Station, стр. 52

CHAPTER 17

"He's right. If you willingly cross theSkirt, the Caesars won't let you back into the Setting. Unlessyou're willing to live out your probably short life as a Riser,you're going to need to talk to Mister Rott."

Much to Hadder's disappointment, Royal had concurredwith Lester Midnight's take on the situation. He was hoping toavoid a visit to Mister Rott, was impatient to begin the hunt. Andtruth be told, Hadder had had enough of needing favors from thebarely human, and he didn't know if Albany Rott even qualified asthat.

Lilly retired to their living quarters as soon asHadder returned. It was deep Haela now, and she had stayed up justlong enough to see him still alive. Anything beyond ensuring hiscontinued breathing, she wasn't interested. Hadder understood heranger. If anyone understood anger, it was him, but he had been seton this path and was unable to shift directions until he reachedhis destination.

"To the North, right?"

"Yeah. Just follow the Lethe River up. It emanatesfrom Rott Manor."

"What's he like?"

Royal thought for a moment. "Been years since I sawhim last, and that was from a distance, just his speech initiatingthe Skirt. He was much more hands-on in the beginning."

"What about back then? How was he?"

Another pause, this one longer. "Rott tries veryhard to seem human. He tries very hard to look like he doesn't haveall the answers. But he does. He tries very hard to seeminterested, but I think he's bored."

"Any tips on dealing with him?"

"Yes. Be careful. This isn't some madman like LesterMidnight, whose ego you can feed into and whose desires you cantempt. I know you're a tough guy, Hadder. You've shared yourtraining, and I can see the fighter in you. You walk with aconfidence that says you can handle yourself. But if you try totalk tough with Albany Rott, he'll turn you into a pink mist in theblink of an eye, leaving nothing but a fading memory. Don't bescared, but don't be disrespectful either."

"I know when I'm dealing with serious men."

"But would you know when you're facing a seriousgod?"

Before leaving The Royal Jelly, Hadder had amanikin make him a new set of his usual clothes - gray pants, blackshirt, black jacket, and black/white high tops. After bathing andchanging in one of the empty communal showers, Hadder sat alone atthe ground floor bar and drank beer alone. It was nearing the endof Haela, and Hadder didn't want to return to his living quarters.One, he wasn't tired, his single-minded purpose leaving no room forrest. And two, he couldn't face Lilly, especially with no goodcounterpoints to her numerous objections.

After finishing his third beer, Hadder walkedoutside to find that the Idol Moon was snowballing and set out tosee Albany Rott. Taking various thoroughfares and garden paths duenorth, Hadder eventually came upon the Lethe River and followed itupstream, keeping the river on his right. North he went, fartherthan he ever had before, and before long, his eyes grew large, andhis mouth fell open as he looked upon the grandest construct inStation - Rott Manor.

Although it was called a mansion, Albany Rott's homelooked much more like a gothic cathedral. Built of the whitestmarble Hadder had ever seen, the building was absolutely shining inthe rays of the Solay. Taller than it was wide, two monstroustowers dominated the left and right side of the building, while thecenter was marked with a rose window above several pointedtympanums that topped large red doors. Situated as it was on alarge hill, marble stairs fell to the left and right and ranheadlong into footpaths, one upon which Hadder now walked. Atorrent of water poured forth from the center of the landing,between sets of stairs, becoming what those lesser folk downstreamwould call the Lethe River.

As Hadder traversed the footpath towards themansion, he passed through an impressive sculpture garden. All ofthe figures had been hewn from crimson marble and depicted humans,angels, and devils in various poses of battle. As Hadder passedunder them, he felt eyes move along to follow his path and wonderedwhat these frozen sentinels could do if they detected a threat totheir master.

As he approached and ascended the stairs, Hadder wasgreeted by cool mist from the source of the Lethe, the refreshingspray removing the few lingering effects of his earlier beverages.Walking up to the red doors, Hadder brushed his hands over hisclothes and calmed his nerves before raising his hand to knock.

Just as his knuckles were to make contact with thedoors, they swung open silently, revealing a man waiting in theentryway. He was small and thin, wearing a white doctor's coat overbrown pants and a yellowed dress shirt. His hair, neatly parted tothe side, was blonde to the point