"What then?"
"As a thief, I acquired much wisdom. I know that the world is dying,
and the air is boiling out of it into the sky. I wish to be heard by
the council. We must study the words of the ancients and perform their
magic, lest our children's children be born to strangle in a dead
world."
Welkir snorted again. He picked up the lamp. "He who listens to a
thief's wisdom is cursed. He who acts upon it is doubly cursed and a
party to the crime."
"The vaults," Asir insisted. "The key to the Blaze of the Winds is in
the vaults. The god Roggins tells us in the words--"
"Stop! I will not hear!"
"Very well, but the blaze can be rekindled, and the air renewed. The
vaults--" He stammered and shook his head. "The council must hear me."
"The council will hear nothing, and you shall be gone before dawn. And
the vaults are guarded by the sleeper called Big Joe. To enter is to
die. Now go away."
* * * * *
Welkir stepped back and slammed the door. Asir sagged in defeat. He
sank down on the doorstep to rest a moment. The night was black, except
for lamp-flickers from an occasional window.
"Ssssst!"
A sound from the shadows. He looked around quickly, searching for the
source.
"Ssssst! Asir!"
It was the girl Mara, Welkir's daughter. She had slipped out the back
of the house and was peering at him around the corner. He arose quietly
and went to her.
"What did Slubil do to you?" she whispered.