Imager's Challenge (64 page)

Harraf was talking to a mounted officer, who was glaring down at the captain and gesturing. Then, Captain Harraf caught sight of me, said something to the officer, and walked toward me.

I spoke first. “Captain . . . I think I can help stop this before it gets out of hand.”

“How, Master Rhennthyl?”

“We can come up with the Tiempran priests and the taudischef who engineered the explosion. That will give the scripties someone to be angry at besides the taudis-dwellers. It will also prove that the Patrol knows better what’s going on. Besides, the priests are the ones who blew up the Temple.”

“The major there isn’t likely to listen.”

“Let me try, sir.”

“Be my guest.”

Harraf turned and walked back to the major. “You might want to listen to Master Rhennthyl here.”

“About what?” The major kept looking toward the ruins of the Temple and the space along the sidewalk where marines had laid out the bodies of comrades they’d found.

No one had bothered with the bodies of the taudis-dwellers.

“About why it wouldn’t be a good idea to use force on the taudis right now.” I wasn’t going to say more until I got his attention. He was half listening at best.

“We’ll be going in before long. No one does that to us.”

“The taudis-dwellers didn’t do it to you,” I pointed out.

“I don’t care. We’ve lost more than a hundred men . . . and the colonel.”

“Major!” I snapped. “That’s exactly what the Tiemprans want. They’re the ones who blew up the Temple. That’s why it was set up that way. So the conscription teams would blame the taudis-dwellers and then go wild and slaughter hundreds. Now . . . do you want to call off this idiotic assault, or do you want to face a court-martial for playing into the Tiemprans’ hands? It’s your choice. I warned the colonel, but he didn’t care to listen.”

“Who are you?” For the first time, his eyes actually took me in, seeing the grays and the imager’s visor cap, not that different from that of the Civic Patroller’s, in form, but straight gray with the insignia of the Collegium rather than that of L’Excelsis above the bill.

“Rhennthyl D’Image, the Collegium’s liaison to the Civic Patrol, and yes,
I am a master imager. And yes, I have served the Council directly. And no, you really don’t want to send your men into the taudis—not when the Council is aware that the Tiemprans threatened to do what just happened. Do you really want to lose your career? Maybe even be shot?”

Fury fought with common sense within him. I could see that in his eyes and in the hardening of his jaw.

“If it will make you feel better, let this settle over the weekend, and I’ll personally accompany your conscription teams through the taudis on Lundi. Maintain a cordon if you want, but don’t let your men shoot anyone. That’s what the Tiemprans are looking for. And I can guarantee it’s not what the Council wants.” I softened my voice. “And if you’re not happy, you can blame me.”

“You’ll personally accompany my men?”

“Any one team at a time.” I couldn’t do more than one at once, but he might expect the impossible, rather than the merely incredibly difficult.

“I’ll take that promise, imager. I don’t like it. I don’t have to like it.”

“None of us like having men killed. But killing the taudis-dwellers won’t get at those who did it.” I nodded. “Thank you. Now . . . if you’ll excuse me for a moment, I need to deliver the prisoners to Third District station for transport to the main gaol. Those are the Tiempran priests and some others who did it.”

“You have them?”

I gestured toward the far side of the wall. “Back there. That’s why I wasn’t with the captain. I had to get them before they escaped.”

“You did that alone?”

“No. I had some local help. They don’t want to be blamed for something they didn’t do.” I smiled politely and turned to Harraf. “I’ve got five prisoners. If you could have some of the patrollers meet us at the wall just west of Dugalle . . . ?”

“We can manage that, Master Rhennthyl.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you and them there shortly.”

Then I turned and half walked, half trotted back to where I’d left Horazt and the others. When he saw me returning, he offered an inquisitive look.

“The marines were about to attack. They won’t. They’ll probably cordon the taudis for the weekend, but they say they won’t shoot. Don’t tempt them. On Lundi, they’ll start through the taudis, but I’ll be with the lead team. That should keep them from getting out of hand.” I hoped it would.

Horazt frowned. I was getting tired of that.

“Everyone faces a scriptie team,” I said, more sharply than I should have.
“They came to my door growing up. More than once. I’m trying to keep people from getting shot and burned out.”

“Like I said . . .”

“I know. I don’t offer much. It’s a lot better than the alternative. Now . . . I said we’d deliver the priests and Saelyhd and Donmass to the wall on the north side of Dugalle. We get them there, and then you leave. I really don’t think you want to be that close to Captain Harraf. I can hold them for a while.”

“Imaging stuff?” asked Harraf.

I nodded. I was getting more than a little tired, but I could handle that.

“You heard Master Rhennthyl. March ’em up to the wall.”

Where we were headed was less than half a block away, if a long half block. That walk felt longer than all the others I’d made since I’d risen that morning, including the four-mille run after exercising.

When we reached the wall, I took a careful look around. No one was close, but I could see a group of patrollers gathering on the far side of South Middle, if more to the west.

“Master Rhennthyl?”

I turned.

Horazt stood there. The five prisoners had been seated against the wall, their feet roped together. Saelyhd glared at Horazt, then at me.

Horazt smiled at the other taudischef, then said to me, “We got some extra rope. We tied ’em together some. Make it a bit easier on the trolies that have to collect ’em. Might watch Donmass . . . nasty boar’s ass.”

“I appreciate it.” Then I lowered my voice. “I owe you. But I don’t carry that many golds around with me.”

“Told you before. You’re good for it.” He offered a crooked smile. “Not like I could spend it this weekend.”

