Babylon Steel (30 page)

I headed upstairs without answering. I got the worst of the blood off, pulled on the first clean shirt that came to hand, grabbed some weaponry and headed out before anyone else could start asking questions.

Trouble among the powerful gets dealt with by the Diplomatic Section, poor folk mostly get the militia. So they keep the barracks between the docks and King of Stone.

TIRESANA

P
RELLA WAS A
village on the coast. Not much of a place. The people there scraped a living with fishing and stone-quarrying. There was a vein of white marble in the rocks, in demand for temples to Shakanti, because of its pallor and glow. Shakanti decided to take an interest in the place – perhaps to discourage the use of the marble for anyone’s temples but her own – and was going there to conduct a ceremony.

It was rare; the Avatars seldom left the Temple of All the Gods. It hadn’t yet occurred to me that this was strange, especially when most of them could hardly stand the sight of each other. But except for brief excursions to their most important temples for the major ceremonies, they stayed clustered about it. Later, much later, I realised that they were afraid; that they feared losing their powers if they got too far from the altar, or stayed away too long. Feared most, perhaps, that one of the others would somehow find a way to steal their power from them.

I was learning a little cunning by then. Enough, at least, that I made up a story about wanting to see how Shakanti dealt with her worshippers, so I could learn from her example.

The real reason was because of those chips of white marble that had been in the bag with me when I was hung on the master’s door. I had had one sent to a stonemason, and he had said that it looked to him like the stuff they quarried at Prella.

I took a barge to Prella, with the full complement of silk, delicacies, servants and priests. It was spring, the rushes a tender brilliant green, the little scarlet warblers that nested in them darting about like living jewels.

One of the priests was only a few years older than myself, with huge, dark, thickly-lashed eyes and beautiful black hair. When he rose, with grace, to his feet after the formal prostration, he looked at me with an adoration as sweet and tempting as ripe grapes.

The Avatar Lohiria, of the West Wind, was also on the barge, ostensibly to help speed its journey but more probably to keep an eye on me. She watched me constantly, having little else to do, when she wasn’t combing her writhing hair. She could not, however, make any objection to my taking a lover. It was what Babaska’s Avatar was supposed to do.

Hap-Canae could hardly have objected either; he’d encouraged me himself. Nonetheless, I felt both guilty and defiant when I took Ranay’s hand and led him to the pavilion they had made on the deck for me.

Why Ranay? Yes, he was handsome enough. Yes, I was beginning to find Hap-Canae’s techniques a little wanting now that I knew more, and to hanker for some variety. But it wasn’t just that. It was the way he looked at me: not as Hap-Canae did, as though I were a doll to be decorated or a child to be chastised, but as a woman.

He smelled fresh, like green growing things. And he played the flute. I remember the music, sweet and melancholy, counterpointed with the lapping of the water and the creak and clop of the oars. At night the stars blazed so brightly it seemed they should crackle.

We lay, Ranay and I, with the canopy drawn back, and watched the constellations. The Wheel, the Leopard. “I love the stars,” he said. “I would like to study them, know their stories and their meanings. They can tell so much; everything is written there, one only needs to learn the language.”

“Why don’t you?” I said.

He gave a sad little smile. “I am to be a temple administrator. It is a post of great prestige, and my family will never want for anything. But I wonder... once the family’s farms would have kept us, but the desert has encroached, and sand covers what were fields in my grandfather’s time.

“I am sorry, this is of no interest to you...”

“Yes, it is. Go on.”

“The livestock breed poorly, there are so many shadowed births; calves born eyeless or without... no, forgive me, this is too ugly a subject.”

I thought of the Seer, with those smooth dents where his eyes should be, and wondered.

Ranay went on, “Only that I have wondered if perhaps the answer lies in the stars. There are many scrolls that I would like to study, too; about the nature of the world, and...” – he gave me a sideways glance, smiling – “and of the Avatars. But they are all locked away. Even the highest priests must seek special dispensation to study them.”

