Log In
Or create an account -> 
Imperial Library
  • Home
  • About
  • News
  • Upload
  • Forum
  • Help
  • Login/SignUp

Index
Trickster's Queen Junai looked down at her young mistress, amused. "So it will seem, Mother." She looked at Aly. "Duani," she added with emphasis. "I will be a good girl and try not to get gutted in the market." She moved up into the lead once more.Dove stalked on, her small face grim. Once they were back at the house, she dismissed everyone, including Aly, and locked herself in the library. Aly waited long enough to hear the crash of a thrown object and Dove's cry of "Brutes!" before she left Dove to her rage in peace.Aly sat on a bench in the main hall, closing her eyes to think. Did the regents understand how much they revealed by ordering their men to break up gatherings? Surely they'd been around government long enough to know it was a bad idea to let people know you feared them in groups that were not even very large.Ulasim found her there and sat next to her. Aly opened her eyes. "I was plotting," she told him.The big raka looked uncommonly grim. "I have no doubt that you were," he pointed out. "I believe you plot in your sleep. I have something to tell you. I want you to hear it from me. You may recall that we were trying to think of a way to get quick aid to the people on Tongkang."Aly frowned, puzzled. Why did he tell her this? That was the military side of their duties, not the spy side. “I'm sure you'll do whatever's right.""I believe I have," replied Ulasim, resting a hand on her arm. "At his request, I sent Nawat and some of his crows."For a moment Aly's ears buzzed. Then her entire body went cold, as if she had been dunked in snowmelt. "Nawat?" she whispered through numb lips. "He's no warrior. You can't be serious.""He and his cousins fought well when Bronau attacked Tanair last year," Ulasim reminded Aly. "He wants to do something, Aly. A man needs something of his own, just as a woman does. And he and his crows can get messages to far more people on and around Tongkang than my mother and all the mages of the Chain. They can watch for warships and soldiers. He thinks he can even divert an armed party. His reasoning is sound. I approved it.""He's a crow," Aly whispered, clenching her hands. "A crow who spends time being a man—that doesn't make him one. You had no right to use him for this!""He's not your pet," Ulasim said gently. "It is time that he learns if he is a crow or a man. As long as he sits in your shadow, he cannot be certain. And his stake in this is far higher than yours. He and his people are the raka's cousins. You are only an imported luarin."Aly flinched. What was wrong with her? She was on the verge of tears. "You should have asked me.""He asked me, as was his right," Ulasim replied without mercy. He looked her over with the gaze of a commander who saw a weakness in one of his soldiers. "Must I worry about you? Are you going to pout and mope and ignore our work?"Aly stiffened at the verbal slap. He'd as much as accused her of not being professional. "No!" she said, outraged."Nawat is intelligent. He has the ears and eyes of his fellow crows," Ulasim told Aly, his eyes direct. "This is a chance made for him. He is as safe doing that as any of us are safe." He put a big hand on Aly's shoulder. "This has nothing to do with whatever games you play together, and everything to do with our cause. Have I made myself clear?"Aly bit her lip. He was treating her as if she were a silly girl who could think only about her sweetheart. Worse, he was right. Just so would her own father speak to her about neglecting her job. Hanging her head, she nodded."Then I do not want to hear of this again," instructed Ulasim. "There is work to be done." He got up and strode off down the hall.As the family rested and the household prepared for that day's callers, Aly met with her pack. They watched as she tapped the map and the pin that marked Grosbeak's shop. "This is Grosbeak, on Gigit Lane in Middle Town. Topabaw uses him to collect reports from spies in the city. Now we gather information from Grosbeak.""All of Topabaw's people report to him?" asked Guchol, fascinated.Aly shook her head. "I doubt it, not with the number of spies Topabaw must have in the city alone. But Grosbeak is a place to start. Guchol, you'll handle this. Put your recruits on him day and night. Everyone who goes there, I want to know who they are and where they live. And don't be surprised when I come there. Topabaw recruited me yesterday."Unlike the rebellion's leaders, these people had learned their spy craft from Aly, including the tricky work of double agents. If they doubted her ability to protect herself from Topabaw or anyone else, none of them showed it."Was it fun?" asked Olkey. "Or did he hurt you?""Does the general know?" Kioka inquired."Did Topabaw pay you anything?" demanded Lokak."He paid me in coin loaded with listening spells, so I got rid of it. The general knows, Topabaw didn't hurt me, and don't get too attached to him," replied Aly. "We'll be dealing with someone new before long, if I have anything to say about it. Once we know who reports to Grosbeak and where they live, we will send them a token of our regard. I was thinking that baskets of rats left beside beds would give our regards that personal touch."A number of them snorted. Lokak only frowned."Yes?" Aly asked."Why don’t we just nail rats to the door, like the old raka rebels used to do?" Lokak wanted to know. "It's cheaper.""But not so thoughtful as a basket of them," Aly said. "And leaving the basket in their bedrooms provides an intimate note.""We're saying we can get at them as they sleep," remarked Eyun, her eyes filled with the discovery of some new twist she had just uncovered.Aly smiled benevolently while thinking, And this way my aunt Daine doesn't come flying over from Tortall wanting to know why I'm killing animals for no good reason. "Tell me what you have learned from your people so far."By the time they had finished their reports, the city's bells were chiming the end of the rest period. Aly dismissed them and went to help Dove to dress for the afternoon. The duchess had told Quedanga to open the reflecting pool court and the large sitting room. Afternoon was the usual time for callers, and she expected quite a few.Aly stood behind a carved screen inside the house to observe the young noble visitors as they flirted, talked to Sarai, accepted treats carried on trays by maids, and gossiped. The younger ladies were watched by their maids, who had taken positions against the walls of the courtyard. Nuritin and Winnamine had chosen to stay indoors, in one of the large, formal sitting rooms, to greet the callers who came to see them. Dove joined them there, after muttering to Aly that she refused to have her brain filled with puffs of scent and flirting, as it would be if she stayed with Sarai.Talented Eyun made friends among the maids and talked animatedly with them as she gave the men servants sidelong glances. Ukali and Olkey, two of Aly’s male agents, were making themselves known to the nobles' servants as well. Pert Kioka was out in the stables, listening to the guards who rode with the noble guests. At some point during the afternoon, talking in strictest confidence with their new friends, all of them would pass on some bit of gossip that would sit ill with those who collected it for the palace. The rest of Aly's pack, and more of the people they had recruited, were out performing the same service. Little of it would go straight to Topabaw or to Rubinyan's spymaster. People who worried about the stability of the government chattered constantly, the threads of gossip twisting as they passed from one person to the next. By the time they reached those who were most interested in holding power, the strands would be so tangled that no one would be able to trace them back to a handful of sources.Gossip was a realm's lifeblood, Aly's da had told her repeatedly. She intended to make this realm bleed with it.She let her eyes roam over the crowd, reading snatches of conversation on the lips of their company. Everyone wanted to tell Sarai the winter's news, away from the watchful eyes of their elders. Count Ferdolin Tomang, the Carthaki healer mage Zaimid Hetnim, and the heirs to the Lelin and Obemaek houses wanted to court Sarai. She kept them dancing around her, pouting at one, teasing another, ignoring a third, and urging her female friends to do the same. She seemed cruel to Aly, as if she didn't care if she hurt the feelings of the young men. Was I that bad? Aly wondered, remembering the days when she lived like Sarai. Picking them up and dropping them, whether they deserved it or not, just because I could?I can't do it anymore, she realized, startled. Even if the god were to dump me into such a gathering at home. It's small to promise a man something, even without words, if you never intend to give it to him, whether it's kisses or your heart.She didn't like where that trail of thought led her: Nawat. Rather than dwell on him, she looked into the formal sitting room. Here there were older ladies and men alike, deep in conversation with Nuritin, Winnamine, and even Dove. They kept their voices low and watched the maids who served refreshments, talking only when they were out of earshot. Reading the nobles' lips, Aly’saw that they spoke of missing officials, uprisings, and the vanished bodies of those executed by the Crown. Dove was engaged in a conversation about copper exports with a noble couple at least three times her age.Aly eased her way out of the room. She was about to go to the servants' hall when one of the household runners found her. "Chenaol says tell you, one in Her Grace's private study, one in Lady Saraiyu's bedroom. She asks if you have ever been a poacher, since you knew where to set traps."Aly smiled. "Thank you. Tell Chenaol I'm on my way."Aly climbed the stairs and entered the ladies' private study. There Winnamine, Sarai, and Dove read and wrote letters and kept their personal accounts. It was one of the first places a spy would look for incriminating correspondence, which was why she had recommended that the raka mages plant a spy trap there. When Aly walked into the well-lit, comfortable room, she saw a part-raka maidservant, locked in place with her hands in a desk drawer. The woman shimmered under the magical net that had captured her. Ysul sat on a chair watching her, his almond-shaped eyes unreadable. Ulasim, too, was present, as was Junai. They nodded as Aly came in.She went to the chair across the desk from the captive and sat, resting her hands on the chairs arms. The maid glared at her.Aly eyed her. "Was she searched for death magic?"Ysul nodded and held up three fingers. He had removed three spells that would have killed the woman if she tried to speak the truth."Three?" Aly asked. She looked at the captive. "If someone were to put three death spells on me, I might wonder if they trusted me at all. Such persons would be less than careful about giving you assignments that might cost your life. I would not reward service in such a manner."She inspected the captive. She was a part-raka woman in her late twenties, dressed in a blue gown, probably a mistress's castoff. She wore her brown hair pinned up, with enough hairdressing ointment on it to ensure that no loose hairs would fall on anything she searched. There were white silk gloves on her hands. Through the magic that held the maid captive, Aly could see that the gloves were spelled to keep her essence from sticking to anything she handled. On the desk lay a set of lock picks—good ones, Aly saw with approval.Aly raised a hand, lifted a finger, then bent it. Ysul lowered the spell, freeing the captive s lips so she could speak."I don't understand!" she cried. "I was just looking for a bit of paper—please don't tell my mistress, she’ll be furious, but they always count the paper in our household and I just wanted to write a note to my betrothed...."Aly held her finger to her lips. The maid's words trailed off.Ulasim leaned in and sniffed the air around the maid. "You stink of Topabaw," he informed her, his voice thick with scorn. "You were spelled to die before you named your true master—that's spy work." He nudged the lock picks. "These aren't needed to steal paper. If you were a slave, you would pay for these with your life. As it is, you won't look so good with a thief's brand on your forehead.""I swear, I swear, those were here when I came in!" protested the maid."And the gloves?" inquired Aly. "Spelled to leave no trace of you?""They belong to my mistress!" cried the woman. "I just borrowed them, you know, to make my hands softer, like hers!" She started to cry.Aly let Ulasim and Junai question her for a while, listening with appreciation. The woman had been well trained. When Aly judged the time was right, she laid a gentle hand on the desk in front of her. Everyone stopped talking. Aly let the silence linger for a moment, then asked gravely, "What is your name?"The maid drew breath to speak.Aly raised the index finger of her hand. So frightened— and so clever—was the maid that she saw even that tiny gesture. She clamped her lips shut."I will know if you lie, and I will be displeased," Aly’said.The woman hesitated, apparently considering whether she dared lie in any case. Aly smiled, and the woman reconsidered. " Vitorcine Townsend.""Very good," Aly replied. "What household employs you?"Head hanging, Vitorcine murmured, "Obemaek. I am Lady Isalena's maid."Aly nodded. "Well, then, Vitorcine Townsend. Perhaps we need to summon Lady Isalena. By your own admission, you are a thief." She saw Vitorcine’s shoulders relax slightly. She probably has something she can blackmail Isalena with if she should get caught, Aly thought, I would, in her place. "Better still, perhaps the young lady will thank us for pointing to Topabaw's spy in her household."Vitorcine's skin went dead white. She swayed. Only the spell around her hips and legs kept her upright. "I beg you, no," she whispered. "I will do anything you ask. Only do not tell.""Why should we not?" Ulasim wanted to know. "You have taken advantage of our mistresses' hospitality and defiled this house with your prying." He stepped closer until he loomed over the woman, his eyes fixed on hers. Vitorcine could not escape the fact that he was large, well muscled, and full-raka. In the city, there were feuds based on how much raka blood someone had. Vitorcine had a drop, no more. Used to the city, she would expect full-bloods to be hostile to part-bloods.Aly leaned forward, drawing everyone's attention. Even Vitorcine looked at her as she cringed from Ulasim. "What has your mistress to fear from Topabaw?" Aly asked softly."It may be paltry," the woman babbled, more broken by her own terror than anything the rebels had said. Aly had seen this before with some of her da's agents. She fought to keep her face bland. She knew she had just hit treasure."Is it arms?" she asked, her voice gentle. "Or is it correspondence?"The woman bit her lip. "The Obemaeks will kill me," she said at last. "As Topabaw will kill me if I am found out.""A moment," Aly interrupted gently. "Both of your masters would kill you?"Vitorcine nodded. "I have not told Topabaw. It could be nothing. What I have gathered is only hints. They write letters in code. It may only be family gossip. I did not wish to inform Topabaw until I have the key to the code. When I find it, I will have to tell him. I have no proof until then, so they are safe from me."Aly's nerves sang with excitement. Two gifts had dropped into her lap. Vitorcine obviously knew those communications would mean bloody trouble for the Obemaeks should Topabaw learn of them. Yet she was trying to protect her mistress and her family. Whatever Topabaw had used to frighten Vitorcine into spying for him, it wasn't strong enough yet to overcome her loyalty to the Obemaeks."You are brave, to take such risks," Aly told Vitorcine kindly, signaling Ysul to free the maid. "A chair, I think." Ulasim brought it over and helped the frightened woman to sit. "Would you like tea?" Aly asked. "Something stronger?"Vitorcine shook her head. From the sudden grim twist in her mouth, she knew as well as Aly that it was very bad for spies to take spirits."I believe we may help each other," Aly continued. This young woman required a velvet touch. Aly would have to be teacher and mother figure. She put an elder's authority into her voice. "Will you do this for me? Copy those coded letters and bring the copies here. We shall see if there is even anything in them that would interest Topabaw." She caught Vitorcine's gaze. "In addition, you report to me what you report to Topabaw. You will also report to me what Topabaw says to you, do you understand?""He'll kill me," whispered the woman."Then you must be very careful," Aly told her, still kind. "He is not as all-powerful as you may think. I heard somewhere that he is losing his grip on the realm and will soon be replaced."Vitorcine met Aly's eyes with her own. "Is it true?" she asked breathlessly.Aly’smiled. "Keep it in mind." From the front of her sarong she drew a small, thick book. In it she kept pledges of obedience, signed in blood. Opening it to a clean page, she drew a small dagger she kept in her sash for these occasions. "This is just a formality," she assured Vitorcine. "Write here—you can write, can you not?"Vitorcine nodded."Write that you will serve Balitang House and keep its secrets," Aly explained, setting out an inkpot and pen. She unsheathed the dagger. Its blade was the length of Aly's little finger, and razor sharp. "Then you will sign in blood." As Vitorcine shrank back—the breaking of a blood oath meant the oathbreaker died with the blood boiling in her veins— Aly leaned closer and held Vitorcine's deep-set brown eyes with her own. "You will swear, or they will find you floating in the harbor tomorrow," she whispered.Vitorcine swore, as Aly knew she would. Everyone thought they could get out of a bad situation if they could just buy some time. Vitorcine was no exception. Besides, Aly had promised to help her with the coded letters.Once her oath was given and Ysul had put healing balm on the small cut in the maid's finger, Aly went in search of their second captive, another of Topabaw's agents. Ochobu stripped this one, a footman, of any death magics before Aly began her questions. The man had no pearls of news like Vitorcine, but Aly knew better than to expect two such wind-falls in one day. Ochobu took the footman's blood vow, giving Aly two agents who would report both on the activities of their noble masters and on Topabaw's orders.A good day's work, Aly told herself. Da was right. With careful handling, and plans laid in advance, I can pluck my enemies' spies like ripe plums from a tree.While she had worked, new guests had arrived. A glance into the salon where the older men and women met showed her that Duke Nomru sat in quiet conversation with the duchess, Nuritin, and Lord Obemaek, whose daughter Isalena was one of Sarai's friends. Aly's fingers prickled. She would have loved to know what they said, but she was in the wrong position to read their lips.You can't hear everything all the time, Aly thought as she went to see what was happening with Sarai. But it's so frustrating. It occurred to her that she was trying to fill her brain with anything but Nawat. She banished the thought.There were more new guests in the courtyard. Dove had left the sitting room to speak with two of them. Aly found her mistress seated between Baron Engan, the astronomer, and Tkaa the basilisk.Aly didn't think Tkaa had come to visit the Balitangs. She gathered up a tray of drinks and circulated, drifting toward Dove and her company. When she reached them, her tray was empty. She placed it on a table and ambled into the house. There she turned down the corridor and out into a separate garden where lovers could talk unseen. She was wondering how often Sarai came here when she heard the click of claws on the flagstones.Like the rest of the house, the courtyard was spelled to protect it from eavesdroppers. Aly felt no qualms about beaming up at the basilisk as he arrived and saying, "Of all the people I thought to see here, none of them was you!"She hugged him, careful of his bulging pouch."I was fortunate enough to be chosen to bring the monarchs' greetings to the new king and his regents." For so large a creature, Tkaa had a soft, whispery voice. "I also bring greetings from your family. The Scanran War is done. Your mother has returned to court, and your father with her. Your brother Alan is squire to Raoul of the King's Own, your brother Thorn continues his mage studies. Your grandparents, your uncle Numair, and your aunt Daine send their love, as does your immediate family. Prince Roald's bride, Princess Shinkokami, awaits her first child. Your aunt Daine expects a second child. And Daine has also sent you a gift."Tkaa opened his pouch. A glossy black glob about twice the size of Aly's head dropped to the ground with a plop. There it began to wriggle. A round piece broke off, then another, and a third, until thirty-six small blobs sat before her. Despite their similar appearance, many held visible differences inside their bodies: a piece of ribbon or stone, lace and honeycomb patterns, streaks of bright color or light.The first to break away from the main mass had made its glossy surface resemble Tkaa's beaded hide. Now it produced a neck and a head. "Hello," it squeaked. "I am Trick."Aly knelt, staring in wonder. "I'd heard of them, but I never saw one," she whispered. "You're darkings, aren't you?"The blobs produced their own heads to nod. Aly rocked back on her heels. "But I thought you lived with the dragons." One of her favorite Daine stories was about these creatures, made of blood and magic. Aly had always been disappointed that they had stayed in the Divine Realms rather than live in the mortal world with Daine."Dragons are boring," announced a darking with a bit of clear quartz at its center. "Dragons study and peer and eat and sleep.""And talk," Trick added. "For days and days and days."A number of tiny heads nodded agreement and chorused, "Boring.""Some stay," said Quartz. "Gold-streak stay. Olders stay. We go.""Aunt Daine said all but one of you was killed in the Battle of Port Legann," Aly murmured, thinking aloud.Trick shook its head. "More that Daine not meet in Divine Realms," it told her. "And more born as we split in two."Aly scratched her head and looked up—far up—at Tkaa. "Why bring them to me?" she asked."Daine said to tell you, what one darking knows, all will know," Tkaa explained. "And they are very good at getting into places where humans cannot."To illustrate, the one patterned like lace flattened itself into a thin sheet on the ground."I stay with you," Trick squeaked. "They tell me, I tell you. Sometimes show." Spreading itself thin, it presented a view of the garden where they now stood from the ground."Not boring," added one that had blue ribbon inside itself."Fun," chorused the others. "Funfunfun."For once, Aly had nothing to say. In a moment, she knew, her mind would be whirling with ideas, places to send these creatures where the discovery of a human would result in a spy's or Aly's death. And unlike her human spies, these creatures had no tasks they were supposed to be about, so they might hide, and listen, day and night."But I'll have to train them so they know what to listen for," Aly mused. "So they can tell what's important or not.""No," peeped the tiniest of the creatures. "Whisper Man teach us before we come. We know secret. We know trouble. We know rumor. We know fact.""And murder," added another darking."And poison," said a third."We know allies and enemies," a fourth darking said. "Between dragons and Whisper Man, we know plenty."The one called Trick oozed over to Aly. Producing small limbs or tentacles, it began to crawl up her sarong-covered thigh until it reached her sash. Stretching itself cord-thin, it wriggled until only its head showed above the cloth. "Fun," it reassured Aly. "Mortals are always doing things."After long thought Aly murmured, "Such a delightful gift. And it isn't even my birthday."After more news from home, she said goodbye to Tkaa and went in search of a covered basket for the darkings. Carrying it, and them, into her workroom, she realized she could tell no one of her new guests. The darkings were too odd. Once Ulasim or the other rebel leaders saw them, they would start to ask questions that Aly dared not answer."I'll just say I developed new sources," she decided as she set the basket on her desk. "This will have to do for the present," she told her new spies. "I'll be taking you places later on. Actually, if two of you would join me? I'd like to settle you right away."The darkings started to bounce like eager children. She chose one that contained a bit of lace in its depth and one that had patterned its skin like bird feathers. "There will be fun enough for all of you," she told the rest as she tucked Lace and Feather into a pouch she could hang from her sash. "Do you need anything? Food? Water?"The darkings shook their heads. "We get our own," Trick assured her. "No one will see. Mortals don't look."Since Aly had frequently observed that most people didn't pay attention to the details of the world around them, she was inclined to agree. "No one should be able to come here once I lock the door," she explained, "but if someone does, hide?”Every darking nodded. Aly looked at them helplessly. Darkings, she thought. In Tortall she was used to living among legends. After a year in the Isles, she had fallen out of the habit of expecting the extraordinary. As she locked her door and entered the meeting room, she wondered if Kyprioth had anything to do with this.As if he'd been eavesdropping, the god spoke in her mind. No, but they are quite Aly smiled. "Very good work," she said with appreciation.Fesgao looked up at her. "Do you know, with any other girl of your age, if she spoke thus to me, I would give her latrine duty for a year. But from you?" He shook his head. "I am complimented beyond words."Aly winked at him. "And that is as it should be," she told him. Before he could come up with a retort, she said, "Her Grace heard the alarms. She wants all the gates locked, with guards put on them right away."Chenaol passed a chunk of cooked pork and two sago cakes to Fesgao. As he took them, he told Aly in a normal tone of voice, "Inform Her Grace it will be done immediately." He left the kitchen, as brisk and alert as if he had spent the night in his bed, sleeping well.Ulasim leaned against the kitchen doorframe, grinning."The guards at Kanodang are worse than we thought," he said when Aly and Chenaol gave him questioning looks. "They didn't realize there had been an escape until the morning guards came for their duty. No one else checked on the place. It means those who got out had more time to get away than we could have hoped. Thank you, Bright One!" he added in tribute to Kyprioth."What about our people in the prison?" Chenaol inquired. "The ones who stayed?"Ulasim shook his head. "They re safe. Our folk were disguised, and those who were to remain knew nothing of the plan. When Crown mages question them, our people will truthfully say they were captured and sent to sleep along with the other guards and prisoners." He straightened. "I'd best see Her Grace. She will have orders for me for today."Not long after the family had finished their morning meal, servants from the nearby houses came to see if the Balitangs knew anything about the alarm. They were followed by hastily dressed masters and mistresses, who asked the same questions of the duchess. It wasn't long before someone realized that Elsren's escort of King's Guards had not arrived. He was left to kick his heels in the downstairs sitting room for a time, before the duchess decreed that he could change to more comfortable clothes and play with his sisters.It was almost noon when they heard the tramp of feet outside the walls. The King's Watch had come in force. Their captain ordered everyone to return to their homes and remain there. When Winnamine's noble neighbors protested, he told them that they could walk back or be carried, again by order of the regents.Their guests left. After lunch, the Balitang ladies dismissed their maids and retired for naps. Nearly everyone in the household did the same. Usually there was some activity during the afternoon rest time, but with no one permitted outside, most of the household except those on guard chose to relax.Aly went to her office and closed the door, then closed the shutters on her windows and locked them in place, putting the spells in the wood up as a barrier to all eavesdropping. Only then did she allow her two-strand bead necklace, which currently sported anchoring beads on each shoulder, to reshape itself into Trick and Spot."You have a new name," she told Spot. "Secret.""Secret," it agreed, and nodded. It plainly liked either the name or the idea, Aly wasn't sure. She looked at Trick. "What is happening in the palace?" she asked it. "What do our friends up there have to tell you? Wait." She found slates and chalk. "Go ahead."What the darkings had to say fascinated Aly. Between the attacks on the fortresses and the escape from Kanodang, Imajane was furious. She was spending her day writing warrants for the arrest of the warden and his lieutenants in the case of Kanodang, and dictating instructions for the storage of blazebalm for the army and the navy, since the commanders and their staff at both fortresses were among the dead. Trick passed on the names on the warrants: none was a member of the raka conspiracy. Ulasim had issued orders years before that his people within the prison were not to be promoted beyond a certain level, because the Rittevons were notoriously fond of executing people in charge when things went wrong.Rubinyan's darking told them that the prince had taken over the investigation beyond the grounds of Kanodang. He ordered the captain-general of the King's Watch to hunt down fugitives and question his informants about the jail-break. He was also to lift the ban on people in the streets.Both men knew it was risky to keep a population indoors for more than a day. The prince called for the commanding general of the Rittevon Lancers and gave orders for the horsemen to search for fugitives outside the city walls. He then tripled the Rittevon Guard's security at the palace. He was cool and crisp, giving each man he spoke to the impression that he was in control of the situation.He then commanded the chief herald to put his scribes to two tasks. The more important job was a proclamation to be read at every crossroad, with copies sent to each person on a list of the noble houses and the city's wealthiest merchants. He decreed that there had been pirate attacks at the harbor's mouth during the eclipse, fought off with heavy losses to the Harbor Guard. There had also been the prison break from Kanodang. The people were asked to watch for twelve fugitives, five of them full-blood luarin. There would be a reward of two gold lans to anyone who gave information that would lead to the fugitives' arrest."That's sweet," Aly remarked cynically. "That way, if he gets any tip-offs, he can say someone else already reported them, so they got the reward.""Cheating," Secret commented with disapproval.The second proclamation was to go out through the Isles. It offered a hundred gold lans each for a list often men, one of them Vurquan Nomru, formerly a duke, whose lands and holdings were now Crown property.Aly's hand cramped, she wrote so much as darking after darking passed her information the rebellion could use. It was Rubinyan's darking once again who provided Aly with the tastiest bit of information of all, as the late-afternoon light streamed through cracks in her shutters. When Aly heard it, she had to savor it, but she had the self-discipline to wait until she had given all of her darkings one last check.She praised each of them through Trick and asked if they were having fun. All of them agreed they were most definitely having fun. They weren't sure what they liked best, the people whispering, throwing items, or jumping at noises, but all agreed these things were amusing. Aly suggested to them that they might try some of their own whispering, throwing, and noisemaking, and left them to it.Then she sat back, crossed her hands on her stomach, propped her feet up on her desk, and savored. Back and forth she wavered: ought she to tell the conspirators or not? In the end, she decided to let them learn without hearing it from her. For one thing, Ulasim and Ochobu at least would like to know how she'd found it out, and she was not ready to tell them about the darkings. For another, she wanted to see the look on each face when they realized she had done what they had thought impossible.She wished she could tell Nawat.Realizing the time, she went in search of Dove, in case she had instructions for Aly. She found the ladies of the house in the nursery, Nuritin embroidering as Winnamine, Sarai, and Dove played with Petranne and Elsren. It was something they'd done all winter, but not as much since their return to Rajmuat. Aly left them alone. This might be the last time they could relax for weeks.She spent the afternoon and the early evening reading reports from the palace. The chief armorer did not like the Rittevon Guard, who treated their weapons badly. The captain of the Rittevon Guard thought the armorer was a penny-pinching old fool. One of Imajane's ladies-in-waiting appeared to have an eye for Prince Rubinyan. Reading this in a report from Vereyu, Aly chuckled. Now she had a wedge to drive between the regents, if she could make the lady-in-waiting's interest obvious to Imajane.There was more, from all over the city. Reading paper reports, Aly marked out who might be shifted to the rebels' side, given incentive, and made a list of rumors for her people to spread. The shakier the regents looked, the more eager people would be to do things they would not dare if the Crown appeared strong. There was the personal gossip— Rubinyan's possible involvement with one of his wife's own ladies-in-waiting—and the more ominous news about what had really happened at the fortresses. Rubinyan's personal spymaster, Sevmire, had told him, with Aly's darking to hear, that more than three hundred and twenty men had died at the fortresses, burned or poisoned. Rubinyan had ordered him to keep that number to himself. If Rubinyan heard that people knew the correct number of the dead, he might think Sevmire or his subordinates had been indiscreet. It could also be that by the time Rubinyan's spies heard the city gossip, the number of dead soldiers would be vast, amplified by gossip as it passed from one person to the next. She relaxed in her chair. It had been a very nice day for her.Her pack sought her out shortly before supper, to see what orders she had. She handed over the list of rumors. They assured her that they would continue to pass on gossip about Topabaw and the regents. Aly only nodded.Supper came and went. The ladies retired to their sitting room with their maids, sewing, reading, and talking softly, without once referring to the reason they had not gone out all day. At last Winnamine sent everyone to their rooms, though she and Nuritin remained where they were. Dove and Aly went downstairs to meet with the conspirators, where Dove and the others heard the details of what Ulasim, Fes-gao, Ochobu, and Aly had pulled off among them to bring the city to a standstill."Gods bless me," whispered Dove when they were done, "we might just do this."There were more plans to discuss, and then the conspirators broke up for the night. From the looks on Quedanga's and Ysul's faces, they had thought of some fresh ploy. Chenaol stayed with Ulasim to talk about a shipment of bows and spears that was scheduled to arrive soon, and where they would be stored.Dove and Aly were halfway up the stairs to the family quarters when Dove turned and faced Aly. "They'll think the luarin did it," she whispered. Just because the house was spelled and watched for outsider spies was no proof that someone inside might not lose their nerve, or try to get a reward for what he or she knew. "They don't believe the raka have money, resources, mages, or the will to organize and fight. They'll think the luarin set Nomru free—and the others, to hide Nomru's trail. Topabaw will be watching the luarin more closely than ever, and with his usual touch. He'll turn more luarin nobles against him that way than if he'd just hanged their full-raka slaves.""Don't mistake Topabaw for the regents," Aly advised. "Do you think they would act differently with another spy-master?" She took a step up, so that her mouth was on a level with Dove's ear, and she whispered, "We had to force that feeble luarin conspiracy of yours to act. So far, they're just an association that meets to complain about the government. You can't play with rebellion, Dove. You're either in it, or you're dead."A small, strong hand fastened on Aly's arm. Dove towed Aly down the stairs, through the house, along the garden paths, and into the Pavilion of Secrets. "You don't understand the pressure they're under," she whispered fiercely.Aly sank onto a bench. "I understand that this country's rulers have gotten away with things that are unthinkable in Tortall. They get away with it because their nobles haven't stood up for those in their care. I'm just a simple country girl. I rely on what people do, not how much they whisper.""I can't tell the nobles about the raka," Dove said, slumping on the bench next to Aly. "I swore."Aly stretched. "No. But you can tell them your market and merchant friends have whispered of other conspiracies in the outlying Isles, people who are prepared to do more than just talk. Let them chew on that for a time. And if you don't mind, I mean to retire for the night. I'm exhausted!""You're supposed to wait until I come up to bed and undress me," Dove said as Aly got to her feet. They walked together into the house. "You're a terrible maid that way.""You could always get rid of me," Aly replied, yawning so widely she half feared the joints in her jaws would give way. "But then you'd miss my charm and wit."Aly was asleep the moment she lay down on her pallet.Early the next morning, a herald came with the announcement that people could leave their homes. The family had just finished their breakfast when the news came. Rihani and Gian, Elsren's manservant—now a spy recruit—had to scurry to prepare Elsren for his daily visit to the palace. They were still dressing the boy when the squad of ten King's Guards arrived. As they waited, their sergeant was happy to talk to Quedanga. He'd noticed on earlier visits that the housekeeper was a handsome woman always willing to give a soldier a cup of tea and a bite to eat. He assured her that things were almost normal. There were more checkpoints on the streets, and folk wouldn't want to idle as they went about their day's business, but the regents had the city well in hand."He's not bad, for a luarin," Quedanga told Aly as the duchess and Dove waved goodbye to Elsren."Let him know," Aly said. "He might be useful." She trudged upstairs.Despite permission to leave home, Nuritin advised the duchess not to allow Sarai or Dove to go out and about just yet. "The regents have to let people buy food and do business unless there is an army at our gates," Nuritin told both girls. "That does not mean we have no dangerous criminals running about. We should answer all those invitations that have collected on Winnamine's desk. It is more personal when one of the