29

      Looking back on his life up to the previous night, Sebastian had come to the conclusion that he was, in fact, a pacifist, who just happened to get caught up in extreme acts of violence at regular intervals.

      If he’d had his way, the last few years would have contained far less punching, kicking, destruction and death than they had, and he’d be a happier person for it. Then his nights could be spent reading books until his eyes grew tired, after which he’d fall into a comfortable bed and wouldn’t stir till morning.

      Instead, he had spent the previous night on a rooftop, watching a small house on the edge of the Herbal District. He’d been led here from Bennet Troth’s house by the lumbering man in the coat and hat, the same lumbering man who had given that note to the kid, the same one who – Sebastian hoped – knew where Bennet’s wife was being kept.

      An entire night spent crouched on a rooftop, all so that he could help Bennet so that Bennet, in turn, would help Sebastian.

      All for Darquesse.

      Now it was halfway through the following day and Sebastian was still here, waiting for something to happen. He really didn’t want to have to kick the door down. Kicking the door down would probably lead to violence. Plus, he’d never kicked a door down before and was worried his foot might just bounce off.

      A little after noon, he saw Bennet harassing people on the street, waving a photograph under their noses until they snapped at him, in some cases shoving him away. Sebastian tried waving, tried catching the man’s attention, but eventually had to resort to shouting Bennet’s name to make him look up.

      They met in the alley behind the small house.

      “I thought I’d hallucinated you,” Bennet said. He needed a shave and a shower, but at least he was sober.

      “Bennet, you should go home. The man I followed yesterday led me to that building, right there. If Odetta is inside, I’ll bring her to you.”

      “No, I have to be here, I have to do this. She’s my wife – don’t you understand that? Are you married?”

      “I am not, no.”

      “Then you don’t understand. But I can’t leave. If she’s in there, I have to go in. Now.”

      “We don’t know who else might be waiting,” Sebastian said, placing a restraining hand on Bennet’s arm. “It’s better if we keep an eye on the place, make a note of who comes and goes, formulate a plan, so that when we do go in, we’re prepared.”

      “Has anyone come and gone since you’ve been on that roof?”

      “Well … no.”

      “Whoever has her, they’ve obviously no intention of bringing her back to me,” said Bennet. “We don’t know what’s happening in there. We don’t know if she’s hurt, or how scared she is, and we don’t even know why she’s been taken. But I cannot stay here while the love of my life is being held captive. I’m going in. Now, I don’t know you, but—”

      “I’ll help,” Sebastian said, sighing. “Just please follow my lead, OK?”

      “I was hoping you’d say that,” Bennet confessed. “I’ve never been in a fight in my life.”

      “Yeah, well, I have,” Sebastian said. “And I really try to avoid them as much as possible.”

      With Bennet behind him, Sebastian sneaked up to the small house. He took off his hat, and peered through the window. He counted three men in the gloom. They were big, and seemed to just stand there, stoop-shouldered, not saying anything.

      Bennet peeked. “Hollow Men,” he whispered.

      Sebastian examined what he could in this light. Hollow Men: artificial beings of leathery skin, pumped full of the foulest of gases and used as mindless muscle around the world. The cheaper sort could be dispatched with one slash from a sharp knife – the more expensive kind took a lot more effort. From their vantage point, it was impossible to say which kind these were.

      “Do you have any weapons?” Sebastian asked softly.

      “Just these,” Bennet said, pulling out a knife and handgun.

      Sebastian jerked back. “What the hell are you doing with a gun?”

      Bennet looked offended. “I’m here to rescue my wife from kidnappers. I figured a gun would be a good idea.”

      “Do you know how to use it?”

      “Of course. It’s not rocket science.”

      “Have you ever shot at anyone before?”

      “Hollow Men aren’t people,” Bennet said. “Shooting them is no different from shooting a target at the range.”

      “And have you shot targets at the range?”

      Bennet faltered. “I kept meaning to get around to it.”

      “Listen to me,” Sebastian said, injecting a little calm into his voice, “I don’t feel safe around you when you have a gun. I feel, and I might be way off here, that you can’t be trusted with a firearm. If Odetta is in there, I worry you may accidentally shoot her.”

      “Right.”

      “Would you say that’s an understandable concern?”

      “Maybe, yeah.”

      “So will you put it away and promise not to use it?”

      “OK,” Bennet said, looking embarrassed as he returned the gun to his pocket. “What about the knife?”

      “Actually,” Sebastian said, taking it from him, “I’ll have that, if it’s all the same to you.”

      “Probably wise,” Bennet said, then frowned. “But what am I going to do? I mean … I’m an Elemental. I could throw fireballs. Hollow Men are made of paper – they’d go right up.”

      “Right, yes, maybe – but is Odetta fireproof?”

      “Well, no …”

      “Ah,” said Sebastian, “then probably not the best idea.”

      “So what do I do?”

      “You come in after me, and you try not to fall over. That sound good?”

      Bennet sighed. “Yeah.”

      “Then