I was guiltily glad. After all, would Ranay love me if he knew I had been merely human? I tried to smile.

“Ah, what is it?” he said. “I am sorry, I have distressed you with my foolishness.”

“No, not at all. How could you be foolish when you are so wise, and study so hard?”

He laughed a little. “Well, I think one must have something to study in order to be wise... perhaps I can become wise in the ways of administering a temple.”

It seemed unfair, that he should be doomed to drudgery. He was one of
my
priests. Surely I could do something? I must have frowned, thinking.

“There, I
have
bored you,” he said. “I shall talk of pleasanter things. Look, There’s your sword,” he pointed up.

The Sword of Babaska, drawn in fire on the black sky.

“I’m only her Avatar,” I said. “I’m not her.”

“You are
my
goddess, I ask no more.”

For some reason that made me want to cry, but that doesn’t come easy to Avatars. I just pulled him close, and breathed in the scent of his hair.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“B
ARRACKS
”
IS A
bit of a misnomer, though they do have sleeping rooms there. It’s a combination of holding cells, armoury, courthouse and training ground, and this close to Twomoon it was in even more than the usual chaos. I made my way through the loud, odorous crowd to the front desk, passing by a rather delicious young officer – tall, blond, human, with unfairly long eyelashes and looking quite edible in his uniform – who was talking to a small, neat man in a highly embroidered waistcoat.

The officer at the front desk nodded at me and went on taking notes, so I waited. I could hear the neat man saying, “I am embarrassed, that I was tricked so easily.”

“Classic bait and switch,” the cute officer said. “Well, we’ll do what we can, Mr Bannerman.”

“Help you?” The desk officer said.

“Got an attack to report.”

“Right, sit down, with you when we can.”

Eventually she called over the blond officer, which was definitely the best thing to happen to me all day. “That was
Bannerman?
” I said.

“You heard that, eh?” He smiled. “What I wouldn’t give for one of his swords... Someone managed to trick him out of some gear. He’s
not
pleased. Now, how can I help?”

Just then a door slammed and the Chief came barrelling out through the crowd, hair flying behind him like a battle-banner, looking ready to rip out throats. He skidded to a halt when he saw me. “Babylon!”

“Hey, Chief. You look like you’ve got something big on, don’t let me stop you.”

“No, no... I just heard... you all right?”

“Me? Yes, yes I’m fine, but Cruel’s hurt.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, straightening up. “Will
she
be all right?”

“Yes. We think so. Laney’s looking after her.”

He jerked his thumb at the young officer. “Roflet, get on to the next one, I’ll take over here.”

Roflet got up, gave me a little bow, and looked at the next person in line. It was an elderly, not very fragrant gent with a small, even less fragrant dog under one arm and an umbrella hanging from the other like a dead vulture. Roflet sighed. “This job’s not as much fun as it used to be,” he said, going off to deal with the old boy.

“Come into my office. And stop corrupting my officers,” the Chief growled.

“Never laid a finger on him,” I said, trying to smile.

He didn’t answer, just stalked off ahead of me to the tiny, bare room he called his office. “So.” He sat down on one of the ancient wooden chairs, gestured me into the other, and eased his shoulders. The Change was getting more obvious: his musculature was thickening, and his stubble was now a silvery beard. It didn’t make him any less attractive. “Tell me,” he said.

I told him. I realised my hands were clenching, by themselves, into fists; I hid them under the table, staring at the stained wood. It looked as ancient as a tomb.

“It wasn’t even a robbery. She was... whoever it was just walked up and slammed her into the wall.”

“Anyone see anything?”

“I asked at the laundry on the Row, but they hadn’t had anyone out front. They’d just had a boiler blow up or something.”

“That may have been what disturbed the attacker. Any of your clients tried to get nasty recently?” he said.

“After what Laney did to the last one?” I shook my head. “Word gets around. I thought we’d be all right, after you put the wind up the Vessels...”

“What?” He blinked.

“The Vessels,” I said. “Didn’t you go and see them?”