ladies of the house replies." Aly, Pembery, Boulaj, and Dorilize rolled their eyes at one another. For them, this meant a morning of needlework.The morning was advanced when a sound made Aly look up. Wayan, a house message runner, peered at her around the doorframe with eyes as wide as saucers. As soon as Aly saw her, she fled. A few moments later, a footman did the same thing. Like Wayan, he stared only at Aly. A pair of kitchen maids followed him. Their whispers roused Nuritin from her concentration on the letter she wrote. She turned on her chair and scowled."Have you business here?" she demanded.The maids shook their heads."Then get back to your work!" As the maids fled, Nuritin shook her head. "Silly young creatures, no more sense than finches. When / was a girl . . ."This time Winnamine, as well as the other women, rolled her eyes.It was almost time for lunch when Ulasim rapped on the doorframe. "Your Grace? My ladies?" he asked, his face locked in formal, senior-servant blankness. "I bring important news."Winnamine beckoned him forward as everyone but Aly looked at him. Aly, sensing what news he bore, kept her attention on her needle.Ulasim bowed. "Your Grace, my ladies, I..." He paused for a moment, so oddly for him that the ladies looked worried. Ulasim was the ideal manservant and never fumbled. "It's Topabaw," he said at last. "He's— They made an Example of him. By the harbor mouth."Nuritin jerked, dumping a bottle of ink on her desk and herself. As the maids rushed to stop the ink's spread and to save the old woman's dress, the duchess stared at him."Ulasim, this is a very poor joke," she whispered.He looked at her not as a servant looked at his mistress but as one human being looked at another. "Your Grace, I did not believe it, either. I have just come from the harbor. I have seen it with my own eyes. Topabaw is dead." He looked at Aly, his eyes holding a shade of the awe the maids had showed. "There is no proclamation of his crime, but the royal seal was placed on his chest. Burned into it, actually."Nuritin stopped trying to clean up the ink and half-collapsed in her chair. "I know there was a time before Topabaw," she murmured, "for I lived and bore children in it.""It must have been the prison escape," said the duchess, folding hands that quivered. "I've heard rumors that he was losing his grip, that the regents had come to think he was too old for the work. ...""Who cares?" snapped Sarai, jumping to her feet. "They didn't kill him for all the people he's had murdered, did they? They killed him because he let Nomru escape! They only care about luarin lives around here. They always have and they always will!"Winnamine's eyes flashed. "Do not forget you are half luarin, mistress, whether you like it or not.""How can I forget?" demanded Sarai. "It's the only part of me people are interested in." She stalked out past Ulasim, skirts flaring around her.Dove set down her pen and corked her ink bottle. "Things will be different," she observed quietly. "He kept all of the work of the intelligence gatherers in his own hands for years. He never replaced the assistant spymaster when the man was assassinated five years ago."Nuritin frowned. “I'd forgotten. He never did, it's true.""Whoever takes up his post won't know everything he did." Dove looked at her mother, then her great-aunt. "They wont know his files. They wont know his agents. And his agents won't be sure if they aren't next, or if the new man isn't there simply to hand out more blame. His networks will be all chaos for a while."Suddenly Winnamine remembered the maids and Ulasim. "All of you, it's almost lunchtime. Go wash up. Ulasim ...""Yes, Your Grace?""Tell our people, Mind your tongues. Say or do nothing that might look wrong to the regents," Winnamine insisted. "We don't know who will be taking notes for them."Ulasim bowed to her again. "Your Grace is always wise."There was no rest period that day. All of the servants watched Aly as if she were god-touched. Her own pack, when it met in her workroom, had that same look of awe mingled with fear. Aly was glad when callers descended on Balitang House. At least none of them stared.For once the young nobles talked quietly about things other than themselves, though the young men were careful to tell Sarai she might count on them, just in case. They did not say in case of what. The only man of Sarai's circle not present was Zaimid. Sarai made the mistake of asking Ferdy where the Carthaki was."Caring for rioters over on Soursop Lane," the young count informed her with contempt. "The Watch had taken care of them as they should be cared for, and off goes our healer to tend the wounded. I'll be glad when we see the last of that sanctimonious face!""At least he helps," retorted Sarai. "At least he's doing something for people, instead of living off them and ignoring them when they need him.""Lady Sarai, helping troublemakers only encourages them," Ferdy said gently. "Look at Topabaw. He got slack. Now we've had a prison break, attacks on the fortresses, and uprisings all over the Isles. It's time we had new blood to set the realm to rights."Chenaol touched Aly as she watched the young nobles. "Vitorcine Townsend, Lady Isalena's maid, wants you," the cook whispered in Aly's ear. "She looks like she's in love. You'll find her in my rooms."Aly raised an eyebrow and went in search of the housekeeper's private sitting room. Chenaol was right. Vitorcine looked as if she had shed years of her age or a great burden. Aly lowered herself into a chair. "You heard the news of Topabaw, then?" she asked Vitorcine.The young woman nodded. "There's more. Grosbeak! Grosbeak is gone! I report to him as I run errands for my lady, and I was late, close to the noon bell. His shop is locked up, doors and shutters! I ..." She looked down, blushing, then met Aly's gaze. "I picked the lock. The books, papers, all of it was gone. And everything was a mess, as if he'd packed in a hurry. So I took a chance and went to his home." In response to a question Aly hadn't asked, she rushed to say, "I tracked him there once, just... just in case."Aly tapped her chin, fascinated. She hadn't thought Vitorcine had that kind of gumption. Perhaps she could find something better suited to her talents than simply reporting on the activities of the Obemaeks. Aly had decoded the information Vitorcine had brought, to discover correspondence about the things she already knew, that Lord and Lady Obe-maek belonged to the luarin conspiracy."What did you find at Grosbeak's home?" she asked."Gone, him and his family," Vitorcine said eagerly, giddy at being free of Grosbeak and his master. "And they must have taken only what they could carry. The smith who lives next door said they went around dawn." She reached out and gripped Aly's hands. "Please, will you not free me of my vow? The Obemaeks are so good to me. I hate watching them!"Aly looked at her meaningfully, as a mother might look at a daughter who had not thought a problem through. "If Topabaw kept records, his successor may yet come back to you," she reminded Vitorcine. When the maid's face fell, Aly patted her hands. "But there. Why borrow trouble? For the time being, do not fret over thoughts of spies."That night, when the raka leaders met, all of them, even Ochobu and Dove, stared at Aly when she entered the room. She expected it. They had built Topabaw up into something more than human for years. Learning he was now an Example must have made them feel as if the earth had turned sideways. She helped herself to mango nectar. "I said it could be done. Remember, I'm an outsider. He'd been in power for so long that the people who live here forgot the man was human, and the regents more human still. Humans get jealous. That we can use, whether it is between Topabaw and the regents . . ." She paused and looked them over. "Or between Imajane and Rubinyan."They were startled, as they'd been when Aly had suggested that Topabaw was vulnerable. This time, however, instead of denying that such a thing could be done, the conspirators appeared thoughtful. Aly let them turn it over in their minds, then asked Quedanga, "You'll make sure people know we created this, yes? That it is no coincidence that so soon after our return, the regents turned on their spymaster?"Quedanga opened her mouth and drew in air, but nothing came out. She gulped from her cup and tried again. "Are you certain you are not an aspect of our Bright One? Because you begin to worry me in the same way.""No, just a loyal servant," Aly reassured her, stroking her Trick-and-Secret beads. They hummed softly against her collarbone. "Things will be a mess in the spy service for now," she told the others. "Rubinyan put his private spymaster, a man named Sevmire Ambau, in charge. He was born on the Jimajen estates, got recruited as a spy at the university in Carthak, and came home to do intelligence for the army. That was when he came to Rubinyan's attention. He's worked for the prince for years, watching the king, Topabaw, even his brother. Sevmire's competent, but he was never a part of Topabaw's organization. He'll be scrambling to find and decode Topabaw's files. He'll try to grip Topabaw's spies, which will be like trying to get control of a runaway team of hurroks." Hurroks were the kudarung's less likeable, clawed and fanged kinfolk. "Some of you know people who worked for Topabaw. This is a good time to suggest to them that the new man is green. He's never had a network bigger than a few islands, or more than a hundred people, to run. He'll get into trouble fast. The more commotion we can stir up throughout the Isles before he can learn his job, the more overwhelmed he will be."Ulasim stroked his small beard. "I can think of a few . . . possibilities."Aly looked at him, then at their two mages. "Should something happen—should they fear the worst—Their Highnesses might well start calling in their best generals and mages. It would be nice if some, if not all, of them were unable to respond."Ulasim chuckled. "We were at this before you came, Bright Eyes. Our plans in those areas already move forward."Aly smiled back. "Then I won't worry, unless you tell me to."The meeting went on as the raka discussed all they had learned that day. When they finished, Aly went to her workroom and shut the door. She lay on the cool wooden floor with relief. A muffled squeak made her sit up quickly as Trick and Secret dropped away from her neck. Only when they were free did she lie flat again. The two darkings trickled up her shoulders and onto her chest. If Aly tucked her hands behind her head, she could just manage to see them, ink against shadows in the dark."I take it you are not offering yourselves as a new, more fashionable breast band?" she asked softly."What is—" began Secret, and halted. Aly suspected that Trick had explained in that manner the darkings had, because Secret then said, "Oh. No.""Bean get bored in eating room," Trick announced. "Bean explore in Gray Palace. Bean follow Sevmire to new workplace. Bean sitting under Sevmire desk now.""Ah," Aly’said. "Very good. What has Bean to say?"The venturesome Bean confirmed what Aly had suspected: Sevmire could not find many of Topabaw's files. He knew his predecessor's code, but translations took time. Then Trick relayed something that made Aly pop up so fast the darkings tumbled into her lap. Sevmire was issuing writs for his people to kill Topabaw's principal agents throughout the Isles, and to take their places."Never blame an enemy for his stupidity," Da and Grandfather had often told her. Aly didn't blame Sevmire at all. She would have kissed him, if she kissed stupid men. Sevmire was doing to his agents what Rubinyan had done to him. He was placing them in jobs much too large for them.The next afternoon the nobles came to call, more composed than they had been the day before. With Sarai's friends and their parents came Baron Engan and the priestess Imgehai Qeshi. They disappeared into the study with Nuritin, Win-namine, and Dove.Once again Aly used her spyhole to watch the young nobility. Ferdy Tomang had thought to buy his way back into Sarai s good graces with an offering of an armful of blue-violet flowers. She simply thanked him and handed them off to a footman to put in a vase. It was only when he proposed a riding party the next day that she smiled at him. Then her smile faded. "Not if Winna and Aunt Nuritin have anything to say about it.""Mother is talking to them," Ferdy assured her, unaware that his mother might go aside with Sarai's female relatives for more serious purposes. "She says the sooner we show people we're back to our daily lives, knowing the regents are in control, the sooner people will feel better. And maybe we'll even get Zaimid to come. If he doesn't have another emergency. I told him, you'd think we don't have healers in Rajmuat, but he only says this is the kind of healing he won't be able to do once he's the imperial physician.""Ferdy, what do you mean?" demanded one of Sarai's female friends. "Zaimid left again today?""He got word of sickness over in the Honeypot and ditched us on our way here," complained Ferdy. "He said he'd come by and pay his compliments if he had time."Sarai tossed her head. "Well, I'm not one to get worked up over a man who finds some Honeypot kennel more attractive than me."Her friends laughed. Aly didn't. She knew that trick. Sarai was hurt that Zaimid had been absent two days in a row, and was going to show she didn't care. She flirted outrageously with all her young men, leaving even her female friends tapping their toes.Feeling sorry for Sarai—Aly knew what it was like to miss one particular man—Aly turned away. She had a table full of reports to read, and the darkings' news to hear. Perhaps she could find some crows to talk with later.The next day Winnamine reluctantly agreed to a riding party, but no farther away than the closest park, which had only simple horse trails and no room to gallop. At least Ferdy had been right about one thing, Aly thought as she and Dove watched the young nobles ride off. The prospect of riding— or the lack of emergencies—had even brought Zaimid back to Balitang House.If the Carthaki's presence sweetened Sarai's mood, it was not evident when she came home. She slammed into the family sitting room. Dove and Nuritin were there, fanning themselves as they discussed preparations for Matfrid Fon-fala's birthday party and for the king's birthday celebrations. Aly, passing in the hall with a load of Dove's gowns to be pressed, heard Sarai's outraged shout after the door slammed: "Five times! Five times they stopped us, and asked us—us!— our business, even after we told them who we were, and they poked in our saddlebags!" Aly leaned against the wall to eavesdrop as Sarai continued, "And then they did it to us again, on our way back! The same soldiers! Am I a Tomang or not?' Ferdy asked them, and they said it didn't matter who he was, it was the regents' orders!"Nuritin's brittle voice cut the air. "Sarai! You forget yourself! Are you a lady or a shrieking Dockmarket trollop?""Neither, apparently, according to the regents!" Sarai replied, her voice a little quieter. "And it's sad when people who are related to the royal family aren't allowed to express opinions! In Tortall the monarchs must listen to the Councils of Lords and of Commoners. In Carthak the emperor has created an assembly of nobles. Landholders matter there, but not here. We are just going to rot from within."The family was at supper when a Crown messenger arrived. Word spread through the house that Princess Imajane had requested Duchess Balitang's company the next morning when Elsren went to join the king. Winnamine accepted, puzzled. "Unless she wants to press her case to have you join her ladies-in-waiting," she remarked to Sarai as the ladies, children, and maids whiled the stormy evening away in their sitting room. Elsren squeaked each time lightning flashed and thunder boomed, and Petranne giggled."If she does," Winnamine continued, nudging Petranne and Elsren with a slippered toe, "I shall tell her I cannot allow you to join her at present, for the sake of the family's honor. You're not fit to serve in polite company anymore, Sarai.""Because I'm not blind and complacent?" demanded Sarai bitterly. "Because I get angry when common people are treated badly and no one of our class tries to help? Or because I resent being pushed around by a bully in armor? A girl wanted to give me a flower on our way back, and a soldier shoved her away. He knocked her down! Zaimid cared for her—while Ferdy and the others looked on—but still, Winna, how can we stay in such a place? No one can live a decent life here anymore. Look what happened to Topabaw. He gave a lifetime of service, and they made an Example of him.""Definitely not fit for polite society," Nuritin commented, her voice dry as she pushed a needle through silk.The duchess, accompanied by Pembery and Yoyox, who looked most respectable in a footman's livery, joined Elsren and his escorts from the King's Guard on their morning ride to the palace. A squad of household men-at-arms fell in step behind the guards, the duchess's protection when she chose to return.Dove waved goodbye until the house gate closed behind them, then turned to Ulasim. "I think I'll go visit Herbrand Edgecliff," she told Ulasim firmly. Looking at Aly, she added, "I had better request an escort of men-at-arms before it’s forced on me."Ulasim smiled at her as he might at a favorite niece. "If Lady Nuritin says you may," he replied. Dove scowled at him, for the moment an ordinary girl deprived of an amusement, then flounced into the library. She knew that Nuritin would not allow her out of the house with a hundred guards, not so soon after the prison break.Aly watched her go. "You might want to put watchers on all the tunnels out of the grounds," she suggested."I shall," Ulasim answered, "but Lady Dove is too wise to try it. Lady Sarai I would have to shackle to a post. Lucky for us that it takes until noon for Lady Sarai to wake up all the way." He rested a hand on Aly's shoulder. "I received a communication this morning. It sits on your desk."Aly, curious, went to see what had come. She found a grubby note, written by Nawat./ am busy but I did good on Tongkang. Now I am at Imahyn. There is war smoke almost everywhere we fly over. Our cousins the raka are mobbing the soldiers everywhere. The sparkly is for you.Aly looked. Beside the note was a small, many-colored piece of glittering rock. She held it in her hand as she reread the note, then kissed the paper and tucked it into her sash. She kept the stone in hand as she began to read her usual stack of reports.The duchess returned at noon. She found Nuritin, her daughters, their maids, Petranne, and Rihani in the courtyard, mending clothes or reading. All but Nuritin rose as Winnamine hurried toward them. Her face was bone white."Aunt, Sarai, Dove, let's go to our sitting room. We will have lunch there, Boulaj, if you will tell Chenaol and the maids." Rihani was already taking Petranne inside, though she had to stop so the girl could give her mother a kiss. At a nod from Nuritin, Dorilize gathered all of her things and left. Boulaj, too, went to execute her orders. Only Aly remained."Are you still the god's messenger?" Winnamine asked.Aly was worried. The duchess was trembling from top to toe. "I have always been, Your Grace," she replied, though she knew Winnamine thought she was Mithros's messenger, not Kyprioth's."Then come with me," said the duchess. She looked around the pool courtyard, distracted, then strode into the house, Aly trotting to keep up.Once inside the ladies' sitting room, they spoke of Lord Matfrid's birthday. It was simply a way to pass time. The day was already so hot that the duchess closed and locked the shutters to provide shadowy coolness. No one touched their food, though they continued to talk as the maids left. The duchess locked the door behind them."Why does she remain?" demanded Nuritin, pointing a bony finger at Aly."It's a long story, Aunt," said Winnamine, taking a seat. She began to twist her handkerchief in her hands. "I haven't time to tell it at present. Just accept that I trust Aly as if she were family.""Goddess bless, Winna, what did Imajane say to you?" demanded Sarai, resting a hand on her stepmother's arm. "You're shaking!"The others waited, their eyes on the duchess."I met with the regents." Winnamine spoke slowly. "In their personal quarters . . ." She looked up at them and took a deep breath. "They have noticed—they've been told—how much attention you girls receive from people in the street," she said. "How they like to do things for you. They believe it is because you are half raka and yet close to the throne. They have made us a proposal. I said we need time to think. We have until the kings birthday." She turned to Sarai. "The regents propose a marriage between you and Dunevon," she explained. "The contracts are to be signed quickly, 'to give the people confidence in the Crown’ Rubinyan told me. I protested; I reminded them you were cousins. They reminded me you were second cousins, which is not as serious. There are precedents, in Carthaki, even in Kyprin history. The royal line of Siraj came from marriages between siblings or half siblings. They would ask you to move to the palace when the contract is signed, to convince the people of their sincerity. But they say it would bring peace and hope to the raka. And, when Dunevon comes of age, the Copper Isles would have a queen again."Nuritin struggled with a lifetime of caution and lost. "Are they mad?""They are worried," said Winnamine, without taking her eyes from her stepdaughter. "The country must seem unstable, between the rebellions on the other islands and the escape from Kanodang. I think they want more support in case Nomru rebels. They know they will have serious problems if he does so, but if they can set your marriage against that, they might be able to preserve order.""You approve?" Sarai asked, her voice tiny."I understand their reasons. I did not say I approve." Winnamine grasped Sarai's arm. "I can advise you, but the choice must be yours," she told Sarai earnestly. "Marriage to a child is no guarantee of stability. It does not comfort me that Imajane refers to him as 'the brat.' Rubinyan is an honorable man, and he loved your father. That does not mean he would hesitate to take the throne himself, if he thought the nation required a strong adult king.""I cannot imagine that Imajane has ever forgotten that under the old laws of the country, she would have inherited when Hazarin died," Nuritin added. "She would have her own reasons to advise Rubinyan that the country would be stronger with them on the throne.""Don't give them an answer yet," Dove advised. "Let them think you're considering it, but you can’t decide. Find reasons to put them off until after the king's birthday—that's two weeks from now. They offer the Crown like a bauble— play with it, and with them.""Buy time," Nuritin advised, nodding. "Dove is right. Promise nothing.""Things change so fast," Dove went on. "Look at just this last week. And Sarai, once they get you in the Gray Palace, you won't ever be able to escape.""But you all think I should do it," whispered Sarai."We didn't say that," Winnamine told her. "We present our ideas, and you consider them. You make the choice." She looked up at Aly, eyes pleading. "What do you say?"Aly admired the regents' boldness. There were so many different ways this plan could be changed. It gave them a hundred options, some of which might even work. At the very least, if Sarai accepted, the people might well think it was a sign that a raka queen would reign again. Plenty of queens had seized power from much younger kings, and not just in the Isles or Carthak."I can say nothing, Your Grace," Aly remarked slowly. "I have no guidance in this.""What?" demanded Nuritin with a frown."We'll explain later," Dove said hurriedly. "Sarai, think. We can use this. There are so many ways to manage it. All you have to do is pretend."Sarai got to her feet. "I need time," she said quietly, not looking at them. "At least give me until after Grandfathers birthday to give you my decision. And ask them to wait until after the king's birthday for a reply, please." She looked at the duchess. "You must see that I can't possibly answer, not right away. Who would have imagined they'd make such an offer? I'll tell you by the end of the week."Everyone nodded."After we come home from Grandfather's," Sarai told them. "I promise I won't discuss it with anyone but you." She left the room.The raka conspirators were not happy when Aly and Dove told them of the regents' latest move. Even Ulasim lost his temper and shouted that the raka would fight in the streets before they allowed such a thing. It took Dove and Aly hours to calm them down. It was not official, the girls reminded the conspirators. It might never be official. All anyone could do until she reached her decision was to keep the rebellion going forward. They were due to leave for the three-day celebration of Matfrid's sixtieth birthday. Sarai wouldn't voice a decision until they returned."Things could change," Dove and Aly’said over and over. "Things are changing already."Two days later word came of a fresh uprising on Ikang Isle. The Crown sent a division of soldiers to crush it. Nawat wrote that he would go there with his crows and see what they might do. To Aly he sent a griffin feather. She kept it on her desk. She also reminded herself to tell the truth in her workroom, in case one feather had the same effect as an entire griffin, in whose vicinity no one could lie.That night Aly was just going to sleep when a familiar, glowing shape knelt beside her pallet. Junai and Dove slept on, oblivious to Kyprioth's blaze in this form."I have an idea," he told Aly, "something to distract my brother and sister for a time. They really shouldn't have left their sun shield and moon shield in the Divine Realms, where some dishonest person might stumble across them.""Perhaps they thought the Divine Realms wouldn't have that many dishonest people running about," Aly said with a yawn. It seemed Dove and Junai couldn't hear her, either. If they could, Junai would have been on her feet with weapons in her hands. "Except for you, of course.""You wrong me," Kyprioth said in hurt tones, pressing a bright hand to the glowing area that was roughly the spot where a heart might be. "I am crushed. You think me no more than a low creature, and I a god. See what you get for your Midwinter's present from me! Besides, they would know I'd been there. I did, however, find myself a most enterprising young thief among the horse nomads east of Port Udayapur. He'll collect the shields if I guide him. There's an elemental who owes my beloved brother an ill turn or two. She will hide them well."Aly yawned again. "Is this going to be a legend, or a hero tale, or something?""It's a diversion," said Kyprioth. "My brother and sister are about to return from the other side of the world. This will keep them busy for a time, though not forever. Tell Sarai that I have said she will never marry any Rittevon or Jimajen.""If I get the chance," Aly said. "She's always with her friends, or her maids, or the family. And I think she ought to at least pretend she'll do it for the moment..."Kyprioth vanished."I've known mayflies better able to pay attention," Aly mumbled as her eyes closed.The next morning the servants packed for the three-day celebration of Matfrid Fonfala's birthday, at his estates on the other side of the harbors southern ridge. All of the Balitangs were going, which meant trunk after trunk went into the wagons.Boulaj nearly went mad as Sarai dithered over what she would take. "She gets fussier every day," Boulaj confided, packing nearly everything Sarai owned. "And when she doesn't keep changing her mind about what to bring, she broods. I'm always relieved when her friends come—let them put up with her moods for an afternoon!"Aly was preoccupied with a series of reports she had gotten about troop and ship numbers around the capital. She only nodded in response to Boulaj's complaint.Dove shook her head. "It's this marriage thing," she told Boulaj. "She doesn't seem to realize that it's not real until the vows have been made. I keep telling her, there's no reason why she can't say yes and hold them off until something happens, but she's not listening to me." She smiled wryly. "Not a very good omen of my influence with her as a counselor when the time comes."All three of them knew what "the time" was."She'll calm down," Aly murmured. "She's not a fool."The afternoon was perfect for riding, the recent heat broken in a storm that had lasted all night. For once the air was warm and only slightly humid. The sole blot on the ride was the soldiers at various checkpoints who searched their wagons three times before they had left the city. Sarai was rude, despite warnings from Winnamine and Dove. It took a flat order from Fesgao to silence her.Sarai remained quiet all the way to the Fonfala estate. There they caught up to another party, including Ferdy and Zaimid Hetnim, who charmed her out of her gloom. At supper, when the political situation came up, Zaimid found a way to distract Sarai from the conversation. He had her laughing by the time the second course was served."If he'll wait till I'm older, I'll marry him," Dove told Aly as she brushed her hair before bedtime. "We could use allies in Carthak, especially the emperors personal physician."Aly frowned. "Do you know, I think you're right," she said, considering it. "It won't do for Sarai—her husband should be from the Isles, and the queen can't live in another country. But I wouldn't sneeze at a Carthaki alliance."The next day the celebration began at noon. Fonfala servants directed their guests to the areas of the estate they would most enjoy. For the younger family members, the Fonfalas had decorated the old nursery with enough toys to tempt the most fretful child. The doors at the side of the formal sitting room were open and tables were set on the veranda, perfect for the older adults. The library was available for the more studiously inclined. Dove settled in there with a chessboard and Baron Engan, though by midafternoon she had a score of other opponents, including her aunt Nuritin. Aly thought it funny that Dove had as many chess opponents as Sarai did dance partners.Winnamine, her brothers and sisters from the family holdings on Malubesang, and Sarai and her companions went riding. They took their lunch together in a grassy clearing beside a small waterfall. Afterward they had an archery contest and a riding contest. Everyone changed clothes for supper, then again for the dancing. After she had set the last hairpin in Sarai's braided and curled hair, Boulaj came to Aly. She was sweating."Rihani, Dorilize, and Pembery are ill. So am I," she told Aly, sitting on Dove's bed. I'm afraid the chicken sambal may have been off."Aly had not had the popular dish at the servants' supper. She had tried sambal once and avoided the spicy dish on principle ever since. She had gotten accustomed to Kyprin spices, she liked to say, but never that accustomed. She told Boulaj, "I keep saying that stuff will kill you."Boulaj gave her a tight smile. "No, but at least this time it makes it difficult to stray far from the privy. I should have listened to Lady Sarai—she said she thought it tasted odd. Can you look after Her Grace, Lady Nuritin, and Lady Sarai as well as Lady Dove? Our ladies are all dressed. We could manage that much, at least."Aly smiled. "Go to bed. I think I can tend our ladies on my own for one night. It's not like they come rushing in to fix their clothes over and over." The Balitang ladies were the most self-sufficient noblewomen Aly had ever met."Gods bless you," said Boulaj gratefully. "Excuse me." She left.Aly escorted the ladies to the ballroom. Dove headed for a chair next to Nuritin and Baron Engan and was welcomed into their conversation. Sarai and her female friends sat with the young men. Winnamine found a chair with the mothers.Aly strolled into the gallery where the servants could observe their masters. Once she had explained the absence of Pembery, Dorilize, and Boulaj, she took up a position by the carved screen through which she could see the ballroom. For the first time in months she felt a pang of envy as she watched Sarai, glorious in a white lawn kirtle and doubled silk ivory gown, come down the lines of dancers with a different young man for every dance. Once that might have been Aly herself.But the colors would have been different, she told herself firmly. Less... insipid.She knew that was jealousy whispering in her ear. She couldn't help it, any more than she could help thinking how she and Nawat would look, properly dressed, going through the steps. Nawat danced beautifully, she had found out at Midwinter at Tanair.A pang shot through her; her eyes burned slightly. First I start missing his kisses, then I miss him at a party where we wouldn't be allowed to dance anyway. What's wrong with me? she asked herself. She did not try to answer. Instead she tried to pick out who among the young noblemen might be a good partner, if she were allowed to dance. The only one she liked was Zaimid. He was handsome, graceful, clever, and he had a good heart. But he lacks something, Aly decided. Directness, perhaps. An odd sense of humor. He would never send a girl a shiny rock or a griffin feather as a token.She was getting up to check her ladies again when brightness—the white-hot blaze of godhood—struck her eyes. She clapped her hands to them and retreated, then did complex things with her Sight, making herself better able to see through that fire. Had Kyprioth returned?"Aly?" asked a Fonfala maid. "Are you all right?""Dust in my eye," Aly replied, blinking. "Yes, that's better." She looked up.The source of the fire was just vanishing through the door to the hall outside. Aly slid between the other servants and stepped outside. An old brown-skinned woman in a black and orange headcloth and sarong hobbled away from Aly, a tray in her bony hands, godhood shimmering around her. Aly called, "Grandmother, wait."The old woman glanced at her. She grinned, the essence of mischief in her expression. Then she turned the corner, moving more quickly than Aly would have expected of someone of her age."Uh-oh," Trick whispered. "Gods not good. Gods sly.""I know," Aly replied softly. "But we need to know what brings a god here." She followed, tracking the old goddess by her glowing footprints.She had a very bad feeling about this. Might this be the Great Mother Goddess, who had returned to the Isles in her aspect as the Crone? Aly prayed it was not as she went on into the gardens. If the Goddess had come, she would uncover Kyprioth's plans. The war between the Great Gods would start with Kyprioth still unprepared.Finally Aly saw her quarry on a bench near the estate's temple. Aly adjusted her Sight to allow for the dark as the woman shook off her headcloth. Only gray stubble covered her head. There was a scarred socket where one of her eyes had been. When she grinned, Aly’saw gaps in her teeth."Bad. Wily. Careful." That was Secret, quavering from Aly's shoulder.The goddess squinted at Aly. "Ah," she said in a cheerful voice. "You've little tattlers on your shoulders. How sweet. They will be silent for the time being." She pointed: white light swarmed over Aly. Trick and Secret immediately went still. Worried, Aly touched them. Their bodies in her necklace were warm, but she felt no heads."They're alive," the goddess assured her. "I just don't want them meddling."And I don't need you meddling, Aly thought, though she said "Good evening" politely. From long acquaintance with her mother and her Aunt Daine, she knew it was wisest to be polite to strange gods. "I never thought the Fonfalas were so remarkable that they might draw a god to their house.""But I like playing servant, dearie, just like you," the goddess told her. "People think you're furniture. They hardly notice. You can have all kinds of fun without them realizing who's doing it, but you already know that. I love to see their little lives collapse in flames. It's even more amusing when they start blaming each other as things go wrong."Goose bumps crept over Aly. There was something familiar about this goddess. "Are you a raka god?" she asked, still cautious."Gracious, no. Don't they have enough troubles with my cousin mucking about? Just be thankful his sister the Jaguar Goddess is locked up, and all the others are small gods," the goddess told Aly. She snatched at the air, grabbed a firefly, then popped it into her mouth. "Mmm, I like these. I wonder if I could get some at home."Aly remembered where she'd heard of a goddess much like this one. Daine had told her about the Carthakis' quirky patron goddess. "You're the Graveyard Hag."The goddess beamed at her, revealing all of seven teeth. "Aren't you the clever boots," she said with pleasure. "I'd heard that you were, but 'Count on it,' I told Gainel—that's the Dream King to you, dearie. 