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He felt puckish. He winked at her.
She was astonished. She was scandalized. Then, for an instant, a smile threatened to crack the dried mud of her face. Then she became more the basilisk than ever. "Now what the hell?" Medjhah grumbled.
A dozen Dartar horsemen were hastening down the hill, speaking to the men at each entrance of the maze. Each pause caused an immediate stir. Yoseh guessed,
"Fa'tad is calling us in for some reason." Soon he was proven right. A man told them to call everybody out of the labyrinth and get ready to move out.
"I'll go get them," Medjhah said. He had grown bored watching the animals and the traffic in Char Street. "Give her a good-bye kiss for me, too." He laughed as he went into the alley.
Yoseh began checking and tightening the animals' tack. At least they did nothave prisoners to worry them, like some of the other groups.
They had become part of the scenery quickly and the curious crowds hadthi
Yoseh glanced down the street, The girl was watching and the crone wasglaring. The three ships were out of sight.
Medjhah was taking a long time. Should he go see? No. These veydeen wouldsteal the animals, or scatter them at the least, just for mea
He realized he was alone in a street with hundreds who hated him. He drew himself up and tried to look older and tougher and a lot more fearless than hefelt.
He was worried.
Then he heard Nogah cursing Joab and Fa'tad, the veydeen and ferrenghi, Cadoand the gods, and anyone else who occurred to him. Yoseh felt betterimmediately.
A couple of disgusting, frightened veydeen stumbled out ahead of Yoseh'sbrothers and cousins. Their hands were bound behind them. One tried to run.
Somebody stuck a spear between his legs. He pitched forward. Nogah jumped onhim and kicked him viciously three or four times. Yoseh was astonished andappalled.
Then he noticed the cut and stain on Nogah's left sleeve. Blood did not showwell against the black, so the wound had not been obvious. Which was why theyall wore black.
Nogah growled, "Are the animals ready?"
"Yes. Is that bad?"
"No. But it hurts like hell." He yelled at the others, telling them to get theprisoners coffled up and get themselves mounted.
"It's still bleeding some, Nogah."
"That'll keep it clean."
"You want me to look at it?"
"Here? In the damned street?"
"Oh." Of course. Not in front of the veydeen.
"Thanks anyway, kid. The ache will remind me that even things that live underrocks can hurt you if you aren't careful."
Yoseh glanced at the prisoners. They did have a texture that reminded him ofgrubs.
It was not long before Joab came up the hill, the column re-forming behindhim. As Yoseh turned his camel into line some impulse caused him to wave tothe girl in the doorway. Though not blatantly. No.
For a wonder the crone wasn't looking.
For a double wonder the girl returned his wave shyly. Then she fled into thedarkness inside her home.
He did not wake up till they reached the compound and everyone started tellinghim he had to get changed into his best apparel. A new civil governor wasarriving from Herod and everyone had to turn out for the welcoming parade.
He was still bemused when they formed up on the plazas of the acropolis, fivethousand men in black, perfectly motionless on their mounts. Opposite them, across an aisle a hundred feet wide, were the Herodian infantry in their whiteand red, only their officers mounted, twelve thousand strong.
With this driblet in the tide Herod held Qushmarrah. Yoseh thought it a vainand foolish thing to parade the weakness of the occupying forces.
The new governor was a long time coming. When he did, Yoseh was not impressed, despite the Moretian guards before and behind, the chariots, the gaudytrappings and people. No one else was impressed, either. The governor was amorbidly fat man on a litter. He did not look like he would be able to get upwithout help. There were snickers and titters till Fa'tad turned his scowlupon the formation.
The Herodians had the same problem.
The Qushmarrahan youths who were perched on the monuments and rooftops behindthe formations had no superiors to silence them. They were loud with theirmockery and abuse.
Yoseh was almost embarrassed for the fat man. Sullo? Sullo, yes.
General Cado and his staff emerged from Government House, clad in spartancontrast to the new governor's opulence. More show for the veydeen? Of course.
Yoseh was in a good position to observe, thirty yards from Fa'tad and only inthe second rank. Sullo's Moretians spread out. The governor reached the footof the Government House steps a moment before General Gado did so. Yes, ittook the help of two men to set Sullo upright The veydeen hooligans howled.
General Cado stepped down and threw his arms around Sullo. Sullo reciprocated.
They embraced like brothers who had been separated for years.
If Yoseh understood the way Herodians operated, that meant a hatred betweenthem deeper than the pits of Khorglot. There were ghost knives in their back- thumping hands.
Yoseh's eyes bugged. "Nogah."
Nogah ignored him.
"Nogah!"
"Quiet in ranks," Nogah hissed. Medjhah scowled at him.
"All right. But you'll regret it."
Nogah looked over his shoulder, eyes baleful. Yoseh ignored him, kept his gazefixed on the man he had picked out of General Cado's bodyguard.
Zouki was so bored he forgot to be scared. Till the big man came. Then all thekids got quiet and shaky. Some started to whimper. One of the girls skitteredinto the foliage to hide with the rock apes.
The big man came in and scooped up a boy who went into hysterics immediately.
The giant went out and locked the door to the cage. Zouki stared at the bone- white nuts of his fists while the boy's screams faded and knew he'd never seethat kid again.
Raheb said nothing as Aaron came to the house. She just nodded and began theslow, painful chore of getting herself upright. Aaron did not offer to help.
Any effort to help would be spurned.
The woman believed she was a curse and a burden upon her daughter's house andshe was not going to accept any help of any kind that was not absolutelyforced upon her. Aaron accepted that.
His feelings toward Raheb were mixed. Always there were eddies andcrosscurrents and dangerous undertows when the mother of the wife lived in thehousehold of the wife. Still, he could have done worse for a mother-in-law. Heknew men who got more grief with their wives' mothers living all the wayacross town.
Arif spied him first. "Daddy's home!" He charged, a flurry of clumsy limbs.
Aaron caught him and lifted him up and squeezed him. Stafa roared in at kneelevel and wrapped both arms and legs around his shin and gri
Laella's question was in her eyes. She was always troubled when he arrivedhome off schedule. "They dismissed us early. Because of the new governorcoming in. Only have to work a half day tomorrow. They expect the wholeHerodian colony to have to assemble for speeches by General Cado and the newgovernor. His name is Sullo, I think."
"Why do they waste the time?" Raheb wanted to know.
"What?"
"Somebody's just going to kill him. They always do."
Startled, Aaron realized she was right. Eight civil governors in six years.
They killed them off within a few months every time. Qushmarrah spent moretime awaiting the arrival of new civil governors than she did being ruled by them.
He shrugged. That was a trouble for the Herodians. He squeezed Arif. The boysquealed. Aaron took a few steps. Stafa clung to his leg and giggled andproclaimed, "We've got you now, long-legged demon!"
"Decorum!" Aaron laughed. "What we need around this house is a little decorumand discipline."