“One other thing,” I said. “Do you know if Chelya’s all right? Shault will ask me.”

“She wasn’t near the Temple. I saw her before you came. She’s fine. You can tell him that.”

“He’ll ask about you, too, but I could answer that.”

That brought the trace of a smile. Then he nodded, and he and the others hurried away.

I kept a close eye on the prisoners. The Tiemprans wouldn’t look at me, and Saelyhd kept squirming and glaring. Donmass wasn’t saying anything, and I wondered why, until I saw that someone had stuffed a gag in his mouth.

Captain Harraf arrived in less than half a quint, accompanied by Slausyl,
Melyor, Lyonyt, Fuast, and the two tall patrollers I didn’t know. He looked over the three in the rather dusty Tiempran robes, and then Saelyhd and Donmass.

He didn’t even ask any questions. He just nodded. “Take them in.” Then he inclined his head to me. “We need to talk.” He shook his head. “We lost one—Shagnyr—and a couple more got banged up. It could have been worse.”

I understood that was as much of an acknowledgment or thanks as I was about to get. That was fine.

We turned back down South Middle, ahead of the patrollers. From some of the sounds behind us, I could tell that they hadn’t been too gentle in getting the five to their feet, but I couldn’t say that I blamed them.

“Did you make any promises to get them?” Harraf asked.

“Just one . . . the same one I made to the major. I said I’d be with the scriptie team and try to keep everyone calm.” Paying Horazt wasn’t a promise.

“Nothing . . . else . . . ?”

“No, sir. I did suggest that no one tempt the scripties this weekend.”

“Do I want to know how you did it?”

“Imaging and appealing to their self-preservation, sir. I also used some imaging to persuade them to leave their hiding place.”

He nodded, but he didn’t say more, and he didn’t look at me all the way back to the station.

By the time I wrote up the reports and the preliminary charging slips and made sure that the five were on their way to the main gaol under heavy guard, it was almost second glass of the afternoon. I knocked on the captain’s door. “I’ll need to report on this to the Collegium, immediately, sir.”

“You’ve finished all the reports, Master Rhennthyl?”

“Yes, sir, and the transfer wagon left about a quint ago.”

“Then I’d say you’d best report. You’ll be here early on Lundi?”

The last wasn’t really a question. “Yes, sir. Very early.”

“Good. We don’t need to disappoint the major. Try to have a good weekend.”

Although his voice was cheerful, the cheer was forced. I had the feeling that I’d upset the captain in some other fashion, and I’d have to be careful in the days ahead. “Thank you, sir.” I nodded and smiled, then turned and headed out to find a hack.

Again, because South Middle was closed to coaches and wagons, I had to walk all the way to the Midroad. My feet hurt, and my stomach was growling, and I was light-headed. Once I did get a hack, it was a relief to sit down, even on the hard seat.

Much as I didn’t look forward to it, once I left the hack and walked tiredly, very tiredly, across the Bridge of Hopes, I headed straight for Master Dichartyn’s study. He wasn’t there. So I went to the duty prime, who happened to be Jakhob.

“Master Dichartyn’s not in his study.”

“No, sir.”

“Is he here at the Collegium?”

The prime squirmed.

“Don’t tell me. He’s with Master Poincaryt.”

“Ah . . .”

“Yes or no?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Thank you.” I turned and walked to the back of the receiving hall and up the stone steps. My boots echoed in the silence.

Master Poincaryt’s study was on the second level of the administration building in the southwest corner overlooking the quadrangle. I’d never been in his study, but I did know where it was. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see Gherard sitting at the small desk outside the door . . . but I was.

“I assume that Master Dichartyn and Maitre Poincaryt are inside and not to be disturbed?”

“They didn’t say that, sir. Not exactly.”

“Good. Please tell them that the Tiempran priests exploded their Temple in the taudis late this morning, and I need to tell them what happened.”

Gherard had been around. He didn’t question me. He immediately rose and walked to the closed door, where he rapped. “Master Rhennthyl is here with some very urgent news, maitres.”

I didn’t hear the response, but Gherard opened the door and stepped back, nodding for me to enter.

“Thank you,” I murmured as I passed.

He offered a faint smile in return.

I closed the door behind me. Windows dominated the south and west walls of the study. Maitre Poincaryt’s desk was set at an angle to them so that the southwest corner of the room was directly behind his desk chair. The walls flanking the entry door were built-in bookcases running from floor to ceiling. In the middle of the north wall was a door, closed, which probably led to a conference room, and the wall on both sides of that door also held full-length bookcases. The bookcases and the paneling were all of the same dark wood, as were the desk and the two chairs before it and the one in which Maitre Poincaryt sat, behind the desk. Master Dichartyn sat in the chair opposite the front south corner of the desk.

Master Poincaryt appraised me in that way he had that seemed quick and casual and was not, then gestured to the empty chair opposite him and out from the other corner of the desk from where Master Dichartyn sat.

“Thank you, sir.” I was happy to get off my feet.

“What disaster have you caused now, Rhenn?” asked Maitre Poincaryt, his tone genial.

“I had nothing to do with causing this one, sir. The Tiempran priests exploded their Temple in the South Middle taudis. They’d gathered some of their followers, and the people were chanting . . .” I went on to explain exactly what had happened step by step. The only thing I left out was my promise to pay Horazt five golds. “. . . and as soon as I finished writing up the reports and making sure the priests and the taudischef were on the way to the main gaol, I hailed a hack and came here.”