10
CHAD-NEZZAR stayed a further three days, at which point he declared that he was utterly bored and pined for the pleasures of his court at Setkoth. At noon the next day, he embarked in a flurry of trumpets and regal waves of his hand.
Leaving behind five hundred of his men – and Boaz.
Ta’uz and Yaqob, for different reasons, were equally furious. Whatever rift there was among the Magi, Ta’uz and Boaz represented different sides of it, perhaps even led the different sides. To have the two of them on site made life intolerable for everyone. Ta’uz remained Master of Site, nominally the senior Magus in a caste where there was, apparently, little in the way of ranking, but daily Boaz’s presence undermined his authority.
We learned much from the careless gossip of guards which was overheard and spread about by slaves. Boaz was not only a forceful and powerful Magus, he was also favoured nephew of Chad-Nezzar and younger brother of the heir to the throne, Prince Zabrze. Despite what many Magi may have wished, Chad-Nezzar still remained in ultimate control of the realm and Zabrze in ultimate control of the armed forces. Neither Magi nor guards wanted to alienate Boaz or, through him, Chad-Nezzar and Zabrze, and all sensed the shift in authority on site.
Yaqob was furious because he could see all of his carefully laid plans crumbling about him.
“We must move…soon!” he said, and stared about the room, daring any to contradict him.
Yaqob could no longer come across the rooftops at night – one of Boaz’s first actions had been to instigate irregular but frequent patrols – so now, dangerously, we were grouped in the upper room of Isphet’s workshop. Orteas, Zeldon and me, simply because this was our work space and we refused to be dislodged; Yaqob; Isphet; Raguel; Yassar; two or three men from other workshops; and a big, brawny fellow called Ishkur, one of the prime gang leaders among the labourers.
“If we wait any longer then I am afraid this…this Boaz,” and the word was a curse the way Yaqob mouthed it, “will seize complete control from Ta’uz.”
“The man would be an effective Master of the Site,” Ishkur remarked.
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” Yaqob said. “Ta’uz…well, Ta’uz is worse than the slime the river frogs feed on, but at least he is predictable and does not concern himself overmuch with security. Damn! Everything we’ve planned has been based on the presumption that Ta’uz would continue as Master of the Site. Raguel? What news?”
“Not much, Yaqob. Since Boaz has been here I have hardly been called to Ta’uz’s quarters. When I do go, he is distracted, but not only by Boaz. He also worries about Threshold. I think…”
“Yes?” Yaqob asked impatiently as Raguel drifted into silence.
“I think that is partly the reason Boaz has stayed. He is concerned about progress, but he is also concerned about Ta’uz.”
“Why do you say that, Raguel?” Isphet and I had told of the extraordinary scene within the Infinity Chamber, but any extra information Yaqob could get from Raguel might prove the key to understanding, and then destroying, Boaz.
“It was two nights ago. Ta’uz had finished with me, and I was standing behind the bed, dressing, when Boaz entered the apartment. There was only one lamp burning, I was deep in shade, and Boaz did not immediately see me. Ta’uz was furious at Boaz’s entry; the Magus had not knocked, nor even wasted any time on polite pleasantries.”
Raguel shivered as she remembered. “How they avoided striking each other I do not know, for the hatred lies deep between them. They began by arguing over some administrative detail that Boaz thought had been overlooked – I think Boaz had come straight from questioning one of the clerks. Then Ta’uz threw a pile of papyri to the floor, completely enraged, and shouted that administrative details were the last thing on his mind when Threshold…He stopped suddenly, and Boaz asked him what he meant. Ta’uz told him of the death of the slave, and then stood and looked at Boaz.
“Boaz was silent for some time, then said that the death of a slave was an inconsequential thing on a work site of this size. Ta’uz stared at him, saying that both of them knew better.”
“What did he mean by that?” Isphet asked.
