‘Everywhere are corpses.’

‘They move with the swell, and through my half closed eyes I canjust clock them, all around me, suspended under the water, above meas I sink and below me too, blobs of brown approaching. And there inthe murk, as the last bubbles of air spew out of me, I can see thecharnel house under the river, the killing fields, those sharp blackrocks an abattoir for ratkind, pile upon pile of cadavers, littleskinless babies and old grey males, fat matron rats and pugnaciousyouth, the fit, the ill, an endless mass of death shifting with thetorrent above.’

‘And I alone stared this holocaust in the face.’

Drowned rats seemed to hover before Saul as he listened. His earspounded as if his lungs fought for air.

King Rat’s voice came back, and the dead tone which had crept intohis descriptions had gone.

‘And I opened my eyes and said, "No."’

‘I kicked suddenly, and left that cataclysm behind. I didn’t haveno air, don’t forget, so my lungs were screaming murder, whipping meone stroke for every heartbeat, and I climbed out of the quiet intothe light, and I could hear the cries through the river above me, andI moved out and away, and finally pushed my face into the air.’

‘I sucked it in like an addict. I was eager.’

‘I turned my Crust and it was still going on, the deaths stillcontinuing, but the spume was a sight lower by now and there was nomore ratkind falling out of the sky. I saw the man with his flutewalk away.’

‘He didn’t see me watch him.’

‘And I decided, as I watched, that he had to die.’

‘I dragged myself out of the river, and laid myself down under astone. The cries of the dying continued for a while, and then theywent out, and the river swept all the evidence away behind it. And Ilay and breathed and swore revenge for my Rat Nation.’

‘The poet called me a Caesar, who lived to swim across. But thatwasn’t my Rubicon. That was my Styx. I should’ve gone. I should be adrowned rat. Maybe I am. I’ve thought of that. Maybe I never made it,and maybe it’s just hate that seeped into my bones that keeps me upand scrapping.’

‘I got some small satisfaction, the first part only, from thebastard sons and daughters of Hamelin. The stupid, stupid fuckerstried to put one over on the Piper and I had the pleasure of watchingthe gurning cunts, who’d clapped as we took our leave, screaming inthe alleys, stuck like glue while their Kinder pranced away to thetune of the flute. And I had the small joy of smiling when the queercove made the mountain split open for those little Godfers, and theyskipped on in. Because those little Dustbins went to bell, and theyhadn’t even died, and they hadn’t even done any wrong, and theirbastard parents knew that.’

‘That was some pleasure, like I say.’

‘But it was that damnable minstrel himself I wanted. He was thereal culprit. He’s the one who has a certain reckoning due.’

Saul shivered at the viciousness of King Rat’s tone, but hestopped himself from remonstrating about the innocence of thechildren.

‘He sucked all the birds out of the sky and taunted me, till Igrew mad in my impotence.’ Loplop was speaking in the same dreamingtone as King Rat. ‘I fled to Bedlam, forgetting myself, thinkingmyself nothing but a madman who thought himself King of Birds. For along time I rotted in the cage, till I remembered and burst awayagain.’

‘Him clear all the scorpion and my lickle pickneys from the palacein Baghdad. Him call me in with him piccolo, and my mind was gone,and him rough me, mash me up, hurt me bad. And all the lickle spidersthem saw.’ Anansi spoke softly.

The three were emasculated, casually stripped of power by thePiper. Saul remembered the contempt, the spitting of the rats in thesewer.

‘That’s why the rats don’t obey you,’ he murmured, looking at KingRat.

‘When Anansi and Loplop were caught, some lived to see themsuffer, saw Loplop lose his mind, saw Anansi tortured. They borewitness to the martyrdom of the monarchs. It was plain for every Jackwith eyes to see.’

‘My rats, my troops, they saw nothing. Every one was taken. Anddrowning leaves no marks, no scars or stripes to illustrateengagement. Word spread to the towns and dews-a-vill around that KingRat had run, left his people to the swollen river. And they dethronedme. Stupid shits! They’ve not got the nous to live without me. It’sanarchy, no control. We should run the Smoke, and instead it’s chaos.And I’ve been without my crown more nor half a thousand years.’

When he heard this, Saul thought of the entreating, pleading ratswho circled him below the pavements. He said nothing.

‘Anansi and Loplop, they still rule, bloodied maybe, bowed andcowed, but they’ve got their kingdom. I want mine.’

‘And if,’ said Saul slowly, ‘you can defeat the Piper, you thinkthe rats will come back to you.’

King Rat was silent.

‘He roams around the world,’ said Loplop flatly. ‘He has not beenhere for a hundred years, since he cast me into the birdcage. I knewhe had returned when I called all my birds to me a night not longago, and they did not come. There is only one thing can make themdeaf to my command: the damnable pipe.’

‘Sometimes the spiders rush away from me like them do another’sbidding. The Badman back in town, fe true, and him want the rattymonbad this time.’

‘None’s ever escaped, you see, sonny, except me,’ said King Rat.‘He let Loplop and Anansi go, after shaming them, letting them clockwho’s the bossman, he reckons. But me, he wanted my hide. I’m the onethat got away. And for seven hundred years he’s been trying to makegood his mistake. And when he found I had a nephew, he came lookingfor you. He’s on the skedge for you now. Anything to squareaccounts.’

Anansi and Loplop looked at each other, looked down at Saul.

‘What is he?’ breathed Saul.

‘Him greed,’ said Anansi.

‘Covetousness,’ said Loplop.

‘He exists to own,’ said King Rat. ‘He has to suck things in tohim, always, which is why he’s so narked at me for having pulled adisappearing trick. He’s the spirit of narcissism. He’s to prove hisworth by guzzling all and sundry in.’

‘Him can charm anything,’ said Anansi.

‘He’s congealed hunger,’ said Loplop. ‘He’s insatiable.’

‘He can choose, see?’ said King Rat. ‘Will I call the rats? Thebirds? The spiders? Dogs? Cats? Fish? Reynards? Minks? Kinder? He canring anyone’s bell, charm anything he fancies. Just choose and heplays the right tune. Owt he chooses, Saul, except nor one thing.’

‘He can’t charm you, Saul.’

‘You’re rat and human, more and less than each. Call the rats andthe person in you is deaf to it. Call to the man and the rat’lltwitch its tail and run. He can’t charm you, Saul. You’re doubletrouble. You’re my deuce, Saul, my trump card. An ace in the hole.You’re his worst nightmare. He can’t play two tunes at once, Saul. Hecan’t charm you.’

‘No, you he just wants to kill.’

No one spoke. Three pairs of unclear eyes transfixed Saul.

‘But no need to panic, sonny. Things are going to change aroundhere,’ King Rat suddenly spat. ‘See, my mates and me are pissed off.We’ve had enough. Loplop owes the Piper for his brain-box that wasTea Leafed off him. Anansi here got tortured, still feels it sore inall his pegs — and in front of his own people. And me… I owe thefucker because he stole my nation and I want it back.’

‘Revenge,’ said Loplop.

‘Revenge,’ said Anansi.

‘Revenge is right,’ said King Rat. ‘Piper-man fucker better steelhimself for some animal magic.’

‘The three of you…’ said Saul. ‘Is that how many there are? Totake him.’

‘There are others,’ said Loplop, ‘but not here, not to do the job.Tibault, King of the Cats, he’s trapped in a nightmare, a story toldby a man called Yoll. Kataris, Queen Bitch, who runs with the dogs,she’s disappeared, no one knows where.’