Before replying, Niall made a deliberate effort to control any sense of dismay or alarm.
“I did not say I had come to ask for your help. I said I have come because I need your help.” He paused to allow the meaning to become clear. “You have no choice but to give it.”
The words might have been expected to arouse the Master’s anger; in fact, they had the opposite effect. The Master became alert and attentive. He asked:
“Why do you say that?”
Niall said: “You have to make your peace with the spiders, and you have to decide what to do about your servants. For both these things you need my help.”
It was a strange sensation. Before he had entered the room, he had no idea of what he intended to say. Now the words seemed to be rising up from inside him, as if governed by some inner logic of their own. All that he had to do was to control his emotions, so that no personal feeling entered into what he said; then he understood precisely what he had to say.
The Master asked: “How can you help to make peace with the spiders?”
Niall said: “I must go to see the Spider Lord. He and I will make peace.”
“If you place yourself at his mercy, the Spider Lord will kill you.”
“That is true. That is why I need your help.”
“Explain yourself.”
“You are now in possession of the Reapers. If the Spider Lord kills me, you must hand them back to your servants, so they can avenge me. If you make that promise, the Spider Lord will not dare to kill me.”
“You have your weapons. Why do you need the others?”
“Our own weapons are destroyed. We left them in the Delta.”
Niall could feel the Master’s surprise, followed immediately by suspicion.
“Why?”
He resisted the Master’s attempt to probe his mind; again, it was a sign of their changed relationship.
“Because they were too dangerous.”
As he sensed the Master’s bewilderment, Niall suddenly knew that he had won.
There was a silence. Then the Master said:
“I am aware that something has happened to you since you last stood in my presence. Now you speak with authority. I had intended to order your immediate banishment, and the punishment of Bildo and my other servants. Now I can see that this will not be necessary.” He surveyed Niall thoughtfully, but abandoned the effort to probe his mind. He said finally: “I will do as you ask. One of my servants will accompany you into the presence of the Spider Lord, and he will deliver a message that you are under my special protection. The Death Lord will understand. When do you intend to go?”
“I would like to leave immediately.”
“Very well.”
The Master made no signal, but a moment later a young beetle, scarcely more than a child, appeared in the room. Niall was unable to understand the words that passed between them; they seemed as meaningless as the rustle of dry leaves. Then the young beetle withdrew. The Master said:
“One more thing. The Spider Lord is cunning and malicious. But he is not dishonest. If he makes you a promise, he will keep it. If you can reach a peaceful agreement about the fate of my human servants, we shall all be grateful to you. Perhaps you will succeed. I sense that you are in possession of a secret.” Niall said nothing; he had learned to control his responses so that his mind seemed blank. “Now go. My chief adviser will go with you.”
“Thank you.”
Niall turned and left the Master’s presence. He was half-way down the ramp before he recalled that he should have bowed or shown some other sign of respect.
Outside, the sunlight dazzled him and made him close his eyes. As he stood there, hesitating, he felt a touch on his shoulder. A beetle was towering above him, regarding him quizzically. It made signs with its forelegs, accompanied by sibilant noises. Niall replied by projecting his thought:
“I cannot understand your language. Please try to communicate with your mind.”
The beetle gazed at him with its expressionless black eyes, and made more signs, this time slowly and deliberately; it was evidently unable to express itself in human language. Niall shook his head and repeated his thought message. The beetle finally made a signal for Niall to follow; they set off together in the direction of the square.
The crowd had now dispersed; only a group of children stood and watched as Ulic and Milo folded the balloons. A cart with four charioteers at the shafts was waiting outside the town hall. The beetle signalled Niall to climb into it; as soon as he was seated, the charioteers began to move.
“Hey, wait a minute!” Doggins was running down the town hall steps, waving his arms. The charioteers halted. “What’s happening?” Niall thought Doggins was looking tense and harassed.
The beetle turned to Doggins, and addressed him in beetle language. Doggins went pale.
“He says you’re going to the Spider Lord.”
“Yes.”
Doggins’ face was grim. “Has the Master ordered you to do it?”
“No. I made the decision.”
“But why? Are you mad?” He was interrupted by the beetle. Niall sat and watched as the two of them exchanged signals. Doggins turned to Niall, shaking his head in exasperation.
“That won’t make any difference!” He made a visible effort to control himself. “He says he’s going with you, to tell the Spider Lord you’re under the protection of the Master. But that won’t make any difference. He’s already tried to kill you in front of the Master.”
Niall placed his hand soothingly on Doggins’ shoulder. “Don’t worry. If I die, the Master has promised to hand over the Reapers, so you can take revenge.”
Doggins stared incredulously. “He promised you that?”
“Yes.”
Doggins thought about it for a moment, then shook his head.
“It’s still mad. Why do you want to go alone?”
“I caused these problems. Now I must try to solve them.”
“In that case, I’ll come with you.” He started to climb into the cart. Niall restrained him with a hand on his shoulder.
“No. I have to go alone.”
Doggins stared into his eyes as if trying to read his thoughts. He said finally:
“I hope you understand what you’re doing.”
“I think so.” Niall hoped that his eyes did not betray his lack of conviction. “Now I must go. I think the Master has cancelled that meeting of the council. But try and get Hastur and Kosmin out of prison. Goodbye until we meet again.”
He leaned forward and made a signal to the leading charioteer; they set off at a trot. As they turned into the main street, he saw Dona running across the grass and calling to him. He decided not to stop; the thought of more explanations filled him with dismay.
The beetle followed on behind them, walking with long, unhurried strides; it cost it no effort to keep up with charioteers. Ten minutes later, they had passed beyond the limits of the town, and were in the open countryside. It was a clear, pleasant morning, with a faint breeze, and the air had the smell of approaching autumn. Since he had last come this way, the leaves on the trees had started to turn brown. The road through the woods was shady, and the stream that ran beside sparkled invitingly; its sound lulled him into a state of calm, and soothed away his doubts.
When he thought back to his interview with the Master, he felt at once astonished and baffled; it seemed incredible that he had addressed the Master with so little respect. When he tried to re-create his state of mind during the interview, he realised that his words had been based upon a deep sense of inner conviction. But what precisely was that conviction? The more he thought about it, the more it eluded him.
One thing was clear: that in spite of their power and wisdom, the beetles lacked insight into the human craving for freedom. They were less ruthless than the spiders; yet they treated their human servants like children. It never seemed to strike them that a man might be discontented to be a servant, no matter how kindly he was treated. Without even realising it, they were inviting rebellion. . .
They were now within a mile of the outskirts of the spider city. On either side of the road there were cultivated fields and orchards, and in one of the fields he could see a party of men hoeing potatoes, supervised by a female overseer. In this mellow sunshine, it seemed an idyllic world. He found himself reflecting on the basic paradox of human nature: that men crave freedom, yet they also crave comfort and security, and that these two basic desires seemed to be in conflict. It was a baffling and disturbing thought.