'Count on it,' I told him, 'they're always said to be quick, but it turns out to be all smoke.' No," she cautioned as Aly took a step back. "Don't run off. That wouldn't be polite, and I'm not done with you."Aly could not move her foot—either foot, for that matter. Or her hips. Or her arms. She tried to open her mouth to scream and failed.The goddess nodded. "Every bit as clever as my cousin says. Mind, I don't want to ruin Kyprioth's game. I just want to tweak it a little. Besides, I'm doing a favor for one of my own lads. Such a good one, he is. He built me a shrine—paid for it with his own money, too! One good turn deserves another, and he's in love."Aly released the breath she'd meant to use to scream through her nose. Suddenly her mouth could move again. She could talk, but she also knew better than to try to call out. "May I ask questions?" she inquired. "Since I'm going to be here for a time?"The Hag chuckled. "Oh, you are a treat. Well brought-up, even with a mother who's a violent bumpkin."Aly ignored the insult. Her mother had been called worse things. "This worshipper must be very devoted, to bring you all the way here. Surely it would be easier to favor him at home. Unless you have other business?" She kept her voice light and sweet."It's more personal satisfaction than business," replied the Hag. "Normally I could give duckmole's dung about the Isles, but Kyprioth is annoying even for a god. He gloats. He's been saying we lesser tricksters couldn't fool Mithros and the Goddess ... as if we don't know what we're doing. He deserves a lesson." She seized another firefly. "And I can do my worshipper a favor while I'm at it."Aly raised an eyebrow.The Hag grinned. "Besides, I owe Kyprioth. He's gotten the better of me twice. I mean to repay him."Aly picked through the Hag's words. Aunt Daine said gods talk in riddles, she grumbled to herself.The Hag replied aloud. "Naturally," she said with glee. "You mortals are so adorable with your faces all screwed up when you're trying to think."Carthaki, Aly thought, shooting a glare at the Hag. A worshipper from there . . . "Zaimid Hetnim?" she asked.The Hag chortled. "Bright girl." She stood, dusting off her hands. "By the time you can free yourself, my boy will have his heart's desire, Kyprioth will have his comeuppance, and you will have some work to do." Wriggling her fingers in a mockery of a wave, she vanished.Aly didn't like it, but there was nothing she could do. The Graveyard Hag had sealed her lips. Her mind raced frantically. Stupid! she told herself over and over. Stupid, over-confident, blind. . . Why did I not see it coming with Sarai and Zaimid? Sarai's not good at hiding how she feels. I've been trained to spot intrigue in every form! But no, I was smug about Topabaw and creating more spies. And while I was being so festering clever, a girl in love cooked something up right under my nose!She berated herself without mercy, remembering clues that should have been obvious, including Sarai s conviction that nothing in the Isles would ever change for the better. She remembered how quiet Sarai had been after Imajane's offer of marriage to the boy king. Despite everything her advisors told her, Sarai had appeared convinced that she would have to marry her royal cousin.At last the spell that locked Aly into place began to thaw, like ice on a sunlit pond. It faded bit by bit, driving Aly half insane as she waited. Somewhere, she knew, the Graveyard Hag was enjoying her frustration. At last she was free."This bad?" asked Trick, once he and Secret were also able to move again. They settled back into their bead necklace shapes, with the two connecting medallions that were their heads on each of Aly's shoulders."It's not good," Aly told the darkings. "And I am an idiot." She didn't even bother with the servants' gallery, but ran into the ballroom itself. When she stumbled to a halt at the room's center, everyone turned to stare. Aly ignored them, scanning every face in the room. Sarai and Zaimid were not there.She ran into the servants' gallery. Zaimid's attendant was gone. She told herself not to panic yet, then bolted outside. As the Fonfalas' daughter, the duchess had been given her own pavilion separate from the main house, where she and her stepdaughters slept with their attendants. Petranne and Elsren shared the nursery in the main house with the other children. Aly knew that Boulaj, Pembery, and Dorilize would be in the household infirmary, wherever that was.She raced to the duchess's pavilion. Inside, a lamp was provided for the Balitang ladies' return. In the flickering light it cast, Aly could see that Sarai's trunk—the one into which the vexed Boulaj had simply thrown all her mistress's personal items as Sarai kept changing her mind—was gone. Moreover, there was a folded and sealed document on the duchess's bed. Aly went to look at it. The note was addressed, in Sarai's curling writing, to Winna and Dove.Aly was sitting on the pavilion steps when the duchess arrived. "Aly, what's going on?" she asked, her sweet, deep voice concerned. "Papa said you burst into the ballroom looking as if the dead marched on your spine. . . ."Aly held out the letter Sarai had left."Oh, no," said Winnamine. She hurried into the pavilion without taking the letter. Aly stayed where she was.Soon more footsteps slapped the flagstone path. This time it was Dove. "Aly, have you seen Sarai? Ferdy Tomang is searching all through the main house, and he's saying he'll kill Zaimid or Druce or Vedec if they've sneaked away with her—" She cut herself off abruptly. "Aly?"Winnamine walked onto the steps and sat next to Aly. "She left a letter for us," she told Dove, and broke the seal. Using the light from the torches that marked the pavilion's entrance, she read the letter to the girls in a leaden voice."Dearest Winna and Dove,"I can only beg your forgiveness a thousand times for running away like this."Dove sat in the walkway with a thump, ignoring the damage to her clothes."I am so very sorry. By the time you read this Zaimid and I will be sailing for Carthak. There is a ship waiting for us at Moriji Cove. "The cove lay five miles downhill from the estate. It was a favored raka smuggling port because it was not readily visible.The duchess continued."I can no longer watch as good people are taxed into poverty, jailed, beaten, or killed. It makes me sick, the never-ending executions, the despair, and the fear. Neither will I marry a boy thirteen years younger than me, to be a puppet for the regents. I know you cannot fight them and win, and once they have won, I would not give a coppers chance in a volcano for Dunevon or for me to live to old age."Please tell Dorilize, Pembery, Boulaj, Rihani, and Junai that I am sorry I made them sick. The herbs will wear off by dawn. I knew they would stop me."I would have done none of this if I were not truly, deeply in love. Zaimid is kind and gentle. When people are hurt, he helps them. We can’t bear to be parted. And neither of us can stand to see more people hurt where we can do so little. With him I can have the life I want, raising horses and our children, and helping him to build hospitals when he takes his post as the emperor's healer. Like me, he begs your forgiveness for our stealing away. I will write more when we are settled. Please try to understand, I did not do this on impulse. I have known I loved him for some weeks. The thought of marrying a child cousin was bad in itself, but it was so much worse when I compared it to marriage with Zaimid."I love both you so much, and Elsren and Petranne, too. I hope that you will wish me well. Zaimid has already said that our first boy will be named Mequen."Your devoted Sarai"After hearing Sarai's letter no one had anything to say. They just sat in silent gloom on the steps.Finally Nuritin came to see where they were. "What is it?" she asked sharply when she saw their faces. Mutely, Winnamine handed the letter to her.While Nuritin read, Aly walked around the guesthouse to inspect it for listening spells. She found only a number of strong charms to keep any listening spell from taking hold there. There were similar protections all over the Fonfala buildings and grounds. The Fonfalas, she decided, loved their privacy. When she finished her search, she stopped herself from going to tell the ladies it was safe to speak here. She had been too overconfident for too long. Carefully Aly went over the place again. She even sent the darkings under the house to check there. When they returned to report they had found nothing, Aly then went back to find the ladies."There are no listening spells here that I could see," she told them numbly, sitting next to Dove. "And no spies."Nuritin, rereading the letter, looked up with a frown."What makes you certain of that?" she demanded sharply."She knows, Aunt," Winnamine replied, weariness in her voice and face."Hmph," Nuritin said, still glaring at the seated Aly. Aly propped her chin on her hand and returned the old lady's look. She was tired and depressed. She was not about to stand because Nuritin thought her a servant. It was the older woman who looked away."Silly chit," Nuritin commented, giving the letter back to the duchess. "She obviously didn't believe that she could keep Imajane at bay on this marriage." Nuritin looked at Dove. "You will not make that mistake, though, will you?"Dove blinked at her, startled. "Will the regents offer it to me? They're probably going to think Sarai as good as slapped their faces, doing this. I'm thinking maybe we should run for Tanair before they arrest us all.""They dare not," Nuritin told her flatly. "You girls are too popular. Imajane admitted as much when she offered the marriage to Sarai in the first place. She needs to offer it to you, and you must do as we advised Sarai." Nuritin's abrupt smile was thin and frosty. "You're vexed that she didn't tell you," she added, glancing at Dove and Winnamine. "She did it to me, too, and I was as much her chaperon as anyone. She planned this under our very noses, the minx. She hid her interest in the Carthaki by including him with all her young men. She was good at slipping off for private assignations before you went to Tanair. Obviously she got better at it."Aly, thinking of the raka and what this would do to them, shifted impatiently. It drew Nuritin's attention."And she gave you the slip, watchful as you are," Nuritin said, that smile razor sharp. "That must gall you." When Aly, Dove, and Winnamine all stared at her, Nuritin rolled her eyes. "Even apart from mysterious hints about this one being more than just a maid, I've noticed how very attentive she is. I don t know what she's up to, and I don't want to. When I must know, I'm sure one of you will tell me. For the time being, it's important that we deal with this, first here and then at home. The regents will have the news by the time we get there, if that new spymaster knows the least bit about what he does. It will still be important to let them know in person. They will be outraged for a day or two, and then they will make their offer to our Dove. Mope about here if you like, but I am going to bed, and I advise you to do the same. There is nothing more to be done tonight." She looked at Aly. "Since Sarai made certain that Dorilize would be in no condition to stop her, I require you to undress me." Standing, she shook out her skirts and marched inside.Aly stared back at her with admiration. "I want to be her when I grow up," she murmured."Let's work on growing up first," Dove replied, her voice and face glum. "Then you can be anyone you like.""Nuritin is right," said Winnamine, exhaustion in her voice. There were tears rolling down her cheeks. She appeared not to notice them. "It's too late to do anything but sleep."Aly passed a handkerchief to her. When the duchess stared at it, not understanding, Dove touched her cheek. Winnamine angrily swiped her eyes. "I thought she trusted us," she whispered. "I thought she trusted me!”"Except that you would have asked her to do her duty by her family and country," Dove said gently, her own eyes full. She did not cry, though. "You would have made her feel she was selfish to want her own freedom and happiness when others depend on her for so much. And you would be right. She knew that, too. So she ran away.""Girl!" an imperious voice called from inside the house. Aly scrambled to her feet and went to assist Nuritin, thinking that Dove had the right of it. As she prepared all three ladies for bed, she berated herself. She had been overconfident for the last time, she hoped. She would pay for that. Only she and Dove knew that the raka and Kyprioth were not going to take Sarai's elopement well.The duchess asked her to let the family know that Sarai, too, had felt unwell and had left the party early. Aly returned after delivering her message, but she did not sleep. Her mother had a rich vocabulary of curses, as did her father. Aly used all of those words first on herself, then on Sarai and Zaimid. Trick and Secret, understanding that she needed to think, kept quiet, though they hummed gently against her skin, offering comfort.When she ran out of bad words, Aly decided that the joke was on her. Only a year before, she might have helped Sarai to marry her love rather than be trapped in a political life. At the very least, she would have loved Sarai's boldness. Aly's mother had done as Sarai had, chosen the life she wanted over the life that was expected of her. My, how I've changed, Aly thought ruefully. These days I care about duty to those who look to one to lead. These days I care less about fun and more about work. Though at least my work is fun.Shaking her head, she began to prepare for the consequences of this night. Kyprioth had not appeared, which meant that he was still arranging for the theft of the sun and the moon shields. She would need all her arguments marshaled when the god returned, and when they brought the news to the raka conspirators. She wondered if the conspiracy wasn't to blame for not telling Sarai what they intended. Then Aly’shook her head. If Sarai had known of their plans, she would have fled all the sooner.The next morning Winnamine sent Aly for the ladies' maids. They had recovered, but they could tell that something wasn't right. "It's for Her Grace to tell you," Aly said, leading them to the duchess.As they helped their mistresses dress for the day, Winnamine explained what Sarai had done. For a moment, hardy Boulaj looked as if she might faint."She dosed you," Dove said quickly. "She dosed all of you. She said so in her letter.""She must have put it in the sambal," Aly put in. "Boulaj, remember? She tasted the sambal and said she thought it might be off, but she couldn't tell, and neither did you. That's when she added the herbs to make your bowels run. She knew she'd get most of you, because Chenaol makes dreadful sambal, and you all eat it at every house we visit.""How did she escape Aly?" demanded Pembery, her voice sharp but her hands steady as she pinned up Winnamine's hair. "Aly was supposed to be looking after our ladies." Dorilize, doing up Nuritin's buttons, shook her head."Aly was lured away and locked up," Aly said absently, her mind churning with plans and questions. "If one of the Fonfalas' maids hadn't needed a nightshirt for a guest who forgot his, I might still be locked up." She wasn't about to mention the Graveyard Hag, not yet. She had already concocted a story for those who might not accept the truth. "One of Zaimid's servants brought a message saying you wanted to tell me something, Pembery. I knew you were sick, so I went running, and that's when they grabbed me." Even the hint that she might have been involved would stop Pembery from digging further into the mess they were in.Winnamine shook her head. "We must put our best face on this," she told the maids. "To our men-at-arms and the rest of the staff. The thing is done. We all knew Sarai was more interested in her heart than politics." She got to her feet. "Let's show proud faces to the world, shall we? It will take some time to live down this shame. Give no one the satisfaction of seeing we are hurt. I must explain things to my parents, and let the rest of our people know we are leaving today rather than tomorrow."As soon as she had left the house, Pembery and Boulaj pulled Aly out onto the porch. "How could you let this happen?" cried Pembery, tears running down her cheeks.Boulaj, too, wept. "Can the god—?"Aly put her finger to her lips. She motioned toward the house: Nuritin and Dorilize were within earshot.Dove had followed them outside. "We can talk at home. Why don't you two start packing up, please?"The women moved to obey as Dove turned to Aly "Walk with me. I don't have that much to pack."They strolled out into the misty air. It was cool. Howler monkeys proclaimed their territories; crows shrieked in reply. Aly walked at Dove's elbow without mentioning that her feet were soaked. Sandals were inadequate cover for early morning grass. They halted by one of the many streams that crossed the property. Aly looked around. There was no sign of magic anywhere."They act like it's the end of everything." Dove's soft voice sounded tentative."But it isn't," Aly replied. "It could be the beginning."Dove looked at her, eyes ablaze in her small face. "How may I convince them?"Aly thought about it. "Work," she said at last. "You're farming, that's all. The ground's been tilled and prepared and it's ready to take the seed. If one batch of seed gets moldy, we find another batch.""One less vulnerable to mold," added Dove. "Will you help me?"Aly held out her hand. Dove clasped her by the forearm.After a moment's hesitation, Aly clasped Dove's forearm. "I don't need a maid," Dove said. "I need a friend." For a moment Aly found it hard to breathe. It had been hard to get passionate about Sarai as queen, as the raka had been. But Dove . . . Dove was no stranger to emotion, Aly knew, but it didn't govern her as it did Sarai. Dove understood duty to those who needed her. Dove could be trusted to keep a clear head. She was one of the most ferociously intelligent people Aly had ever known. Aly had seen it the night before: they must put Dove on the throne."I will be your friend until the end of time," she told the younger girl.The ride home was silent. All along the way the raka who came to watch them pass saw that Sarai was not with them. Aly’studied their faces, her mind busy. At the city's outskirts she saw members of her pack, as uneasy as the bystanders over Sarai's absence. To each query they made by way of hand-signal Aly replied: When we meet at home. She didn't want word getting to Balitang House ahead of them.While Dove and Aly had settled the focus of the rebellion between them, Aly knew some raka conspirators would require persuasion. They were used to seeing Dove as Sarai's intelligent, bookish, quiet sister, a fine counselor, but not the kind of person who could rally the passions of her followers. Dove would have to show them they were mistaken.When they reached Middle Town, Dove greeted many soldiers at the checkpoints by name. Vendors and shopkeepers waved and called to her; Dove waved back with a smile. Aly was instantly reassured. Dove did have charm. It was quieter and less flashy than Sarai's, but it was there. Aly also thought that once the people remembered they still had one twice-royal girl, their first concern would be to put her on a throne. Afterward they could fret about her ability to win the crowd.As the riders clattered into the courtyard before the house, servants ran to take their horses. Ulasim trotted out the front door, bowed to the duchess, then pulled Aly down until she could hear his whisper: "Nawat and his crows got every one of the raka who rose on that Ikang estate off the island. Every one! He and his crows drove the army mad while our people made it to the escape ships. More than two hundred raka, safe thanks to him."Aly's heart lifted at the sound of Nawat's name. She nodded her thanks and dismounted as Ulasim moved clear of her. Now that he'd unburdened himself, the big footman noticed there was something wrong with their company. He took the sleeping Petranne as Rihani handed the girl to him, but his eyes were busy reading their faces.Suddenly they widened. Aly knew he'd realized who was missing."Ulasim," the duchess called. He went over to her, still holding Petranne in his arms. "Open the ballroom and summon the household," Winnamine ordered quietly. "Lock the gates and bring all the household in, even those who are off duty. We have news that everyone must hear."It was not long before all but Rihani, Petranne, and Elsren, who had gone to the nursery, had assembled in the great ballroom. Aly’stood just below the dais where Winnamine, Nuritin, and Dove sat, waiting. From the faces of the household she could tell they knew only that Sarai had not come home with the duchess. The maids and guards who had been at the Fonfalas' had told them nothing, leaving it in their mistress's hands.Maybe, thought Aly, they were afraid of how people would react.Everyone stared at the duchess, their eyes flicking from her to Dove to Nuritin and back."Good morning," Winnamine said. "Forgive me if I am blunt, but I know of no easy way to say this. Lady Saraiyu eloped from my father’s party last night with Master Zaimid Hetnim, the Carthaki." She smiled grimly. "We shall be apologizing for what she has done for months, I think. Do not blame our maids for not looking after her. Sarai made arrangements to get them all out of the way. No one knew until Sarai was long gone."The members of the conspiracy within the household stared at Aly with disbelief or outright suspicion. Aly made a note to herself to ask Ulasim to let them know about the Graveyard Hag. The conspirators had to learn Aly had not betrayed them, or she would find herself in very hot water.Winnamine continued, "On Sarai's behalf I apologize to you. We must be happy for her. She wrote that she loves Master Zaimid. While we could have wished her to love closer to home, we had no choice in the matter. She was very sure to make it look as if Zaimid meant no more than her other suitors."The duchess rubbed her temples. "We must write to people, explaining what has happened. Ulasim, I will require every message carrier you can spare, and a footman in livery to take a letter to the regents." She noticed that the servants were disturbed by this move and explained, "Lord Elsren is in the line of inheritance, and our girls are of royal blood. Their behavior is a matter of state." She smoothed her skirts with her hands. "Thank you all again. I am sorry to bring such tidings. Those of you on gate duty, see if any visitors will return another day. Only admit them if they insist."Slowly, murmuring to one another, the household dispersed. Dove watched them go, then hugged Winnamine."I'll help you with those notes, Winna," she said."As will Jesi and I," Nuritin said.Dove looked at Aly. "I believe we'll need tea in the ladies' study."Chenaol grabbed Aly in the kitchen, but Aly’shook her head. "Tonight," she said quietly. "Things will be a shambles today. We'll have company as soon as word gets out."Chenaol gasped. "Gods, yes. Here." She stocked a tray with fruits, cheeses, flatbreads, and luarin-style sweet biscuits. "I'll need an assistant cook if all this entertaining keeps going on," she muttered. Thrusting the tray of food into Aly's hands, she said, "I'll send tea as soon as it's ready. Start heating oil," she ordered the kitchen maids. "Get out what bean curd we have. I'll need three of you to go to market, and if anyone so much as breathes word of what's happened, I'll filet her, understand?"The footman returned from the palace around noon with a note granting the duchess a private audience the next morning, when Elsren went to attend Dunevon. In the afternoon the Balitang cousins came on the footman's heels, followed by Countess Tomang still dressed in riding clothes: she too had left the Fonfalas' early. She demanded a private conversation, but did not stay long. Aly, listening outside the Teak Sitting Room, heard Ferdy's mother shout that Sarai had made a monkey of her son, and that blood would tell. Winnamine did not answer. Aly knew the duchess probably agreed.Nobody else came after the Countess and the Balitang relatives left. Apparently no one wished further contact at Balitang House until they knew how the regents would jump. Winnamine and Dove wandered through the rooms, talking to servants and slaves, showing themselves as steady and unshaken. Aly unpacked Dove's things, took her dirty clothes to the house laundry, and retired to her office to work. Two days of reports awaited her, as well as the darkings' news from the palace."Trick," she asked, "what do you hear from the regents?" Instantly her bead necklace turned into Trick and Secret, who stuck heads out of their blobby bodies to look at Aly."Yesterday morning regents in private audience chamber when head of shipwright guild ask for talk," Trick informed her. "He makes ships for king and navy. He is angry because man sail little ship to royal dock and show him a paper with Rubinyan order, saying put little ship there. He say little ship is for king s birthday. Guildmaster say guild and navy should make little ship for king. Rubinyan say he have man who build little ship for his birthday make one for king, so man feel useful. Rubinyan writes paper so navy shipwrights build six more ships right away and get three ready to sail. He says shipwrights here needed for serious work to send ships to kill rebels. Guildmaster go away."Then messenger come. Messenger say slaves on Rittevon estate, north Gempang, kill overseer, then kill Imajane's old nursemaid. Imajane very angry and say, kill all slaves on estates. Rubinyan sends order to army fort in north Gempang to kill slaves."On and on the reports went. Aly realized that more estates throughout the Isles were experiencing violent upheavals. She set pins with red ribbons at every spot on the map where Trick reported trouble. They showed her a deliberate pattern. The rebellions began on the estates nearest the sea, closest to the lands and towns that would be the first on the island to get help by water. Army fortresses had also come under attack, even if the mischief was as subtle as the disappearance of patrols into the jungles, or the constant illness of the men.Among the reports passed on by Trick were appeals for help by landowners. The palace darkings had also heard Ru-binyan and Imajane talk about how many remaining soldiers, cavalry, pikemen, fighting ships, and sailors they had. They had sent companies of soldiers and cavalry all over the Isles to back up troops already assigned there. Their reserves of men in the city were dwindling.Aly’saw it, as plain as day: This was Ulasim's grand plan. Bit by bit, the rebels were drawing protection away from Rajmuat. Ulasim had not lied when he'd said he had not ordered the first uprisings. But would I see a lie on him if I asked him about that now? Aly wondered. He knew his people. He may even have sent agents last year to whisper ideas to the raka who lived closest to the coast, where ships could unload men and supplies.Rittevon Lanman had demoralized the raka three centuries ago. He had overrun the most powerful of the Isles, then captured Rajmuat, already torn by bloodshed in the royal family's never-ending feuds. He'd executed the queen and her remaining family. Then the still-feuding raka had come down from the inner lands to be fought, killed, or enslaved. Now the reverse was happening. The inland raka were drawing the Rittevon forces up onto their ground, taking them into the jungles. It was so devious that, unless Rubinyan and Imajane had grown up around maps of trouble spots, they might not realize how thinly they were spread. This was no accident. This was planned by Ulasim.Aly was silent, awed. Years of preparations by Ulasim's predecessors had gone into the picture she saw here. They and he had built it up bit by bit, deciding who needed instruction, and who could be trusted to exercise their ancient hatreds of the invaders at just the right time.She wanted to help. Someone should point out to Ulasim that more damage would result if the Crown's troops were weakened by hunger. An attack was a thing the enemy-was prepared for. People driving wagons filled with supplies that arrived on schedule were another matter. It could be arranged for some of those supplies to be drugged, or for some of those wagons never to arrive at their destination.What could she find for her own people to work on? The army was not the only group with storehouses. Wealthy merchants kept their goods in warehouses in Downwind and Market Town. After the attacks on the fortresses and on the slave docks, the waterfront and the royal and naval docks were under extra guard, but the storehouses were not.It was late afternoon when the darking Bean reported the reaction of the court to news of Sarai's elopement. After Trick finished passing on Beans report, the supper bell rang. Nuritin, Winnamine, and Dove went to the nursery to eat with Elsren and Petranne and try to explain what had happened. After the children were put to bed, Nuritin and Winnamine retired to their own rooms. Dove and Aly went nervously down to the conspiracy's meeting room.Everyone was there: Ulasim, Fesgao, Ysul, Chenaol, Quedanga, Ochobu. As soon as Dove and Aly came in, Ochobu threw up the rooms magical shields and glared at Aly. "How could you let this happen?" the old mage demanded. "You're the clever one, you re the spy—"Aly shook her head. She was in no mood to be verbally whipped. "I was unable to stop it," she said. "You see, I had a bigger problem. The Graveyard Hag paid us a visit. She's the patron goddess of Carthak—of Zaimid. And while she's fun in a perverse way, she is no easier to cross than your Bright One. When was the last time you argued with a god?"Ochobu scowled. "A likely story!"Reproachfully Aly said, "You have forgotten I like to tell lies that will be believed."Chenaol's mouth twitched in spite of her distress. "She's got you there," she told Ochobu.Aly continued, "Kyprioth got the better of the Hag on a few occasions. She wished to pay him back. And yes, I made an immense mistake." She leaned against the wall, taking care not to smash her darking necklace. "I was so busy watching the world outside the house, I neglected to keep an eye on things inside. Can you possibly kick me harder than I'm kicking myself?""We have to get her back," said Chenaol. "Some of us will have to go after her. And at least one should be a mage, in case this Graveyard Hag is hanging around."Ysul hand-signed, You cant chase Sarai to Carthak. We don’t have people or time.From her chair Dove said quietly, "Sarai isn't the only one with royal blood from both sides of the family."Aly saw them all turn to look at Dove, and then her world went black. Aly was whipped through an immense, howling darkness. Trick and Secret keened in her ears. Everything around her roared, until she landed on her behind with a painful thump.She sat in a pavilion house that looked bigger than the palace. She could have sworn there were clouds among the ceiling beams. Jewelry dangled along the walls in crazy ranks. Enormous pillows were strewn over piles of gaudy rugs. A number of large crows pecked through the contents of dishes on the floor.Beyond them stood Kyprioth, his dark eyes blazing. "What have you done?" shrieked the god. Aly clapped her hands to her ears. He roared, "It's all ruined! Ruined! You bumbling, blind, oblivious mortal! How could you let her slip away? I leave to do one little thing and I return to find everything in ruins. Ruins!"Thunder rolled in the ceiling clouds. Lightning bolts raced over the god's jewelry."I thought you'd be gone for a while," Aly remarked, as if this were another casual talk between them. "I thought you were preparing a trick of your own."Kyprioth glared at her. An invisible force pressed Aly against the nearest marble column. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't cook you where you stand," the god snarled. "You, the clever one, and you can't keep an eye on one lone, lovesick chit!""The way you're carrying on, I'd say you were in love with her yourself," Aly said lightly, her stomach in knots. "Isn't she a little young for you? Not to mention boring, but that could just be me.""You mock me," he said, coming closer. He'd begun to blaze with light.The crows suddenly rose in a thunder of wings. They glided through the air until they landed beside Aly."It's not like you're making it easy to have a proper conversation," Aly pointed out to Kyprioth as she shaded her eyes. What could she do but talk back? He was a great god and could do as he wished with her. If she was going to die, she wanted to die arguing. "Honestly, Kyprioth, how long would it have been before that lovesick girl lost the throne you schemed so to get her? How long before she got angry and insulted someone, or married the wrong noble and started the Haiming rebellions all over again?"He pointed at her. "That's it. You die."Aly forced a merry tone into her voice as she replied, "You'll lose your wager with the crows. You never said the bet didn't count if it was you who killed me, so you'd still have to pay them. And I know you hate to lose wagers.""This is what I wagered," Kyprioth snapped.A long necklace detached itself from a wall and flew at Aly to strike her full in the face. She yelped in pain and pulled it off. Blood dripped from a number of cuts on her skin. She had never seen anything uglier. It was made of gold and silver beads, gem beads in all colors, and gaudy glass beads. "You mean to tell me the crows were helping me for this?" she demanded, indignant.One of the crows walked over and grabbed the dangling end in its beak. To Aly's surprise, little Secret rolled down her arm and wrapped around the end of the necklace that Aly still held, securing it to her hand. "Not yours," Secret told the crow. "You didn't win it. Help her."The crow cocked its head, looking the darking over. Trick flowed down Aly to cover Secret and twine itself with a foot of the necklace beyond Aly's hold.Dropping the necklace, the crow turned to look at Kyprioth. "How can she fail if she was tricked in turn?" the crow demanded sharply. Somehow it sounded male. "Ask the Graveyard Hag where she was that night the girl ran away.""The—" Kyprioth said, his face dark with fury. There was a pop. Air rushed to fill the space he had occupied.Aly knelt so she could be face to face with her defender. "Thank you."Another crow walked over to take a lock of her hair in its beak. It gave a hard tug, making Aly wince, then let go. "Save your thanks," the crow advised in a voice that was the female version of the male crow's. "You're not back in the Mortal Realms yet."Aly had guessed she was in the Divine Realms. She'd never heard of a human dwelling with clouds under the roof beams. "So you're the Dawn Crow and Sky, the crow goddess?" she asked. "But what are they?" She pointed to the others."The first flock," Sky explained. "I must say, I see why our cousin Nawat feels so strongly about you.""Oddly," said the Dawn Crow."Strongly,' retorted Sky, fixing her mate with a beady stare. When he did not answer, she told Aly, "Not every mortal could talk back to Kyprioth when he's in one of his tempers. His nasty streak is very nasty.""I've certainly enjoyed myself with what he's shown me so far," replied Aly."I do not approve of one of our kind changing his shape just for a mortal," the Dawn Crow remarked stiffly."You must ask Nawat if he cares," replied Sky. "He is free as all of us are free, to fly as he wishes and to steal as he may."Aly’smiled and ducked her head, suddenly shy. "I miss him," she found herself admitting to the goddess. "He—"The air boomed with a sound that was hard to recognize at first: an old woman's laughter. It made the pavilion house shudder. It was followed by an immense shriek of rage. Both sounds grew fainter. Shivering, Aly gave the necklace a fresh inspection. "Kyprioth wagered my life on this thing," she said, aghast. "I've probably seen uglier, but the shock has driven them from my mind.""Actually, he wagered one of them for each of us who helps you," Sky explained. "They are very sparkly and colorful. They are well worth our mortal cousins' efforts."Aly looked at the necklace. "If you say so, goddess, then I must believe you," she said reluctantly. "It certainly is, um, sparkly."Time passed. She itched to get back to the raka, but she was stuck in Kyprioth's home until he returned. The crows might have had the power to send her, but they told her it would be rude. She was Kyprioth's guest, which meant it was up to Kyprioth to send her back.She talked with the crows a while, then took a sudden nap as all the fright she'd felt in dealing with the god came home to her. When she woke, he was still nowhere to be seen. She explored the house, ignoring the part of herself that constantly reminded her time was passing. The crows brought her berries and a melon, and told her stories of all the other trickster gods in the Divine Realms.Aly refused to think that she might not return home. If she didn't, then she didn't, but in the meantime, why waste so many uninterrupted hours with no one to call on her and no reports to read? Planning what she would set in motion for Dove, she dozed off again.When she woke, Kyprioth sat next to her. "You were right," he told her, back to his cheerful self. "The old girl admitted to it readily enough. And I managed to remind her who is the boss Trickster around here. So. Do you really think Dove can win the people?""I think at the moment a howler monkey could win the people," Aly’said. "They will rally to Dove because she is what they have. And they will be glad they did so, because she is everything Sarai is not, from cool head to cool heart. And she knows how to talk to different kinds of people so they feel she thinks of them as equals. Sarai's friends were all that young noble crowd. Dove is friends with beggars and street vendors, spice merchants, cobblers, booksellers, the royal astronomer, priests, priestesses. . . . Even that milky luarin conspiracy group that's been meeting with Winnamine and Nuritin listens to her ideas with respect."Kyprioth's black eyes caught and held Aly's. "You've sworn to her already," he remarked, his crisp voice soft."Oh, stop that," Aly said crossly. "What's important is that Dove will do the thing right. She'll not only get your Isles back for you, but she'll keep them for you."Kyprioth patted her cheek. "I would have been very sorry to have killed you. You are the most amusing mortal I've dealt with in ages."Aly gave him her sweetest smile. "All that flattery is going straight to my happy, unkilled head. May I go back? I've left Dove there all alone, convincing the raka she will be worth their support.""Cheer up," he ordered. "She convinced them, without you. And you have convinced me. We shall continue. And it is time for you to...""I think she's waking up."That sounded like Boulaj. "Where's that pitcher of water? Wayan, go tell Lady Dove and Her Grace that Aly is coming around."Aly heard bare, running feet, then the gurgle of water poured into a cup. She fought to open her eyes. "The god had me," she croaked.Arms helped Aly to sit up: Chenaol's. "Drink," the cook ordered, putting the cup to Aly's lips.Aly drank, thinking, The last time the god took me, it was Nawat who was there when I woke. She blinked rapidly to keep her eyes from watering."How long?" she asked."Three days, but they've been quiet ones," Chenaol said as Boulaj poured a second cup of water.Aly looked at the older woman. There was a smug tone to her voice and a smug smile on her lips. "Quiet?" she asked."It was Atisa's idea," Boulaj explained. "She said if folk were going to be unhappy about Sarai's departure, they should be allowed to be unhappy. Quietly. Very quietly.""Stop dancing," Aly’said crossly, struggling to sit up. She was in Ochobu's infirmary, on one of the low beds. "What did Atisa suggest?""Shutdown," said   Chenaol. "Except for the luarin households, most luarin businesses, and the palace, the entire city has stopped work and has gone indoors. It took us a day to get the word out, and it started at dawn yesterday morning. It's a beautiful thing, and there are too many people in it for the regents to kill everyone."Aly chewed a hangnail. "But what if the Crown holds reprisals? All they have to do is see what businesses and houses are open and which are not.""That is a risk they must weigh." Ochobu stood in the open doorway. "But the regents must first consider where to exact vengeance first. The royal governors of Imahyn and Jerykun Isles are dead, shot near their homes with crow-fletched arrows."Chenaol winked at Aly "What do you call four dead governors?"Aly blinked at her, her mind still trying to catch up. "I don't know."Chenaol grinned a wolf s grin, all teeth and predatory intent. "A good start."Aly woke in the dark, with a dark shape seated by her bed. She sat up with a gasp. She groped for knives—taken from her when she was put to bed in the infirmary—as she adjusted her Sight. The figure got up and opened the door to the torchlit hall, but Aly had already identified her visitor: Nuritin Balitang. Aly waited as the lady took a lamp from a niche in the hall. She placed it on the table at Aly's bedside and resumed her seat."You needn't rise," the old woman said. "I just wanted us to have a quiet chat. The family and the servants are at their supper."It's not that late after all, Aly thought. It's just there are no windows in here, so no one can spy on Ochobu and Ysul. "I'm at your ladyship's service," she said cautiously."Winnamine says that your service is in fact the god's. Mithros's." Nuritin's eyes were sharp as she looked at Aly. "She has also said you know all our secrets. Is this true?"Aly shook her head. Nuritin was every bit as sharp as the duchess, Dove, or Ulasim. "I'm only one person, my lady," she replied. "I couldn't possibly know everyone's secrets. It's a big household. I do know some.""Don’t toy with me, girl. I am out of patience with anything that crosses my path after Sarai's disgraceful behavior—which you also appear not to have known about."Aly hung her head. "I'm not