“This Weaver saw fit to heal your ear, along with Lemuel’s. Not mine . . .” Her voice was subdued and miserable. “Although,” she added, “it did stop the bleeding on the wounds from that . . . damned stingbox.” She watched him for a moment. “So Lemuel wasn’t mad, or lying, or dreaming,” she said quietly. “You’re telling me that a Weaver appeared and rescued us?”

Isaac nodded slowly.

“I don’t know why . . . I have no idea why . . . but it’s true.” He thought back. “I heard Rudgutter outside, yelling something at it. It sounded like he wasn’t completely surprised it was there . . . he was trying to bribe it, I think. Maybe the damn fool’s been trying to do deals with it . . . Where are the others?”

Isaac looked around. There was nowhere to hide in the alcove, but across the little room was another just like it, completely swathed in darkness. Anything crouching within it would have been invisible in the shadow.

“We all woke up here,” said Derkhan. “All of us except Lemuel had these weird clothes on. Yagharek was . . .” She shook her head in confusion and touched her bloody wound gently. She winced. “Yagharek was shoehorned into some dollymop’s dress. There were a couple of lamps, lit and waiting for us when we woke. Lemuel and Yagharek told me what happened . . . Yagharek was talking . . . he was being very weird, talking about a web . . .” She shook her head.

“I understand that,” said Isaac heavily. He paused and felt his mind scurry in awe away from the vague memories he had. “You were unconscious when the Weaver hauled us out. You wouldn’t have seen what we saw . . . where he took us . . .”

Derkhan frowned. She had tears in her eyes.

“My damn . . . my damn ear hurts so much, ’Zaac,” she said. Isaac rubbed her shoulder clumsily, his face creasing, until she continued. “Anyway, you were out, so Lemuel took off, and Yagharek went with him.”

“What?” shouted Isaac, but Derkhan shushed him with her hands.

“You know Lemuel, you know the sort of work he does. It turns out he knows the sewers well. Apparently they can be a useful bolthole. He did a little reconnaissance trip into the tunnels, and came back actually knowing where we are.”

“Which is?”

“Murkside. He left and Yagharek demanded to go with him. They swore they’d be back within three hours. They’ve gone to get some food, some clothes for me and Yagharek, and to see the lay of the land. They left about an hour ago.”

“Well godsdamn, let’s go and join them . . .”

Derkhan shook her head.