I took an instant dislike to Bullock. He struck me as violence-prone and sadistic, a policeman who would solve his cases with a truncheon. He would survive when the Lady annexed Juniper. Her military governors have a need for his ilk.

I expected annexation to occur within days of the Captain's arrival. We'd have it scoped out before he got here. One word from Charm would do it. I saw no indication the Duke's people could stop it.

As soon as Feather and Whisper had all our people in, including translators, Bullock, the Duke himself, and a man named Hargadon, who was senior Custodian of the Dead, meaning he ran the Catacombs where bodies were stored- they led us into the bitter cold atop Duretile's north wall. The Duke extended an arm. "That fortress over there is why I asked for help."

I looked at it and shuddered. There was something creepy about the place.

"We call it the black castle," he said. "It's been there for centuries." And then he gave us a chunk almost too big to swallow. "It started out as a little black rock lying beside a dead man. The man who found them tried to pick the rock up. He died. And the rock started growing. It's been growing ever since. Our ancestors experimented on it. They attacked it. Nothing harmed it. Anybody who touched it died. For the sake of their sanity, they decided to ignore it."

I shaded my eyes, stared at the castle. Not that unusual, from Duretile, except it was black and gave me the creeps.

The Duke continued, "For centuries it hardly grew. It's only a few generations since it stopped looking like a rock." He got a haunted look. "They say there are things living inside there."

I smiled. What did he expect? A fortress exists to surround something, whether built or grown.

Hargadon assumed the narrative. He had been in his job too long. He'd developed an official's pompous style. "For the last several years it's grown damned fast. The Custodial Office became concerned when we heard rumors- out of the Buskin, so unreliable to be sure-saying the creatures inside were buying cadavers. The accuracy of those rumors remains a source of heated debate within the Office. However, no one can deny that we're not getting enough corpses out of the Buskin these days. Our street patrols collect fewer than they did ten years ago. Times are leaner now. The street poor are more numerous. More should be expiring of exposure." A real sweetheart, this Hargadon. He sounded like a manufacturer whining because his profit margin was down. He continued, "It's been hypothesized that the castle may soon be beyond a need to purchase bodies-if it is at all. I'm not convinced." Came down squarely on both sides of a question, too. That's my boy. "Its occupants may become numerous enough to come take what they want."

Elmo asked, "You think people are selling bodies, why don't you grab them and make them talk?"