'Armand.' Hecht overtook the boy halfway to Principate Delari's Palace apartment. The catamite beckoned and increased his pace. He wanted to be inside the safety of the Principate's apartment when he talked.
'What is it?' Hecht asked as soon as it was safe. Osa was too professional to take a risk unless there was a greater risk in not acting.
'He's trapped down there.'
'What? Who? Start at the beginning.'
'The Principate. Our Principate. Delari. He's down in the catacombs. He was supposed to come back a long time ago.'
'You're still not at the beginning. Did he have anything to do with the cave-in at the hippodrome?'
Osa was puzzled. 'What cave-in?'
'The catacombs under the hippodrome collapsed. The stadium fell into the hole. It's a huge mess. A lot of people got killed.'
Osa turned pale. 'I thought it was just another riot. We have to do something.'
Hecht ground his teeth. 'He's really down there?'
The boy nodded.
'Oh, damn! That is bad. We need that old man to get by. You and me both. You're absolutely sure?'
'He went this morning. He got up way early. He said he'd figured out how to deal with what was down there. Whatever that meant. He doesn't tell me nearly as much as you think. He left right after breakfast. Whistling. Said he should be back in time for a late lunch.'
Hecht considered his options. And saw only one. Get Delari out.
Osa said, 'I'm going, too.' Before Hecht could demur, he whispered, 'I am Sha-lug.'
He was. Yes. Before all else. And from the Vibrant Spring School.
'All right. Wear something that doesn't make you look like a whore.'
'I'll go change.'
Osa did so. And looked nothing like the rouged, perfumed bed bunny who shared Muniero Delari's nights. Nor did he smell like it.
This Osa would have no trouble fading into the Brothen mob. His threadbare apparel suggested that he did so occasionally.
Osa smiled. 'Part of the job, Captain. You know where we have to go. Lead on.'
Hecht wondered if Stile was taking the opportunity to unearth secrets never shared by his keeper.
They encountered traces of gray dust as they approached the baths. Inside, the staff were cleaning everything and skimming the pools.
Herrin intercepted them. 'It blew in from back where nobody is supposed to go,' she explained. 'Along with a lot of cold, stinky air. We can't bathe you today.'
'Not a problem. We're just passing through.'
Herrin's eyes widened.
'We're going back where nobody is supposed to go.'
'Be careful, sir. Something's really wrong there.'
The map room was a disaster. The dust had not yet all settled there.
Osa asked, 'What is this place?'
'You don't need to know. Don't ask questions.'
The priests and nuns had begun a halfhearted cleanup. Some just sat or stood, eyes glazed over. One sitting woman rocked steadily, hiding out in her own secret universe.
One senior priest intercepted Hecht. He spoke slowly, coughed a lot, and sniffled continuously. 'You going after the Unknown?'
'Yes.'
The priest hacked. 'He went through the Old Door. He hasn't come back. We need his direction. This is a disaster. Three brothers didn't survive.'
Not good. Hecht said, 'We'll find him. Meantime, do what he'd want done.'
'But…'
'What more, brother? Look around. What needs doing?' Hecht remained perpetually amazed that so many people would not pick up a stick unless somebody told them to do it. 'You're in charge. Get to work.' He pulled Osa along.
He could not make the speed he wanted. Hurrying raised dust, made breathing a pain. Breathing through cloth helped a little.
Hecht repeated the lamp instructions he had gotten from Principate Delari. 'I've only done this once.' He ought to be alone this time. Osa Stile did not need to know about the underworld. 'The Principate was adamant about these lamps. I'm sure he knew what he was talking about. We almost ran into something that had
'Probably what he came down here hunting, then.'
'What did he tell you?' Hecht examined the massive door. It had been left unbolted. Naturally. Delari wanted to come back through. A huge wind, carrying tons of dust, had blasted it wide open. It had not closed all the way again.
'Almost nothing. I couldn't work him for anything he didn't want to talk about.'
'Did he suspect you?'
'No. It just wasn't any of my business.'
'Ah?'
'I've been less effective with Delari than you think. The association is useful, though. It opens doors.' He grinned his winning grin.
'Let's go. Slowly. This dust may be dangerous.' Slowly was mandatory. Just stumbling on tricky footing raised choking clouds.
'This probably isn't the smart way to do this,' Hecht said. But did not turn back.
He was surprised that he had so much emotion invested in Principate Delari.
Avoiding deep breathing, Osa asked, 'What was that place? With the old priests and nuns.'
'Ask Delari. He'll tell you if he wants you to know.'
'You going to keep it from our masters in al-Qarn?'
'My masters in al-Qarn have abandoned me, brother.'
'I don't understand.'
'Neither do I. But since I left Dreanger there have been at least seven attempts to kill me. Those that I could trace all led back to the Rascal.'
Osa stopped. By lamplight his wide eyes were strange, almost inhuman. 'Truth?'
'Truth. And I can't get my questions or messages through to Gordimer. So how can I help thinking that I've been discarded? That I keep on breaking hearts by not lying down to die?'
'But…' Osa Stile shook his head. He seemed baffled.
'There's something bigger than me going on, too.' He told Osa about Hagid's brutal murder. And that he had seen Bone in the Closed Ground only a few hours earlier.
'Hagid? Nassim Alizarin's son?'
'The same.'
'That's definitely a major mystery.'
'You really think?'
'Sarcasm isn't necessary. That news could cause a major power shift back home. Nassim Alizarin al-Jebal had his whole soul wrapped up in his son. He hoped Hagid would become the next Marshal of the Sha-lug.'
'Knowing that, I feel more lost. There's no way the Mountain would have sent Hagid to Calzir with the whole Chaldarean west swarming over the kingdom.'
'Calzir?'
'I saw some of my old company in al-Khazen. My guess is, they weren't able to escape with the other Sha-lug and Lucidians.'
They were approaching the great underground cathedral. Something crashed in the darkness ahead. Rubble surrendering to the blandishments of gravity? Or something stirring?
