Menagerie - Martin Day [58]
The fat man went to reach for some object on the floor but Jamie quickly flicked the sword down at his arm, drawing blood. Jamie noticed little nicks in the man's lower arms —
the hammer coming down, spraying metal —
and glowered at the man. 'This sword is very sharp. Don't try anything stupid.'
The man gulped as the sword returned to his throat. 'I don't — I've never seen you before in my life.'
'I don't believe you,' said the girl. She ran a hand through her badly cropped hair. 'And I'd also like to know who did this to me. Now, you either tell us about your involvement with the Brotherhood of Rexulon, or I let my friend here give your locks a trim, too.'
Jamie moved the sword so that it rested on the fat man's sweating scalp. He was almost blubbering. For all his bulk, thought Jamie, he had a soft heart.
'Please don't tell anyone that I've told you this,'
stammered the man. 'They'll kill me.'
'Have no fears,' said Kaquaan. 'We shall be as silent as a cloudless sky.'
'Swear that you won't —'
'You have the word of a McCrimmon,' said Jamie. 'Tell me what you know.'
'Please understand,' said the man. 'My aims in life are simple. Staying alive is one of them.'
'Your interest in esoteric matters is also well known,' said Kaquaan. 'As is your resentment at working here.' She looked around. 'And seeing this place again I can't blame you for that.'
'Tell us about the Brotherhood of Rexulon,' repeated Jamie.
'I was initiated into the brotherhood months ago,'
whispered the man. 'I hate these infernal machines. That's what the brotherhood is all about, and that's all I'm interested in.'
'When did you first see me?' asked Jamie.
'I was in the chamber. The lady — dear gods, please forgive me — was on the altar. And my job was to . . .' The man's words were drowned by his sobbing. Jamie couldn't tell if Argaabil was scared of them or frightened of the information he had revealed.
'Who leads the brotherhood?' asked Jamie.
The man shook his head. 'I don't know. Please believe me: I really don't know. But a lot of the knights are involved.'
'How many?' asked the girl.
'About a quarter, I think. A few City Guards, too. And . .
.'
'And?'
'I do know that Araboam is involved.'
Jamie nodded. 'I thought he would be. I have a vague memory of following someone through the corridors of the castle. Perhaps it was him.'
'I saw Araboam when Defrabax's homunculus returned to the wizard's house,' remembered Kaquaan. 'He could have drugged me and moved me from my cell. But this still does not tell us where Cosmae is.'
'The brotherhood have their own cells within Castle Kuabris,' offered Argaabil helpfully. 'There are many secret tunnels within the castle.'
Just at that moment Jamie realized that they were not alone in using the shadows of the power plant to conceal furtive activity. A large bipedal figure was shuffling along a wall, half-obscured by the shadows cast by the gantries overhead. Jamie hushed the man, and pointed the figure out to Kaquaan.
From their vantage point they watched an ape-like creature emerge into a better-lit area, sniffing the air nervously. It crouched down, and placed an object on the wall. Satisfied, it bounded back into the shadows and was gone.
Dragging the man behind them, Jamie and Kaquaan ran over to the device. It was a small silver box with a red panel set into its side that flashed numerals. 'It looks like a bomb,'
announced Jamie with an authority that he hoped was well placed.
'A what?'
'It'll explode,' said Jamie simply.
'Good,' smiled the fat man. 'Bring this damned place down, perhaps. I wasn't aware that the brotherhood had this planned, but no matter.'
'I don't think this has anything to do with the brotherhood,' said Jamie. He spotted another ape on one of the overhead walkways. It too was quietly affixing a device into position.
Jamie placed the sword back into his belt and turned to look at Argaabil.