CHAPTER 17
The evening lay thick and heavy on the city's streets. Twilight had brought only a slight respite from the fierce warmth and the cobbles radiated heat like cooling hearthstones. Without even a desultory breeze drifting past, Mayel sat slumped against the brick wall of the tavern and swigged warm ale that did little to allay his thirst. Beside him, Shandek was scrutinising every passer-by, occasionally running a hand through his long greasy hair as though he could brush the heat away.
Brohm was not with them. Shandek had sent the large man off with Shyn, one of his other thugs, on some errand that Mayel was not party to. Mayel hadn't pressed the issue: Shandek was keeping that to himself to make the point that Mayel wasn't yet in his inner circle, and wouldn't be until Shandek saw some of the profit he'd been promised. You played it carefully with Shandek, whether he was your blood or not. He could see Shandek's patience thinning.
Scree had settled into a piecemeal kind of existence now that summer had a firm grip on the city. The sun's reign had forced the inhabitants into a twilight lifestyle. They attempted to sleep at night and through the hottest part of the day, leaving dawn and dusk for business. The air was syrupy, draining, sticky on the skin, and Mayel found it an effort even to raise his cup. The last few weeks had seen a cycle of terrific thunderstorms hammering the city, each clearing away only to begin building for another onslaught. The next was now well overdue.
Mayel was finding it an exhausting existence. The strange half-days were wearing at everyone. The stall owners ringing the theatre no longer called in constant banter to each other, instead staring dis¬consolately out at the near-empty streets. The previous day one had taken a filleting knife to her neighbour, for no reason that Mayel could discover. The only sound now was the rustle of a poorly affixed poster that proclaimed the name of the theatre's previous play. Though the billing had changed today to a comedy called The King's Mule, one poster for the dour tragedy A Lament of Feathers still remained.
'What I don't understand,' Mayel croaked, 'is how those damn flowers stay alive.'
'Flow'rs?' said Shandek, his voice slurred by torpor as much as alco¬hol. His head lolled as he fixed Mayel with a glassy look, for all the world like some ghastly animated corpse.
Mayel raised a finger and waved it indistinctly at the theatre. The surrounding walls were covered in long hanging bunches of henbane, its dark-toothed leaves glistened malevolently in the light of the torches that dotted the wall. Within a few days of the henbane being hung, buds had appeared and soon developed into bell-shaped yellow flowers. Despite the heat and the lack of either water or soil, the plants were thriving. During the day they were smothered in a constant hum of bees.
'Those stinking great things. The crops in the fields are withering, so how do those stay alive?'
'What do you know about flow'rs?'
'Not much,' Mayel admitted.
'Shut up then. Look, the acrobats are comin' out.' Shandek pointed to the theatre gates as they opened for six figures dressed in bright clothes. Three were the albinos Shandek and Mayel had already en¬countered, still barefoot, but now wearing coats covered in long strips ‹ vf coloured cloth. Two of the others were men; one was slim and wiry, with diamond-patterned tattoos covering his arms and a bloody tear¬drop on his face, a mockery of a Harlequin's costume (though he was dressed in black, which no Harlequin would ever wear). The other was a sallow-faced individual who looked more a beggar than an actor, His hair was matted and filthy, his features drawn, his skin unhealthy, as though he had been sleeping rough for months now. That one was certainly no acrobat, but in his hands was a long wooden flute that provided a tune for the tumbling.
The sixth in their group was one of the reasons Mayel and Shandek were there. The woman with long rusty-red hair was a good few inches taller than her male companions, and the centre of the little troupe. Each step was sinuous and elegant; she was too graceful to be humanly natural, Mayel thought. When the woman danced, her hands and feet were so quick he could hardly follow the steps, but it was her precision and deftness that made his breath catch.
'Our friend is back,' Shandek commented with a nod towards the theatre. On the second-storey roof of the theatre, almost hidden against the thick blanket of cloud, Mayel could just make out a figure. A cigar end glowed bright for a moment.
'Is it the same one?'
'Aye, I'd put money on it. Ilumene, he called hisself, won't forget him in a hurry. I've seen bully-boys of all sizes on these streets, and that's not one I'd mess with.' Shandek gestured up to the roof and grimaced. 'Even if he didn't have a crossbow on him.'
'Why do you think he's there?'
'They're expectin' trouble,' Shandek said. 'You've only to walk down the street to see how tight-strung people are. I don't know what's goin' on here, but there's somethin' in the air and it's more than just a storm.'
'What do you mean?'
'Have you been to temple recently?'
'Hardly,' Mayel scoffed. 'It's enough that the abbot makes me per¬form the devotionals every time I'm at the house without wasting more of the day at the temples.'
'If you did, you'd notice you're not alone in thinkin' that. This time of year Belarannar's temple should be near-full, not 'most empty.' He went to pour himself another drink and found the jug empty. He squinted hopefully into its open mouth before slumping back against the wall with a sigh.
'These last few weeks have been strange,' he continued. 'I've heard nothin' from Spider, though I know his boys have been busy, what with fights breakin' out all over the city and the city guard and Siala's troops circlin' each other. They don't even bother with madmen preachin' doom and destruction. I've had word the Devoted are snif-fin' past our borders in the east and it won't be long before the Farlan make theirselves known.'
'What do you think's going to happen?' Mayel asked anxiously.
Shandek belched, eyes fixed on the female dancer who was begin¬ning to weave her hypnotic dance as the rat-like beggar played a slow, mournful tune.
'I think the Farlan have left it too late; heard this Mistress Ostia has got the mercenaries too well-drilled to break at first sight of the
Ghosts ridin' up. Doubt they'll find it easy to take the city. We all know the Farlan have no stomach for a long war.' He tried to spit on the floor, but his mouth was too dry and all he managed was a sticky gobbet that flopped out onto his chin.
Mayel's snort of laughter was quickly cut off by a sharp cuff to his head. He rubbed the sore patch and frowned at his cousin, but changed the subject. 'So what's this new play they've announced then?'
'Called The King's Mule,' Shandek muttered, his voice thick with drink. 'It's rumoured they're goin' to execute a real criminal in the final act – that's why all these people are here.' He gestured around and Mayel gave a start as he realised they were surrounded by a crowd, all chatting and whispering fervently.
So much for death being entertainment for the mob, Mayel thought, with a bitter smile. The rich seem to have just as much of a taste for it. 'They're all here,' he whispered, 'noblemen, mages – even priests.' He pointed at a man in the unmistakable white-streaked robes of Vasle, God of Rivers, who was haranguing three women, two of them in the robes of the White Circle. 'They've all come to see; maybe we'll find a buyer tonight.'
'That priest hasn't come to enjoy death. Vasle's a gentle God; he's here to object, I'll wager. And he's a brave one; that's Mistress Ostia he's tear in' strips off.'
Mayel peered through the crowd of people. 'How can you tell? Her face is covered by a shawl.'
'See the one next to her, wear in' a sword with her dress?'
'I've seen a dozen different women from the Circle wear swords like that,' Mayel objected, still unable to make out the faces.
'Aye, but you catch that one's face, you won't forget her in a hurry. You'll be dreamin' about kissin' her for a month!' Shandek grinned. 'They say she don't like men much, but I don't believe that. Reckon I could put a smile on those sour lips.'