very happy with that myself, my lady. I would have stopped her, had I known." Would I? she wondered briefly. Really, would I?Nuritin continued. "Do you know what is discussed in the Teak Sitting Room?"Aly scratched her nose, considering. Let's see how far she wants to play this, she told herself. To Nuritin she said, "I do, my lady.""And you have told...?""No one," replied Aly. "Forgive my saying so, but it's not much of a conspiracy. It's more a complaint society."Nuritin pursed her lips. "It is hard to get comfortable people to do anything when it might cost them their comfort. And only a fool takes on the Crown with a handful of allies."Aly thought carefully. At last she remarked, "There might be allies, somewhere. It would help if your complaint society members showed they were earnest in some way."Nuritin raised her brows with elegance. "And I suppose you have a suggestion?"Aly shook her head. "Even chosen by the god, I am just a servant girl. But, do you know, with the city and the people so unsettled, your friends might consider bringing more men-at-arms, or even mages, to Rajmuat. Finding housing for them, and so on. If the men had extra weapons, they might even bring those. Just in case."She waited, looking at the lady's face. Aly was taking a risk, but it was time to take a few. It was time for the luarin conspiracy to prove if it had what it took to be proper allies to the raka when the time came. There was a darking in Tomang House. Aly would ensure that darkings reached the other conspirators' houses. If she had guessed wrong about Nuritin or her friends, the darkings would warn her in time to stop the luarin from reporting to the regents.It was an acceptable risk, Aly decided. Having listened as Feather passed on what was said by the luarin conspiracy, Aly knew they were frightened and angry. The regents should not have killed Topabaw without a trial. Duke Lohearn Mantawu had been a luarin noble before he was the spy-master Topabaw. Imajane and Rubinyan had killed yet another member of the class that would normally support them, without even a pretense at legality. That, the executions of the Ibaduns, and Nomru's arrest had told the luarin nobility that their bloodlines no longer made them safe. If the regents could be pushed to do something even more extreme, the luarin conspirators might throw their lot in with the raka. And Aly knew Dove would be able to talk the raka into joining hands with these uneasy nobles, if the raka accepted her in place of Sarai."You have given me food for thought," Nuritin said at last, getting to her feet. "I will broach the matter with my fellows, without mentioning you.""Oh, please don't," Aly begged, glowing with false sincerity. "Thank you ever so, my lady. Such great persons would not care for ideas from the likes of me.""You are an impertinent minx," Nuritin said drily. "Take care someone does not shorten that clever tongue.""I do, all the time," Aly assured her earnestly.Shaking her head, Nuritin left the infirmary, shutting the door behind her.Someone had left fresh clothes on the bench at the foot of Aly's bed. Her bead necklace lay on top of them. As soon as Nuritin had gone, Trick and Secret thrust heads up from their large connecting bead disguises. Aly’set them gently on the bed, kissing each tiny head quickly."Thank you for helping me up there," she told the darklings softly as she put on a breast band and began to wrap her sarong around her body. She checked the seams. All of her thin, needle-like knives were in place."Had to help," Trick said. "Crow gods annoying.""But fun," Secret pointed out."But fun," agreed Trick. "Kyprioth fun, too. Wailing and howling like Elsren and Petranne."Aly grinned at them as she lifted her folded sash. It was heavier than it looked, because it held still more knives. Carefully she settled it around her waist, ensuring that the hilt to each blade was where it was supposed to be."What news from the palace?" she asked Trick."Regents say bad things about Sarai," the darking replied instantly.Aly waved the comment away. "Sarai opened us to that," she replied grimly. "What else?""Imajane want to arrest people in every third house that is closed," said Trick. "Imajane shake all the time now. Too many noises in the night, she complains. Too many people talking but she cannot tell what they say. She tells maid she will feel better if people who make her nervous die. Rubinyan say killing many people make others angry. Imajane throw a vase at him. They not share bedchamber last night." It stopped talking for a moment, then told Aly, "She shouts at him about it now. She say with mages saying two more governors are dead, Examples must be made. She say death only thing raka understand. She say, burn rebel villages and hang headman or headwoman of every town near rebel villages."For a moment Trick stopped, tiny mouth agape in wonder."Tell," urged Secret. "Tell, tell."Trick raised its head as if meeting Aly's eyes with its own invisible ones. "Rubinyan say they dare not. Rubinyan say, soldiers spread too thin." Trick rose up to look Aly more closely in the face. "This good, yes?"Aly smiled. "Let us but stretch them a wee bit more," she told the darkings, not aware that she sounded much like her father. "Just to be thorough.""Thorough good," said Trick, nodding."Thorough fun?" Secret asked.Aly put on her sandals. "We shall have to see."Aly went to her workroom, braced for the heap of reports from her pack and their recruits that she would find there. To her surprise, the heap was smaller than she had expected after three days' absence: the more people her spies recruited, the more reports had come. Then she saw the thick notebook next to a stack of reports. Opening it, she found notes in Dove's precise handwriting. They were in the proper code and condensed the reports into vital information including the informant, date, and anything that might be of use. Dove had even adopted Aly's way of sorting which of the conspiracy's leaders could most benefit from a particular bit of intelligence. Being a cautious Dove, she had left the reports in a wooden box to the side of Aly's desk, each with a number that matched its location in the book. Aly read through both the notebook and the reports rapidly, and realized that Dove had done as good a job as she could have herself.With a lighter heart—it was always nice to have help— Aly reviewed the newest pack reports, condensing them and writing information onto sheets for each leader at the nightly meeting. The light outside her office faded. At last she heard the raka conspirators come down the hall to their meeting room. Aly gathered up the information to be passed on and went to join them.Ulasim smiled at her. "I take it the god was displeased." He looked as if he lazed his days away, rather than conducted a small series of battle campaigns in secret.Aly returned the smile, glad to see him. "And I take it you all agreed a nice, three-day work stop throughout Rajmuat was just what the healer ordered."Fesgao chuckled. "It gave our people something to do. Hotheads in the Honeypot were all for burning the city down around our ears over losing Sarai. Then one of their old grannies got up and said, 'You act as if Sarai is the only one who is twice royal,' They still required persuasion, but after my lads dented a head or two, the idiots decided to see how Dove manages.""In case I fall flat on my face," remarked Dove with a yawn. "How's the god?" She patted a seat next to her."Feeling better since he's had a chat with the Graveyard Hag," Aly said, taking the offered seat. "I confess, I was a bit worried that he might go off in a pout. Not enough to give me wrinkles, but a bit. I talked him into giving you a try." She looked around. "And from the looks of things, I take it you have convinced our friends.""It's not like we have a choice," said Chenaol as Ochobu sniffed."Well, it would be a waste of all this planning, and all these dead governors," Aly replied, falsely helpful. She looked at Dove. "Her Grace formally told the regents?""They knew already, of course, but she still had to tell them in person," Dove said. "They made remarks that weren't very nice, along the lines that blood will tell. Winna came home and broke those two big vases in the front hall.""Those vases were ugly anyway," Aly commented, thinking the regents must have said very bad things for the duchess to lose her temper. She began to pass out the reports to those who could best use the information in them as their usual meeting began.They were nearly done when Dove announced, "The day after tomorrow I'll start my walks again. People are worried. They wanted Sarai, and she's gone. They'll be happier if I remind them I'm still here.""Absolutely not," snapped Fesgao."It doesn't look right, you being the heir's sister," added Chenaol.Dove looked at Aly, who shrugged. "She needs to show the people that being the hope of the raka hasn't gone to her head, and she needs to show the Crown's spies that she hasn't changed her routine. You'll need more guards," Aly’said. "I'll see who my pack recommends for mingling with the crowd. Fesgao, maybe another ten fighters not in livery?""It's mad," Ochobu announced. "She is all we have.""There are still hotheads in the Honeypot," replied Dove, leaning forward to make her point. "They need a real candidate to look at. I'm not beautiful, I'm not elegant on a horse, but I talk to people. And there are others I should speak to, people who could be of use to us. The only way I can do that is to continue visiting the marketplaces.""Ysul wants to say something," Aly noted.In hand-signs the mage said, / will go with Lady Dove, too."Yes," said Ulasim. He saw Dove's frown and said, "No complaints, and no tricks."Dove thought it over, then nodded.As the meeting broke up, Aly asked Fesgao and Ulasim to stay a moment. When the others had left, she told these two, in charge of the combat troops, about Rubinyan, the coming arrests, and the regents not daring to expend more soldiers to punish the raka. Ulasim and Fesgao looked at one another and smiled, their eyes alight. They could use this information to direct their fighters to the Crowns softest spots and to halt arrests.When Aly turned to go, Ulasim said, "Wait."She looked at him, raising an eyebrow."How can you be so sure of what you ve just told us?" the footman asked. "You speak as if it's fact, not rumor, and you’ve been unconscious for three days.""Because it is fact," Aly assured him. "Ulasim, didn't your mother ever tell you to leave a girl some secrets? I was picked by the god, and this particular information is real. If Rubinyan thinks they dare not punish the villages and estates that have already rebelled, what will he do if more rise up? He'll have to send someone, and at the moment, all he has are the reserves in Galodon. Wouldn't it be dreadful if he were having problems with the reserves? With food, say, or good water?"She left the men to their planning, fluttering her fingers at them as she walked out and closed the door. Before it shut, she heard Fesgao tell Ulasim, "Old Lokeij used to say she'd never say a thing straight out if she could come at it from the side. He never mentioned the headaches you'd get listening to her."Aly found Dove in her workroom, calmly going over reports. "Just the person I wanted to see," Aly remarked, locking the door. "Thank you for sorting those out while I was . . . away. You did wonderful work."Dove put down her quill. "Honestly? I don't know how you keep up. I thought I might go blind." She nudged at the quill with a finger, her face shadowed. Finally she asked, "Aly, what if it goes to pieces because I'm not Sarai? Because it really should have been her?""It won't go to pieces," Aly told her. "The last piece is finally where it's supposed to be—that's you. The raka have planned this for generations, and planned it well. The only change is Sarai. Now we have you instead. Sarai may have gotten all passionate about the people and how they're being trampled, but you're the one who knows the people. Go to bed, my lady. We have one more day of the halt to work here in Rajmuat, one more day of peace for us to settle our plans. If you don't go get some rest right away, I'll come up to prepare you for bed. Maybe put lotion on your face for you to wear as you sleep. Oh, and I'll brush out your hair a hundred strokes. ...""Stop it!" cried Dove. "I'm going, I'm going! Don't follow me! I can undress myself!"Aly watched her go, thinking, a little sadly, And when you are queen, you will have proper ladies-in-waiting who will do all of those things for you. You will not be able to dismiss them for fear of offending their powerful families. So enjoy dismissing me while you can.She locked the door behind Dove and returned to her work. There was more news from the palace darkings as well as more reports to read. Near midnight a darking posted in Rubinyan's chamber gave Trick a message that made Aly grin. She found Ulasim and Fesgao still in the conspirators' meeting room. She told them what she had learned and invited them to her workroom to talk.She then gathered her pack's most determined members: Fegoro, Yoyox, Eyun, and Jimarn. They joined Ulasim and Fesgao. It's good to be home, Aly thought.In the morning a palace messenger arrived with an invitation to a lily-viewing party the next day. Nuritin, Winnamine, and Dove were included in the invitation, which was not a request but a demand. Winnamine sent a note of acceptance. The house was quiet as everyone caught up on chores. It was during the noon resting time that the King's Watch swarmed into the city to arrest a third of those who had taken part in the three-day stop of work. By then Ulasim and Fesgao, forewarned by Aly, had hidden any important rebels from the searches. Those unfortunates caught by the Watch were sent to the slave market's pens, to be sold in Carthak as soon as vessels were ready to take them. The Watch expected to ship them out in two days. Aly prayed that Jimarn, Yoyox, Eyun, and Fegoro would concoct a suitably firm surprise for the slave markets before then.Word of the arrests reached Balitang House in the early evening. Dove, furious, came flying into the workroom as Aly met with her pack. Aly smiled at her young mistress as sweetly as she knew how.They understood each other. Dove did not need to ask if Aly had known about the arrests. Aly did not need to tell her that she had the matter in hand. The girl turned and walked out again."Where were we?" Aly asked her pack as she viewed her notes once more.The ride to the palace the next afternoon was quiet, though not as quiet as it might have been. Rajmuat was simmering over the arrests. The regents had obviously expected this response. Rittevon's Lance was heavily guarded, with soldiers at each major crossroads and square and guards in pairs on every block.As always, the men-at-arms left them at the gate. The ladies were to meet the regents in their private audience chamber. Aly assumed they would offer Dove the marriage they had Sarai. As she waited, Aly’spent her time in the Robing Pavilion investigating something the darkings had relayed. According to them, the regents distrusted their mages. Aly had to confirm this, not because she didn't trust the darkings, but because she could hardly believe it. Someone had once complained that in the Tortallan palace it was hard to turn without stepping on a mage. Except for Topabaw and his staff, the monarchs here preferred to send their mages to support soldiers outside the capital, and to man the harbor fortresses. The servants Aly asked about it waved off the question with a reply that boiled down to, "Everybody knows that!"How have they stayed in power this long? Aly wondered as she flirted with servants on the men's side of the pavilion. Were they smarter at first, and the intelligence got bred out of them, or were they simply lucky at the beginning?At last the Balitang ladies came to the Robing Pavilion to change. As Aly helped Dove to remove her overrobe, Dove hand-signed to her, They offered me the marriage.Aly’slid a lightweight sleeveless silk robe over Dove's shoulders, then signed, And?"I dithered," Dove murmured. She didn't care if this part of the conversation was overheard. "It was so sudden, and such an honor after Sarai..." She shrugged. Aly’smoothed her young mistress's hair and shared a smile with Dove in the looking glass.Aly kept an eye on Nuritin and Winnamine. At last they rose, ready for the party. "Dovasary?" called Nuritin.As Dove stood, Aly bent close, fussing with the line of her overgown, then followed them out. She had already talked this out with Dove. Pembery and Dorilize would remain in the Robing Pavilion; they always did. Aly would go with her young mistress and fan her. The Lapis Pavilion would be warm, and other maids would be there performing the same duty. Winnamine and Nuritin had looked askance when Dove had told them what Aly would be doing, but they had not argued, though they believed in fanning themselves. They both understood Aly was not there just to show how spoiled Dove was.Down the Golden Road they walked, nodding and bowing to nobles they passed, until they reached the trails around the Lily Water. If they heard the whispers about Sarai that began before they were out of earshot, they did not speak, though crimson flags burned on both Winnamine s and Nu-ritin's cheekbones. Dove showed a calmly smiling face, even after the nobles could no longer see her."You do that very well," Aly said with approval after they had bidden farewell to an especially annoying dowager."They only talk about it because they're thinking, 'There but for the blessings of the gods I go,'" Dove said thoughtfully. "Lady Merani"—one of the women they had just left— "has a sixteen-year-old daughter who's a handful. And her husband drinks.""It's no excuse," Nuritin said in a low voice that shook with fury. "They should have sympathy, and keep their mouths shut.""This is why my lord and I always hated this place," added Winnamine softly. "Because everyone is encouraged to bite and pinch and cut at one another with words, until the words are so real the courtiers end by trusting no one. It's a poisonous life. Frankly, I'm envious of Sarai."The two older ladies moved ahead as the path narrowed. Aly waited until they could not hear, then asked Dove, "Tell me, do you know everything about everybody here?""No, but it's easy enough to get information. The merchants keep track of the nobility because they affect their lives." Doves mouth curved in a tiny, impish smile. "You know a lot of my friends are merchants.""I had noticed," Aly said, trying not to smile herself.Dove clucked to a marmoset, offering the tiny creature a grape she had tucked into her belt-purse. Gingerly the animal, who had a magnificent white mane, leaned down to accept the grape. Once it snatched the fruit, it fled back into its tree. Dove continued, "Besides, I like gossip." She smiled shyly. "I like knowing what people are doing and why. It's just so interesting.""I always thought so, too," Aly said. They left the shelter of the garden and emerged onto the open ground. Nuritin and Winnamine had already climbed the steps of the Lapis Pavilion and walked over to curtsy to the regents. The pavilion was a roofed stone square set in the water and approached by a short stone bridge. Around it floated water lilies, lotuses, and swans.Inside the pavilion, the group of ladies seated closest to the bridge was commanded by Princess Imajane. She looked ethereal in white, almost transparent silk with gold embroidery. Aly wasn't sure if it was decent, but then, she still felt half dressed in a sarong with her shoulders bare. And the day was impossibly hot. Maybe Her Highness is the wisest of us all, Aly thought as sweat trickled down her spine.Nuritin and Winnamine, having saluted the princess and received a nod from her, drifted over to the prince and his companions. Aly saw why as she and Dove curtsied to Imajane: Countess Tomang sat next to the princess. Ferdy's mother looked as if she sucked on a lemon."Lady Dovasary, welcome," said Imajane lazily. "I am honored. With your brother attendant upon His Majesty, all the Balitangs but little Petranne are here." She indicated the group of boys at the far corner of the pavilion. Dunevon and his small court stood on the steps that led down to the water, each boy with a wooden sailboat in hand. "As you can see, His Majesty minds the sun less than we fragile adults," she drawled, causing the ladies seated with her to chuckle. "Though we had to supply a mage so the children might have a breeze."Sure enough, a young man whose hands sparkled with his magical Gift crouched on the lowest step to the water. Tiny puffs of power pushed at the sail of each little boat to the boys' gleeful yells. Aly wondered if the mage heard Imajane, and if he had studied magic so his Gift could be spent on the amusement of children. Admittedly, her experience of mages was extraordinary, but even such confident mages as her mother, Aunt Daine, and Uncle Numair did not appreciate being slighted.Imajane flicked her fingers at the woman who sat on her left. She obediently got to her feet and curtsied to the princess. As she left the company, Aly looked for Nuritin and Winnamine. They were still talking easily with Rubinyan and his friends.Dove curtsied to the princess again, then moved to the vacant seat. She sat gracefully, apparently unaware of the glare that Countess Tomang leveled at her. Aly wondered if the princess knew that the last meeting between the countess and the Balitangs had not gone well. From the creamy, self-satisfied smile on Imajane's mouth, Aly would happily bet that she did.Dove snapped her fingers. "You may fan me," she ordered Aly, nearly as haughty as the princess. Aly installed herself behind Dove. She took the woven palm-leaf fan a maid passed to her and began to wave it gently.Imajane placed a graceful, well-cared-for hand on Dove's arm. "We had no chance to talk about your sister's elopement earlier," she said archly. "Your mother says you did not know, but I fancy I may know a little more about young girls. Tell me honestly, Dovasary, did you not have some tiny hint of what Lady Saraiyu intended?"Dove lowered her head, shamefaced. "Your Highness, I would never be so foolish as to tell you a falsehood," she said quietly. "Besides, Sarai is five years older than I. Girls with suitors have little interest in talking to sisters who are bored by them." She picked at her skirt. "And she knew I'd tell Winna—Her Grace," she amended herself artfully, "she knew I'd tell, to keep her from disgracing our name."Aly wanted to hug her. Thirteen, and already aware enough to maneuver around a question about the duchess's watch over her stepdaughters. In the games played at palaces, the whisper that Winnamine could not keep her family under control might cause Elsren to be dismissed from court. By that game's rules, Elsren's position in the king's group of playmates was the kind of thing families used to gain advantages. Even Aly wanted Elsren to be one of the king's companions. It meant the Balitangs were invited to more palace events than most nobles, so there could be more trades of information with palace rebels. The darkings couldn't be everywhere."These young girls," one of the ladies across from Dove remarked with a sigh. "No patience. I'm certain Lord Zaimid's family would have accepted Lady Saraiyu if they had gotten married in the proper way. Carthakis are so ... cosmopolitan about their marriages."Aly felt the breath desert her lungs at the implication that brown-skinned Carthakis didn't care if they married half-raka girls. Her gentle waving of the fan did not falter. And why do you care what's said of Sarai? Aly asked herself. You're the one who thinks her running off with Zaimid was for the best, even if it was a black eye for your ability to watch members of the household.She was relieved to see that Winnamine and Nuritin were wrapped up in their conversation with the prince. How many such darts had the two women taken since Sarai eloped?"Oh?" Dove asked politely, as if she discussed a change in fish prices. "Cosmopolitan. How wonderful that sounds! Have you been to Carthak, Lady Uniunu?"The lady smiled at her. "Actually, I have not."Dove raised her dark brows. "Have you visited Tyra, then?" she inquired.The lady shook her head.Dove pressed. "Tortall? Scanra?"With each shake of her head, the lady looked less and less pleased."Oh," Dove murmured, tracing a design in the embroidery on her sleeve. "But travel is what makes us cosmopolitan, or so I was taught." She looked up and smiled girlishly at Lady Uniunu. "But perhaps our own cities count? Have you been to Fajurat on Malubesang? I hear the water is so clean there you can view coral reefs from a ship's deck. Or Ambririp? Or Yimosuat on Gempang?"The lady had stopped bothering even to shake her head. Her hands, tucked into her lap, were white-knuckled as she clenched them into fists. "Our lands are here, on Kypriang," she said, her voice trembling. "I have learned all I know of what is cosmopolitan right here, Lady Dovasary."Back off, Aly thought to Dove. She's gotten your point. Drop it, before she becomes your enemy.As if she heard Aly, Dove gasped and put her hand to her lips. "I hope you didn't mean I thought . . . ," she said, her face dismayed. "Please believe me, I meant only that I am eager to learn of other places." She hung her head. "I have spent my entire life here in Rajmuat, or at Tanair, on Lombyn." Glancing up, she made a face. "Tanair was not in the least cosmopolitan, I'm afraid. We were all living in the keep last winter, because a keep was all the holdings Tanair has. Well, that and outbuildings."The woman, who had started to fluff like an irate pigeon, slowly resettled. "You are young, and no doubt unschooled as to the proper form of conversation among grown women," she said graciously. Dove hung her head even lower."Tell me," began another lady, "do you know why those people were always staring at your sister?"Dove s lower lip protruded slightly. She looked the spirit of the pouting thirteen-year-old. "I suppose because she's so beautiful, your ladyship," she said, clearly unhappy. "Aunt Nuritin said my looks will improve, but it seems to be taking a long time."This produced polite laughter from the ladies. The talk moved on to other things, such as the boy king's approaching fifth birthday. "I have an invitation on its way to your home," Imajane told Dove. "There is a separate invitation for Lord Elsren," she explained, leaning closer to the girl. "You see, my dear, His Majesty has been asking for a true ship of his own. On His Majesty's birthday, he and his little friends will board his very own ship, the Rittevon?Dove bowed her head. "We're all honored by His Majesty's invitation to Elsren," she said with just the right amount of awe in her voice. Inclusion in such a party would tell everyone that Imajane and Rubinyan meant to keep Elsren in Dunevon's household, making him a veritable brother to the king.Aly continued to fan, listening and reading lips. A group of ladies and nobles talked about the hottest part of the summer, when everyone would move to their country estates for a month. Some of the young men in Rubinyan's group urged him to let them go fight the rebels. Winnamine pretended to be interested in the conversation. Nuritin did not.Aly sensed him behind her before Taybur Sibigat leaned down to speak into her ear. "Do you rest easier since Topabaw has been replaced by a complete nincompoop?"Aly turned slightly, never allowing her fan to stop its movement, to whisper, "Which nincompoop would that be, my lord captain?""Tease," he said, amusement in his eyes. "Sevmire. His Highness took him from a fish pond and tossed him into the ocean. I'll wager you he doesn't last till September.""I never wager, my lord," Aly murmured flirtatiously. "Particularly not with the nobility. It's so hard to collect.""What a charming little creature you are," he said with frank admiration. "Really, you're wasted among the Balitangs. You'd have more scope here in the palace."Aly coughed to hide the giggle that almost escaped her. "I have scope enough, sir," she replied demurely. Behind her laughing face lay a bleak thought: This man might die in the storm to come, and I like him.And that's your first mistake, lass, said the part of her that sounded like her da. You can't afford to like one of the enemy in this game, and he is the enemy.Raucous shrieks cut through the humid air like knives. Along with the rest of the people on the Lapis Pavilion, Aly turned to find the source. Over the Lily Water, Stormwings and crows battled for possession of the sky. At last one female Stormwing escaped the battle to land on the waist-high balustrade around the pavilion. She was a handsome female, despite the claw marks on her flesh. If her broad, steel-toothed grin was any indication, they didn't bother her."More fun for you mortals," she announced in a musical voice. "Remember the Imahyn revolt? Five estates along the Susashain River are burning. Over two hundred dead, or so my nest-kin tell me. Each human smells different to us, you know. All that lovely fear." She ran her tongue over her teeth. "Keep serving them up, Your Highnesses! We accept all contributions of terror and rage, we're not picky!""Konutai, you're being a bore," Taybur drawled, wandering over to her. "And you'll make His Majesty throw up in the Lily Water."Dunevon did look rather pale. He was certainly downwind of the Stormwing."Be a good girl and gloat elsewhere," Taybur continued. "I'm sure we'll get proper reports in due time."The Stormwing cackled wildly and took to the air, heading for the battle between Stormwings and crows over the water. This time it ended with the crows in retreat. Aly crossed her fingers in the hope the crows would go unhurt."Don't believe them, Highness," Countess Tomang said to Imajane. "You know how the ugly beasts like to start trouble."Imajane looked at Taybur, her eyes blue ice. "Which is it, Sibigat? They like to start it? Or they like to live off it?"The big man bowed to Imajane. "Far be it from me to instruct Your Highness in the behavior of Stormwings," he said quietly. "I am certain that you were as well schooled in that as you are in other things pertaining to the Crown."Imajane showed a razor's edge of smile. "Your nimble tongue has led you out of a potential situation yet again, Captain Sibigat. I fear you are too clever for me."As the other ladies protested that no one could be more intelligent than the princess, and Dove chimed in a beat behind them, knowing what was expected of her, Aly met Taybur's gaze. For a moment she thought she saw fear. Then it was gone, replaced by Sibigat's boyish smile.The talk resumed once more on a false, light note. No one wanted to admit that they had believed the Stormwing. Imajane herself seemed determined to carry on as if everything were normal. Slowly the ladies began to relax, though the young knights were begging Rubinyan once more to let them sail north and fight. Rubinyan calmed them, insisting the army had matters well in hand. Aly's admiration for his ability to lie soared. She knew that this man had only recently told his wife they dare not send more soldiers.He must tap his reserve forces in Galodon, Aly thought. And then he'll have next to no one to defend Rajmuat. He may even have next to no one to send, if Ulasim and Fesgao mess with their stores soon.Why does he send his young knights? she wondered. That's what the hotheads are for, Grandfather always said. Then she saw it. He fears they will get beaten, she told herself, and their parents will turn on him. Either that or he fears they might be good enough to come back and get rid of him.A shift of silver and gold at the corner of her eye made her look at Imajane. The princess regent had turned slightly to look at her husband. Her crimson mouth was tight. She had seen Rubinyan smile at Duchess Winnamine.If I don't get overconfident again, if I don't make any more mistakes, we might well do this thing, Aly thought. We might bring these people down. There are so many ways they can be led astray that I'll be hard-put to choose.At last the Balitang ladies begged the princess's indulgence so they could go home. Not only did Imajane grant it, but she gave them leave to take Elsren with them. Taybur was already talking to the boys about going inside to dress for supper. The ladies and Aly collected Elsren and left the Lapis Pavilion.On the way home they found the streets were clearing.Above them faces in the windows stared at Dove, looking for a sign that she was kin to Sarai and their hope for freedom was not misplaced."My lady," Aly murmured as they put three blocks between their group and the palace checkpoint, "please look at the folk in the windows. Smile, at least, and nod. Don't wave. We don't want these soldiers taking news back to Sevmire that you are encouraging the raka's fascination with you. But a smile never hurts."A flush rose in Dove's bronze cheeks. "I forgot," she admitted. Hesitantly she smiled up into some second- and third-story windows, then looked at the people nearest her. A woman stood with a cluster of children. Dove slowed her mount and bent down to look at them. Finally she smiled at the woman. "Not all yours, I hope?" she asked.The woman hesitated, unsure of Dove's intent, then saw the smile. She grinned. "Gods, no, lady," she said with as much of a curtsy as she could manage with the attached children. "I watch them all while their mothers work in the shops."Winnamine rode over, Elsren seated before her. "Dove, we must go home," she murmured, with a cheerful nod to the woman. After a moment she thrust her hand into her belt-purse and fished out some coins. "I'll wager you wouldn't mind a treat," she told the children with a smile. She offered the coins to the woman. "Because I have little ones of my own," she explained.The woman turned crimson and curtsied again. "And you love them, I can see that," she replied, beaming at Elsren, who was half asleep. "Goddess bless you, ladies."As they rode on, Dove said, "Winna, you didn't have to do that."The duchess kissed the top of Elsren's head. "I wanted to have something good to remember about today," she replied quietly. "Something that wasn't petty and mean. Sometimes you have to provide such moments yourself."As they passed through Rittevon Square, Aly wished that lightning would strike the first king's immense bronze statue, rising above the flat dish of water that surrounded it. She was about to look somewhere else when a detail caught her attention. An anonymous carver had made an addition to the statue's belt line. A deep-cut open shackle shone brightly around the weathered bronze of the statue's waist, above the dip of the sword belt.Aly grinned, and followed her mistress to the next checkpoint.The ladies and their maids retreated to their rooms to change after the hot ride home. Aly was about to help Dove with her buttons when a knock sounded on the door. One of the house's runners stuck her head into the room. "Excuse me, lady," she said, bobbing a curtsy to Dove, "but Chenaol says Jimarn and her folk need to talk to you in the meeting room."Aly looked from the runner to her mistress. She ought to help Dove to change clothes, but Jimarn, Fegoro, Eyun, and Yoyox were operating on a time limit. The Crown would start shipping the captives in the slave pens the next morning. She sighed, trying to make up her mind."Let me help?" asked Boulaj. "I liked being a lady's maid. It's very soothing," she told Junai defensively. "There's no reason why I can't do her hair and clothes and protect her at the same time.""Go on," Dove ordered Aly. "We'll sort it out. I do know how to remove my own clothes," she protested yet again.Aly followed the messenger to the servants' stair. It occurred to her that she had less and less time to attend Dove as the rebellion began to pick up its pace. She didn't mind being Dove's maid, but she was needed to deal with the material from her spies. Is it always like this? she wondered as she trotted downstairs behind Wayan. The more successful your work, the more it shoves other things to the side?She wondered what her mother had given up when she had become the King's Champion. Da had given up being an outlaw as he'd made the transition from thief-king to spy-master, but what had Mother surrendered?I'm going to have to let Boulaj take over, she realized. I'm more use to the rebellion getting information out to people as quickly as I can. But I'll miss talking to Dove.When Aly reached the conspirators' meeting room, Jimarn let her in. Aly nodded to the others who sat in the room. She recognized five from households nearby, but six she did not know at all. Eyun, Yoyox, and Fegoro waited behind them, frowns of worry on their faces.Aly went to an available chair and sat. "What is it, my dears?" she asked. "Surely you have not come to tell your old Duani they have shipped the captives already.""The slave pens are a harder knot than we expected," Yoyox admitted ruefully. "We can whittle that stick down a day or two, but they're moving both faster and slower than we expected.""They have about five hundred people to ship," explained Eyun. "And the head clerk told me the regents have ordered them to get as many out of the Isles as they can, as soon as they can." She smiled slightly. "The clerk has taken a liking to me. He says the regents want to free up the soldiers who guard the slave pens, because they're needed elsewhere. They expect an attack from the kinfolk of those they arrested, so they won't be reassigned until there's less danger.""Getting to their kitchen is tricky," admitted Fegoro. "I wont have a shot at it tonight, not if they're loading slaves." He pointed to a chunky young luarin. "Tell her," he ordered."Three ships leave for Carthak tonight from Fifth Dock," the young man explained. "They'll load at midnight and sail at dawn. All of the other ships have cargo in the hold, or are off-loading cargo and taking new cargo on. We won't be able to save those who get shipped tonight."Aly shook her head. "Children, children," she told them in a sorrowful voice. "The solution is right under your noses, if you would but look. Yes, they have three ships scheduled to sail, only three ships, all due to sail at dawn. There is no law that says they must be able to sail."The conspirators looked at her, mouths agape. Then Yoyox struck his head with his palm. "We focused on the pens and the guards. We didn't think to look at the ships.""Such vulnerable things," Aly remarked. "All that wood and tar—it's a fire hazard. I tremble to think what would happen if, oh, a ship lost its rudder or its masts." She looked at them from beneath raised eyebrows. "Need I go on?"They shook their heads, suddenly eager to get back to mischief.The heavy luarin chuckled."Share the joke, Callyn," ordered Yoyox."I work at the harbormaster's," the bearded man explained. "We're still wading through bills submitted to the Crown for payment for the ships that burned when the slave docks did. That's one of the reasons they could only find three ships right away—their masters are nervous about cargo from the slave markets. If something happens to these three, I bet they won't be able to find anyone at anchor here who will take on slave cargo. In fact, they might decide they've taken on enough goods and sail anywhere, as long as it's not Rajmuat harbor."Jimarn smiled. "Thank you, Duani," she said."Shall you require a mage?" Aly wanted to know.The bearded man shook his head. "No, see, Duani, the last seven or eight months we've had these twin hedgewitches hiding out in the