Urn hovered, looking uncertain.
“I've got Abraxas's On Religion,” he said.
“Old 'Charcoal' Abraxas,” said Didactylos, suddenly cheerful again. “Struck by lightning fifteen times so far, and still not giving up. You can borrow this one overnight if you want. No scribbling comments in the margins, mind you, unless they're interesting.”
“This is it!” said Om. “Come on, let's leave this idiot.”
Brutha unrolled the scroll. There weren't even any pictures. Crabbed writing fiIled it, line after line.
“He spent years researching it,” said Didactylos. “Went out into the desert, talked to the small gods. Talked to some of our gods, too. Brave man. He says gods like to see an atheist around. Gives them something to aim at.”
Brutha unrolled a bit more of the scroll. Five minutes ago he would have admitted that he couldn't read. Now the best efforts of the inquisitors couldn't have forced it out of him. He held it up in what he hoped was a familiar fashion.
“Where is he now?” he said.
“Well, someone said they saw a pair of sandals with smoke coming out just outside his house a year or two back,” said Didactylos. “He might have, you know, pushed his luck.”
“I think,” said Brutha, “that I'd better be going. I'm sorry to have intruded on your time.”
“Bring it back when you've finished with it,” said Didactylos.
“Is that how people read in Omnia?” said Urn.
“What?”
“Upside down.”
Brutha picked up the tortoise, glared at Urn, and strode as haughtily as possible out of the Library.
“Hmm,” said Didactylos. He drummed his fingers on the tables.
“It was him I saw in the tavern last night,” said Urn. “I'm sure, master.”
“But the Omnians are staying here in the palace.”
“That's right, master.”
“But the tavern is outside.”
“Yes.”
“Then he must have flown over the wall, do you think?”
“I'm sure it was him, master.”
“Then . . . maybe he came later. Maybe he hadn't gone in when you saw him.”
“It can only be that, master. The keepers of the labyrinth are unbribable.”
Didactylos clipped Urn across the back of the head with his lantern.
“Stupid boy! I've told you about that sort of statement.”
“I mean, they are not easily bribable, master. Not for all the gold in Omnia, for example.”
“That's more like it.”
“Do you think that tortoise was a god, master?”