"I don't know, so be thorough. It could be some fault in the iron or the stone."
Alec jumped across the channel and began his examination of the ironwork, looking first for something as obvious as bars sawn through. They seemed sound enough, however. The sockets for the pins had been sealed with rivets hammered in hot and the lower flanges, which bore the weight of the grate, rested solidly against the stone knees.
"Let's try moving it," said Seregil.
Grasping two crosspieces, they braced their shoulders against the bars and lifted. The grate lifted an inch or two.
"Push!" Seregil grunted, shaking his side of it.
But the grate was solidly held in place by the pins. Giving up, they let it fall back into place with a dull clank.
"I thought maybe he'd sawn off the lower pins,"
Seregil panted, flexing his arms. "I guess not."
"It did move, though." Alec squinted up at the flanges overhead. It was impossible to see anything from this angle, so he climbed the crossbars for a closer inspection, torch in hand.
Across the channel, Seregil was about to do the same, but his torch was burning low. Pulling a fresh one from his belt, he paused to light it from the old one. "See anything?"
"There's nearly three inches of pin exposed up here," Alec replied, clinging one-handed to the top of the bars.
"I'm no expert, but that seems like a lot. How does it look?"
"Like a metal pin." Alec held his torch closer. "No marks or cuts. Hold on.
Hey, it's melting like wax and there's—"
"Be careful!"
Searing white sparks erupted inches from Alec's face with an angry spitting sound. With a startled cry, he dropped his torch and threw an arm across his face.
"Alec! Alec, get down," Seregil yelled.
Alec crouched awkwardly, one leg jammed between the bars. Overhead, sparks still rained down from the sizzling corona of light.
Dark spots danced in front of Seregil's eyes as he launched himself across the channel. Grabbing Alec, he dragged him to the floor and tried to roll him onto his belly to smother the smoldering patches on his tunic.
"My eyes!" Alec gasped, struggling away in pain and confusion.
"Hold still," Seregil began, but Alec's foot found sudden purchase against the wall and, with a final lurch, he toppled Seregil backward into the icy channel.
Fortunately, Seregil had the presence of mind to clamp his mouth shut as he went under. For a horrifying second he tumbled helplessly against the side of the channel, unable to find the bottom with his feet. Fetching up against the grate, he righted himself and used the crossbars to pull himself back onto the walkway.
Sputtering and retching, he grasped Alec by the back of the tunic and hauled him out of range of the sparks, then held him forcibly still while the white light faded slowly to a small orange glow. One torch still burned, and by it he could see the thin pall of smoke curling lazily near the roof.
Alec groaned again, hands pressed over his face.
Fearing the worst, Seregil dug the lightwand from his sodden tool roll and pulled the boy's hands away to inspect the damage.
Alec's hair and the vinegar mask had protected most of his face from the sparks, but half a dozen tiny blisters were already bubbling up on the backs of his hands. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he turned his head from the light.
"Can you see anything?" Seregil asked anxiously.
"I'm beginning to." Alec pressed one sleeve across his eyes, then blinked. "Why are you wet?" A look of shocked realization slowly spread across his face. "Oh, no. Oh, Seregil, I'm sorry!"
Seregil managed a tight grin, trying hard not to think about the water dripping down his face toward his mouth.
"What was that light?" Alec asked.
"I don't know." Going back to the grate, he climbed up to inspect the damage. "The pin is burned completely away, stonework cracked from the heat, top of the flange warped. And whatever it was, it must work on the other side, too, or you still couldn't move the grate."
Jumping the channel, he gripped the handle of the lightwand between his teeth and climbed up to inspect the upper corner.
"Tell me again what you saw."
Still blinking, Alec came across and picked up the torch. "I held the flame close to the pin, trying to see if it had been cut. It must have been the heat, because the surface of the pin began to melt and run like wax. I think I saw something white underneath, just before it flared up the way it did."
Craning his neck cautiously, Seregil found several inches of exposed pin between the flange and the stonework above. Using the tip of his dagger, he scraped gently at the surface of the pin. Curls of some black, waxy substance shaved off easily, revealing a white layer below.
"You were right. A band of silvery white metal has been set into the pin."
The white substance cut easily as lead.
Extracting a tiny sliver, he handed it down to Alec on the tip of his blade. "Put it on the floor and light it."
Alec set the sliver gingerly on the floor and, standing well back, held the torch to it. It burst at once into a brief, sputtering blaze of light that left black burns on the stone.
Alec let out a low whistle. "Bilairy's Balls, I think we found what we're looking for."
"There must be enough iron in the center of the pin to strengthen it, but this stuff burns right through it."
"Is it magic?"
Seregil cut away another small sample of the white substance.
"Maybe. I've never seen anything like it, but Nysander might know."
Seregil placed the shavings carefully in the little ceramic jar he'd carried the firechip in, then handed it down to Alec.
"I sure made a mess of that corner," Alec said, casting a worried look at the blackened stonework.
"True." Seregil climbed down to join him.
"Our saboteurs are bound to come checking sooner or later and even if they don't, there are the
Scavengers to consider. We'd better get Nysander down here, or Thero."
Alec's sight slowly returned to normal as they cleaned up the site as best they could and started back.
"What about the locks?" he asked, reaching the first of the gated barriers.
"Best leave 'em as we found 'em," Seregil replied. "I'll scout ahead to the next one. You catch up."
The lock was rusty; swearing softly under his breath, Alec ground a pick against the wards until something dropped into place.
Seregil was out of sight beyond a bend in the tunnel by then. Anxious to leave the rats and echoing dampness behind, Alec hurried after him.
He'd just caught sight of him ahead near the intersection of channels when Seregil suddenly collapsed sideways into the water with a startled grunt. The torch he'd been carrying hung precariously over the edge and by its light Alec saw two ragged, hooded figures jump out from the side tunnel, cudgels raised as they reached for Seregil's floating form.
Without stopping to think, Alec let out a yell, drew his sword, and charged.
The gaterunners were caught by surprise, but the one closest to Alec got a long club up in time to block the first downward slash. Alec jumped back a pace and braced, ready to fight.
The narrowness of the walkway kept the fight to a one against one affair, but it also severely restricted the range of Alec's swings. His opponents were more accustomed to such conditions. The second quickly jumped across the channel to outflank him from behind. Alec did the same, keeping his face toward them. He couldn't see Seregil anywhere.
The current must have swept him back the way we came, he thought, and for a sickening instant he pictured the dog's carcass and its attendant rats trapped against the lower bars of a grate. The gaterunners didn't allow him time to dwell on the image, however. The one on his side of the channel was advancing, cudgel at the ready. From the corner of his eye, Alec saw the other reaching into his tattered tunic for something, presumably a knife or dart.