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stared until Lucian continued.
    “His agents. One by one, they stopped reporting.”
    “You think they were killed.”
    “Killed or fled. If they were sensible.”
    “Are any of them left?”
    “None I can find.”
    “You looked.”
    Lucian let out a long breath. “Yes. I looked—at least to begin with.”
    “You stopped though . . .”
    “It seemed pointless. None of them were there, at least the ones I knew about.”
    “And?”
    “And I thought I was being watched.”
    “You were afraid you would be next.”
    “There’s just me here now. I don’t leave the Cathedral quarter. I sleep within the cloister walls under the Elder Signs”
    “You sent the message though. You asked for a Guardian to be sent.”
    “Yes. I thought if whatever got the rest of them got me then you would at least avenge me. Avenge us.”
    Kormak wondered whether Lucian was having some sort of breakdown. He had seen it happen before. In the service of the Order of the Dawn, men saw many strange things and were privy to many dark and terrible secrets. Some men could not take the strain. Lucian’s long fingers crawled up his face, like a pale, five-legged spider. He tapped himself on the forehead, put his hand back on the table and pressed down on his wrist with his left hand, as if he was trying to trap his right hand down there.
    “There is much to alarm happening in Vermstadt. The Shadow is at work here. Lots of things point to it.”
    “Tell me one.”
    “Cats are being killed in the most unspeakable ways.” Kormak thought about Bounce and his mother. He thought about what Lila and her cook had said. “You think someone is making offerings?”
    Lucian nodded slowly and licked his lips. “I thought you cleaned out the nest of Shadow worshippers on your last visit but now I am not so sure . . .”
    “I killed five men. I cut out a patch of cancre cancer, not the whole blight. Or so it seems. What else has made you so nervous?”
    “The city is a powder keg, the situation is very unstable and becoming more so.”
    “The cause?”
    “Two of the great merchant houses have brought us to the verge of civil war.”
    “The Oldbergs and the Krugmans?”
    “You have just got here and you’ve already heard. That’s how bad things have become. It gets worse—the Krugmans are sorcerers.”
    “You think they are using dark magic?”
    “They were given a license permitting them to study magic by the Prelate Benedict so they could help in his wars. It seems they have been abusing the privilege. Magic has been used in their struggle with the Oldbergs. The Oldbergs have hired a wizard and clearly intend to respond in kind.”
    “Why are they fighting?”
    “Each house supports a different candidate for the Prelate’s throne. They’ve been rivals for decades but this is the last straw. Benedict is on his death bed and both houses want to make sure their man occupies his holy seat. The Oldbergs support Marius, who is brother to the head of their house. The Krugmans support a distant cousin of theirs.”
    “Anything else I should know about?”
    “There are all sorts of tales doing the rounds. Of mortuaries being raided, of corpses going missing, of graves being dug up, of body snatchers prowling the streets. Of monsters in the night at full moon.”
    “It certainly sounds like there’s enough for me to be looking into.”
    “They are not just stories.”
    “Oh?”
    “I went to the mortuary. Bodies have gone missing. And something nasty is killing people in the Maze. Something with claws and very sharp teeth.”
    “It could be a big dog.”
    “Dogs rarely pull people’s hearts out.”
    “There’s that.”
    “You will stay then and investigate?”
    “Yes.”
    “Where will you start?”
    “The Maze probably. The moon will be full the day after tomorrow.”
    “If you need any help, let me know.”
    “That I will.”
    “It is good to have you back, Sir Kormak.” This time he really sounded sincere.
    “I wish I could