The Hidden City

tunnel goes under the wall of the inner fortress—at least I hope so. I’ll go find out as soon as you gentlemen lift off that iron plate for me.’
    ‘Did you see any patrols in the streets?’ Kalten asked.
    ‘Nay, Sir Knight,’ Xanetia replied. ‘Centuries of custom have clearly dulled the alertness of the Cynesgans responsible for the defense of the outer city.’
    ‘A burglar’s dream,’ Talen murmured. ‘I could get rich in this town.’
    ‘What would you steal?’ Aphrael asked him. ‘The Cyrgai don’t believe in gold and silver.’
    ‘What do they use for money?’
    ‘They don’t. They don’t need money. The Cynesgans provide them with everything they need, so they don’t even think about money.’
    ‘That’s monstrous.’
    ‘We can discuss economics some other time. Right now I want to investigate their water supply.’
    ‘You idiot!’ queen Betuana raged at her general.
    ‘We had to find out, Betuana-Queen,’ Engessa explained. ‘And I will not send another where I will not go.’
    ‘I am most displeased with you, Engessa-Atan!’ Betuana’s retreat into ritualized mourning had vanished. ‘Did your last encounter with the Klael-beasts teach you nothing? They could have been lurking just inside the cave, and you would have faced them alone again.’
    ‘It is not reasonable to suppose that they would have,’ he replied stiffly. ‘Aphrael’s messenger told us that the Klael-beasts take shelter in caves that they might breathe a different air. The air at the entrance to this cave will be the same as the air outside. It is of no moment, however. It is done, and no harm came from it.’
    She controlled her anger with an obvious effort. ‘And what did you prove by your foolish venture, Engessa-Atan?’
    ‘The Klael-beasts have sealed the cave, Betuana-Queen,’ he replied. ‘Some hundred paces within stands a steel wall. It is reasonable to suppose that it may in some fashion be opened. The Klael beasts retreat beyond the barrier, close it behind them and are then able to breathe freely for a time. Then they emerge again and attack us once more.’
    ‘Was this information worth the risk of your life?’
    ‘We have yet to discover that, my Queen. The tactics devised by Kring-Domi keep us out of the reach of the Klael-beasts, but I do not like this running away.’
    Betuana’s eyes hardened. ‘Nor do I,’ she conceded. “I dishonor my husband’s memory each time I turn and flee.’
    ‘Aphrael’s cousin told us that Khalad-Squire had found that the air which the Klael-beasts breathe will burn when it mixes with our air.’
    ‘I have not seen air burn before.’
    ‘Nor have I. If the trap that I have set for the Klael-beasts works, we may both see it happen.’
    ‘What sort of trap, Engessa-Atan!’
    ‘A lantern, my Queen—well hidden.’
    ‘A lantern? That’s all?’
    ‘If Khalad-Squire was right, it should be enough. I closed the lantern so that the Klael-beasts will see no light when they open their steel door to come out again. All unseen, their air will join with ours, and the mix will find its way to the candle burning inside my lantern. Then we will discover if Khalad-Squire was right.’
    ‘Then we must wait until they open that door. I will not leave them behind us until I know without any doubt that this burning of air will kill them. As Ulath-Knight says, only a fool leaves live enemies behind him.’
    They concealed themselves behind an outcropping of rock and waited, intently watching the cave-mouth faintly visible in the light of the stars. ‘It may be some time before they open their door, my Queen,’ Engessa noted.
    ‘Engessa-Atan,’ Betuana said firmly, ‘I have long thought that this formality of yours is out of place. We are soldiers, and comrades. Please address me as such.’
    ‘As you wish, Betuana-Atana.’
    They waited patiently, watching the sizeable peak and the dark mouth of the cave. Then, like a deep, subterranean thunder, a stunning sound shattered the silence, shaking the ground, and a great billow of boiling fire blasted out of the cave-mouth, searing the few scrubby thorn-bushes growing nearby. The fire spewed out of the cave for what seemed hours, and then it gradually subsided. Engessa and his Queen, shocked by that violent eruption, could only stare in wonder. Finally, Betuana rose to her feet.
    ‘Now I have seen air burn,’ she noted in a cool sort of way. ‘It was worth the wait, I suppose.” Then she smiled at her