The Canticle of Whispers Read Free

believed that her quarry was here, she would be back with a whole squad next time. True, the receivers themselves were only doing their job, but they reported to the Director.
    And if the Director caught him, Mark wouldn’t even have the right to a fair trial, because as far as the law was concerned, he didn’t exist.
    â€œWell, I think that is all of the current patients,” Theo said, soothingly. “Of course, if you wish to wait until this evening, I’m sure there will be a crowd. It looks like rain, and my assistant Benedicta is planning on an excellent stew. There might even be recognizable meat in it this time, if you’d care to join us…”
    â€œThat will not be necessary,” Poleyn said, brushing down her lapels with a look of disgust. “I am satisfied for the moment that the fugitives are not here, but you shall, of course, be receiving regular visits.” Poleyn put down the rag and drew herself upright. Though Theo was almost a foot taller than her, Poleyn seemed to look down on him. “I know what you are doing here, Doctor. How you offer shelter to the debtors and criminals. In happier times, I might have approved. But now…” Poleyn looked troubled, and turned away. “The Day of Judgment approaches, and we must all choose our sides…”
    Despite the tension, Mark saw Theo reach out to her.
    â€œInspector,” the doctor said, gently, “is something distressing you?”
    â€œThat is none of your concern,” Poleyn muttered, hastily, as though she had said more than she intended. “Now, Doctor, I have other business to attend to…”
    Looking shaken, Poleyn retreated to the stairs out of the basement. For a tense moment, Mark and Theo listened as she scattered the debtors on the floor above. And then, with an air of finality, she slammed the door.
    The doctor sank down onto a stool, head in his hands.
    â€œIt’s over,” he muttered. “Thank the stars.”
    â€œNo, thank you, Theo,” Mark said, sincerely, jumping out of the cot, glad to stretch after hours spent curled up. “Do you still have that cloth?”
    Theo handed Mark the damp rag, and Mark began to scrub at his exposed skin, removing the milky film that they had painted on earlier. Before long, the signs of his “illness” were wiped away.
    â€œI never thought hiding right in front of them would work,” Mark continued as he soaked the cloth in a bucket of clean water. “If you hadn’t come up with this plan, the receivers would have found us, no question.”
    â€œI’m still not entirely clear why they are hunting for you,” Theo said, miserably. “Or where you’ve been. Not a word! For over a year! Your father has been moving heaven and earth looking for you…”
    Mark carried on washing, not quite sure what to say. How could he explain? He barely believed it, and he’d lived through it. He’d traveled through the unknown lands outside the city. He’d seen the vast mountains and dark forests, and the people there who lived in enforced harmony, and punished any deviation with violence. He’d been stalked by the strange, living Nightmare that kept everyone in line, and fought against the mysterious Order of the Lost at the heart of it all, who had captured him, and brought him back to Agora. That had been his life for the last year and a half. It was hard to know where to start.
    â€œAre you going to keep that cloth all day?” said a voice from across the room. Irritably, the young woman with the boils sat up in her cot. Theo had done an amazing job—Mark didn’t want to contemplate what he had mixed up to make them look so realistic. Sheepishly, Mark wrung out the rag and handed it over to Cherubina. She dabbed daintily at her face, dissolving the fake boils. She wrinkled her nose. “Now that the inspector has gone, do we have to stay down here in the basement