are known to us, from the old stories. The Broken Woman, one of the last generation of Brothers and Sisters of Dragons before your kind… become.'
'Become what?'
'Greater. One Fragile Creature exists who can bring everything together — the Far Lands and the Fixed Lands, Fragile Creatures and gods…' He slipped once more into a daze, so hypnotised by the fire that she couldn't tell if he thought this a good or bad thing. 'His destiny is unknown even to him. And it is the destiny of the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons to bring him to the point where Existence turns.'
Caitlin recalled what Crowther had told her about the hope for the human race, and the war the gods were fighting over that ascension. 'There's someone who can help us achieve our potential?'
'Only one. His aid is essential.'
'Then we won't do it without him.' Her mind was racing; she had taken in so much since she had left her home; it all felt like a dream — fantastical things she could never have imagined, unknown worlds, and now schemes of such incredible import that it was almost impossible to take on board exactly what was at stake. 'Who is it?' she asked. 'If you know, please tell me.'
He gave a small, cruel smile, relishing what little power he had. 'That is not for me to say, either. But he will be drawn to the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons. Existence will see to that.'
'He?' Caitlin mused. She jumped as something separated from Lugh's belt, where she had thought there was a buckle. It sprouted long spiderlike legs and scurried into the shadows beneath his chair. 'Ugh. What is that?'
'The Caraprix?' He thought for a long moment, as if he wasn't wholly sure of the answer himself. 'They are with us at all times. Sometimes they are almost… a comfort.'
Some kind of pet, Caitlin presumed. She returned her attention to Lugh; he wasn't going to answer questions about the mysterious saviour, but there was more pressing information that she needed. 'Answer one question, at least,' she said.
He gestured magnanimously.
'Where is the House of Pain?'
Her query surprised him, for he sat forwards in his chair and peered at her. 'You are searching for that place?' An unsettling note caught at his voice, and if Caitlin didn't know better she would have said it was fear.
'Where is it?'
'Far, far from the Court of Soul's Ease,' he said. 'North. Across the Forest of the Night, beyond the great river, past the Plain of Cairns. It lies on the very edge of the Far Lands, where all worlds meet — where, if you look correctly, you can see for ever.'
Caitlin nodded thoughtfully. 'I'm sorry we've brought the… Lament-Brood to your home. We don't intend to stay long-'
'You cannot stay any longer.'
'All right. Then we'll leave now, if we can find a way past the Lament-Brood.'
Lugh shook his head. 'We cannot risk the Lament- Brood punishing us. We shall present you to them.'
His meaning dawned on Caitlin slowly, and with horror.
'Make your peace with your fellow Fragile Creatures, Sister of Dragons. You will be delivered to the Lament- Brood shortly.' Caitlin related everything she had learned from Lugh to Matt, Mahalia and Carlton in the privacy of her room.
'The bastards,' Matt said. 'They invite us in, give us hospitality and then toss us to the wolves.'
'They can't be trusted,' Caitlin replied. 'That was one of the big lessons in the old myths and legends I remember.'
'We definitely can't get out the front,' Matt said. 'The Whisperers look as if they're busy expanding their forces. They took over some people like they did with that hermit and tried to storm the walls. They're probably transforming everyone who comes up the road to the main gate.'
'They're not the only problem,' Caitlin said. She told them about the knight with the boar's-head helmet. 'I don't know if he's with them or what, but he's definitely after me, and he's here, inside the walls already.' She massaged her forehead; her skull throbbed fit to burst. 'Why is everyone after me? What's going on?'
Matt gave her shoulder a squeeze. 'Are you going to be OK?'
She shook her head, glad of his support. 'We've just got to find a way out of here.'
Mahalia had been cleaning under her fingernails with a knife. 'I think I know somebody who might be able to help.' 'This way! This way! You're back!' Jack's excited calls unnerved Mahalia, for their approach had been uncommonly quiet to avoid detection, yet he had known the four of them were on their way long before they came anywhere near his door. When Mahalia peered between the bars, he was straining at the chains in anticipation. 'Who's with you?'
'Friends.' Mahalia found herself excited by Jack's thrill, and that puzzled her.
'You're going to get me out?'
'Depends. Do you know another way out of this place?'
Thoughts flickered across his crystal eyes. 'You can't go through the gates,' he surmised. 'Then yes, there is another way. An escape tunnel under the mountainside.'
'You're not just making this up so we'll set you free?' Mahalia said threateningly.
'No, I swear. I always make sure I know another way out of a situation. I didn't want to go back, but they caught me before I made it to the tunnel.'
Mahalia turned to Caitlin and Matt. 'What do you think?'
'It's not as if we've got any other options,' Matt said. He examined the padlock. It was old and rusted; the cell didn't appear to have had much use in recent times. He advised the others to stand back, then gave it kick after kick until the metal catch eventually disintegrated.
Matt led the way in. 'We'd better not hang around,' he said. Matt pulled the black hood off Jack's head, revealing the strong, honest face of a youth of about seventeen. His blond hair only emphasised the eerie intensity of his eyes.