Honeypot. They have this spell that cuts clean through a piece of wood. In October Her Highness went to inspect a new royal navy ship named for her, and she leaned on the rail, and she'd've gone straight into the harbor if the prince hadn't grabbed her. If the girls can do a rail, they can do masts just fine."Aly nodded. She would have liked to see that."We could use some bows and arrows," one of them remarked. "But not for the slave market. For Downwind. So the folk there can have them."Aly looked at Jimarn, who nodded. "Then speak to the armorer," she said. "Get crossbows—they're easier for inexperienced archers. Is that everything?" she asked. When they said nothing, she went on, "Very well. Go forth, with my blessing." When they were gone, she ran her fingers over Trick and Secret."Stupid?" asked Secret."No," Aly replied. "My children are not stupid. But sometimes you can stand too close to a thing to see it. It takes a fresh set of eyes to tell you where to find the cracks." She went to her workroom and assembled paper, ink, and a quill. "What happens in the palace?" she asked.That night, the raka conspirators had plenty of news to report, particularly Ochobu. Aly had not known that the mages of the Chain had been laboring to eliminate any mages who had worked magic on the Crowns behalf. So far they had killed seven of the most powerful.Chenaol would call this count of the dead another "good start," Aly thought grimly. This crude business of counting up lives taken struck her as a bad idea. It took the horror from death. When Ochobu named four mages on Lombyn who had been killed in the streets of their towns, it was about numbers, not lives.Maybe this is how you become a Rittevon, she thought. You get used to the dead being described as numbers, not fathers or daughters or grandparents.She turned to Dove when Ochobu finished. "Don't ever be like this," she urged. "Don't think that it doesn't matter if you only hear of murder as a number. If you keep it at a distance.""They serve the Rittevon Crown," growled Ochobu. "They have killed in their numbers, too. We must even the odds between us and the Crown, and the mages matter. It was the mages who destroyed us when Rittevon invaded.""They and our own feuds," Dove said quietly. "That's why we have to make peace with the luarin who agree. So we aren't so torn that we are easy pickings for some of the Carthaki malcontents."Everyone winced. While it had been eleven years since Emperor Kaddar had taken power, he continued to struggle with his western nobles, all of whom thought they would make better emperors that he. It was all too easy to imagine them turning their attentions to easier pickings in the Isles.As the meeting broke up, Aly drifted over to Ulasim. "How go things at Galodon?" she asked, curious, though if he refused to answer, she would ask Trick to query Ace, the darking who hid under the chair Ulasim normally used.Fesgao stood and stretched. "All we did today was ensure that the army's provisions for the next five weeks were delivered and neatly stored. We'd hate for them to run short."Aly grinned and left them. She worked for a while before she went to bed. As she slept, she dreamed of the whispers of the darkings, and the endless black scrawls of reports.It was nearly dawn when she was roused by the clang of alarm bells sounding down by the waterfront. Aly smiled as she sat up on her pallet. "I could get very fond of that sound," she commented as Boulaj and Junai sat up as well."Aly?" Dove asked warningly. "What have you done?""I, my lady?" Aly’said, holding her hand to her breast as if she were unsure of Dove's meaning. "I have done nothing whatsoever. I was here all night, and I was at the palace with you yesterday, if you recall."Junai listened at the window. "It's coming from Dock-market or the wharves," she said after a moment. "Forgive me for saying so, my lady, but if it is, you won't be having your walk again today."Dove scowled and rang for her wash water to be brought up. It took some time, enough that Dove, who normally did not press the servants when she knew they would also be busy with the others, rang a second time. Soon after, a pair of kitchen maids practically tumbled into the room, hot-water jugs in their hands."Forgive us, my lady," said one as she filled a basin, "but Fesgao was telling us the news. He likes to drill the men before dawn, you see, and when they heard the alarm—""Does he know the cause?" Dove interrupted."Oh, my lady, such a shocking thing!" said the other girl, who filled the servants' basin. "Three ships destroyed, right at the wharves! One sank, one burned, and one had the rudder and the masts and the anchor chain and the mooring ropes just cut, Fesgao said!""They meant to ship out some of the folk they arrested because they stopped working," the first maid said, shadows in her eyes. "They meant to ship them to Carthak. But now they can’t, and there are no more ships."To say there were no more ships was an understatement. From Jimarns recruit Callyn and the palace darkings, Aly learned of furious arguments as Rubinyan and Imajane tried to order other captains in port to put off their loads and ferry the newly enslaved to Carthak. Some claimed they needed hull work done before they could sail. Others showed their master's papers, each with a clause that they not transport slaves. Some captains sailed before the harbormaster could order the harbor mouth barred. Then there were the officials who complained the harbormaster had been suspiciously slow to close the entrance.Aly was taking darking reports midafternoon when the second blow came to Rubinyan. A thousand of his reserve soldiers, and more than half of the sailors, were confined to their beds with violent dysentery. The darking present when the prince regent heard this news was so impressed with Ru-binyan's language that it copied him, earning the name Foul.The news arrived just before word came that a company of soldiers had been lured into the mountains of northern Kypriang and massacred by renegade raka. Imajane demanded the deaths of everyone in the village closest to the fight. Rubinyan was forced to tell his wife that the soldiers were too ill to move.That night, when it came Aly's turn to report to the raka conspirators, she asked, "What happens if the army and navy have food shortages? If, say, they have to replace poisoned stores? Who handles the emergency supply, at least until more food can be brought from outlying islands or even overseas?"The conspirators looked at one another. It was Dove who said, "Local merchants are invited to share warehoused provisions with the Crown, who pays them . . . something. Not full value. Full value when there's a shortage is higher than full value in good times. The merchants who are asked to share with the Crown will see their other friends make money hand over fist while they’re forced to practically give food away. But that hasn't happened in ages."Aly twiddled her thumbs. "But it could happen?""They would approach the merchants and remind them of their obligations," replied Dove. "And they're already pressed, the merchants. It's been a dreadful year, and the harvest doesn't look good. Nobody's that far away from debt bondage, Aly. The regents might as well ask them to empty their pockets. They . . ." She stopped, her eyes wide.She sees it, Aly thought."No, we can't trust these regents to be careful, can we?" Ulasim asked softly. "They might annoy the merchants. They might turn the merchants into—""Enemies," said Fesgao, his eyes bright. He looked at Aly. "You'd thought of that when you suggested it would put a dent in Rubinyan's reserve troops to poison their food.""You flatter me," Aly said shyly."Here I just thought you would deal with information," Ochobu remarked slowly, her eyes on Aly. "But you understand a thing or two about war, don't you?""As much as any girl reared under the sign of the Trickster would," Aly replied smoothly.Ulasim smoothed his beard. "You are a gift and a marvel to me," he said. "What are you doing at the slave pens?""Me?" inquired Aly. "Nothing. I sit here and interpret reports. My bottom is going flat from all the sitting I do."Ulasim shook his head. "Very well. Keep it to yourself. If you require assistance, only ask. Now. Through the Chain we hear that the raka of southern Lombyn have risen up against their masters. And the governor of Lombyn is dead, as is his chief mage, as is the general in command of the army posts on Lombyn, all shot with crow-fletched arrows. Nawat and his people are helping the Lombyn rebels retreat into the highlands, where the new general may hunt for them until he encounters a ribbon snake. Or a hundred."The next morning Dove finally persuaded Ulasim and Winnamine to let her take a walk to the Dockmarket."I'm going mad in here all day," she informed them. "And Fesgao has got layers of protection on me that an onion might envy. I swear, the moment anything untoward happens, I'll trot right home. But seriously, Winna, Ulasim, I'm going to rend the next person who speaks to me if I can't go out for a time."Pressed, the duchess and the head footman gave way. Aly, too, was grateful for the chance to go out, though she thought she ought to deal with reports. Information was pouring in at a rate she was hard-put to manage. A walk will do me good, she told herself firmly.At the Dockmarket people went about their business, but they kept one eye on the soldiers present. The ship that had lost its masts had drifted to the center of the harbor. Men were out in rowboats, securing lines to bring it in. The ship that had burned had also drifted when the fire devoured its hawsers. No doubt it would be sunk: it was only a charcoal shell. There was no sign of the third ship, which had sunk.She could see Dove taking note of the changes, though she said nothing. No one could miss the increased guard around the royal dock where the king's birthday present rode at anchor, its colorful sails furled. There were even men on its decks, watching no doubt for whoever could navigate the harbor waters well enough to burn the slave docks and destroy three merchant ships, in case they turned their attention to the king's ship.As Aly looked around, Dove crouched to talk with the old raka who sold good-luck charms. She had known the woman since she was small, she had told Aly, and the charm seller always knew the best gossip. As they talked, a part-raka woman who carried a basket of seaweed approached the girl. Aly hand-signaled the men-at-arms to keep to their places. The woman lingered until Dove kissed the old charm seller on the cheek and stood. When Dove looked at her inquiringly, the woman blurted out "Good morning" and fled.As Dove walked on, a sailor came close enough to tell her that she looked well that day. He was followed by a gaggle of well-wishers, all of whom were happy simply to say hello or to venture an opinion about the weather.Aly led Dove's group in another direction when they neared the part of Dockmarket where soldiers in the armor of the Rittevon Guard and the King's Watch protected the slave pens. Several of those guards did not look at all well. Jimarn and her cohorts finally got into the slave market kitchens, Aly thought.A little girl ran up to Dove to show her a dirty rag doll, obviously much loved, then ran away."I don t understand," Dove murmured to Aly as they finally left Dockmarket. It was almost noon. Normally Dove would have visited friends at some of the nearby shops, but that was before it had taken her the entire morning to go from one end of the markets principal to the other. "They don't queue up to say hello to anyone else.""But you let them," Aly pointed out. "You're walking down here with street muck on your sandals, asking what the squid is like today and how business is doing. They'll have heard from your friends that you're not the kind of girl who rides by with a smile and a wave. You understand business. You don’t want a fuss. You just want to learn. And they need to see for themselves if your friends have spoken truly." She looked back at the market. A number of the people there were staring in Dove's direction. When they saw Aly turn, they hurriedly went back to work."But I'm no warmhearted people lover!" Dove protested softly. "I like to know how business is doing. I'm interested in things like who's importing and who's exporting, who buys and who sells. I like to try and figure out trade, that's all."Aly’shrugged. "Even if they did know that, it would probably only make you more of a real person to them. Don't forget, their fortunes rise and fall with the tiniest drop of the squid-fishing industry. A blight among sheep, and prosperous merchants are selling their old clothes to make some money." She leaned in so that only Dove would hear. "They will look at you, as you ask them questions about how they manage to earn a living, and they'll compare you to people who tax them without asking if they can pay."Dove's eyes were startled as she stared at Aly. At last she said, "Care to wager on how many days it takes before the regents hire someone to kill me?"Boulaj and Junai heard, and moved closer. "Just let them try, my lady," Junai assured her. "We'll send whoever takes the job back to the Gray Palace in pieces."That night Jimarn and her crew killed the brokers' guards who were still healthy enough to fight. The former slave and her companions raced through the slave pens with keys to open the locks, and baskets of weapons. Every captive who could lift one took it—sword, axe, knife. Most raced through the shadows to the Honeypot and up over the ridge, vanishing into the forest that lay on its northern side.Others were given places to hide in the city.Many returned to their old homes in Downwind. Once they had reached their district, they scrambled to lay wagons, tables, benches, even stable doors on their sides to block streets. As they did so, Yoyox, Fegoro, Eyun, and their cohorts scattered, to bring out crossbows and quivers of bolts they had hidden away. Jimarn remained, helping people as they blocked the streets, reinforcing the wood barriers with cobblestones and pavement flags. When word got out, soldiers would comb the area. They would quickly learn that for every person who had fled, five had stayed to fight.Too anxious to sleep, Aly waited until the house had been quiet for a couple of hours, then climbed to the second-story room where the family placed winter things and ancient keepsakes. The door was locked with a hasp and padlock. As a professional, Aly was offended that someone of her skill was taken so lightly. As she chose her lock picks, she felt Trick and Secret put up heads to watch."What that?" whispered Secret, always curious."It s a lock, and I'm opening it," Aly whispered back. The lock sprang open easily."That not a key." Secret understood keys. Quedanga wore a bunch of them on her sash."No, it s a lock pick. Actually, both are lock picks. You need different kinds."Aly stepped into the storeroom. It was huge, but everything from Tanair was near the door. She spotted the trunk she needed immediately. It too was locked. At least this was more of a challenge. She went after it with her picks. It resisted her a little longer than the padlock had.Opening the trunk, she found Duke Mequen's correspondence going back three decades. Here were bundles of letters from Winnamine, tied up in scarlet ribbon, and letters from Sarugani, his first duchess, in gold. He had letters from family members and friends. Then Aly found what she needed, a bundle of letters in bold, slashing handwriting, with a distinctive signature: Rubinyan.Carefully she replaced everything but Rubinyan's letters and did up the lock. She dusted the floor to hide the marks left by her knees, then dusted off her knees. After making sure all was in order, she left as quietly as she had come, doing up the padlock. Then she carried the letters downstairs so she could practice the prince regent's handwriting.She found Kyprioth at her desk, sandaled feet on top of a stack of reports, hands locked behind his head as he leaned back in her chair. Aly squinted at him. Had he grown larger?"What a wonderful night this is," he told her, his black eyes dancing. "How such small mortals like you and Ulasim cause so much damage... I tell you, it fills me with a sense of wonder. It truly does.""And if it were just us, you'd be right to wonder," Aly’said. "We have good people and we trust them to trust their training. I take it you've been down by the slave pens.""A work of art," the god replied. "I'm beside myself." For a moment there were two of him.Aly cringed. "Please stop that," she begged. "The thought of two of you makes my head ache.""I understand. It would be too much glory for your poor mortal body to withstand. When do you rise? When does the rebellion begin?" he wanted to know."When the regents give us an excuse," Aly said, taking a chair. "You know, you're getting marks on my papers.""I'll take them off. I am a god, you know.""So you keep telling me," replied Aly. "Why ask when we rise? Are your brother and sister on their way?""Not yet," said Kyprioth, polishing an emerald bracelet on his wrapped jacket. "Why wait for them to push you forward? The regents?""Because we're supposed to be the heroes, rescuing the Isles from oppressors," Aly explained. "It never looks good to other governments if we rise up against a lawful monarch."Kyprioth smiled. "I thought that might be it. Perfectly sensible, of course. I'm sure it will all work out in the end. Get ready, Aly.""Are you bigger?" she started to ask, but he was gone.Aly waited up for her pack to return. They were tired but content, and complained only from habit when she insisted that they scrub every trace of blood from their persons before they went to bed. Only when they were tucked in did she go to her pallet. She was certain she had just nodded off when the alarm bells sounded, rousing the entire household. Someone had found the ruins of the slave pens. It would not be long before they also discovered that when they went to search for fugitives in the city, they would get a far warmer welcome in Downwind than they expected.Aly followed her morning routine, then cleaned up Dove's room. Boulaj went over the girl's dresses. The day before, an invitation had come for the three Balitang ladies, asking them to a riding party in the palace parks. Aly’suspected that Imajane meant to press Dove on taking her place among the regent's ladies-in-waiting, where she could persuade Dove to accept Dunevon as her betrothed.Aly hoped they would not have to cancel their outing due to those alarm bells. She wanted to pass some incriminating bits of paper to Vereyu to be placed where Imajane, or someone stupid enough to inform her, would find them.Their plans went unchanged. Two squads of the Rittevon Guard came to escort the ladies and their maids to the palace. Their group had just reached Rittevon Square when they saw that people stared and pointed at the northeastern part of the city. Columns of smoke rose from Downwind; the Honeypot itself was blanketed with it. The King's Watch had discovered the barricades, and fighting had broken out.Imajane greeted her guests as if there were no fighting on the streets of Rajmuat and led them away to ride with her. Aly sat outside the Robing Pavilion, watching the sky. The crows reigned supreme over the palace. The Stormwings had gone. They've plenty to feed on today, Aly thought.Suddenly she drew in her breath. Above the crows soared a golden kudarung, great wings outspread. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.She was dozing off when Vereyu poked her. "Late night?" she asked, sitting next to Aly."Only because I worry too much," Aly replied. "Here." From the front of her sarong she drew some battered, dirty scraps of paper with bold black handwriting on them. One read simply meet tonight, another must not know. A third mentioned your blushinglZips, a fourth cannot live with this secret for much longer.Vereyu looked them over with a frown. "That's the prince's handwriting."Aly smiled. "Certainly that's what we want the princess to think. Over the next week can you leave these in places where he might drop them? His dressing room, for instance, or the hall outside Her Highnesses door, or their private dining room.""She may not even see them," Vereyu told her.Aly wrapped her arms around her legs and leaned her chin on her knees. "You've known Her Highness far longer than I," she murmured. "Do you honestly think she never slips into his rooms when he's not around?""But who is this foolish woman, if that's what you mean Her Highness to think?" asked Vereyu. "Who would be mad enough to get involved with His Highness?""If you can get samples of her handwriting for me, Lady Edunata Mayano," Aly replied.She watched Vereyu's face as a flinty light filled the raka's eyes. Lady Edunata was infamous for having taken a raka lover and then claiming he'd raped her."It will be our pleasure," said Vereyu. "I think I can lay hands on some of the lady's writing right now. Wait here."Ah, revenge, Aly thought drowsily as she listened to peacocks cry. People never lose interest in it.She stood, stretched, and returned to gossip with the other servants at the pavilion. Only when she saw Vereyu at the servants' door did she leave off flirting with a boastful manservant to talk to her. With the ease of long practice Vereyu slid papers into Aly's hands. Aly in turn rolled them casually and tucked them into her sash.Imajane seemed determined to incorporate the Balitang women into court life. They rode to the palace nearly every other day over the next week and a half. The regents did their best to pretend the fighting in Downwind was minor, but Aly knew of their real worry from the darkings. The rebellion was spreading like wildfire: for each rising that was put down, two more broke out elsewhere."Rubinyan say they maybe need mercenaries," Trick told Aly two nights before the king's birthday. "Princess say can they afford? Prince say they can't not afford."Aly smiled. Mercenaries were always such a problem. If they weren't paid on time, they got unhappy and did damage. If they were without work, they often looked for trouble out of boredom, burning villages and robbing travelers for their amusement. People feared them as much as they respected the need to hire them. The luarin nobility would also see mercenaries as Rubinyan's attempt to build an army that would answer to him alone.While the princess entertained the ladies, Aly’supplied Vereyu with incriminating scraps in Edunatas handwriting. These were hidden in Rubinyans chambers and study. One of the prince's earrings also found its way into the sweet dreams bag that Edunata, like many luarin women, hung over her bed.Sooner or later Imajane would find something to make her uneasy, in her husband's or in Edunatas rooms. When she did, Aly was willing to bet that the roof would come off the Gray Palace.The day before King Dunevon's birthday, the regents sent an announcement throughout the city. The "unpleasantness" was over. The criminals who had barricaded themselves in the Downwind district had been captured and killed.Aly wondered if the proclamation fooled anyone. The truth was that the rebels had set fire to the Honeypot, then melted away, into the city via sewers and tunnels or up and over the ridge, into the mountains. The Watch had killed some, but the victory was not as great as the regents claimed it was. That same afternoon the bodies of the King s Watch night commander and its captain were placed at the harbor mouth. Aly chuckled grimly when she heard of it. Once again the regents did her work for her by putting men unaccustomed to the job into positions of authority.The king's birthday dawned bright and hot. The Balitangs were already awake and dressed, as were their servants, ready for the first ceremony of the day. Elsren was sleepy and irritable in blue silk and white lawn. Winnamine held him in front of her as the family rode out of the house; Dove had Petranne, who was tired of being left behind. Servants and masters wore their best clothes. They joined party after party of nobles, all on the way to the broad green lands around the palace walls.They did not have long to wait before the royal party rode out to meet them there. For the occasion the regents had assembled all the pomp that should attend a king, from the Rittevon Lancers to the Kings Guard. King Dunevon was not allowed to doze against a friendly breast like his cousin Elsren. Dressed in scarlet, half asleep in the saddle, he rode his pony between the regents. Taybur Sibigat led the pony, one hand behind the little king's back. As the royal group passed, Dunevon's attendants and their families rode into place behind them.Behind them came the other luarin and raka nobles, all in their finest day clothes. Down the broad avenue lined with soldiers they rode. People waved from their windows and cried birthday greetings to Dunevon. It was impossible to hate the little boy, even if he was a Rittevon. Banners and garlands hung everywhere, their colors as bright as the parrots that flew overhead. Even the Stormwings could be seen as decorative, the sun glinting from their steel feathers as they idly circled in the air.Through the city they rode, and down to the royal docks, where the Rittevon was moored. Taybur excused himself as he turned Dunevon's reins over to Rubinyan. The ten men of the King's Guard dismounted as one and followed their captain aboard the pretty boat, spreading out to inspect it for the third time in two days. Everyone waited, getting warmer and sweatier. Only when Taybur reappeared at the top of the gangplank and nodded did Rubinyan look down at his charge."Your Majesty," said Rubinyan, his voice carried on the breeze, "from Her Highness and me, to you, with love, we give your first sailing vessel. For the king of an island kingdom must have his flagship, do you not agree?"Dunevon bounced in the saddle, applauding. Everyone around him relaxed, taking honest pleasure in his happiness. He dismounted and strode up the gangplank, chest thrust out with pride. Taybur, his men, the captain, and the sailors lined along the rail bowed deeply to him.Imajane rode over to the four boys waiting with their families and smiled at them. "Lord Elsren, Master Huldean, Master Gazlon, Master Acharn," she said teasingly, "I do believe that if you do not hurry to board, His Majesty will order the ship to sail without you."The boys bowed to the regents in their best courtly fashion, then to their families. Well-coached, they did not run to board, though they did walk very quickly.Funny, Aly thought, Elsren's the only real lord of Dunevons little court. The rest are younger sons.The gangplank was drawn up, the boarding gate secured. Aly grinned to see the captain at the wheel behind his king, clearly allowing Dunevon to steer as tender boats guided the craft out into the harbor. Sailors raced to unfurl canvas as the Rittevon was turned to catch the breeze. The sails filled. Off the boat sped, all other shipping kept back as the king took his maiden voyage.Imajane yawned politely behind one hand. "Anyone of a mind to go back to bed?" she asked the nobles around her. They even laughed.Imajane and Rubinyan left the dock for the ride up to the palace. The mothers of Dunevon's companions waved until the boys leaning over the stern rail, also waving frantically, could not see them. Then they said their farewells for the day, promising to meet that evening for what one of them described as "the mariners' triumphant return." With her own bodyguards, Winnamine returned home.To no one's surprise, Dove set out along the dock, Ysul, Boulaj, and Junai around her, with an outer guard of household men-at-arms. Other guards and Aly's spies, dressed in everyday clothes, spread through the crowd as her invisible protectors. Aly followed as Dove greeted her friends and asked how they did. She did not linger in Dockmarket. Except for the food sellers, shops had closed in honor of the king's birthday. Instead the shop workers decorated their windows and doors, while day laborers prepared the flowers and garlands for that night's grand celebration.Dove eventually drew her mare to a halt and dismounted. She sat on a silversmiths doorstep and asked the shopgirls there if she could help. Nearby workers stopped to look at her.Aly crouched beside her as Dove tried to braid vines. "If you joke about your lack of skill, they'll like you better," she whispered. "I know it's hard to admit you're not perfect— ouch!" she cried as a thin elbow caught her in the side. Aly rose, wincing. "I was only telling you what folk might say, my lady!"Dove took the braided garland she'd just finished and placed it on her head. It promptly fell to pieces, startling a laugh from those who watched. Just as instantly they stopped laughing and drew back.She pelted them with vines. "And that for making fun of a poor, fumble-fingered country girl!" she told them with a smile. Laughter went through the onlookers. A couple of them ventured to give Dove hints on how her work might be done better. Dove looked at Aly from the middle of a cluster of advisors.Aly gave her a pleased thumbs-up.It was nearly time for Dove to return home when a sudden cold burst of air slapped Aly’s face. Startled, she looked at the sky. The clouds that boiled there were blacker and lower than those that usually wet down the city in the afternoon. They moved quickly, a yellowish green glow collecting in the air below them. Flickers of brilliance caught Aly’s vision. She stood in the street, staring, trying to get a better look. Was it lightning?Dove stood. "I suppose the farmers are right. You only make a fool of yourself trying to predict weather," she remarked as the shopgirls hurriedly gathered their materials. "It's a good thing the king has an experienced captain."Thunder rolled; lightning flashed. The wind flattened everyone's clothes around their bodies, chilling them. Aly frowned. "We're going home," she told Dove, "if you please, my lady." Aly wouldn't put it past the regents to arrange for Dove to be struck by lightning. The darkings couldn't be everywhere and hear everything. Aly's job was not to work only with those things she was sure of. She also had to consider the things she did not know, as Sarai had taught her.Dove said quick farewells to the shopgirls. A gesture from Aly brought the men-at-arms in close, forming a ring around Dove. The wind whistled around shutters and signs, making them flap. One sign was yanked from its moorings. It missed Ysul by an inch as it cartwheeled down the street. Off the group of them went, dodging people who raced to the harbor to secure their ships. Tree branches flew through the air, ripped from their trunks. The wind yanked at shutters, dragging some from their mountings. Dove and her companions were only halfway home when the skies opened. Within a breath all of them were soaked.At last they entered the grounds of Balitang House by way of the servants' gate. Maids descended on them with umbrellas and blankets. Inside, Quedanga ushered Dove upstairs to a waiting hot bath. Aly changed into fresh clothes, patted her darking necklace dry with a cloth, and went in search the mages. Ysul sat in Chenaols kitchen, wearing dry clothes, a bowl of water in front of him. It shone with silvery magic in Aly's Sight.He turned as she reached out to touch him. "This isn't your doing, is it?" she asked him in words and in sign language. "To sink the king's ship?"Ysul emphatically signed back, And kill other people at sea? No!"Very well," Aly said, not even bothering to apologize. "Where is Ochobu?"Workroom, signed Ysul, as two kitchen maids and Chenaol said, "The mages' workroom.""What are you so excited about?" Chenaol demanded. "It's just rain.""With cold gusts that rip up trees and signs?" demanded Aly. "On a day when the court mages said the weather would be as usual?" She turned and ran to the mages' workroom— no Ochobu. She found the raka woman in the infirmary, grinding aromatic herbs in a mortar.Aly’stopped just inside the door. "Tell me you had nothing to do with this storm," she told the old mage.Ochobu turned, her brown eyes suspicious. "What?"Aly pointed to the window. Though the shutters were secured against the outside of the building with hooks, they clacked as the wind tugged them from their moorings. Overhead, thunder boomed.Ochobu dropped her pestle and went to the window, where she stared at the storm-swept kitchen garden. The plants had been flattened by the hard rain. "This is not right," Ochobu muttered. "There is magic in it."Aly rolled her eyes behind Ochobu's back. I don't need a mage to tell me that, when it's the wrong weather for Rajmuat! she thought, impatient. This is like a winter storm!"We are taught to leave weather alone." Ochobu was talking more to herself than to Aly. "It is ungovernable. It is likely to turn on the spell caster or to exceed its limits." She glared at Aly. "And I never would have done it this way, either. Five of our people that I know of are on that ship. And there are raka and part-raka out in their boats, fishing. Do you think they will go untouched? A storm this strong will scour the harbor and the coastline for miles. Once a weather spell is begun, there is no way to stop it." From beneath her wraparound jacket she drew a leather cord. On it dangled a circle of obsidian, set in silver. She murmured something, passed her palm over the circle, then gazed into it.Aly saw the flare of magic as Ochobu tried to scry for what happened at sea. Waiting, Aly realized that Trick and Secret were shivering. Gently she ran her hands over their living beads. Sweat began to roll down the raka mage's face.Aly bit her lip. One of the first lessons she had learned was Never interrupt the mage. She was about to try it anyway when the old woman straightened and jammed the disk back under her jacket."I see nothing," Ochobu snapped. "Nothing. My vision of the sea is blocked, and by the magic of luarin mages.""How can you know that?" demanded Aly. "Magic is magic. It's not luarin or Carthaki or anything.""In the Isles it is," Ochobu replied wearily as she sat. "Luarin magic hurt us the most during the Conquest. Raka mages began to devise ways to hide our work. You often say our magics look odd—so they should. We shape them to be done in plain sight, without detection from the luarin. What I scryed is pure luarin magic. That is to say, Crown magic, because any other mage with sense learns how we work. Why do you think Zaimid Hetnim came here? It wasn't to be called 'brown dog' behind his back by the regents."Aly grimaced. "Very well," she replied. Distant thunder got her attention. "Will you be all right? Will you ask other members of the Chain if they can see anything?"Leaning on the window ledge, Ochobu nodded.On her way to see Dove, Aly heard a commotion at the front door. Ulasim stood there, arms spread wide to block the way out. Before him stood the duchess, tension in every line of her body. She was wrapped in an oiled cloth cape against the rain. Nuritin, Dove, Pembery, Dorilize, Boulaj, and Junai stood behind her, also in rain gear."Ulasim Dodeka," Winnamine was telling him in a voice that shook, "you have been a friend to me, and I know you think you are being my friend now, but as the gods are my witnesses, you will either stay behind or carry my umbrella, but you will let me through that door. I want to be on the royal dock when they come home. You know—" Her voice cracked. She swallowed, then went on, "You know that Elsren does not care for lightning. He will be frightened. He will want his mother."Aly signed Ulasim that she would get men-at-arms. He nodded, then told the duchess, "At least wait until your guards are here, Your Grace. And then I will be happy to hold your umbrella."Fesgao led the men-at-arms himself. Aly also called for Ysul and three of her spy pack still in the house as she found her own waterproof cape and broad-brimmed hat. She fell back with her spies as Ysul joined Dove and Winnamine."Get to the marketplaces, wherever you find people," Aly murmured to them. "Say this is an uncanny storm, and too convenient with His Majesty at sea. Go." They went, as Aly followed the Balitang ladies, biting the inside of her cheek. She knew what had happened, but she could not say it, not to these people. They would want to put off hearing the truth as long as they could.Aly caught up with Dove. No one spoke as they walked. Winnamine didn't seem to care that her feet were soaked, any more than Nuritin or Dove cared. The duchess and Nuritin held hands, like children.When they reached Dockmarket Way, Winnamine looked at them. "It's the wrong time of year," she said, indicating the street and the harbor. "The wrong time for such damage. And this is the snuggest harbor in all the Isles. What did it do outside in the open sea?"Aly saw what she meant. There were tiles, ribbons and flowers that had been torn from decorations, a few signs, and the collapsed remains of stalls all along the waterfront. The ships were tangles of torn sail and spars. Small boats had been driven against the pier and smashed.When they reached the royal docks, the guards at the wrought-iron gates let them in. Winnamine led them to the berth where the Rittevon was supposed to drop anchor. Sailors rigged a canvas awning to shelter them from the downpour and pulled up a bench. Nuritin sat, looking older than she had at dawn. Winnamine and Dove stood, looking toward the mouth of the harbor, veiled by rain. The duchess's lips moved in silent prayer. Dove began to pray and stopped. Aly wondered if her mistress had been about to call on Kyprioth and had stopped herself, either because she didn't want her stepmother to hear her address a raka god, or because she wouldn't like what he might say.Aly had no such compunction. She wanted information; she wanted it immediately. Kyprioth! she shrieked silently. Show yourself! Is this your doing?The god remained silent.Aly stepped back to question the palace darkings. They reported that Imajane was supervising the arrangements for Dunevon's party that night. Rubinyan met with officials and officers of the army and navy about the newest revolt on Malubesang. Aly's ears pricked when Trick whispered the holder of the lands in rebellion: Duke Nomru. Trick added that Rubinyan had snarled at his absent wife for arresting the duke in the first place. Aly nodded. All was not well with the regents. As she had observed in the case of her parents, it was hard for a man to silence a too-frank wife when she spoke in front of company. Da was usually amused, but then, the pricklier her mother, the happier her father. Aly had never understood it. She did understand that Rubinyan had to keep the peace with Imajane. She was the source of his power.Let's see what he does when the source of his power goes bad, Aly thought, returning to her ladies. Let's see how he feels when she turns that Rittevon gaze on him.The mothers of the other three boys in Dunevon's court came to the docks as the rain eased, to join Winnamine's vigil. The sailors found more benches. By late afternoon, the rain and the cold had moved on. A normal summer's heat dropped on the city like a wet coverlet. Their wet clothes began to steam. The king's ship was supposed to return by sunset. People were drifting out to line the harbor walkway and the docks around those reserved for the Crown, keeping a mostly silent watch.The Balitangs should have gone home to change—the other mothers wore their court costumes under their oiled capes in case all was well—but the duchess refused to move. Both Dove and Nuritin had to persuade Winnamine to drink a cup of tea. More