When we reached the Vertical Sea, it was filled with wights: wights dressed in workers' clothes, wights trundling wheelbarrows from one level to another, wights whose eyes blazed with utter fury at the indignity of this pretense.

I didn't want to think about what had happened to the real workers; but I wondered if the fish had fed better than usual over the past few days.

From the vantage of the same tenement roof I'd used before, we crouched behind the chicken coops and watched the undead stalk about their business. For the most part, they stayed at least three floors above the ground, where their fiery eyes would be unlikely to attract the attention of passers-by. Lower down, the workers were all Rivi's hired goons, dealing directly with the delivery carts that came to pick up their supplies of seafood. Lanterns hung at regular intervals throughout the structure, on the stairs, on the ramps, and on the catwalks over the fish-tanks… enough light for the tower to be seen thirty blocks away, and to steal the night vision from anyone who might look in our direction.

While it was impossible to scan the whole twenty-storey structure, by the end of an hour I had seen no familiar faces: no Kiripao, no githzerai, and definitely no Rivi. We'd just have to cool our heels until they showed up.

«So, honored Cavendish,» Wheezle murmured, «what is our strategy now?»

«Wait for your enemies,» Irene replied calmly, «then strike from stealth, and claim your plunder.»

«Hey,» said Hezekiah, «look who's a real orc after all.»

I patted Irene's hand fondly. «It's a good plan. If we see Rivi show up with the grinders and Unveiler, we teleport over and run a rapier through her gizzard. Then we grab the trinkets and teleport away again.»

«Doesn't sound very heroic,» Hezekiah grumbled.

«Neither does letting Rivi take over the city.»

«But couldn't we just jump in front of her and give her the chance to surrender?»

«You mean give her the chance to poach our brains,» I corrected him. «We can't afford to be charitable, boy.»

Hezekiah didn't answer, but I could see he wasn't happy with stabbing people in the back. I would have liked to have a different option myself; but the stakes were too high to take chances. Maybe – maybe – if I had a clear shot and no risk of missing, I would club-punch Rivi with the butt of my sword rather than slicing through her liver. If I knocked her out, we could take her prisoner without killing her… but if the first blow didn't put her down, I'd use my blade as a follow-up, and sod how much blood I spilled.

Time passed. Somewhere far in the distance, the Stern Bells near Sigil's prison chimed antipeak: midnight. Five hundred years ago, a Mercykiller sorceress named Justice-by-Fist had enchanted the bells so they could be heard all over Sigil – not making them louder, but simply making the sound carry all around the circle of the city. True Sigilians could tell where they were in town, just by the lag between the clockwise and counter-clockwise passage of the ringing.

«Do you think anyone's going to show up tonight?» Hezekiah asked. «It's pretty late.»

The boy was munching a not-quite-ripe peach Wheezle had procured from a greengrocer in a short trip down to ground level. Considering that all our pocket money had vaporized in the Arching Flame, I don't know how Wheezle paid for the fruit… but a gnome illusionist has resources even when he has no resources, if you know what I mean.

Wheezle, his face the soul of innocence, finished a mouthful of his own peach and answered the boy's question. «The people we seek are more likely to work by night than day, honored Clueless. We should not give up hope simply because the hour is late.»

«Before we start getting sleepy,» I said, «we should set up a watch schedule – take turns napping. It won't be comfortable bedding down up here…»

«I shall make it comfortable for you,» Irene announced.

Hezekiah winced. Wheezle had more self-control, but his face paled. «Honored lady, perhaps we should discuss certain… misunderstandings between us.»

«In an arranged marriage,» Irene replied, «there are always adjustments to be made.» She had dribbled peach juice down the front of her wedding dress, but took no notice of it. «It simply requires the husbands and wife to meet each other halfway. Now,» she continued, smoothing her gown demurely, «do you want to decide which of you shall be first, or would you prefer that I choose?»

«First for what?» Hezekiah asked uneasily.

«Sounds like the boy needs the most education,» I leapt in. «Start with him.»

«Yes, yes,» Wheezle agreed. «He is clearly in need of your guidance, honored lady. Your lengthy guidance. Spend several months if you have to. Years. We others can wait.»

«What are you talking about?» Hezekiah demanded. «Because it almost sounds like we're discussing, umm… wedding nights…»

«We are,» Irene answered serenely. «Shall we withdraw behind the chicken coops, your majesty?»

Hezekiah's eyes threatened to skitter out of his skull and go dancing about the rooftop. He spun away wildly, possibly summoning his energy to teleport all the way back to the safety of Uncle Toby's parlor; but the insufferable luck of the Clueless saved him.

«Look!» he cried, pointing a wobbly finger across the street. «There's Qi… Chi… one of the gith guys!»

Hezekiah was right. The githzerai thief – let's call him Chi, though I never found out which he really was – had reached a point several storeys below us, climbing one of the Sea's corkscrew stairways. The other thugs gave him plenty of space to move up the steps; even the wights stood clear to let him pass. The look on his face showed they were wise to do so: his expression was gauntly savage, a hailstorm ready to break. I wondered if he'd worn that grimace ever since I killed his partner in Plague-Mort, or if his ferocity had a more recent cause.

Not that it mattered. The only important thing was to capture the berk and make him tell us which stone Rivi was hiding under. We'd just teleport across, hold a knife to Chi's throat, and take him somewhere for interrogation.

«Okay, Hezekiah,» I whispered, «we keep this simple. Wait till he's a good distance from anyone else, then take us right in behind him.»

The boy looked like he was going to object, but I stared him down. In silence, we watched the githzerai glower his way upward… heading for the portal to the Glass Spider, I realized. One level below the portal, he would have to climb a ramp that crossed above a tank of squid – or calamari, if you prefer – and at present the area was clear of wights. «There,» I said to Hezekiah. «That ramp. Ready?»

He nodded. I got a good grip on the boy's arm, and Wheezle grabbed hold of his belt. «We'll be back soon,» I assured Irene… who waited till the last moment, then laid her hand on Hezekiah's shoulder before I could stop her.

Together all four of us materialized on the ramp – a dozen paces in front of the githzerai.

«Sod it all,» I snarled, then charged toward the thief, my rapier glinting in the lantern light.

«Surrender!» Hezekiah shouted to Chi. «You're outnumbered so just…»

The githzerai whipped out a firewand.

«…surrender…» Hezekiah finished lamely.

«It appears we have a standoff,» Chi said.

I stood, sword ready, three paces away from him, while the others loomed behind my back. He held the firewand casually, but I didn't doubt he could trigger it in a split-second if any of us moved a hair.

«We wouldn't have a standoff,» I answered through clenched teeth, «if someone had landed us behind you.»

«I didn't want you to kill him,» Hezekiah pouted.