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The corridor was burning
Malone was somewhere at its far end, beyond the Chinese roo subtle now
“Cotton,” she called out
No reply, and his silence was as intolerable as the heat
To her left dropped theThe corridor’s wood flooring, oak froor, and the wall plaster was about to join the party
She needed to leave
But not without Cotton
She knew there was another way down, the staircase she’d used to climb, but flames blocked any path in that direction She still held the laun and decided to see if perhaps Cotton had h the connected rooms on the hallway’s opposite side
No sign of the three men
She turned and spotted the source of the problem Two metal canisters overturned on the floor, both aflame
She came to the end of the hall, where a led doard toward the second floor No an, and she confronted a stone wall Carefully she peered out and saw nocracked behind her, then crashed and she saw the hall’s ceiling give way, the old house quickly surrendering Perhaps the threearound, except that they would want the lamp But they could wait outside and confront her there
The stairway began five meters away
She dashed forward
As she reached the end of the balustrade and started to turn for the stairs, so slammed shoulder-first into the back of her knees Ar into the marble wall
A man had tackled her
She thrashed her legs, twisting her body, banging the gun into his head He iry and strong, but she
The larasp
A kick sent her weapon flying toward the balustrade, where it disappeared between thick spindles over the side
She sprang to her feet
Her attacker was dressed in black, his face hooded by a woolher shoulder into his chest, ra him back into the wall
MALONE HEARD CASSIOPEIA CALL HIS NAME BUT CHOSE NOT TO reply He’d spotted three forh the darkness, all headed toward the h rooms that opened one into another, careful with his approach aathered, whichdifficult
He heard fighting and saw so floor, into the flames He raced to the doorway and spotted the object S and half that tall
A dragon’s head on a tiger’s body ings
The lamp?
He reached down to retrieve it but his fingers reeled back Its bronze exterior was hot He used his shoe and slid it away fro floorboards into the room where he stood, three walls of which had now joined the blaze
He needed to leave
He glanced out into the corridor, toward the top of the staircase, and saw Cassiopeia and a man clad in black
Fighting
NI WATCHED THE DRIES VAN EGMOND MUSEUM BURN THE top two floors were now on fire, flaht Windows shattered froarden
“The Chinese were her quality than anything Europe produced”
Ni wondered about the history lesson, considering what they itnessing
“Did you know that at the terra-cotta warrior pit, we discovered that the weapons the figures carried—their swords and knives, which eround sharp, shiny, and untarnished—were made of materials that actually prevented rust We ultimately discovered that it was a copper–tin alloy combined with eleven other nesiuo and our ancestors understood how to protect metal”
“And we slaughtered ourselves,” Ni said, “with that technology”
Pau’s gaze stayed on the fire “You’re not much for violence, are you?”
“It never achieves long-range goals”
“An effective state employs seven punishments to three rewards A weak state employs five punishments to five rewards That is a proven fact”
“If a person’s life has no value, then the society that shapes that life has no value How could anyone believe otherwise?”
“Empires, by nature, are repressive”
“Aren’t you concerned that peoplein that fire? Your man one of them”
“He must protect himself, that is his duty”
“And you bear no responsibility?”
“Of course I bear the burden of his failure”