“I already told you I had, Babylon, and there’s no evidence...”

“I didn’t mean the
first
time you talked to them. I thought someone had warned them off, recently.”

“Who? And why?”

“I thought it was you. Because they were breaking the law standing around scaring off clients. I told you about that.”

“You did?” He tilted his head. “Oh, yes, you did. I’d just seen a murdered girl. I had other things on my mind than the Vessels, right then.”

“Well that’s the thing. Because they sent some money, and an apology, afterwards. I don’t like them, Chief, I never will, but if they were planning on causing us trouble, why’d they do that? I mean, we’ve caught glimpses of people who
might
be Vessels, about the place, but I haven’t seen any face to face since I ran across them in Buckler Row, coming away from... you know. The girl. I thought they’d decided we were beyond redemption and were trying their luck converting down in King of Stone. You haven’t heard anything?”

“About the dead girl? No, Babylon. I haven’t. I haven’t been able to get anyone who
might
have seen anything to talk, have I?”

I felt a jab of irritation.
I
wasn’t the one who’d scared Glinchen off.

He sighed. “Cruel didn’t see anyone?”

“They came at her from behind. She thought she heard some whispering, that was all.”

“That doesn’t sound like the Vessels, does it? They’re more inclined to the obvious, get it all out in the open where their god can see. We’ll need to talk to her.”

“You’d have to come to the house; I don’t think she should be moved today.”

“Won’t be me. Probably won’t be anyone until after Twomoon. I’ve got about a day to lock this place down before I go off duty.”

“Of course.”

“See any boot prints?”

“Nope. It’s been dry. Bliss said he smelled soap, but, well, you know Bliss. And with the laundry so close... There was some of Cruel’s blood on the ground.” I had to stop and look away for a minute. When I looked back he was glaring at me as though I’d done something wrong. “What?”

His eyes were changing, too. The pupils had elongated, and the irises had taken on a purplish bloom.

“Go on,” he said.

“Well, there might be something there. The only one who got close was Bliss, and he didn’t tread in it. But that’s not much good, is it?”

“Why not?”

“There was plenty of time for more people to walk through the alley before we went to look. And even if it was the culprit, what are you going to do, go through every set of shoes in the city looking for a bloody one?”

“You’re right, it may be useless, but it might not.” He motioned over one of the officers and said, “Send a scraper team to Twodice Row.”

“I’ll try, Chief, but we’re short.”

“Who’s on?”

There was some brisk chatter about duty rosters and trainees, and the Chief scowled. “Whoever you can get – that new trainee seems pretty sharp, just make sure she has someone check her work. Tell her to get there now, before it rains.” He turned back to me. “I suppose I should be pleased you came straight to us, instead of running off after the first person you saw, waving your sword.”

“Now that’s not fair.”

“Isn’t it? You charged into the Vessels’ main temple, you walked into a room where a girl had just been murdered...”

“What is this, Chief?”

“You can’t just go blundering into things, Babylon!”

“Blundering into things? Where would Enthemmerlee be if I hadn’t gone
blundering in?
”

His mouth dropped open. His teeth were getting longer. “You
found
her? When? Where is she?”

“Safe. She’s at the Diplomatic Section.”

“And when were you planning on telling me about this?”

“As soon as I got a chance. It only happened today, for the All’s sake.”

“You found out where she was, and it never occurred to you to come to me?”

“There wasn’t time!”

“Really.”

“Yes,
really.”
We glared at each other. I wanted to hit him. I was pretty sure, from the way his arm-muscles were rippling, that the notion wasn’t far from his mind, either.

He leaned forward, his changing eyes hard on mine. “What else aren’t you telling me?”

“What do you mean?” I felt my hand go to the scar on my jaw before I could stop it. He watched the move like a cat.

“Well?”

“I...” I shut my mouth, hard.

“Right.” He stood up. “I have things to do.”

I stood up, and made for the door. As I opened it, he said, “I can
smell
a dangerous secret. They get people killed.”