Even as he watched, a group of zealots burst into a listing tenement down the block and, with chilling efficiency, began to haul the screaming people that lived inside toward the church. Avery couldn’t see the church itself over the rooftops of Muscud, only an eerie violet glow he knew emanated from it. As Layanna had indicated, the glow pulsed, going dim, then throbbing brightly, painting the buildings—indeed, the whole town—in that otherworldly hue, then fading again. The converts had been going door to door for hours, snatching those within and bearing them away toward the church. With every dwelling they entered, they drew closer to Vassas’s casino.

Someone pounded on the door, and all those inside jumped.

It opened to reveal a tense-looking man: Muln Evers, one of the men Vassas had assigned to watch the Collossum chapel.

“Got a report?” Hildra said, recovering.

“Yeah. We’ve moved back to the rooftops and the underneath, but we’re still keeping watch.”

“Has there been some activity?” Avery said.

“That’s why I’m here. The priests are readying a boat. Just a few of ‘em, but some of ‘em are high ones, you can tell by the hats. There’s some big event goin’ on, it looks like—not here, you understand, but that they’re going to. What with all the excitement I figure they’re journeying to the holy place. I figure all the goings-on here are just a side-effect of what’s going on there.”

“That would make sense,” Layanna said. “I wonder what the event could be.”

“Could have somethin’ to do with what’s goin’ on up top,” Evers said.

“Yeah? What’s that?” Hildra said.

“You didn’t hear? Admiral Haggarty is having some big event tonight. A huge thing over at the City Square. Lots of people and press.”

Layanna passed a hand across her face. “This must be it. When he makes the announcement that Ghenisa is now a Collossum-worshipping state.”

“That’s the rumor. There’s rioting up top. People are freaked. This’s what we fought the war to prevent. A month ago, I thought Octung was down, out for the count. Now it’s almost like they won after all.” Evers made a sour face. “Some folk’re glad, though.”

“Glad?” Janx said.

“If we convert, the Starfish’ll spare us. That’s what Haggarty’s been sayin’.” Evers shrugged. “Not that I’m a believer or anything. Anyway, should we follow? The priests, I mean. I know that was the plan, to follow them back to the Collossum, but ...”

“It’s more important now than ever,” Avery said. “If we can locate the Collossum, we could kill it.” In theory. “Kill Haggarty’s god and Haggarty’s regime falls apart.”

“But the Starfish—”

“We have other plans for the Starfish.” And, of course, there was the matter of the Atoshan relic. Avery had never forgotten about that. The Collossum would have it nearby.

Layanna opened her mouth to say something, perhaps about the destroyed crane and the impossibility of boring a hole in the Starfish’s exoskeleton, but Avery shushed her into silence with a shake of his head, and thankfully she complied. The last thing they needed was more fear to spread among Vassas’s crew. Avery’s group must be seen to have a plan and the ability to carry it through.

To Evers, Avery said, “Can you and your men follow the priests?”

“We have boats waiting.”

“And you can get past the cordon?” The Collossumists had set up a perimeter around Muscud to keep any of the townspeople from leaving: cattle trapped in a slaughterhouse.

Evers patted a bulge in a side pocket, and for the first time Avery realized what a hard-looking sort he was.

“We’ll be fine,” Evers said. “Will you folk be coming with us?”

“Not yet. Find the holy city and scout it out. Once you’ve come back and we have a map of the city and of where it is in the sewers—once we have enough information to develop some sort of plan—then we’ll go.”

“Fine. Um, will you people be able to get out all right?”

“If all goes well, we’ll be waiting for you in the east corridor.”

Evers wasn’t gone five minutes when Pete summoned them to see Boss Vassas. They shuffled down the hall to the Boss’s study, where Vassas stood staring out a huge window streaked with flail snot and drinking from a cut glass. A throb of violet outlined him for an instant, then faded. At first Avery thought him a tower of calm in a mad sea, but then he saw that the hand that gripped the glass trembled. With a pale, drawn expression Vassas turned to them.

“Sit, if you want.” He gestured to chairs and couches.

No one sat. Janx moved to the bar and poured himself a drink. After a moment, Avery went to the bar beside him and poured himself one, too.

“Well?” said Hildra.

Vassas let out a long sigh. He returned his attention to the window, gazing out of it sadly. Through it Avery could see dark figures grouping in the street beyond, waiting silently, grimly, their numbers growing. All wore the trident necklace or some other token of the Collossumist faith. It wouldn’t be long now.

 “I can’t believe it’s come to this,” Vassas said. “That I’d have to abandon my own town.”

Hildra stood beside him at the window. With surprising tenderness, she said, “Yeah. This whole thing blows.”

A moment of silence passed. Straightening just a bit, Vassas said, “By the way, a runner found me from one of the other Stink-towns: General Hastur’s given up on finding Denaris. She’s ready to make her move if I’m willing to join up with her.”

“And are you?”

“What else have I got?” To Pete: “Ready the men.”

“They’re ready, Boss.”

The group moved downstairs, joining a larger group of Vassas’s people, goons and pimps, prostitutes and waitresses, casino staff and clerks, all waiting in eerie silence while that abominable singing continued in the background. At Vassas’s arrival, they stirred. Trapdoors were thrown and they descended into what Evers had called the “underneath”, the glorified crawlspace that ran under some of the city, between the floorboards and the water. There boats waited for the gathering. One by one, they boarded the craft, then shoved off, a few going ahead to do what needed to be done while the others lagged behind. When Avery’s craft emerged, he saw the goons just then dumping the bodies of zealot sentries over the sides of their own boats. Through the gloom that surrounded the town it was impossible to see the other members of the cordon that hemmed the Muscudites in, but they were out there, Avery was sure.

With the breach in the cordon made, Vassas led the exodus of his people from the town that he had helped to found and vanished into the darkness of the tunnels.

The group settled in to wait in the corridor east of Muscud, just huddling in the blackness as screams and singing drifted over the foul waters, each of them trying to look at each other as little as possible, until eventually a boat approached out of the mists. In it were several dirty and bloodied men, among them Muln Evers.

“You make it to the holy city?” Hildra said.

“Not in, but to.” Evers sounded wearied to the point of exhaustion. “I can map its location for you.”

Avery paused, then said, dreading the answer, “You were to leave in two boats.”

“It ... had tentacles.”

“Shit,” said Hildra.

“It killed everybody in the other boat. We just barely made it away.” Darkly, Evers added, “It’s blocking the way to the city.”

They all shifted uncomfortably, and Janx said, “Well, we knew it wouldn’t be easy, right?”

Evers set to work mapping the route, and half an hour later they all sat down to study it with Jeffers.

“Well?” Avery asked the boatman, crouched in his own craft.