tea was fetched for the other ladies. When they had finished it, Nuritin and Dove sat on either side of Winnamine, Nuritin holding Winnamine's hand, Dove keeping an arm around her stepmother's shoulders. The other mothers did not talk with each other or the Balitangs. All of them were fixed on the harbor's mouth."They really should dress and meet the regents for the procession down Rittevon's Lance," Ulasim murmured to Aly. "Her Highness may not be pleased to find our ladies here, not attired for the festivities. At least the others are properly clothed."Aly looked up at him. She stifled an urge to swear at the regents and instead replied, "Do you mean to drag her?"Ulasim shrugged. His face was impassive as he stared out at the harbor. Aly was not fooled. She knew that he had been in the Balitang household since before Elsren was born."He is half Rittevon," she said. She knew him well enough to be sure that he, too, believed the boys were dead."I know that. Don't you think I know that?" Ulasim's voice was a harsh whisper. "But we could have worked something out, for him at least..."Aly didn't have to say that he fooled no one. She felt only a small, hard knot beneath her breastbone tighten as she looked at Winnamine, Dove, and the other boys' mothers, or when she looked at the harbor mouth. Someone was going to pay for this, she promised herself. She meant to present the bill herself.The city's shadows spread across the harbor, which grew dark while the heights still lay in the sun. Along Dock-market Way people cleaned up debris and brought lanterns to light the watchers and the dock workers. When sailors tried to light the royal docks, the duchess asked them to wait. Light would make it hard to see the harbor mouth.The regents arrived in gala dress, surrounded by their households. Rather than dismount, they rode halfway onto the dock. Their noble companions dismounted from their horses and walked out in their wake, dressed in their finest and followed by the rest of the court. Two of the other mothers who waited instantly rose to greet the regents. The third was urged by her servants to go to them. No one dared say a word to the duchess.Rubinyan was the first to notice the small group of Bal-itangs waiting by the Rittevoris mooring-place. After a whispered conference with Imajane, he sent one of her ladies-in-waiting to approach the duchess."Your Grace, my ladies, what is this?" the lady asked, smiling. "You are not prepared for the evening, you did not meet Their Highnesses with the rest of us.... Her Highness is concerned.""As are we," Nuritin said, her voice a croak after long, tense silence. "You do remember that storm today, do you not? It was quite severe." The lady nodded, still apparently puzzled. "We fear—Her Grace, Lady Dovasary, and I—we fear that something has happened to that ship. Our family has had more than its share of trouble of late. Should the Rittevon dock at the appointed hour, we will submit ourselves for the regents' forgiveness and make haste to dress and come to the palace. But we shall remain here until we are certain His Majesty and Lord Elsren are safe."The lady favored them with a stately nod and returned to the princess. When she whispered her report, both regents nodded in understanding. Prince Rubinyan dismounted and came to see the ladies. "Winna, surely you are overreacting," he said when he was close enough, his elegant voice warm. "It was a storm. Our best seamen crewed the Rittevon. And our weather mages predicted fine weather for this first sailing. Violent storms in the spring rarely have much reach." He took Winnamine's free hand in his and chafed it. "So cold! My dear, you shouldn't do this to yourself."Aly glanced at the princess. Had Imajane's face gone pale? She spoke to one of her guards, who helped her to dismount. As graceful as a swan she came to join them."My dear," Rubinyan said, turning to show Imajane Winnamine's white hand. "She feels like ice!"Dove got to her feet so that the princess regent might sit. Imajane inspected the bench, then settled into place next to Winnamine, taking the hand Rubinyan had held. "While I am not a birth mother, I think I know your feelings," she said graciously. "The chance that anything may have happened to our dear little boys . . . My own blood runs cold at the thought."After that, she kept silent. Aly was grateful. She wasn't certain that Winnamine had even heard either regent, her eyes straining toward the shadowed entrance to the harbor, but Aly had seen sparks in Nuritin's eyes. If Imajane had continued to talk, Aly wasn't at all sure that the older woman wouldn't have slapped the princess regent.By the time the city watch cried the candle hour past sunset, people all along the docks shifted nervously. The king should have returned. When the watch cried the second candle hour past sunset, they were restless. Rubinyan walked away from the group of women and servants, beckoning to the guard captain assigned to the royal docks. Once the man trotted to his side, Rubinyan began to speak. They kept their heads close together. Between that and the flickering light it was impossible for Aly to read their lips, but it didn't matter. There was only one way for the regents to proceed if they did not want to appear guilty.Soon horsemen galloped down both sides of the harbor. Galley drums began to pound. Sailors in the uniform of the royal navy raced to their ships. Aly was impressed by how quickly they were able to board the vessels and cast off.At the half-candle hour, the twin beacons at the Greater and Lesser Fortresses went from gentle gleam to blazing light: they had been the destinations of the horsemen. As the mages who worked the beacons brought them to full power, Aly closed her eyes. She gave her Sight the twist that would keep her from being blinded by either the beacons or the magic in them.When she looked again, she saw a small, two-masted ship slowly moving through the harbor's entrance. It was not the Rittevon. When Aly sharpened her Sight, she saw that this craft had taken a battering. One mast was broken in half; the sails were tattered. A handful of men slumped on the deck. Others worked slowly and painfully around them.A small hand clasped her gently by the elbow. "Is it the king's ship?" Dove asked as Ulasim, Fesgao, and Junai looked at them.Aly shook her head.Two naval galleys moved in to bracket the mauled vessel. They were too far away for those on land to hear what was shouted between them and the newcomer, but they could see when the galleys' oars were shipped and gangplanks were swung across the distance between the vessels. Men, carrying weapons, trotted across the gangplanks to inspect the vessel. Aly nodded. That was sensible: something nasty might lurk in the hold. The navy would not allow the ship farther into the harbor until the galley captains were sure that everything was as it seemed.At last the sailors roped the newcomer to their own vessels and returned to them. The galleys towed the ship straight to the place where the Rittevon was supposed to dock. Aly heard footsteps and turned. Here came the court, looking properly worried. The mothers of the other three boys gathered around Winnamine, helping her to stand or drawing strength from her, it was hard to say. Princess Imajane and Prince Rubinyan stepped up to be the first to meet the little ship. They, too, looked prepared to face bad news. Beyond the dock, on the street, the crowds waited in utter silence. The only sound in the soft night air was the mild slap of harbor waves against the land.Finally the battered ship was tied up. The first man to come down the gangplank, bearing a small, motionless form in red satin, was Taybur Sibigat. His eyes were red and swollen. His mail was gone, his clothing ripped. There was a long gash over his left temple, and the entire right side of his face was one purple-black bruise. He limped as he carried Dunevon's corpse to the regents.People in the crowd moaned. Someone shouted, "He's just a boy!" and was silenced.Behind Taybur came a raka sailor. In his arms he carried one of Dunevons court, Acharn Uniunu, very much battered but alive. He wept as he strained to reach his noble parents. They ran to him, his father seizing him while his mother wept and kissed him. Aly recognized three other men who came down from the vessel that must have rescued them, two of the Rittevoris sailors and one man of the King's Guard, helped off by two raka seamen. He'd lost half of one leg. One of the royal sailors had a bandaged head; the other had an arm in a sling. The rescue ship's sailors were in no better condition.Taybur turned away from the regents and came over to the families of the other three king's attendants who had not returned. He didn't seem to realize that he still held the dead king. Looking at them, his eyes overflowed. "I'm sorry," he whispered."What happened?" asked Lord Lelin as his lady and daughter began to weep."The storm came out of nowhere," replied Taybur. "Gale-force winds, waterspouts ... It was a ship killer. We weren't the only ones caught out there." His voice broke. "Forgive me. My boys and I tried to save them all, but . . ." He looked at the boy in his arms, then at the mothers of the other three lads. "We couldn't even find their bodies.""I, too, am sorry, Captain," said one of the noblewomen who had lost a son, her voice cracking. Her husband put an arm around her and led her away. "We must go home." Winnamine stood very straight, her brown eyes wide in a face that had gone dead white. "We must... tell our people..." She reached out with hands that shook. Dove took one, Nuritin the other.Without saying farewell to the regents, the Balitangs left the pier, the servants and guards in a tight cluster around their ladies. Aly brought up the rear. When she glanced back, she saw something that looked like contempt on Imajane's face, and heartbreak on Taybur's. Rubinyan's face showed nothing at all.Somehow they broke the news to the household and fumbled their way through changing clothes, trying to eat, and getting the ladies to their beds. Finally Aly could slip away into the flattened and littered gardens. The moment they were out of the house, Trick and Secret spread themselves out blanket-like over her shoulders and tightened. "Is this a darkling hug?" Aly asked with a sad smile."Is a friend hug," Trick said. The pair had left only their heads out of the embrace, leaning them against Aly's cheek. "No crying, but sad, Aly.""It was a decision I didn't want to make. You'd think I'd be happier that it was made for me, but I'm not." She found a bench by a lily pond and sat down. As she did, miniature winged horses crowded around, nuzzling her."I'm sorry," Aly told them softly, petting one after another. "If Nawat were here, he could tell you what's wrong. I just don't speak kudarung."A small winged mare braced her front hooves on Aly's leg and fluttered her wings. That much kudarung Aly knew, at least. She bent down to pick up the mare, cuddling her in her arms.Secret shifted, pulling together to flow down to the bench next to Aly. There the small darking rolled and moved, shaping itself as a miniature kudarung. When the shape settled, Secret jumped down among the other miniature winged horses and went muzzle to muzzle with the stallion who governed them, to tell them what had happened to the Balitangs.Aly looked up at the sky, blurred slightly through the spells that covered the house and grounds."Kyprioth," she said, running her hand over the mane of the winged horse in her lap, "I want you, my dear. And not in a happy, let-me-kiss-your-grizzled-cheek way, either.""My grizzled cheek may wither of neglect. "The god was there, seated on the rim of the lily pond, dabbling his toes in the water. "You've been very noisy in your calls for me, I would like to point out. If I got headaches, you would have given me one.""If you knew I was calling, why didn't you come?" she demanded."Because I knew you would scold, and scoldings bore me," he replied. "As if they do any good after the fact.""Was this your work?" she asked softly, gently, that hard place under her breastbone scorching the inside of her skin. "Did you murder those little boys?""I? Please. I'm busy preparing for battle, mustering my fellow tricksters. I refuse to worry over what mortals are up to," he said carelessly. "And I won’t do everything for you. It's bad for your character."Aly shifted until she had a clear view of that clever face. "What did you do? It's not like you to be evasive about your tricks. Bragging's more your style."Kyprioth looked at her. Aly felt his power as he tried to overwhelm her. She closed her eyes and fought. "Stop it," she told him stubbornly. "You've already tried this with me, and it ages very fast." The force of his godhood slacked off enough that she could breathe."I told you, my brother and sister are near to their return to the Isles," he said, as if she were not very bright. "You and my raka have given me some of my old vigor, but it won't be enough. The only way I will be strong enough to fight my brother and sister is if you stop tiptoeing around the king and take this country back. Since you could not seem to reach that point, I made a few suggestions here and there." He eased up on his power completely.Aly took a breath and ignored the sweat that trickled down her face. The little kudarung in her lap whickered and licked up the salt. "What kind of suggestions?" Aly wanted to know.Kyprioth inspected his rings. "I mentioned to the regents that it's a shame they must bow to the whims of a four-year-old, when they have more experience and intelligence than any Rittevon boy king. Ludas Jimajen—Rubinyan's ancestor—""I know," murmured Aly.Kyprioth grinned at her, white teeth flashing in the dark. "He was supposed to have been the next king, or his son." He began to juggle balls of gold light. "That was the agreement he made with Rittevon, so that both of them could claim the throne. But Jimajen was killed supposedly by a raka assassin after Rittevon's second wife gave birth to twin boys. Amazing how these things work, isn't it?"Rubinyan Jimajen had no children by his marriage to Imajane, but he did have sons from his first marriage. He even had grandsons. Had Imajane ever wondered if he didn't want to take the throne and make the next monarch a Jimajen king?"I love to watch you think," Kyprioth said. "Your face gets so agreeable.""Was the storm yours?" she asked.He shook his head, as if disappointed. "Why should I need to brew one?" he inquired patiently. "They had mages who can do it. Mages who care only that they keep their un-trusting master and mistress happy.""Is that all you did with the regents themselves, then? A suggestion?" she wanted to know, eyebrows raised in casual interest."Well, I reinforced it with repetition," the god admitted. "Whenever he had a tantrum, whenever he shouted that he hated them, as children so agreeably do when they are crossed. Aly, you aren't usually so dense. Dunevon was in the way, as was Elsren. They had to go. If I waited for you tenderhearts, my brother and sister would return and wrap me in chains, then kick me off the edge of the universe. I didn't care to wait."Aly looked at him, a mantle of cold settling over her skin. Twice she had erred very badly. The first time was when she had been too cocky to think Sarai might surprise her. The second time was at present. She had forgotten that Kyprioth was not a wildly eccentric, magically powerful human. She looked into his face and saw that those lives meant nothing to him. He was a god. He might care for a few chosen humans. He might even enjoy their company. But in the end, he could no more feel as humans did than could Stormwings. She got to her feet. "I'm sorry you can’t grieve for those people," she said quietly. "You don't know what you miss." She set her dozing miniature kudarung down and returned to the house. Once she reached her workroom, she put her head on her table. "Tell me about the dragons," she whispered to the darkings. As they talked of burning sands and fields of stars, she tried to imagine them and nothing else, particularly nothing to do with the sea.She woke in the morning slumped across her worktable. Her head felt as if it were stuffed with cotton. Somehow she cleaned herself up and made herself eat, a ghost in a household full of ghosts. Conversations were quiet and kept to the basics. The ladies retreated to the nursery to tell Petranne and to mourn for the second time in less than a year. Finding herself unneeded, Aly retreated to her workroom. Automatically she busied herself with information, starting with the darkings.She expected the news they gave her: The regents had summoned the chief Mithran priest to crown them, with their luarin cronies as witnesses. The official coronation, with all its pomp, would be held the day after the coming eclipse of the sun, in celebration of Mithros's victory over the dark, Trick said.Aly turned a silver coin over in her fingers, walking it across their tops, then under them. "They have to put it that way," she said quietly. "It's that or admit their god is vulnerable for a day."She assembled more reports, taking in information and writing it up for the raka leaders. Even if they had been able to meet that day, she couldn't have borne it. She had told Elsren stories, changed his clothes, taught him to somersault. She did not want to think of him cold and alone in Kyprioth's uncaring waters. Instead she lit a stick of incense to the Wave-Walker, the merciful sea goddess, in the hope that she would see Elsren properly to the Peaceful Realms. Aly did not know how she would attend the memorial service held when there was no body to bury, but she knew that she must.It was almost noon when the clamor of crows drew Aly out into the garden. A cloud of them flew overhead, calling to each other, telling the native crows that they were allies, come from the north. Aly watched them, numb. Tomorrow I must get to work, she told herself. There are opportunities now, with the Crown unsettled. I must not sit here like a lump, or allow my people to do so.At least she had custom on her side. With the announcement of the emergency coronation had come the proclamation of a week of mourning for the Isles, a week when all but the most necessary work was to be set aside. Aly did not mean to idle that entire week away, but she needed at least one day to collect herself. From the shock on all the other faces of the Balitang household, she could see that everyone felt the same, even Ulasim. Even Ochobu.She returned to her workroom and to processing information. Someone had left a stack of reports for her while she'd been roaming. Most of her pack and their recruits had been out and about, listening to what people had to say. Except for Boulaj and Junai, they'd had little or nothing to do with Elsren. His death had less of an impact on them, and in Dunevon's death they saw an opportunity. Aly had expected them to: she had trained them for that, as she herself had been trained. It was just very hard to get excited over the opportunity when that knot of fire under her breastbone had turned to ice.Someone opened her door without knocking. Aly looked up from her work, scowling, and froze. It was Nawat, sun-bronzed, bearing a scar on one cheekbone, wearing a loose cotton shirt and breeches, and tired boots. He set a bow and a quiver of crow-fletched arrows by Aly’s door and came toward her, an odd look on his face.It was a look she would have known on any other man's face as he greeted the love of his life. She had seen it blaze in her father s eyes, King Jonathans eyes, and Uncle Numy's eyes, but never in Nawat's. It was there now.Aly jumped to her feet and threw herself into his arms. It was no crow-turned-man who caught her up, but a man, confident in who he was and what he wanted. Aly had time to emit one squeak before he covered her mouth with his. She clung to him and lost herself in warmth and a melting in her belly and legs that went beyond desire. Nawat drew back, took a breath, and kissed her again, his lips sweet and moist, his arms hard with muscle as he lifted her off the floor. Aly's hands explored the muscles of his back and the softness of his black hair, but her mind could escape his mouth for only a second before it came back to his kisses. Nawat carried her to her worktable and sat her on piles of reports so their faces were at the same level.Trick and Squeak dropped from her neck, where they were being mashed. Aly didn't see them watch with interest as Nawat kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and her palms. Finally she tugged away and rested her forehead on the V of brown flesh that showed in the collar of his shirt."We were fifty miles away when we got word of the nestlings," Nawat whispered. "I had to come ahead faster. I knew you would need me."Aly looked up into his eyes. She felt her chin quiver. All she could do was hide her face against his shirt again as the tears came in a rush. Nawat held her close and preened her hair with his fingers as Aly cried herself out. She didn't even try to apologize as her head slowly cleared. She knew he understood."They were a problem," she whispered at last. "But I never wanted it solved like this.""Good," Nawat replied over her head. "I would not wish you to drown our nestlings."She laughed and sobbed at the same time, then pulled herself away. Taking a handkerchief from her sarong, she mopped her face. "I got your shirt wet," she pointed out. Then she looked at him. "If you came the fastest way, did you steal those clothes?"Nawat's smile made her heart do funny things. "I hid some of mine away in case I should have to come home this way," he explained. "My clothes fit better than stolen ones. There are little creatures on your table."Aly half turned and saw the darkings. "They're darklings," she explained. "And my friends. That one's Trick, and that one's Secret.""Is this lovemaking?" Secret inquired."No. It is kissing. Lovemaking comes after kissing," Trick replied."That is true," Nawat said. There was a look in his eyes that made gooseflesh ripple over Aly's body. "Please go away, little friends of Aly."The darkings plopped to the floor and rolled out of the room. Nawat went over and locked the door. Aly watched him with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation."I don't think this is the best time to do what I think you want to do," she pointed out."There will never be a good time until Dove is queen." Nawat walked over to put his arms around her again. "We might be dead by then." He kissed her temple, then his lips drifted until they found hers again. This kiss was long, slow, and sweet, the kiss of lovers who had all of time.At the end of it, Nawat held Aly's face in his hands. "I am no longer a crow who turned into a man, Aly Bright Eyes," he told her soberly. "I am a man who can be a crow at need, but I am still a man, and I love you. I have seen so many people die since I left you. I do not want to wait for priests to say words or for you to want chicks. If I go to the Peaceful Realms tomorrow, or the day after, I want to go with the taste of you on my lips."He kissed her again, slowly, folding her into an embrace that left her breathless. Aly had time to gasp when he pressed his mouth against the tender skin on her neck and collarbone. Dizzy, she suddenly realized that he'd undone her sash."Urn, wait," she said, her voice wobbling."No," he replied, gently placing the sash, and its cache of knives, out of their way. "No more waiting, Aly.""I didn't mean that kind of waiting, exactly," Aly told him, holding him at arm's length. Nawat lifted the arm, kissing the inside of her wrist, then the inside of her elbow. I had no notion those areas were so sensitive, she thought giddily. "Nawat, stop. There's, um, a thing, for us females. . . ." He was kissing her palm. It was very distracting. "Nawat, we can’t bring chicks into the world, I'm not ready, we're not, and well, there's a thing women wear, only I haven't got one." Babbling again, observed that cool corner of her brain. "Until we have a safe nest, I can't—not without that charm."Nawat smiled and pulled something from his pocket. It shone gold and shimmered silver with its touch of magic. "My fighters told me," he explained as he draped the anti-pregnancy charm around her neck. "It is a thing women put on, until they want chicks," he said, laughter in his dark eyes."Oh," Aly said weakly. "That, well, that changes some things, definitely—"Nawat kissed her again. This time his free hand worked at the tie of her sarong. Aly couldn't help him. She was too busy undoing his belt."I want to always have the taste of you on my lips," Nawat whispered as they sank onto the floor.Aly slept, the first deep sleep she'd had in a long time. She woke to find Nawat setting a pallet on the floor beside her. He'd brought a lamp and a blanket as well. Eyeing the lamp, she murmured, "It's night?""Nearly midnight. Ulasim said to let you rest." Nawat knelt beside her and cupped her cheek with his hand. "I did not think it would hurt you. Lovemaking."She smiled at him. "It often hurts the first time, when you're a girl. So I've been told.""Only the first time?" Nawat asked.She kissed his palm. "I think so.""Then perhaps we should try again," Nawat said gravely, bending down to kiss Aly.She nodded vigorously until their lips met.Aly opened her eyes. She was curled inside the curve of Nawat's body, his arm over her waist. On the floor next to their pallet was an audience: a few miniature kudarung and five crows, all watching with fascination. Warm lips met the back of her neck, raising goose bumps on her body."What time is it?" Aly inquired drowsily.A crow made the sound for "before the sun rises.""If the sun is not awake, I am not awake," Aly’said. She turned under the blanket to burrow her face into Nawat's shoulder."Go away," he told the others.It only then occurred to Aly that the crows and the kudarung could not have entered through closed shutters or a closed door. She sat up quickly. The door was open, but the frame was not empty. A number of weary yet fascinated faces—Ulasim's, Junai's, Yoyox's, Boulaj's, and Kioka's— looked down at them. Aly was grateful that Nawat had left her in the blanket as he proceeded to dress.She raised an eyebrow at their audience. "Enjoying the view?" she inquired.Yoyox grinned. "Actually, yes.""I enjoyed the other view," said Kioka, watching Nawat pull on his shirt.Aly glared at her. "I know a hundred different ways to make you disappear," she warned the young woman."This is all as beautiful as the flowers of spring," observed Ulasim. "Nawat, where are your warriors?"Nawat kissed Aly gently, then straightened. "Thirty miles north, sir," he replied, a soldier in answer to his general. "I brought two hundred and fifty, as many as could be spared. They should be on the outskirts of the city by tonight.""Come give me what news you have," Ulasim ordered, beckoning. "You may settle romantic matters later. The regents have decided they no longer need a Rittevon male to rule." He shooed the others away from the door and led Nawat across the hall. Nawat closed the door. Aly’scowled at it, remembering it should have been locked. "This is the problem with training people to open locks," she complained as she dressed. "They can turn what you taught them against you." As she picked up her darking necklace, Trick and Secret poked out their heads. "Human lovemaking looks silly," Secret told Aly."Darking way more sensible," added Trick.Aly settled them around her neck. "Our way is more fun," she replied absently, her mind on the rebellion. Getting up to wrap her sarong, she stared at the map that marked the path of the war. As soon as her sash was arranged, she set a pin for Nawat's warriors, on their way to Rajmuat.What had possessed the regents to kill those boys? she wondered. Now, when they are stretched so thin? They will lie and say it was the storm, but who will believe them? Do they think people will accept them on the throne? They'll have to fight, and they haven't got the soldiers.The numbness of the day before was gone. Her heart still ached for Elsren and the others, but she could wall it off to consider her next move. Sitting at her desk, she began to pore over the reports she had not yet reviewed, looking for signs of weakness and for ideas. It took the breakfast gong to break through her concentration. She was ravenous.She could not have forgotten their loss even if she had wanted to. In the servants' mess hall she saw black armbands everywhere, and eyes still red and swollen from weeping. Talk was kept quiet. Chenaol had retreated inside herself, dishing out food as if she didn't even care what it was. Aly’simply accepted her bowl and did not try to distract the cook. When Nawat came to eat beside her, they slid together until their legs touched and ate in silence.Once the meal was done Aly went upstairs to get clean clothes. "She slept on a trundle bed in Her Grace's room," Boulaj said when Aly asked for Dove. She was shaking out black clothing for Dove to wear. "So did Lady Nuritin. I'm glad Nawat came back."Aly, caught as she wrapped a clean sarong around her, blinked. "I know I am, but why are you?" she asked, startled."You seemed a little lost after he left," Boulaj explained. "Not lost as a spy, but lost as a woman. As if he'd taken a piece of you away that you needed. He has changed."Aly tucked her fresh sarong, remembering that man's look, and those very male kisses. "I, um, hadn't noticed. Much." She began to wrap her sash. "How is Her Grace?""Her Grace is livid," Winnamine said coldly from the door. Aly turned to face her. Dove and Nuritin stood behind Winnamine, watching her. "Her Grace wants to know why the god sent you to this house, Aly."Aly swallowed. You should have expected this, she told herself.Winnamine continued, "Where is our great destiny that was promised by the god? Can it be the god meant my husband and son to die? That my little boy had to drown so the regents would take power and the throne would be strong? Was that it?" Her eyes were overbright, but no tears fell. Aly was certain that the duchess had no tears left.Gently Aly said, "No, Your Grace." The sight of her pain made her stomach knot. "There is no greatness in what happened to Elsren, or to the duke. I'm afraid the gods don't care what makes their servants happy. They see only what they desire. We are tools to their ends.""You speak knowledgeably about gods," the duchess said bitterly. "You know a great many, do you?""I have seen the god-touched in Tortall, Your Grace," Aly replied, thinking of her parents and Aunt Daine. "They did not look entirely happy. They looked—driven, at times. As the god drives me."Winnamine turned, nearly colliding with Nuritin and Dove. They moved out of her way just in time and followed her back to her rooms."That's the problem with luarin," Boulaj observed softly. "They think gods have rules and follow them. They should dedicate their lives to the Trickster, as we do. They would not be comfortable, but they would not have this illusion that life is supposed to make sense, either.""Thinking of trying for the priesthood?" Aly wanted to know. She blinked rapidly. She would not cry, not for the duchess, or the Balitang family, or herself. The time for tears was over."To be a raka under the luarin is to be a priest of the Trickster," replied Boulaj. "Will you help me fold this sheet?"Aly and Boulaj straightened Dove's chambers, then Aly went back downstairs. She met Quedanga in the hall that led to her workroom. "I left the night's gleanings on your table, and I rolled up your pallet," the housekeeper said. "The city is quiet—there is little to pass on. I think we are all in shock.""Thanks, Quedanga," Aly’said. "It won't last, you know.""I know." Quedangas grin showed a wolfish number of teeth. "And then the raka's time will come."And then the rakas time may come, Aly replied silently. Imajane and Rubinyan have opened the door for it, but it is not yet set in stone.She went to her table and began to make her way through the heap of news Quedanga had collected from her own network within the city. Aly wasn't sure how long she worked before the runner Wayan rapped on the frame of the door. When Aly nodded, she came over to lean against Aly affectionately. She opened her hand to show a folded piece of paper, sealed with a blank circle of wax."A man at the servants' gate gave me this for you," she said. "He said it was from his master.""Is he waiting for a reply?" Aly inquired. She inspected the note to see if the wax had been tampered with. She had taught her people ways to remove wax seals, but she also knew how to tell if somebody had been playing with one. This note had not been opened.Wayan shook her head. "He gave me a silver gigit and left."Aly kissed the girl's cheek. "Then you don't need a tip from me. Scamper."Giggling, Wayan left. Aly got to her feet and locked her door before she heated a thin knife and slid the hot metal under the seal. The note popped open.That boat came apart in the first big wave. They didn’t need a storm that sank a number of other ships, too. Whatever it is that you intend to do, I am your man.—T. S.Only one T.S. that she knew of would send her such a message: Taybur Sibigat. The regents—now the monarchs— had made a stupid mistake in killing the boy king he had loved. Aly was certain that Sibigat had been meant to drown, and just as sure that he had noticed that.Aly ran her fingers over her darking necklace as she tucked the message back into her sash. She would keep this to herself for the present. The time would come soon when she would ask Taybur to make good on his promise. At this point, they both needed him to remain where he was and do his job. History was rife with palace revolts spearheaded by the very fighters who were there to protect the rulers.They never should have killed his king, thought Aly as she returned to her work.Two quick raps and an open slap on her door told Aly she was wanted in the meeting room. She locked her workroom and went in. Her pack, from Boulaj to Yoyox, waited there for her. They all watched her with bright attention, that look of hounds who had at last caught the scent.Aly closed and locked the door, then settled in a chair. "We're in mourning," she stated."We would like our own way to mourn," said Jimarn. "Guide us, Duani.""You’ve been doing this for a while," Aly pointed out. "Surely you don't need me."Atisa rolled her eyes. "You’re being aggravating.""Sometimes aggravation is the irritant that forces a result," Aly replied quickly, then sighed. "My goodness. You young people are so impatient.""We know you" Olkey explained patiently as he popped a snow pea into his mouth. "Knowing you, we decided you probably have a list of things to tidy up in that clever head of yours. Lazy children that we are, we'd rather you did the thinking, and we handled the details."Aly twiddled her thumbs, staring at the ceiling. This was what she had been working for since the fall before: the time when their minds and hers would work to reach the same place at the same time. I've done well with them, she told herself. It's time for them to see what they can do."I don't know how this can be, but the naval shipyards are a mess," she remarked at last. "All that wood and tar, all those ships being repaired. What if company comes to call?""That's a big one," said Guchol. "That will take work." Aly raised an eyebrow. Guchol responded to her unspoken question. "We can do it," she said hurriedly. "There are some knots to untie, though.""Come to me if you need help," Aly’said."I don't want to burn ships," Junai snapped. Like Boulaj, she had been closer to the family than the others, which meant that she had known Elsren. "I want them scared.""People are very scared by bad things that seem to have come out of nowhere," Aly observed, her gaze back on the ceiling. "Things like a basket of rats in a closed bedroom. Or a dead rat." She looked at Junai and Boulaj. "A dead rat appears on the streets of the Windward District, where folk think they are so safe ... it frightens them."Boulaj and Junai exchanged bright-eyed glances. "We can do that," Boulaj said. "At night, once the house is abed.""What about the regents?" demanded Lokak, dark eyes hard. "When do we strike them?""Giant-killing is tricky," Aly replied, knowing Lokak had spoken for the pack. "If you go for his eyes, he kills you by stepping on you. Instead you cut his legs from under him. With a weak army and navy, the new monarchs will struggle to protect themselves. Duke Nomru's estates have risen on his behalf against the Crown. His New Majesty needs more troops, but he doesn't have enough for Malubesang and the other rebellions. He'll have to scramble. As he does, he and his queen will be vulnerable. Our general can see that day come. He'll let us know when it is time. For now, we help him by doing what we have trained to do."Most of them gathered around Guchol. As they whispered, Aly returned to her workroom. It would be foolish to suggest anything to them, when she didn't know the shipyard and they did. She would leave the list of Sevmire's spies in the Windward District out where Junai or Boulaj could find it. If they could pick her lock to see who had kept her in her workroom all night, they could pick it to find the list, too.Back at her worktable, Aly set her darking necklace on its surface. "What happened while I was—occupied?" she asked them."Royal tax collector for all of Lombyn is dead," Trick announced. "Royal governor of Malubesang is missing."Aly nodded. "Very good. Is that it?""For yesterday, with Rubinyan and Imajane," said Trick."What of my friend Sevmire?" Aly wanted to know."Bean say he draws up list of possible enemies," piped Secret. "Balitangs on it. Also Fonfalas. Also Engan.""Also Obemaek," Trick added. "Sevmire asleep now.""He drink too much wine," Secret explained. "He drools on desk.""Bean ask, can he take list away from Sevmire?" Trick relayed.Aly stretched. "Sevmire will just make another one.""But he will wake up with dry quill and open ink bottle and no list," explained Secret. "Bean say, he will search everywhere, and then he will think someone took it.""Bean say, Sevmire will twitch and drink and suspect his people," added Trick. "He will think they try to take his place with Rubinyan. Bean say—says," it corrected itself, to Aly’s surprise, "that Sevmire worries all the time about everything. Bean says, if he worries more, he trusts people less."So not only have I taught them to be spies, but it seems they're also learning to speak more like human beings, Aly mused. I wonder if this is a good thing or a bad one? "Tell Bean that by all means it should take the list if it can," she said. "And if Bean can think of more things to do to Sevmire without getting caught, it shouldn't worry about asking, just go ahead." I do it for my pack, she told herself. I can surely let the darkings off the leash as well.After a moment Trick said, "Bean is very happy. He takes list into Sevmire's dung room.""He will drop it in the dung pit," explained Secret.Aly nodded. She loved their term for a privy. And a dung pit is where Sevmire himself belongs, she thought. Where they all belong.She worked on papers until her belly reminded her that she had missed lunch. Out she went, in search of cold meat, bread, and some fruit. Once she had her meal in her hands, she went out into the garden to the Pavilion of Secrets. She wanted some time alone, to think in privacy of the wonderful things that had happened the night before. She knew moments like that were stolen from time, and she did not want to forget any of it. Leaning into a corner of the