Ark wanted to kick Mucum, but all he could do was sob.

“Here …” Mucum pulled out a handkerchief that looked like it was stained with moss. He pushed it in Ark’s direction.

Ark shuddered. “Thanks, but no, thanks.” He wiped his tears away with a grubby hand.

“Suit yourself.”

Ark wondered if he could trust Mucum. Working in the same sewage station didn’t exactly make them best of buds. In fact, he hardly knew the boy, except to make the odd comment about the weather. After a second’s indecision, he pulled at Mucum’s sleeve and dragged him off the main thoroughfare, away from any possible listening ears. “Here! Sit! Be quiet … please!” He pointed at a gap between two piles of pine pallets ready for recycling.

Mucum wasn’t used to being ordered around. He frowned. He could either sit on Ark and squash him or squat like a good boy on a pile of rubbish. He shrugged. “I’m all ears. But let me tell you that if you managed to flood Mister High-and-Mighty Grasp’s basement with squit and are now sitting on the pity potty, I don’t wanna know!”

“It’s worse than that!” said Ark, scanning the walkway uneasily. “Much worse.” He squeezed in alongside Mucum and finally filled him in on the events that had begun when he’d tried to unblock a toilet.

When Ark had finished, Mucum shook his head in wonder. “That’s the longest speech I’ve ever ‘eard from you!” He stared back at the normally quiet plumber’s boy. “Either you’ve totally gone off your tree and made up the whole thing, or —”

“Since when have I been an expert liar? That’s your department.”

Mucum smiled. It was true. His excuses for being late for work had a legendary quality about them. The only reason their boss, Jobby Jones, tolerated him was that, occasionally, plumbing problems could be solved with brute force only. And when it came to bolts that refused to budge, or pipes that were heavy enough to squash mere mortal Dendrans, Mucum was the one for the task. “Okay. I always thought that Grasp was a bit too big for his boots, strutting around the place with his thugs as if he owned every buddy woodway! But from moron to traitor — that’s a holly big leap! You dead sure about this?”

“I heard what I heard,” said Ark.

“Maw coming here to nick the whole lot?”