Nightside the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe Page A

so that I can bring you the forgiveness of Pas from the well of bottomless mercy.”
    â€œI may have to break into a house tonight, Auk. I hope that I won’t have to; but if the owner won’t see me, or won’t do what a certain god—the Outsider, Auk, you may know of him—wishes him to do, then I’ll try to compel him.”
    â€œWhose—”
    â€œIf he sees me alone, I intend to threaten his life unless he does as the god requires. But to be honest, I doubt that he’ll see me at all.”
    â€œWho is this, Patera? Who’re you going to threaten?”
    â€œAre you looking at me, Auk? You’re not supposed to.”
    â€œAll right, now I’m looking away. Who is this, Patera? Whose house is it?”
    â€œThere’s no need for me to tell you that, Auk. Forgive me my intent, please.”
    â€œI’m afraid I can’t, my son,” Auk said, getting into the spirit of his role. “I got to know who this is, and why you’re going to do it. Maybe you won’t be running as big of a risk as you think you are, see? I’m the one that has to judge that, ain’t I?”
    â€œYes,” Silk admitted.
    â€œAnd I see why you looked for me, ’cause I can do it better than anybody. Only I got to know, ’cause if this’s just some candy, I got to tell you to go to a real augur after you scrape out, and forget about me. There’s houses and then there’s Houses. So who is it and where is it, Patera?”
    â€œHis name is Blood,” Silk said, and felt Auk’s hand tighten on his shoulder. “I assume that he lives somewhere on the Palatine. He has a private floater, at any rate, and employs a driver for it.”
    Auk grunted.
    â€œI think that he must be dangerous,” Silk continued. “I sense it.”
    â€œYou win, Patera. I got to shrive you. Only you got to tell me all about it, too. I need to know what’s going on here.”
    â€œThe Ayuntamiento has sold this man our manteion.”
    Silk heard Auk’s exhalation.
    â€œIt was bringing in practically nothing, you realize. The income from the manteion is supposed to balance the loss from the palaestra; tutorage doesn’t cover our costs, and most of the parents are behind anyway. Ideally there should be enough left over for Juzgado’s taxes, but our Window’s been empty now for a very long while.”
    â€œMust be others doing better,” Auk suggested.
    â€œYes. Considerably better in some cases, though it’s been many years since a god has visited any Window in the city.”
    â€œThen they—the augurs there—could give you a little something, Patera.”
    Silk nodded, remembering his mendicant expeditions to those solvent manteions. “They have indeed helped at times, Auk. I’m afraid that the Chapter has decided to put an end to that. It’s turned our manteion over to the Juzgado in lieu of our unpaid taxes, and the Ayuntamiento has sold the property to this man Blood. That’s how things appear, at least.”
    â€œWe all got to pay the counterman come shadeup,” Auk muttered diplomatically.
    â€œThe people need us, Auk. The whole quarter does. I was hoping that if you—never mind. I intend to steal our manteion back tonight, if I can, and you must shrive me for that.”
    The seated man was silent for a moment. At length he said, “The city keeps records on houses and so on, Patera. You go to the Juzgado and slip one of those clerks a little something, and they call up the lot number on their glass. I’ve done it. The monitor gives you the name of the buyer, or anyhow whoever’s fronting for him.”
    â€œSo that I could verify the sale, you mean.”
    â€œThat’s it, Patera. Make sure you’re right about all this before you get yourself killed.”
    Silk felt an uncontrollable flood of relief. “I’ll do as you suggest, provided that the