The barrel of a gun poked through a gap in the barricade, and I heard a whispered “Thank the Goddess,” which isn’t a greeting I’d ever had before. Behind the door locks ground around, bolts scraped across and other sounds of complicated things being disarmed echoed across the gap. It seemed to take a long time. After Dwarf died, and again after the screwdriver incident, I’d made double damned sure that no one could get in unless Lise wanted them in, and was now glad I’d ignored all her protests about it.
Finally the door opened and a wary face peered round, then Allit shot towards me and almost had me off my feet in what I can only describe as the most enthusiastic welcome I’d ever had. Lise behind him was more reserved, but looked just as relieved as she grabbed for my hand and squeezed.
When I managed to untangle Allit from me, he got himself under control and I wondered at the new look to him. Softness knocked from the edges of his young face, and eyes that… He didn’t look like the same boy. He didn’t look like a boy at all.
“I didn’t let them get in,” he said, and then he grinned. “I saw them coming, saw where they were going to attack, so I made sure they couldn’t get through.”
“You did? Hmmph,” Lise said. “I was the one who salted the walkways with traps.” She grinned up at me, happy in her work. “Got the bastards a treat. All your magelets helped too, Rojan – good practice for them, and they did well. But the traps were mine.”
Quillan looked surprised for a second, obviously taking in Lise and Allit’s youth. “You did a good job.”
“Very good,” I added, and Allit rewarded me with that look of hero worship that I remembered from the days when Perak thought the sun shone out of my arse. Goddess be damned, it felt good. “Is everyone all right? Erlat?”
“Cabe?” Quillan asked. “Is he here?”
“Yes, he’s here, came in quite handy – did you know he can bend things just by thinking about it? No? Not quite like Rojan does things, but pretty good all the same. Anyway, we’re all fine – well, a couple of injuries,” Lise said. “Nothing too much. Dendal used the first-aid kit from the pain lab to patch people up. And Erlat’s here – she’s good with that gun. I don’t think she missed once.”
Quillan and the gang leader, Yagin, conferred behind me, then Yagin said, “We need somewhere to fall back, in case. Always have a bolthole, and one you can defend, right? We’re going in, up, but if you like I’ll leave a few of my lads here. First, a regroup and a plan of attack. A little reconnoitre – I’ll send my scouts off, see what they can find, then we’ll decide how to go about dissecting these bastards.”
The thought of which made my back itch – those “lads” were murdering machines. But I didn’t say so. I was only too glad to have someone protecting the lab because I knew, sure as shit stinks, that I wouldn’t be able to persuade Lise, Dendal or Erlat to make a try for the Mishan gate.
“Who else have you got?” I said, and followed Allit in, wanting to make sure with my own eyes that Erlat was all right.
Quite a few, was who else. Yagin’s eyes almost popped out of his head when one of Erlat’s girls wandered past and winked at him. Her seductive dress and elegant make-up were at distinct odds with the gun she had ready in her hand, and the blood splashed all down her front. It wasn’t her blood.
Yagin looked at Lise appraisingly, then back at the dead Storad. “You did that?”
Lise bristled, pulled herself up to her not very tall tallest. “Damned right. Well, OK, some of the others are good with a gun. But I was the one who designed and set the quicklime traps.”
“Quicklime? I like your style. Could do with a girl like you, after.” I saw the look of wicked appreciation spark on his face as he took in her more physical charms, and had to tell myself, Look, she may be your sister, but she’s grown up. And she’s good at being devious and underhand, blowing things and people up. She can handle him.
And she did. “Join the queue, and be prepared to pay a lot for my expertise. Now, what were you planning? I’ve got any amount of things you might want.”
His lips broke into a grin, insolent and waiting, but he didn’t look so threatening then.
A few brief words and I left Lise and her new friends at one of the workbenches. I kept an eye on Yagin, just in case, but he behaved himself; in fact he seemed a bit in awe of Lise, as well he might. They cleared the bench of all the detritus of a genius at work and set up a sort of operational base. Perfect place for it too. In the brief snatches when the snow stopped, we could gaze down from the lab over Trade, could see anyone on the Spine from there up to Clouds and beyond, at least until it disappeared into the lowering haze.