pavilion, she closed her eyes to remember, and dozed. When the food tumbled from her hands to the ground, the miniature kuda-rung swooped in for the feast.She woke to their whickering and a shadow that loomed over her. Her senses identified a large body between her and escape. Aly was on her feet with two knives in her hands before she realized it was Ulasim.He crouched to pet the clamoring kudarung around his legs and looked at Aly with appreciation. "That was very quick for someone who just woke up," he remarked. "It is as I always suspected—you sleep with one eyelid cracked.""Only sometimes," Aly replied with a sheepish grin. She put her knives away. "If I slept that way all the time, I'd be predictable, wouldn't I?""Very true," Ulasim said, the corners of his eyes crinkling in his secret smile. "Nawat went out to see to his people. He said he would return for supper. Have you new information for me?"Aly nodded and told him the news from Lombyn and Malubesang. "Nomru's people rising against the monarchs, that's bad."Ulasim nodded. "Nomru is the chief landholder on Malubesang."Aly bit her lip. She wanted him to look beyond the raka. "Call it a hunch, but I bet the Fonfala estates won't be far behind," she suggested, watching his face for his reaction. "They were friends, before the duke's escape. They're neighbors on Malubesang. The lands are held by Her Grace's brother. It stands to reason."Ulasim's thin smile hooked to one side. "And the Nomrus and Fonfalas both belong to that pathetic luarin sewing circle," he added. "Why should I deal with them now, when they have been good for nothing before?""Because Dove is one of them," Aly informed him. "And—I think they are ripe to actually do something.""I shall consider it," replied Ulasim. He hesitated, then grinned. "It is good to see you are not completely distracted by ... other things."Aly made a face at him. The sight of the black armband he wore punctured her good mood. "I wish I could stay distracted. I need to get one of those.""Don't feel guilty because you are alive," he counseled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they walked back to the house. "I feel guilty enough for twelve people.""Because the choice of what to do about the Rittevon heirs was taken from your hands?" she asked.The arm around her shoulders tightened, then relaxed. "That," he admitted."We can and will all feel guilty about that," Aly consoled him. "And we can share our feelings with our new rulers."Nawat returned, as promised, in the late afternoon. Aly heard the bawling of amused crows and translated that they were laughing at him for changing shape and putting on uncomfortable clothes. When he emerged from the stable loft where he had changed, she was waiting for him. They kissed, and then she asked, "Would you talk to your friends for me?""So we are back to that," he commented, shaking his head. "My only value to you is as a crow.""Nawat!" she cried, grabbing his shirt. "That's not true, I ..." She saw the glitter in his deep-set eyes and gaped at him. "You're teasing me?"He kissed her. Even when their lips parted, he kept his arm around her waist. "You look beautiful when you are shocked. It is sweet," he said, a man's grin on his face. "This is more fun than dragging Ochobu's clothes in the mud."Aly pushed him away lightly, not hard enough to make him let go. "I swear she still expects you to do that," she said. "And I have some fun for your kindred, if you would like to explain it to them."He tipped his head back and called in something far better than Aly's clumsy crow-speech. Immediately three of the birds came flapping down to land in the branches of a nearby tree."I was thinking," Aly began, "that winged messengers come and go from the palace all the time. It would be nice if your people could force them to lose their messages or even drive them to the ground."One of the crows admitted, in caws and clicks, that this could be interesting.It would require more skill than tormenting Stormwings, Nawat replied in the same language.The crows flicked their wingtips and took off, already calling the news to the other crows within earshot."So they'll do it?" Aly wanted to know. "Or will they just talk about it?"Nawat held her close. "It amuses them. They'll do it," he said with a grin.That night the rebel leaders gathered in the meeting room to hear the news from all over the city and the realm. This time Nawat joined them to report what he'd been doing as a warrior and what news he had gathered from the crows. Once more Aly was awed by the change in him, from ill-at-ease bird in a human's body to confident young man. Ulasim was thanking him when suddenly their world went a bright, roaring white. The air boomed as if they sat inside a monstrous kettle drum. That vast roaring sound filled Aly's ears until she would have screamed to drown it out, except that she feared she was already screaming.The roar stopped abruptly. Outside, thunder crashed directly overhead.Kyprioth appeared next to Aly's chair. "This is where I leave you all," he told them as he looked apprehensively at the ceiling. "My brother and sister have returned." He kissed Aly's cheek. "Good luck. Victories, remember!" He vanished.They didn't even wait to discuss what they were doing: all of the leaders raced outside to look skyward. Pale white flames spread from the moon, which shone full at a time when it was only supposed to be a quarter full. Bright orange waves of light spread across the sky in sheer curtains. Lightning flashed everywhere and faded."And so the fun begins," murmured Ulasim. He clapped his hands together and rubbed them. "Come, my friends. Let's see how much trouble we can cause."Aly and Nawat spent the night on a pallet in the Pavilion of Secrets, talking through much of it. When dawn came, they went outside to join the fighters for morning drill. Everyone watched for dawn when they weren't actually facing off against one another. When it came, they could see the gods were still locked in battle. The sun shed light and heat as it always did, but its rays were far longer than normal, dark orange pennants around the gold disk. White, fiery veils that had to represent the Goddess drifted in the morning sky, while everywhere the sparks that showed Kyprioth and the lesser tricksters winked in and out, points of color that never stayed the same hue for more than a moment.Aly shivered and concentrated on her staff work. It was unnerving to see a sky so different from normal. She didn't like it at all, and she was nearly certain that the others felt the same. It was a relief to go into the laundry with Nawat and take a long bath together. Afterward he left on errands for Ulasim, while Aly went upstairs to see if Dove needed anything. Once again she found Boulaj gathering up Dove's washing. The bed was freshly made, the room aired out, the water basin dumped and cleansed. "What's this?" Aly demanded with a frown. Dove's night table had been straightened. So had the stack of books next to her bed.Boulaj faced her, determination on her long face. "Aly, you're needed for other things," she said. "I trained to be a maid as well as bodyguard for Lady Sarai, and I like it.""She's right." Dove emerged from the dressing room she had once shared with Sarai. "Things will heat up now that Imajane and Rubinyan rule us. You re needed to do what you do best. Boulaj and I manage nicely as mistress and maid."Aly was a little hurt that they had come to an understanding without her. The moment she recognized the emotion, she thrust it away as meaningless. Dove and Boulaj were right, and that was that. What mattered was her own ability to pass information quickly to the rebel leaders. She needed to concentrate on that and on the kind of mischief that would drive their new rulers into a rage.Boulaj yawned. Aly looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Late night?" she asked wickedly."We got some sleep," Boulaj replied. "And the work itself was satisfying." She caught Dove's curious glance and said, "Spy stuff."Aly held up a finger and went to the window. Something, some sound, made the shutters quiver under her palms. She opened them. In the distance she heard a roar of noise from the direction of the market districts and Downwind. She glanced above the nearby trees and saw smoke in the distance. Without a word to the other two she raced downstairs.Outside the front door stood Nuritin, Fesgao, and a sweat-bathed Olkey. His eyes registered Aly's arrival as he told the other two, "It was the gods fighting that set them off, my lady, sir. Over in Downwind, folk were weeping in the street over the little boys' deaths. They've got three songs written about it already, and one of them calls it murder. And then there was last night, and they all waited for the dawn, and saw all the lights and colors.... They went mad. They're rioting in Downwind and the Honeypot, and the folks in Dockmarket are closing up. It's just a matter of time before they call for a lockdown of the city.""Secure the gates," ordered Nuritin. "Put more guards on them."Fesgao saluted her. "Very good, my lady," he said.Here in the open Aly heard the distant calls of horns and the clang of alarm gongs. She went back inside to see what her people knew.The regents kept the city under martial law for three days, not caring if people had enough food to eat. Those foolish enough to challenge the King's Watch found themselves hustled off to local jails. If the Watchmen got very annoyed, they sent the offender to Kanodang. The fires were put out; a number of rioters were hanged. There was nothing anyone in Balitang House could do but wait it out. People crept in and out using the tunnel system, but they had to be careful. Aly nearly lost Atisa and Ukali of her pack to the Watch, until the pair's recruits spotted them and swarmed their captors to help them to escape.The flow of information into the house continued, courtesy of the darkings, the crows, and the mages of the Chain. Through them the household learned of riots all over the cities and towns of the Isles. It was too much for the people to take, coming all at once: word of the little king's drowning, the informal coronation of two new monarchs, and the gods' battle overhead. Most riots were put down savagely. Others burned themselves out by the end of the week.Seven days after the boy king had drowned, memorial services for him and his three dead companions were held in the Black God's temples. The people of Rajmuat came to pay their respects in numb silence, mourning not just the children but the hundred-odd others who had drowned with them, their boats capsized or their homes crushed by falling trees. After the prayers to the god ended, the faithful carried flowers down to the harbor and tossed them into the brown, soupy water. In silence still, everyone returned to their homes.At noon that day, the regents lifted martial law, though soldiers were everywhere. Roaming the city streets, Aly took note of the damage, most of it in the poor districts of the town. Trudging back to Balitang House, she wished the people would turn that wrath on the sources of their pain rather than on their own homes. We need more rumors about the monarchs and their plans for the kingdom, she told herself. The poor need to hate the monarchs as much as they fear the gods. This time it was the gods who drove them to riot, I think. Next time it must be Imajane and Rubinyan.During that hot afternoon's rest time, a number of people visited the house. Aly joined those who had come to see her in the meeting room. There she found members of her pack who were not out in the city and a number of trusted recruits who had been approved by Ochobu or Ysul. Vi-torcine Townsend was present as well. Aly had decided she would make a good addition to her spies.Nearly everyone had written reports for Aly, information that had piled up while it had been so difficult for their contacts to get to them. They placed the reports in Aly's hands. A representative of the rebel spies in the palace was present, this being his normal free day. He too gave a sheaf of reports to Aly. She glimpsed at the topmost one. The first line read: / went into a rage over a scrap of paper.Aly nodded and yawned. That plan seemed to be unfolding nicely. Folding her hands on her belly, she looked at the packed room. "Has anyone anything special for me?"The man from the palace raised a hand. "Lord Sevmire dismissed three of his secretaries this morning. He says he refuses to work with those he cannot trust. And there is an armed guard at the mages' house. Stormwings roost on the roof peak. No one is allowed to leave."Aly whistled silently. "An interesting development."Bacar, the footman from across the street, raised his hand. "The housekeeper at Murtebo House was found with her throat cut. There was a paper pinned to her clothes that read Spy"A ragamuffin wearing only a loincloth spoke. "Up on Junoh Street, they found two like that, a footman and a maid. Dead the same way, both wearing Spy signs. That's what the folk who found them said.""Any more?" Aly inquired. They all shook their heads. She nodded. "Very well. You already know the rumor that the storm that sank the boys' ship was not a natural one. And here's another thing—a source I trust says the boat went to pieces suspiciously fast. Add also that the mages who serve the Crown appear to be under house arrest. Those are interesting bits of news, aren't they?"Her listeners nodded.One of the Obeliten maids asked, "Duani, everyone knows the Crown mages have been known to meddle with weather before, though they know they can't control it." There was a chorus of yesses and calls of "She's right." Emboldened, the maid continued, "And isn't it strange how the one child saved belonged to a family known to be great friends of the regents?"Aly thought that was more luck than attention to that particular boy's life. At the same time, she had not forgotten that the only heir to a family title on the Rittevon had been Elsren. Dunevon's other three companions had been younger sons unlikely to inherit the title. Their families could afford to lose them, a fact of which the new rulers had been aware.Aly nodded. "Those also are good points to make with those you talk to," she told her people. "Ask your particular friends on the streets if Mithros and the Goddess are not angry because they are represented by monarchs with the blood of children on their hands. Especially the Goddess, as children are her care." She noticed their startled glances: they had not thought of this. "One more thing. The royal fortress at Galodon has lost at least half of its soldiers and sailors to bad food. The strongest fighting force in Rajmuat is now only the Rittevon Guard." She waved them out. "Be watchful, and take no unnecessary chances," she warned as they prepared to go. "We are going to make our new monarchs very unhappy, and for that I need you all."A number of them touched the arm of Aly’s chair on their way out. "Gunapi the Sunrose guard you, Duani," some whispered. Others remarked, "The luck turns our way."Aly waved them off, not sure of what was going on, uncomfortable with the awe of her in their faces.Supper was quiet. Aly ate at her worktable, reading over reports and making notes. She was sweating as she burned the reports she had condensed when Fesgao knocked on her door and looked in. "We're gathering," he told her.Aly nodded and collected her papers that the other leaders might use. In the meeting room, she saw that everyone was present but Dove."Perhaps we should begin?" she asked Ulasim. "I think at the moment Dove wants to be with the duchess.""No doubt you are right," Ulasim agreed. Quedanga closed the door as Ysul woke their security spells.Aly had just finished passing out the reports when a knock sounded on the door."She came after all," Quedanga murmured, surprised, as she opened it.In walked Dove, followed by Winnamine and Nuritin. The conspirators started to their feet, all but Ulasim, who measured the two haggard women with his eyes. In this room he was the raka general, who stood at attention for no one."I thought it was time," Dove told him, a mulish set to her mouth. "Past time.""The rebellion—if that's what you are about, I want to be part of it," said Winnamine, her voice quavering. "I've known—my lord and I knew—there was something going on, but we let it go. We did not much care for our laws and hoped that a good fright would lead to better government. You were all so careful that we could not see how anyone might discover you. And ... I want to help.""As do I," said Nuritin, folding her arms over her chest. "There are others, just as appalled by this child murder as we are. Others who can bring arms and finances and fighters to this cause. In fact, one of them is at my house in town."Ulasim looked from Dove to the two older women. "You see me in a delicate position.""You're going to have to trust my judgment at some point," Dove reminded him. "I think that now would be a good time. I won't be a puppet, Ulasim. If I rule, I rule."Ochobu poked Nawat with a finger. "Give the Lady Nuritin your chair," she ordered. To Nuritin she said, "Who is this guest?""I have sent Jesi for him. She knows to be careful," replied Nuritin, lowering herself into her chair.Ulasim gestured for the duchess to take Aly's seat as Dove assumed her usual place."We just let them in?" demanded Quedanga. "And when members of their families die, what is to keep them from running to the monarchs with all they know?""Members of this family have died," snapped Nuritin. Quedanga looked down."If we were going to go to the Crown, we would have done it long before this," said Winnamine, her voice tired. "While we still could walk away from you with our own skins intact. No one will believe we were ignorant of your activities all this time.""We'd like to avoid a bloodbath," Aly told Quedanga. "So unsightly, and it will give entirely the wrong impression to any greedy foreigners who are watching us. That means coming to terms with some luarin.""You think the great lords will give up their lands and titles to the raka?" asked Nuritin."They will have to give up some of their lands," replied Fesgao. "But let us face it, many of the raka families who held those titles originally are long dead. Unless a luarin has been cruel to his or her people, or has supported the Rittevons and all they did, we must be ready to negotiate.""How can we trust your allies?" demanded Quedanga. "Those luarin you plot with? Any of them could be an agent of the Crown simply waiting for you to pose a real threat before he reports you—or she reports you."Aly cleared her throat. "With regard to the main members of their group, I can vouch for their loyalty," she said modestly. "I've had them watched." With normal spies she would have waited for them to observe their quarry for months before she could say with near-certainty that they were loyal to their fellow conspirators. With the darkings able to follow those who met in the Teak Sitting Room, she was certain that none of them was in communication with the Crown. Not only had her small allies watched the heads of those families, but they had inspected their desks, their wardrobes, and even their diaries."They could have hidden something from you," argued Quedanga.Aly shook her head. "You must trust me.""What good might you do us?" Ulasim asked the duchess and Lady Nuritin. "You are formidable allies in your own persons, but we need fighters, and weapons, and horses. We need ships, and crews. We need money.""All of which we have," said the duchess."What if your warriors choose not to obey your wishes?" Chenaol asked, curious rather than hostile. "What if they report you to our new rulers?""Remind them of Topabaw's fate, and that of two commanders of the King's Watch," said Dove. "Remind them that Imajane and Rubinyan are less than loyal to those who serve them.""You might also want to mention those dead persons who have appeared with the word spy on their clothing recently," Aly murmured. "And those who will be found tomorrow, and the day after. I think we'll have the Windward District fairly well cleared by then." She gazed at them under her lashes. Everyone had turned to look at her. She added, "After that, we'll start on the rest of Rajmuat. District by district, that's the best way to handle these things.""And only think, she is on our side," Fesgao said at last.Nuritin smiled frostily at Aly. "Or we need simply to remind such would-be traitors that the Crown will not believe they were innocent while their fellows conspired."Aly grinned. "That will work, too."Someone rapped on the door in the rebels' signal. Aly went to open it, to find Guchol outside. "Lady Nuritin's secretary, Jesi, is here with two priests of the Black God."Aly looked back at Nuritin, who nodded regally. "Bring them," she ordered."Here?" asked Guchol, startled. "But . . ." One look at Aly's raised eyebrow changed her mind. "Right away, Duani." Guchol trotted off down the hall."Duani?" Aly heard Nuritin ask. Aly remained in the doorway, listening to the talk as she watched the hall."She is our spymaster," Ulasim explained. "Her people call her that.""And how did a maid from Tortall become a spymaster?" demanded Nuritin, outraged.Aly flapped her hand for silence as people came down the hall, Jesi in the lead. She nodded when she saw Aly, and stood aside to let the priests go ahead. When they walked into the room, Imgehai Qeshi put back her hood, revealing her pale luarin face lit by amber eyes. With a nod to Win-namine and Nuritin, she leaned against the wall as Aly locked the door. The other priest looked around the room from the shadow of his hood, then pushed it back. Aly recognized the eagle nose and short-cropped gray hair of Duke Nomru. Some of the raka murmured in surprise.You sly thing! Aly thought, beaming at Nuritin with approval. All the realm's soldiers and spies are hunting for him, and you've had him tucked away in your vacant town house! She bowed to Nuritin to show her appreciation.Winnamine and Dove stood to kiss the renegade duke on the cheek. Nomru's eyes swept the room, lingering on some faces, then settling on Ulasim. The raka met the duke's gaze with one of equal strength. Ulasim would make sure these people, normally luarin masters, would learn right away who was in charge here.After a moment the duke asked Ulasim, "May I join you?" Ulasim nodded.Secret stretched a long neck up from its place in Aly's bead necklace to whisper to her."Excuse me," Aly said. She went into her workroom for privacy, locking her door behind her. Taking off her necklace, she held it in her hands as it reshaped itself into her two darkings. "Say that again?"They conferred. Finally Trick said, "Servants took food to house of mages inside Gray Palace walls, took food to guards on watch. A man of Rittevon Lancers comes to say fresh guards come soon, but guards eat now because mess is closed. Guards eat. Dark come. Guards start to fall. They try to breathe, but breath not come. Their faces swell. They lay down, no breath coming. They stop trying to breathe.""How do you know?" asked Aly, her mind ticking away. "All the guards? They're all dead?""Peony go to mage house, after Grosbeak run away," explained Trick. "Peony not want to go with Grosbeak, and we think darking should watch mage house. Darkings know mages. They stir things up. Peony stays at mage house.""Oh, dear," Aly said ruefully. "I didn't even try to find Peony."Trick and Secret shook their heads. "Darkings here to work. Aly can’t do everything," Trick said. "We think of some.""No, I do not remember everything. And I should have taken you more seriously," she admitted."Darkings learn," Trick said with pride. "Peony check all guards outside mage house. All dead. Peony go inside mage house. Five mages there and families. All dead."Aly felt her bowels tighten. Were the new rulers mad? "What else?" she asked."Wagons coming to mage house," Secret continued. "Men packing up dead mages, dead guards. Rubinyan send them. He say, give the dead to meat-eating fish. He wants no one but trusted guards to know what happened to them."Aly shuddered. It was a fate she would not wish on anyone. "What are the king and queen doing now?" Aly wanted to know. "Are they, I don't know, slumbering the sleep of those without cares?"Both darkings shook their heads."Imajane screaming and throwing things at Rubinyan," replied Secret. "Bottles, brushes, mirrors. She says Rubinyan ..." It cocked its head as if listening. "She says he is tumbling a lady?""Ah," Aly replied. "It means he is making love with a lady. If Imajane is throwing things, she believes he is in love with some other woman. Is she still throwing things?""She has nothing to throw unless she picks up chair," said Trick. "Uh-oh.""She picked up chair," Secret explained.Shaking her head, Aly returned to the meeting room, interrupting an intense discussion of numbers of household men-at-arms. She waited for a lull in the conversation, then announced, "I have some interesting news." She looked at Ulasim, who nodded for her to speak. "Someone—I suspect Imajane—has poisoned the court mages. Either a natural poison was used, one no one would notice in food, or they didn't look at their supper properly."They stared at her. Nomru was the first to speak. "My dear young woman, not even Imajane is so mad. For that matter, how can you possibly know this?""She has means that we do not," Chenaol told him.Aly knew Chenaol probably thought the god had told her. That was good enough for the time being."Imajane would certainly be that mad if she were getting rid of evidence," said Nuritin. "Everyone knows the storm that sank the Rittevon was no accident. The Rittevons have been wary of mages since that cabal that worked for Carthak was uncovered fifty years ago and since Oron's mage killed his father. And the Crown does have a reputation for doing away with their tools, once used.""Rubinyan is no Rittevon," Imgehai Qeshi remarked."Rubinyan didn't know," Aly told her. "She ordered their deaths without consulting him. He is quite upset.""And so he should be!" Nomru said. "Letting a woman decide a matter of state ..."He looked down at the strong brown hand that gripped one of his arms, then up into Fesgao's eyes. "Perhaps we have not made ourselves entirely clear," Fesgao told him mildly. "We are not in this to put another luarin man on the throne. We are here to reclaim our homeland and set a proper queen of our own blood to rule."Nomru took a breath, as if to argue, then halted, and released it. "I confess, we have done poorly with our charge," he admitted reluctantly. He looked at Dove. "Of course. The one who is twice royal." He fell silent, then nodded. "I am an old dog, but I believe I am still able to learn. Dovasary might do very well for us all."The next day callers returned to visit the duchess. That night Duke Nomru moved secretly into Balitang House. One or two or three at a time the luarin conspirators, starting with the Fonfalas, learned they had new allies, people who were not prepared to allow them to take over. It took little to persuade most, particularly because Aly urged the duchess, Nuritin, and Dove to let them know what had happened to the court mages, their families, and the men set to guard them. The luarin conspirators could work it out for themselves that Imajane had done all this to cover up some dreadful act like regicide.Two days after Matfrid Fonfala visited his grieving daughter, Trick told Aly that the Fonfala estates on Malubesang, next to the Nomru lands, had risen against the Crown. They were led not by servant and slave rebels, but by Winnamine's brothers. That same day word came from Malubesang of the discovery of the royal governor's body, hanging from the cliffs that overlooked Fajurat Bay.When a twentieth Crown spy turned up dead, courtesy of Boulaj and Junai working from Aly's lists, Rubinyan and Imajane instituted a twilight curfew throughout Rajmuat. Even with the curfew, neither spies nor the night patrolmen themselves were safe from the rebels. From her sources Aly cheerfully reported growing unease in the warehouses commandeered for use as barracks and in the barracks proper for the army. The men complained that death in battle was expected; simply disappearing from the street was not.Two nights after the curfew began, the chief conspirators, including Duke Nomru, the priestess Imgehai Qeshi, Winnamine, and Nuritin, met outside at Aly and Nawat’s suggestion. Certainly it was stifling indoors; the garden was cooler by far. Urged by Nawat, the miniature kudarung came out to meet the four luarin, who were charmed and awed. No kudarung had come voluntarily to Rajmuat in over two centuries. Aly thought better of the stern Nomru when she saw how gently he handled a small piebald foal that tried to eat the trim on his tunic.The curfew gongs were ringing when the southeast horizon flared orange. Aly pointed it out to her companions as a big explosion thudded in their ears. Nomru started to his feet, the ladies and then the raka beside him. Over the southeastern wall of the house the orange glow expanded. Where the white light-veils and the multicolored sparks shifted over the sky, the orange glow kept its place on the horizon. Soon they heard the now-familiar clang of the city's alarm bells.Nomru frowned. "That looks like it comes from the naval shipyards," he said.Aly sighed happily. "It does. My little ones do such wonderful work.""Their Majesties will start executing people over deeds like this," Nomru warned."They would do it sooner or later in any case," replied Ulasim. "They must, to show they have control. They will find it is not so easy to kill rebels here. And while they search for people to execute, they will force those who did not want to choose between them and the rebels to pick a side."Aly pointed upward. The multicolored points of light scattered across the sky blazed more strongly than ever. "So nice to know our work is appreciated," she remarked.The next morning, when she went to her workroom, her pack was already there, freshly washed and wearing clothes that did not smell of blazebalm."Very good work last night, my lambs," she told them as she flung herself into her chair and laced her fingers on her stomach. "Very inspiring. What is left?"Jimarn unfurled a small, deadly smile. "Very little. No wonder it's a death sentence for a raka to possess blazebalm. It's very useful stuff.""What next, Duani?" Olkey wanted to know. "We have ideas for our recruits, of course, but do you have anything special in mind?"Aly tugged an earlobe. She would have loved to get to work inside the palace, but the raka there were too easily trapped. For the time being she named four people in the city as targets. All were the prince's cronies, placed in high offices when he became regent. It was even more galling that the lone raka among them was in charge of the Crown prisons on Gempang and Kypriang, where the prisoners were also mostly raka. If he felt anything for them, he had yet to show it."You might advise these four that it's a mistake to support the current government," she said. "They should be allowed to live. But they should remember they cannot hide from us. Indulge your imaginations. Be mindful of their children. Many times children grow up to make different choices than did their parents. Jimarn, you might want to visit the Crown warehouses on Josefa Street. They are packed with grain. Wouldn't it be nice to hide it someplace so we can share it with those in need this winter? Do as you like with the empty warehouses.""Duani, remind me to stay on your good side," Hiraos commented, shaking his head. "You really know how to hold a grudge.""And she makes it painful," Guchol remarked soberly.Aly waved goodbye and watched them go. Their tasks would keep them occupied for a few days. By then she ought to have some ideas for the palace in general, and the Gray Palace in particular. The darkings had already mentioned that their noisemaking and item-throwing had increased the tension of all who lived there.As soon as the pack was gone, Trick told Aly that Imajane was sending Lady Edunata home to her family covered in bruises. The morning after Edunata left, Imajane woke to find that two more ladies-in-waiting had left her service in the night. They did not want to risk Imajane's jealousy.That same day Rubinyan brought Varwick Jimajen, his oldest son by his first marriage, to court from his home estates. Aly passed on to the conspirators that Rubinyan confided to Varwick his fear that he could not control his queen. It worried him that she had ordered the deaths of the mages without consulting him. He rightly asked himself what other orders she might give.Nawat expanded the work of the crows. They had already put a stop to the Crown's attempts to communicate with the outer Isles by winged messenger. The only reliable ways to get news or give instructions were through messengers on the ground or by mage. Since the queen trusted what her new mages told her no more than she had the old mages, the newcomers were a jumpy crew. Nawat then made sure that it was not safe for a noble or soldier on the open palace grounds. When Imajane tried to do a day's hunting just outside the walls, Nawat and his friends mobbed the falcons, driving the royal party back to the Gray Palace.Seventeen days after Dunevon's death, Kioka raced into Aly's workroom. "I just came from the docks!" she announced, panting. "You won't believe it! They posted it on the docks while their messengers delivered the letters to the palace. They're calling their ambassadors home!"Aly drummed her fingers until Kioka caught her breath. "I would share your joy more quickly if I understood what to be joyful about," she said gently."I'm sorry, Duani. It's the Tortallans, and the Carthakis. They say their mages discovered the storm that sank King Dunevon's ship was magical, and they traced the magic back to the Gray Palace. They say they will not trade with king-slayers! Every Tortallan and Carthaki ship in port is weighing anchor, even if they don't have cargo. Even if they're half unloaded! Olkey says the Tyrans are debating cutting their trade with the Isles, though he isn't sure they'll do it. Tyrans are less choosy about where they get money."Aly stopped drumming her fingers. She hadn't expected this. Tortall and Carthak had just put the Isles under a trading ban until the king's murderers were caught. With a bad harvest and national unrest draining the royal treasury, this was a heavy blow. How would the monarchs cope? They would have to find someone to take the blame. A pity that Imajane had been so quick to kill the mages, but Aly supposed the princess had decided she couldn't be certain that the mages would keep quiet about who had issued their orders.Would the Crown try to hold the Tortallan and Carthaki ambassadors here in Rajmuat? Aly hoped so, but surely Rubinyan and Imajane wouldn't be that stupid. If they did try, they could expect the Tortallan and Carthaki navies within the week."It's good, right?" Kioka asked, brushing her hair back from her eyes.Aly sighed. "Think how distressed Their Majesties must be," she said. "And shouldn't the people know our two richest, most powerful neighbors have stopped trading with us?""Got it," said Kioka. She raced from the room, squeezing past Nawat.Aly raised her eyebrows. "You left me to sleep the rest of the night alone," she said.Nawat grinned. "I was helping to steal soldiers who couldn't keep up.""What do you do with them?" she asked, curious. "I haven't heard of bodies being found.""Nor will you," Nawat informed her, sitting on a corner of the worktable. "They were still alive when we gave them to my warriors at the edge of the jungle." He picked up Aly's hand and laced his fingers with hers. "My warriors will be able to say they last saw the missing soldiers alive, when the troops went on a visit to the jungle."Aly walked her free fingers over their entwined hands. "But why would Crown soldiers visit the jungle?""They didn't think they would at first," Nawat admitted. "So my warriors show them the beauties of the deep jungle. They take away all the things the soldiers have of the civilized world, such as clothes and weapons and armor, so the soldiers will appreciate the jungle with their entire bodies. But my warriors have seen jungle before, so they get bored and leave. The soldiers stay longer.""Like the tax collectors," Aly whispered, awed by the beauty of what he described. "Take away all they have and leave them to survive the jungle. If you’re questioned under truthspell, you can say they were alive when you left them. And the only way they could survive naked out there ..." Nawat was shaking his head. Aly nodded. "I take it you don't leave them near any trails.""They are there to appreciate the jungle that has been untouched by humans," Nawat told her, a teacher to a student who did not quite understand.Aly sighed. "I am limp with envy," she told him. "Simply limp."Nawat raised the hand still entwined with his and kissed it. "I knew you would be." He got to his feet."You're leaving?" Aly asked, dismayed.Nawat bent down and kissed her thoroughly enough to make her limp again. "I am bored with nobles and soldiers who hide," he explained. "The flock that watches the palace will keep them busy. I thought the city flock and I could play for a time. But I will come back." He cupped her cheek in one hand. "I promised myself that I would not let any day go here when I did not see you once, and not just for kisses." He tweaked her earlobe and left her there among her reports.She propped her chin on her hands. There was a great deal to be said for having a former crow as a lover, she decided. They kissed as if they meant it to last. They kissed as if you were the only one they had ever kissed or would ever want to kiss. And this one . . . there were no two ways about it. He was a man."I won't be able to push him around anymore," she observed aloud."You have work," Trick reminded her. "Do not let kissing distract you.""I don't, not for more than a moment or two," Aly replied. She glanced at the darkings. "You know, my mother always told me you had to seize the bright moments, because you never know when they will come again." She smiled dreamily. "The older I get, the smarter she seems.""Rubinyan visits Sevmire," Trick told her. "Sevmire is drunk."Aly glanced out her window. "It's barely noon.""Rubinyan is very unhappy," Trick added. "Rubinyan knocked Sevmire down.""Well, the man's drunk when he's supposed to be on duty," Aly remarked. She looked at them, sitting up a little straighter. "I suppose you could say the same of me.""You are happy," Secret told her. "That is nice. You don't have many nice times."Aly smiled. "I believe that is changing. Is Rubinyan going to get rid of Sevmire?" She wasn't sure she wanted that, not now, when Sevmire was doing such a terrible job."Sevmire promise not to drink," Trick told her. It straightened, then quivered. In a flash it joined with Secret to become a two-stranded necklace again. Aly was putting them on when Boulaj poked her head into the workroom."Our ladies have received an invitation," she told Aly. "The new queen invites us to a late breakfast tomorrow morning. She wishes to consult with 'certain valued friends' about the coronation ceremonies.""Oh, splendid," replied Aly, reaching for reports. "Has she said how they will pay for those ceremonies?""Not in the invitation," Boulaj said with a shrug. "Is the treasury really so low?"Aly nodded. "They have to keep the armies and navy happy, which is to say, paid. There's not much left over. They’re discussing an invitation to the merchants and the nobles to contribute to the ceremonies as a proof