‘I’m glad to hear it,’ Rackamore said. ‘If the sweeper’s clear, I see no reason not to chance another trip into the rock, once we’ve rested a little.’

‘Whatever you think best,’ Triglav said.

‘Oh, and one other thing. Our new Bone Readers – the estimable Ness sisters. Cazaray is most anxious to hear from them. Have there been any developments?’

I glanced at Adrana, and Adrana glanced at me. ‘Everything’s all right, Captain,’ I answered.

But there was a strain in my voice that I could not quite disguise.

‘Really?’ Rackamore asked. ‘No new messages coming in?’

‘We haven’t picked up anything,’ Adrana said, sounding much more sure of herself than I was.

‘No news is good news. But Cazaray says to keep on listening. I know it’s a burden of responsibility, but if there’s anything you’re not sure of, I’d sooner know it.’ He made a sniffing sound. ‘Well, we’ve work enough to do here. I’m sure I leave the Monetta’s Mourn in capable hands.’

‘Be careful, Captain,’ I said.

‘We shall.’

When Rackamore had closed the connection, Triglav set down his tankard with a sharp clack against the magnetic table. ‘You sounded a little unsure of yourself there, Arafura. Or was it my imagination?’

‘We’d best go to the bones,’ I said, before he pushed us again.

Once we were in the room I tightened the wheel on the door, then took the bridges off their hooks. My hands were shaking, and I didn’t mind Adrana seeing it.

‘You’re making too much of it,’ she pleaded at me. ‘It was there and gone and it didn’t come back. Cazaray said that sort of thing happens all the time.’

‘I don’t care what he says. Whatever it was felt wrong.’

‘Yes – wrong, but out there, somewhere in the Congregation. Not necessarily right on our doorstep. Did you hear what they said? The sweeper’s clear.’

‘We have to be sure,’ I said, tossing Adrana her neural bridge while already pushing mine into place. ‘We won’t waste time with the peripherals. We’ll hook in on the same node, at the same time.’

‘Cazaray said that wasn’t a good idea.’

‘He isn’t here. If we don’t show some initiative, no one else is going to do it for us.’

I took the end of my input line, took the end of Adrana’s, and jacked them into the same node on the skull.

Adrana gave me a long, level look. ‘All right. We try it. But we both have to agree about the signal.’

‘Fine,’ I answered, meeting her gaze.

Without a further word we closed our eyes and waited for the skull to speak to us.