Raguel spread her hands helplessly. “I do not know, I’m sorry. By this time I had crept as far back into the shadows as I could. I was terrified that if Boaz saw me…even Ta’uz had forgotten me…and I thought…”
She shook herself and continued. “Boaz tried to change the subject, intimating that Ta’uz was frightened of shadows, but then Ta’uz said, ‘The next time it will be three, Boaz, and then five, seven, eleven. We both know what those numbers mean.’ He said,” and Raguel’s voice broke a little here, “he said that Threshold had fed. And, that having once fed, would have to continue to feed.
“Boaz was shocked into silence, but then opened his mouth as if to say something. Ta’uz stopped him, and said that Threshold should never have been built. He said that the formula was too dangerous and far too unpredictable. Then…then I think a breeze came in through the open window and shifted the drapery about the bed, and the next thing I knew Boaz was staring at me, then shouting for me to leave.”
“And Ta’uz?” Isphet asked.
“Ta’uz hadn’t even looked at me. He was staring out the window at Threshold. He said, as I fled the room, ‘By the One, it’s seen us!’”
There was silence for a while.
“We move, and soon,” Yaqob eventually said.
Ishkur looked up from his hands; they were spade-like, and deeply callused. “We are not ready.”
Yaqob took a deep breath, not liking to be contradicted. “We have thousands willing now. What if Boaz seizes control and asks his uncle to send a few more of his gilded spear holders? We have a chance at overwhelming the guards and soldiers here now, but not if any more reinforcements arrive.”
“Weapons?” Isphet asked. “Without them…”
“Several of the metalworking shops have been making and secreting blades for months. But we need more – especially with the imperial soldiers that Chad-Nezzar left here. With luck we will be able to steal some from the guards – we know where they have several of their weapon caches.”
“But if we steal from them, they’ll know a revolt is planned,” I said, worried for Yaqob.
He touched my cheek. “Don’t worry. We won’t go near the caches until we plan to move. Ishkur?”
“If we have men grouped near the caches when we give the signal for the uprising,” Ishkur said, “then they can break in and seize the weapons before the guards realise what’s happening. Then we might have a chance. Might.”
It sounded like a chance that rested on hope more than surety. Might, might, might.
“Ishkur, we rely on the labourers for most of our fighters,” Isphet said. “You command their loyalty and respect. Will they fight?”
“Yes,” he said. “Yes. They trust me where they might not trust Yaqob.”
Yaqob stirred, and Ishkur hurried on. “Yaqob, you live here as one of the elite glassworkers. You rarely have occasion to move among the labourers. But they will listen to me. Trust me.”
“I understand, Ishkur,” Yaqob said. “Look, I know that I’ve been pushing for an uprising, and I realise that some of you here feel it may be premature. We had thought to prepare for several more months yet. But,” he looked about the room, “we do have an alternative to launching a premature uprising before Boaz convinces the Chad or his brother to move more imperial soldiers here.”
“Yes?” several people said at once.
“We can kill Boaz,” Yaqob said.
Everyone stared at him, and my lips parted in a slow smile. Kill Boaz. Yes. There was nothing I would like more. My smile widened for Yaqob, and he saw it and grinned back.
“Boaz has disturbed all our plans. If he’s gone, then we are left with Ta’uz. Nasty, but predictable, and a known quantity. And we have Raguel, who has some contact with him and, as we’ve all heard, can provide interesting information. Information,” he paused, “that will mean we can kill Boaz without fear of reprisal.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I think we should arrange for an accident on site,” he said. “We know that Ta’uz, at least, is expecting one. Three will die, he thinks. Well, let’s give him an accident. Boaz and two of the other Magi – not Ta’uz. Ta’uz will suspect Threshold, not us. Well?”
Ishkur’s eyes gleamed, and I could see that he also liked the idea. “What do you have in mind, Yaqob?”
“Ishkur, is it your men who work atop Threshold, preparing the peak for the capstone?”
Ishkur nodded.
Yaqob’s face and eyes were very cold. “I hear some of the glass up there is very unstable, Ishkur. It could cause a dreadful accident were it to fall.”