He led me up to the fifth level and to the lift there. I hesitated, holding back even as Tamura pulled the rope that would let the operator below know someone was waiting. I cursed myself for being afraid. Prig's friend, the lift operator, was one of those chasing me, but he would not be operating the lift now. Even if he was, I shouldn't have been so scared. I was still a child in many ways, small in stature and weak. With a Source in my stomach I could have brought the Pit down around me, but I didn't have a Source. I had no choice but to rely on others to get me through the situation I had created. I wasn't sure I could rely on Tamura, but I already had a plan forming.
We rode down the lift in silence. I will admit, I kept my distance from Tamura. It would take little effort for him to push me over the edge and I didn't yet trust him. Part of that distrust was because I didn't yet know him, and part of it was because he was clearly as crazy as a bucket of razor eels.
I could hear the general buzz of the main cavern before the lift even touched down. It was feeding time at the Trough and I felt my stomach rumble at the thought. Tamura started forward straight away, angling to the right. His direction would take us past the Hill and towards another lift.
"Up, then down, then up again," I said and earned an emphatic nod from the old man. I touched his arm lightly, not wanting him to pivot and send me crashing to the ground. I'm not sure my body could have taken another beating. I was already limping and cradling my ribs with every step.
"Wait for me," I said as Tamura glanced at me. "Stop here." I took a deep breath. "I need to see Deko before we go on."
The old man shrugged and collapsed onto his arse, crossing his legs beneath him. For as long as I've known Tamura he's always had the patience of a glacier. I'm more like the weather. I work to my own schedule and wait for no one, carving my own path through the world.
I approached the Hill at a steady limp, knowing full well I was being watched all the way. Deko was at the centre and I would have to pass through the mass of foremen and his captains to get to him. There was no way of telling if any were loyal to Prig. It wouldn't take much for any one of them to stop me if they chose to.
"Run away, little scab," said one of the foremen, standing up from his stone stool and blocking my path.
It's fair to say I was in no mood to be turned away by a peon with no authority. "Get out of my fucking way, scum sniffer," I said. "I'm here to see Deko and he's going to want to hear what I have to say."
The foreman was tall and broad, yet he couldn't meet my icy stare. I think he might have been angry at my lack of respect, but I didn't give him a chance to act upon it. I stepped to the side and continued into the heart of the Hill.
I didn't know it at the time, but I was doing something no scab had ever done before. Deko had made sure the Hill was a place of terror for us scabs. It was home to all those who tormented us; those who could kill us for less than no reason at all. No scab had ever willingly walked into the Hill without an escort. No other fucker was crazy enough to try. I'm amazed they let me get as far as I did.
The foremen let me thread my way through the throng, but they didn't leave me alone. I was pushed more than once and sent stumbling into tables. I'm ashamed to say I cried out in pain a couple of times, but I didn't let that stop me. It was like walking into a pit of hungry snap-backs; wild animals on every side and if just one of them decided to take a bite they would tear me to pieces. Luckily for me, the wild animals let me pass mostly unharmed. It wasn't until the ring of captains surrounding Deko that I was stopped.
Horralain, perhaps the only man in the Pit larger than Hardt, rose from a nearby table. The murderous arsehole was faster than I gave him credit for. Or maybe I was slower. A meaty hand wrapped around my neck and suddenly I was choking, lifted from the ground. The pain in my ribs might have made me scream but for the hand gripping my throat. I think I have Horralain to thank for the croak that sometimes creeps into my voice even now; the damage he did to me never fully healed. I also have Horralain to thank for the reputation I earned down there. Thanks to him, the whole Pit was watching my confrontation with Deko. The other scabs might not know what I said to him, but they knew I survived it.
My vision was going dark when Deko's voice cut through the whooping and braying. "Put her down. Let's see what the little scab has to say this time."
Horralain did not put me down. The bastard fucking dropped me. My legs hit the stone and crumpled underneath me. I might have been embarrassed at that, but I was far too busy sucking down air and coughing it back up. If you've ever had a coughing fit with a cracked rib you might understand why there were fresh tears in my eyes when finally, I got back to my feet to face Deko.
The ruler of the Pit was at the same table as before. His little court, surrounded by his most trusted and feared captains. He had a bowl of gruel in one hand, and a loaf of bread fresher than any I'd seen in the past six months in the other.
"Didn't expect you back so soon," Deko said around a mouthful of food, showering me with crumbs. That said a lot. Us scabs wouldn't dare waste food like that. Even crumbs were valuable. "You haven't got another shiv on you, have you?"
My first few words were raspy and painful, like my throat was full of gravel. Being strangled will do that to you. "You... You said... You needed an Impomancer."
Deko laughed and leaned forward as he dipped his bread in the bowl of gruel. "Not right now," he said.
I held his gaze. "Not ever." My throat was raw but I doubted Deko's rotten sycophants were going to offer me a drink. "Not unless you give me something."
That knocked the smile from his face. The crowd reacted to Deko's mood so quickly I almost thought him an Empath, though I knew better than to believe there was an Empamancy Source down in the Pit. The nearby captains fell silent and Deko placed his food on the table behind him. I look back on that moment and feel the trepidation even now. I was betting everything on his need for someone with the knowledge of creatures summoned from the Other World. Walking a razor thin line with death on either side.
"I don't fucking like ultimatums," Deko said. His dark eyes shone and I wondered if they would be the last thing I ever saw. "Or threats. Or requests."
"It's none of them," I croaked. "It's a bloody fact. Either you protect me from Prig, or I won't be around long enough to help you."
"Overseer cut you loose, huh?" Deko let out a loud laugh.
I nodded. "He didn't like what I had to say."
I was shaking as Deko considered the proposal. Fear, adrenaline, exhaustion, pain; all mixed into one, and I was trembling from the effort of keeping upright. I knew all of Deko's people were watching, knew the shaking made me seem weak. I might have been angry at that, but I was feeling numb inside. It had been a long fucking day.
"Willet," Deko said eventually. "Priggy is one of yours. Tell him this little bitch is off limits." He leaned forward again. "You belong to me now, Eskara Helsene."
I smiled, or at least I tried to. I have learned that it is quite hard to smile with a swollen face. "This is the Pit," I said, already starting to turn. "We all belong to you." I hated myself for saying it, despite the fact that it was true.