“Stop being so all-fired smart, would you?” He patted down his leg, and Rector saw that his pants were torn and there was a smear of blood above his ankle. The man was not badly injured, and he knew it, but nobody liked to have an open cut outdoors where the Blight could get to it. He planted the hurt foot down on the ground and stood up straight, looking around.

The four voyeurs all ducked down lower, not that it mattered. What their position didn’t hide, the wall’s shadow obscured well enough.

“Where’s Otis? Ain’t he supposed to be here by now?”

“What time is it?”

“Don’t know. My watch stopped working yesterday. The gas seeped inside it and rotted out the innards.”

“Son of a bitch, this place is miserable. Can’t believe anybody lives here—I don’t care how much money there is to be made.”

The man with the bloodied pants leg snorted. “If you really didn’t care, you wouldn’t be here.”

“I don’t plan to move inside and set up a homestead. I’m not a goddamn fool. And I don’t know if Otis’s late or not, but he might be. Maybe he got lost.”

“It ain’t six blocks from the hole to the tower. If he got lost, he ain’t got the sense God gave a speckled pup.”

“It’s hard to see,” the other fellow insisted. “If you ain’t used to running around in a mask, it can mess you up. Gets you all turned around. Maybe we should go down the hill and look for him.”

“Maybe you should kiss my ass. See if Jay and Martin will go.”

“They just got back from pissing down by the side of Denny Hill. Nobody wants to climb that thing twice.”

“Fine, then you go.”

“Not by myself.”

“Well, I ain’t going with you.”

While they bickered, Rector cringed. He took Angeline’s elbow with one hand and Zeke’s with the other, drawing them back closer against the wall—farther into the shade, and farther out of earshot.

“But I want to see them,” the princess hissed.

“Trust me. Please,” he begged.

Houjin gave him a glare that said Not a chance, but he followed him a few yards back and joined the huddle. “What is it? And why are we supposed to trust you, again?”

Rector held up his hands for quiet because it was his turn to talk—and for once, he had something true and important to say. He leaned forward, and when all their heads were practically touching, he told them what he knew.