of loyalty. I'm sure everyone will be delighted to hear they must beggar themselves to confirm the new king and queen.""No doubt," Boulaj replied. "Anyway, Lady Dove asks if you will come with us.""I wouldn't miss it for the world," Aly assured Boulaj.The conspirators, particularly the luarin ones, were not as eager as Aly. That afternoon, they protested when the duchess told them about the invitation."I don't like it," Lehart Obemaek declared. "Bringing so many of our ladies together at the palace—what if they mean to hold them, to ensure the lords' obedience? Because it's not just you and Nuritin and Dovasary, Winna. My wife and daughter have been invited.""As have Rosamma and I," said Countess Tomang."Lehart, I have never thought you overburdened with sense." Baron Engan looked dry and frail, but he did not sound it. "But even you must perceive that they dare not offend us—and there are far more of us in the outlying estates, who won't be meeting with Imajane. They need us if they mean to survive.""If you please, my lord Obemaek," Aly said politely. "My palace sources say that His Majesty—""Faugh!" interrupted Nuritin.Aly bowed to her. "His Majesty keeps Her Majesty under constant watch. She is the uncertain element. He has told his people they must bring her orders to him. He also understands that his power base is shaky. For the present he grips the reins. My sources tell me nothing sinister is planned for tomorrow morning.""I find it hard to have faith in intelligence garnered by a young woman, and a foreigner at that," Genore Tomang announced with a sniff. Matters between her and the Balitangs were stiff, Sarai's insult still raw, but the Tomangs were still willing members of the conspiracy. They had been heavily taxed for the third year in a row as one of the wealthiest families in the Isles."I could make myself up as a raka man, if that will appease you, my lady," Aly offered. "I think it would be a waste of my time, but I live to serve in any small way that I can."Even Duke Nomrus mouth twitched at that. "Stop it, Genore," he told the countess. "Have you forgotten this young foreigner brought about the fall of Topabaw?""So we are told," said the countess."So we know," Ulasim said flatly."So I know," Dove added, soft-voiced.Her comment brought silence. Many of the luarin conspirators still were not quite sure what to do about their future queen, though Nomru, Engan, and Qeshi addressed her as an equal, as did Winnamine and Nuritin.Aly sat back as Quedanga began to pass on what her people had gathered. Aly did not want to tell the luarin conspirators that Imajane and Rubinyan had taken to walking in the gardens at night, out of earshot of her darkings and well away from any of the raka spies. It could be something as basic as Rubinyan wanting to calm his excitable wife and to reinforce their affection after the problem of Lady Edunata. They could also be deliberately discussing plans someplace where it would be hard for a spy to hide, and where it would mean death for the mage who put a listening spell there. Aly could not be sure.In any case, Aly wanted their party to be ready for everything. The breakfast with Imajane was to be held in the Jade Pavilion. Breaking out of the main palace enclosure in an emergency would be easy enough. Some of Fesgao's people would enter the grounds in the morning, driving wagons of foodstuffs through the Gate of Carts. Dorilize and Pembery would remain at home, allowing warriors Jimarn and Junai to play at being ladies' maids. They had the crows to interfere if the rulers planned treachery. And Fesgao would come, disguised as a footman, bearing a small gift for the new queen from the Balitangs. He knew where the Haiming Tunnel was, the secret exit from the palace that had allowed Dove's forebears to escape with their lives. The rebels hoped those precautions would be enough to keep Dove safe.The luarin conspirators left at last. Aly looked for signs of the darkings she had placed with them but found none. She didn't expect to. Some days they journeyed with their people to Balitang House, but they also spent much of the time exploring their new homes and reporting to Trick. They had understood when Aly told them to watch for spies in the conspirators' household as well as traitors among the nobles.Dove waited in Aly's workroom, glancing at her maps. "I feel so useless," Dove complained. "It seems like all anyone will let me do is look promising. All this important work is being done, and you won't even let me visit Dockmarket anymore.""I know, and I am sorry, but the risk is too great," Aly told her. "It's a bad idea to remind Their New Majesties how popular you are, particularly since they can no longer use a marriage to Dunevon as a leash on you. Though if anything happens to Imajane, Rubinyan might come to your door with a gift of flowers."Dove grimaced. "I'd as soon sleep with a ribbon snake," she told Aly. "Not that I think I'll be offered the marriage. We're nearly ready to move, aren't we?""Nearly, yes. As ready as anyone can be in a fix like this,"Aly said. "The night before the day of the solar eclipse. They might expect something the day of the eclipse, and certainly they expect trouble on their coronation day.""And while everyone else does something real, I get to be protected," said Dove bitterly.Aly put an arm around Dove's shoulders. "If all goes well, you'll have the hardest task," she said quietly. "Bringing a country together. Making sure your reign isn't marked by bloodletting, which should be an agreeable change around here. It's a scary task, but you have good people to advise you—Her Grace, Lady Nuritin, Ulasim, Fesgao, Ochobu—"Dove looked up at her. "Will I have you?"Aly blinked at her. You should have expected this, her brain clamored, seeking a quick answer. You should have had your story all prepared. Lie, idiot, lie! Tell her you'll be there! You've lied millions of times, so do it now!Dove pulled away from Aly's arm. "That's what I thought," she said, and left the room.Aly started to follow, and stopped. Catching up to Dove would only work if she were ready to lie, and she wasn't. She couldn't. Not about this. If she survived, and she wasn't entirely certain that she would, she had to go home. The daughter of Tortall's spymaster had no business so close to the Kyprin throne.By late afternoon people were bringing news of the crows' latest rampage through the skies over Rajmuat. Aly listened to the reports with admiration and envy. Nawat and his friends had sprinkled Crown officials and soldiers with urine and dung. They attacked soldiers at the checkpoints as the men inspected carts and saddlebags, using their claws and beaks and, as a last insult, more dung. Any shop that carried the emblem of supplier to the Crown—something that was no longer a guarantee of more business—soon had a doorstep piled with crow dung, and no customers. The crows drove them away.At supper she was picking at her food, thinking about information, when a very warm presence thumped onto the bench next to her. A man's hard thigh pressed hers. She looked up into Nawat's eyes."You forgot about me," he told her, shaking his head. "My heart is broken forevermore."Startled, Aly pulled back, then recognized the twinkle in his deep-set eyes. "You're teasing me again," she said, outraged. "And I could hardly forget you, with all the ruckus you stirred up today.""You are no longer the one who does all the tormenting," Nawat informed her, reaching across her for a bowl of rice. She forgot what she was about to say in the brush of his arm against her breasts. Warmth flooded her veins. Nawat looked into her face and smiled as he slowly brought the rice bowl over to his plate. "I have learned to torment, too."You have indeed, she thought, tearing a piece of bread in half.Others came to sit with them, applauding the latest behavior of the crows. Aly listened with a smile, shaking her head, without forgetting Nawat's warmth against her side.She excused herself, her meal half-eaten, and clambered out from between Nawat and Junai. Nawat smiled up at her and continued his conversation with Chenaol.Aly met with some of her spies and their recruits after supper, taking in the day's reports. The wider they spread their net, the more information she had to sift for nuggets of real worth. These nuggets were what she wrote out and handed to the other rebels in the house. Once the humans were gone, Trick and Secret passed on their most recent gleanings from the palace and the homes of the luarin conspirators.This is why Da spends his days at a desk, Aly told herself as she worked. It's why he jumps at the chance to meet with an agent. Because sooner or later all you can do is review information and pass it on to those who will use it.At least when I'm done for the day, I have Nawat, she thought. Suddenly the night ahead looked much brighter.When they rose before dawn to train with the warriors, Nawat made sure to kiss Aly thoroughly once more before they left the Pavilion of Secrets. They had both agreed not to show too much affection for one another before their fellow conspirators. Neither wished to be accused of not paying attention, Nawat because he had discovered he enjoyed command over his human warriors as much as that over the crows, and Aly because so much depended on the rebels seeing her as reliable. "Another day," Nawat said, looking up at the pearl gray sky. The moon was veiled by the colorlessness of the sky. Only the Trickster sparks continued to show, winking on and off, never the same color or in the same position twice. Kyprioth continued to hold his own."My kin will be in the air to watch over you today," Nawat said as they walked toward the stable yard where everyone practiced. "And my warriors and I will be near, at the edge of the jungle."Aly smiled up at him. "I love you," she replied. "If you get yourself killed, I will be very unhappy with you."Nawat grinned. "I have loved you since I became a man, or even before that," he reminded her. "You must try to stay out of trouble, too."Between breakfast and the summons to court, the house was bustling. Aly put on fresh clothes in the dressing room off Dove's chambers. Boulaj added the finishing touches on Dove's appearance as Aly emerged with her hair combed and tucked under a sober headcloth. Boulaj winked at her over Dove's head."Why do you always wear that same old bead necklace?" Dove wanted to know. "I have dozens that are prettier that I never wear."Aly heard a muffled squeak from the double bead on her right shoulder. She stroked the darkings quiet with a smile. "They have sentimental value for me, my lady," she explained. "If you'll excuse me ..."She trotted downstairs, ignoring the outraged squeaks from her necklace.Outside she reviewed the guard chosen to escort the ladies. Fesgao had assembled twenty men-at-arms in livery. Half were armed with spears and short swords, half with swords and the shield-stick called a tonfa, a good weapon for trapping an enemy's blade by edge or point. Some members of Aly's pack and their recruits lounged near the gate. They would range out along the streets, watching for potential trouble as the Balitang ladies rode. The soldiers of the King's Watch would be vexed at so heavy a guard for an ordinary palace ride, but there had been unrest in the city, and the Balitangs were not about to tell them that they distrusted Crown troops more than Downwind rioters.As their party moved out, Aly walked on the side of Dove's horse closer to the double ring of guards. Boulaj walked on the inside. Fesgao, in a footman's livery, walked just ahead of Nuritin's and Winnamine's mounts, the small wooden box that held their gift for Imajane under one arm. He stood just behind the corporal who was supposedly in command of the men-at-arms. When he gave the signal, their company moved out, the wagon with the ladies' court dresses bringing up the rear.It was still early enough for traffic to be light. They soon joined other ladies on their way to the palace. Aly watched the crowds. It made her uneasy to see this many people outside, all paying attention to the noblewomen as they negotiated their way past the soldiers' checkpoints along Rittevon' s Lance. They were everywhere, in the windows and on the roofs that gave them a view of the ladies. Of Dove.Go away! Aly thought. Go home, go to work! Stop drawing attention to us!Shrieks sounded overhead. The crows had come to play with the Stormwings. They arrived in hordes, scattering the immortals as they darted among them. The Stormwings shot toward the relative safety of the distant palace, the crows in pursuit.When they reached the green belt outside the palace, Aly gave an internal sigh of relief. She'd never thought she'd be so happy to see those streams full of meat-eating fish. Crossing a bridge, she looked off to the side, but the water was too murky to allow her a view of them. Was it possible they were still full from the feast of dead mages, families, and guards? Or had the poison that killed the humans also killed the fish? She didn't have time to see for certain as their party moved on.As before, their men-at-arms parted from them inside the Gate of Victory while the ladies and their maids rode to the Robing Pavilion to change. When Aly bent to place the wooden box with their riding dresses against a wall, her darking necklace dropped from her neck onto its lid. Trick and Secret nodded to Aly, then dripped into the shadow. They were off to make contact with the other palace darkings.Once the ladies set forth for the Jade Pavilion, Aly followed at a distance like any disinterested servant on a stroll, careful to step off the garden paths when other noblewomen passed. Aly turned at the edge of the Lily Water and wandered into the shelter of a familiar-looking willow. As she had suspected, Taybur Sibigat sat on the hidden bench. He put his finger to his lips for silence, then rose and walked off down a lesser path, back into the gardens. Aly waited for a party of ladies to go by, then followed him.He led her to a semicircle of hedges that framed another bench, affording a view of the water and some black swans as they glided by. There were spells here, but not for listening. They would damp the sounds made around the bench, luarin version of the spells that guarded Balitang House from eavesdroppers."It's safe to speak here," he told her, digging his hands into his breeches pockets as his mail jingled. "Not that I've much to say. I have to swear my allegiance in blood on the day they are officially crowned, you know. All of the Guard must. Those who wish to stay."Aly looked up at him. "You're certain the ship was tampered with?"He nodded. "Plenty of good ships went down in that storm, but only after the winds and waves knocked them about for a while. The crew didn't even have time to furl all the sails before the Rittevon crumpled like rice paper.""I'm sorry," Aly told him. Her eyes stung as she remembered Elsren's glee as he had marched aboard that vessel. "I truly am.""Thanks," Taybur said. "Have a care for your young lady—her popularity is noticed." He hesitated, then added, "I suppose the next time I see you, we'll be at the gate to the Gray Palace." With a nod, he strode off down the path.He'd given Aly a new concern. If Imajane and Rubinyan had decided to do something about Dove's popularity, they would be idiots to try it inside the palace, where no one would believe they were blameless. After the jailbreak at Kanodang, they would be reluctant to imprison another popular luarin. Aly would lay odds their attack would come on the street.Taybur had also let Aly know the part he was ready to play once things came to a fight. I'll keep him to myself, just in case he changes his mind, she decided. No one needs to know what he'll do, if he chooses to.She returned to the Robing Pavilion to sit with Vereyu. They "talked" about hidden stores of drugs and weapons by writing on a slate and passing it to each other. There was no corner safe from eavesdroppers in the Robing Pavilion. When their conversation was over and they were picking through a plate of dumplings, Fesgao—still dressed as a footman—wandered into the ladies' side of the pavilion. "Pretty Aly, will you walk with me?" he asked, offering his arm."You want to watch this one," Vereyu warned Aly. "He's got a wife who's a trapper on Imahyn."Aly fluttered her lashes at Fesgao, the image of an empty-headed flirt. To Vereyu she said, "It's only a walk. What could happen on a walk?"Fesgao leered and led her down the Golden Road to the Pavilion of Delightful Pleasures. "This was the old Haiming palace," he murmured, for all intents looking like a man who whispered secrets in his sweetheart's ear. Aly giggled as she clung to his arm. "They tore down the New Palace to build their gray stone monster," Fesgao continued, "but the old one was still used for celebrations and guests. And the old escape tunnel is still here, kept up by generations of raka." Slowly they wandered around the side of the Pavilion of Delightful Pleasures, Aly stopping to smell a flower as a squad of the Rittevon Guard marched by on the Golden Road. Once the soldiers had passed, Fesgao led her around the pavilions side, between the bubbling stream and its veranda. Marmosets cheeped to each other in warning from overhead, while brightly colored finches peered at them from the trees. Aly looked up to see a dart of light from a Stormwing's feathers, then the shifting white veil in the sky that marked the Great Goddess's war with Kyprioth.When they could see the pond that lay behind the pavilion, Fesgao drew Aly across a bridge over the stream, to a small building set behind a screen of trees. Aly flinched and put up a hand to shield her eyes. Raka magic might be hidden to luarin mages, but not to anyone with the Sight. The building and the ground at its rear wall blazed with it. "You people are lucky no one with the Sight came near this place," she informed Fesgao, blinking to twist her vision so she would See the magic, yet not be blinded."Raka prefer not to trust in luck," the man replied. "This place is watched, and not by mages. Had you crossed that bridge with anyone but me, or walked down the other side of the building, you would soon find polite gardeners to turn you back. If you are stubborn, they can be less polite." He knelt and ran his hands through the grass behind the building. He stopped at what looked like a trailing vine and yanked hard. The grass and its bed, several inches of earth, lifted as if it were hung on oiled hinges. Fesgao raised it only a foot, to show Aly a wooden door below. At its center was a ring of steel to use as a grip."Now you know," Fesgao said. "That makes five of us: you, me, Ochobu, Ulasim, and Chenaol.""I don't know where it opens out," Aly reminded him. "Beyond both walls, I assume, but not where. Why haven't the raka used this way to attack the luarin from inside?"Fesgao raised his brows at her as he lowered the grass mat again. "Because we were told to wait for the one who is twice royal," he told her. "Because there were too many luarin, and we were too beaten. And because the kings before Oron liked mages and kept them around. Then Oron talked a mage into killing old King Hanoren so Oron might take the throne. No one of the royal family has trusted mages since. Besides, we needed the god.""All right," Aly said, holding up her hands in surrender. "You had plenty of reasons." I still would have tried it, she thought as they walked back toward the Golden Road, once again arm in arm."You will be shown how to enter soon," Fesgao murmured. "When it is time."Aly spent the rest of the morning with the maids, waiting for her ladies to return. The main thing she learned from the servants was that they were too frightened to talk of anything important. As they spoke of the coming eclipse and coronation, their voices sounded false to Aly, as if they forced themselves to sound eager for the holiday. They chatted of weather, dress, and hairstyles, and of places where they found the best bargains.I'll be happy when Dove 's on the throne and I can go home, she thought as a maid came to say the ladies were returning. I'm tired of living with fear and fearful people. Of course, first we have to get Dove on the throne. Opening the box of riding dresses, she found her darking necklace waiting for her. Carefully she slid it over her head."Enjoy yourselves?" she murmured."Rubinyan says he must take soldiers from Imahyn and Ikang and some from Gempang to fight rebels on Malube-sang," Trick whispered by her ear. "He says they must retake Imahyn later. He says he may have to use soldiers from Lombyn to defend north Kypriang. Imajane not know Rittevon estates on north Kypriang all in revolt."Aly whistled softly as Jimarn, Boulaj, and Junai took the riding dresses from the box. Having lived among warriors, Aly knew it was a sign of weakness to give an enemy one position in order to hold another. Rubinyan might as well have shouted that his armies were spread too thin.She shared that news with Fesgao as the Balitang ladies dressed. She also passed on to him, Boulaj, Junai, and Jimarn the word that Dove's popularity no longer sat well with the Crown, though she didn't name her source. Fesgao went to tell their men-at-arms they were leaving, and to pass on the order to watch for trouble on the way home. The wagon would follow outside the ring of men-at-arms this time, so that they made a tighter double circle around the women.Down Rittevon's Lance they went, the servants on foot beside their mistresses. Boulaj kept her hands tucked into her sash: she wore cestuses, leather gloves with iron plates sewn across the knuckles. She was adept with the cestuses and could even deflect sword blows with them. Junai carried her spear, a weapon that, when the grip was twisted, presented a blade at each end. Jimarn and Aly had their knives within quick reach.Though their ladies must have noticed the warlike preparations—Fesgao had produced his own longsword from the wagon—they said nothing. Instead they let their maids walk between their mounts and the two rings of guards, and drew their horses closer together. They could not ride three abreast on Rittevon's Lance, so Nuritin changed places with Dove, allowing her to ride beside her mother, closer to more men-at-arms.As they left the green belt for the city, Aly noticed immediately that there were more civilians outside. There were also more soldiers, placed in lines along the pavement as well as at the checkpoints. The streets were packed, as were the buildings on either side of their route.Something red fluttered in the air above them. Aly flinched, but it was a flower, tossed from someone's window. Another flower dropped on them, followed by more. Soon they were passing through a rain of blossoms.Aly ground her teeth. Civilians. If the new monarchs had wanted proof that someone in the Balitang family drew the crowds, they had it. They could, if they chose, lock up the entire household on suspicion of rebellion with nothing more than this.They neared the intersection and checkpoint at Rittevon Square. The great bronze statue of the first Rittevon king was now covered with open shackle insignia, each showing gold through his weathered bronze skin and clothes. As they entered the square, the Balitangs moved out of the range of the flower throwers. It was then that Aly, her head swivel-ing, saw a crossbow poke through a third-floor window into the open, crowded square."Down!" she yelled, shoving Dove toward Winnamine, out of range. The bolt struck a man-at-arms in the shoulder. His knees buckled; another man kept him on his feet.Winnamine stood in her stirrups. Dove was already off her horse, standing on the ground, shielded by the two mounts. "Soldiers of the Crown," the duchess cried in a voice any field general might envy, "protect us!"The men of the King's Watch did not move from their positions. Fesgao dragged Winnamine from the saddle and beckoned for Nuritin to dismount. On foot, they were less visible targets.Aly put a foot in the stirrup of Dove's horse, gripped the saddlehorn, and pulled herself up, balancing for a look over the men-at-arms' heads. The line of soldiers parted in two places, one on either side of their group. Men in rough laborers' clothing armed with knives or short swords darted through. Aly yelled, "There! And there!"The men-at-arms faced the invaders, weapons up. Aly glanced at the squad of the King's Watch at the checkpoint. They lazed at the barricades, no expression on their faces. They already knew they were not to interfere.Aly didn't see the first rock fly. She did see it strike a soldier's helmet, just as she glimpsed the dent it left before the soldier went down."They're killing her!" someone screamed. "They're killing our hope!"Suddenly the men of the Watch were the targets of a rain of flowerpots, pans, stones, and chamberpots both empty and full. People held back by the soldiers shrieked and surged forward, clawing at their old oppressors. The soldiers fought for their lives. They killed and killed, but they could not kill everyone. Thrusting his sword into one civilian, a soldier would be swarmed by five more armed with belt knives, stones, or fingernails. The crowd boiled through the gaps in the lines as soldiers began to fall.The assassins pushed past the men-at-arms, where they collided with Junai, Jimarn, and Boulaj. Jimarn leaped onto an assassin's back and clawed at his eyes. Boulaj killed one man as Junai accounted for a second. The horses fidgeted, eyes rolling, wanting to panic. The three Balitang ladies hung on to their reins for their lives. In these crowded quarters, the horses might kill the very people they served.A crack opened in the doubled ring of household fighters in front. Aly saw the assassin pair slip through, one engaging Fesgao as another came at Dove. Aly pushed off the saddlehorn, swinging her legs over the restless horse's rump, smashing into the killer with both feet. She was down on him with a knife in each hand, taking his life before he even understood where he was. Trick and Secret screeched their disgust as blood struck them."Sorry," Aly told them, panting. She mounted Dove's horse properly so she wouldn't need to use a time-wasting jump like that a second time. Everywhere she looked she saw chaos. People streamed in to fill the square, many carrying weapons. Others fought to escape it. Some failed and were trampled. The square filled with a roar of sound: screams, furious yells, battle-voiced commands. Above that animal sound was a high, warbling trill. The Stormwings had come to feast on the pain and fear.A little girl, shrieking, tried to climb the statue to escape the mob. A boy who might have been an older brother pushed her from behind, trying to get her to the top, the only safe place he could see. A handful of other children splashed through the fountain. One of them was pushed into the water, toward that bit of safety, by a woman who fell then beneath a man's club.Light blazed from steel. Down came two Stormwings, deflecting the rare arrow with a sweep of deadly wing. The first seized the girl in her claws; the second grabbed her brother. Others came for the remaining children, carrying them up to the balconies that overlooked the square.Aunt Daine wasn't joking, thought Aly in awe. They do like children.A rotting melon struck the back of her head, jolting her. A moment later a rock flew past her nose. Aly dismounted in a hurry, remembering her grandfather Miles's adage: "A spy is not a target. A spy points out the targets.' Moments after she touched the ground, an arrow caught her mount in the withers. Dove's horse screamed in pain and reared. The men-at-arms tried to get out of the maddened animal's way as it yanked its reins free. A flying hoof caught one mans shoulder with the crack of breaking bone as the horse plunged into the crowd.Their remaining men-at-arms instantly closed the gap. Once more they placed themselves as a living fence between the mob and Dove."Soldiers come," Trick shrieked in Aly's ear. She looked around, hearing nothing but the crowd and the Stormwings. Then, in a break in the overall noise, she heard the tread of heavy boots. At the far end of the square a stallion neighed. From Middle Way came a company of the King's Watch, half wielding clubs, half with short swords. From Shield Way on the southwest side of the square Aly heard the clatter of hooves. She adjusted her Sight and strained for a look. It was a company of Rittevon Lancers, armed with swords and spears. They cut a route through the mob.Suddenly the Lancers' disciplined line of riders bent outward, then split. Organized columns of raka and part-raka in leather tunics stitched with metal rings plowed into the horsemen. Ulasim's secret troops carried small round shields and longswords, and they hammered at the cavalry. Once the lancers' lines were broken and the mounted soldiers were fighting in groups of twos and threes, the raka warriors, men and women alike, surrounded them, striving to cut away their saddles and bring them to the ground.The men of the King's Watch on Middle Way slammed into the mob, which turned on them. Those civilians who had been fighting each other now had a better target, one that wore a uniform. They swamped the new arrivals, grabbing weapons that fallen guards had dropped, wielding them with enthusiasm if not expertise.Slowly the group that guarded Dove moved out into the open square, trying to make it to a side street. Instead the battle forced them forward, though they fought to hold their ground. They would be crushed against the fountain.A gap opened before Aly. A soldier had grabbed a club. He was about to bring it down on the skull of a toddler who clutched his knees, screaming. Aly lunged out, knifing the soldier in the back as she yanked the child away with her free hand. Another soldier descended on her with a roar of fury. She slung the toddler toward the Balitang group and blinded the soldier before she cut his throat."I know it's nasty," she told the darkings, panting as she wiped her blades, "but this is the not-very-fun part."Trick and Secret didn't answer. Both of them leaped from Aly's neck to cover the faces of two soldiers who were headed for Dove. As the men fought to breathe, a raka woman with muscles like rocks bashed one with a piece of stone. A luarin woman thrust a short sword home through the other soldier. Trick and Secret leaped to Aly as the two unknown women continued to fight soldiers, shoulder to shoulder, falling back until they filled the gaps in the line around Dove. Aly’stayed behind them, in case this was a ruse to let assassins get close to her mistress. The ladies paid attention to nothing but the people who smashed into them.Aly looked around in despair, wondering how they were going to escape. The riot was growing. It would help no one if Dove got crushed.Crows and miniature kudarung rained down, shrieking and gouging, biting and blinding, driving everyone from a space in front of the fountain. In their wake came a much larger shadow, one so big that even those who battled around Aly's companions looked up. Everywhere else the insanity raged. Here there was a moment of quiet as a bright chestnut kudarung stallion spiraled down to land in the open space. As regal as any king, he walked over to the Balitang defenders, who moved aside. At last he stood before Dove.Slowly, gracefully, the great creature furled his batlike wings and knelt on his forelegs, a plain salute to the girl.Aly was the first to recover. "Don't just stand there, climb on!" she cried, yanking Dove's arm so she would advance. "Fesgao, your sash!""But... a saddle," Dove murmured, stroking the chestnut's muzzle. "Where do I, um, mount?"Aly envisioned the messenger who had come to Tanair the year before on a captive kudarung. "Behind his wings," she said. Fesgao thrust his sash into her reaching hand. "Excuse me," Aly told the great creature. "It's demeaning, but necessary." She tied the sash around that powerful neck, and passed its ends to Dove. She hesitated, then slung the toddler she had rescued up in front of Dove. "If you don't mind?" she asked the kudarung.He straightened his forelegs. Then he nodded."Balitang House?" she asked.Again the kudarung nodded. His hindquarters bunched, and he jumped, massive wings opening with a snap. Up he soared, scooping at the air until he was above the houses. Then he flew into the distance, toward Balitang House.The afternoon was half over when the rest of them came home. Footmen and maids waited for them beside the guard at the locked gate. They took charge of the worst hurt, carrying or helping them to the infirmary. All were bruised, scraped, and bloody. Petranne shrieked to see her mother and her great-aunt disheveled and carrying the red-bladed spears they had grabbed to help in the fight. The duchess passed her spear to Nuritin and scooped up her daughter, hugging her until Petranne yelped. Nuritin placed one spear on the front hall bench and, taking out her handkerchief, began to clean the blade of the one she held.Chenaol had followed them from the gate. She grinned at Nuritin and collected the other spear. "If you want me to take that, my lady, I'll clean it properly," she said, nodding toward the weapon Nuritin still held.Nuritin looked at the spear, then at Chenaol. The old woman trembled from top to toe, but her voice was firm and clear as she replied, "I thank you, but I will clean it myself. I suspect I may need it again. My father said a good blade should always be seen to by the one who uses it."Chenaol scratched her head for a moment, then offered, "Would my lady like to see our armaments, and choose something more to her taste?""I would," Nuritin replied stoutly. "This is a bit heavier than I can manage easily." As the two women walked to the back of the house, carrying spears, Nuritin added, "And since we are to be comrades in battle, we had best do away with this 'my lady' nonsense."Dove was seated at the foot of the stairs, her arms wrapped around her knees. When Aly looked at her, Dove said, "Next time, I want a saddle."Fesgao and the rest of their group, who had been catching their breath until now, knelt as one and bowed their heads to her. Aly followed suit."Mama, why did they do that?" asked Petranne. "They're only supposed to bow like that to the king."Winnamine turned, Petranne still in her arms, and saw their escorts and Dove. She set Petranne down. "Because Dove is to be the next king," she replied, and curtsied deeply.Petranne did the same, as well as her six-year-old coordination would allow her. Despite that, she said, "But Dove can't be king. She's a girl."Dove rose and walked over to them. She said, her voice shaking, "And this girl isn't going to be that kind of king. Get up, all of you, please. I never want to see any of you on your knees again, for anyone. Winna, please, don't. You're my mother, Petranne’s my sister." Her chin wobbled. "Please don’t close me out." She looked at Aly. "That applies to you as well."Winnamine rose and hugged her stepdaughter. Kissing the top of Dove's head, she said in a mother's croon, "It's all right. We're all home and safe."Safe for the moment, thought Aly. The riot in Rittevon Square had not diminished once Dove had gone. If anything, it had intensified, spreading north and east through Middle Town. The household had lost three men-at-arms, killed in the fight. Five more were seriously hurt. Boulaj had dislocated her shoulder."If you will excuse me, I need more information," Aly told the others, and headed for her workroom. Passing a door that opened out to the pool courtyard, she saw the great chestnut kudarung there, drinking sedately. Three full-sized mares and a handful of miniature kudarung cropped the grass that grew outside the tiled court.So much for secrecy, Aly thought tiredly, and walked on. She ducked into her workroom to collect herself. Nawat was there, to her surprise, caught in the act of placing a lotus on her worktable. He swept her up for a hard kiss and embrace. "My kin told me you were well and fighting your way home," he said, "or I would have come for you. Were you pleased when they came to help Dove? I didn't even ask them to, or the little kudarung. They did it because they wanted to."Aly pressed a hand to his mouth. "I'm very grateful,' she said. "Is anyone in the meeting room?""Many of your spies, and Ulasim, and Fesgao, and Quedanga," replied Nawat. "They have information for you, as have I, from my kinfolk.""Information is good," said Aly as they crossed the hall. They could barely fit in, so many sat in the chairs and on the floor. She managed to wriggle her way through to a counter along the wall. Sitting there, she had a view of everyone's face. Nawat remained by the now-closed door, leaning against the wall. Guchol took a few slates from her lap and handed them over; Atisa provided a lump of chalk.Aly murmured her thanks, nodded to Ulasim and the other senior conspirators, then looked at her pack and their recruits. Placing a clean slate on her knees, she said, "Very well, my children. Since we all have much to say, let us be organized about it. Who has word from Downwind and the Honeypot?"She released them to go learn more once they had emptied their budgets of news. She noted that Fesgao and Quedanga came and went, pursuing their own duties. Dove arrived at some point, followed by Nuritin and Nomru. The last three stayed, as did Ulasim, while still more messengers arrived. Dove even took over the note-taking briefly so that Aly could ease her writing hand and eat something.Aly took a short walk to unwind and visit the privy, then stepped out into the garden and looked up. Was it her imagination, or were the multicolored sparks that represented the Trickster now brighter?When she returned, she reviewed the notes for what she had missed, then began to take things down again. Finally Ulasim called for lamps. Aly hadn't even noticed it was growing dark; she had simply shifted her Sight so she could work without interruption as the light grew dim. Knocked from her concentration, she looked up and around. Winnamine had come, as had Baron Engan, Ferdy Tomang, and Lord Obemaek. Nawat returned soon after lamps were lit. As Aly’stretched her neck to ease a cramp, Imgehai Qeshi arrived, her black priestess's robes disordered, her hood shoved back."The fighting has reached the middle of Market Town," she told them, panting. That was where her temple was located.Aly looked at Ulasim. "There's been no dwindling of the riot since we got home," she told him wearily. "It's spread. And don't ask me how I know this bit, but Rubinyan has sent two hundred of the Rittevon Guard and four decades of Rit-tevon Lancers out. Their orders are to beat the fighting back to the lower edges of Middle Town, but they're stalled at Rittevon Square. The Honeypot is burning again. Who knew they had anything left? The King's Watch is trying to contain another riot in Downwind. With a little help from people who know what they're doing, their lines can be broken there, if you are in the mood. That riot's spreading to Dock-market and up to Flowergarden. That is the state of affairs in Rajmuat at this time." She massaged her neck. "What are your orders?"Ulasim sat, his eyes going from one conspirator's face to another's, ending on Dove's. For a very long, still moment the big raka said and did nothing. At last he made a face. "I think it is plain to all of us that the war has begun ahead of schedule," he said drily. "Any child knows it is better to swim with the tide than against it. We attack in force at dawn."Messengers left the house with orders for the fighter groups hidden all over the city. Members of the luarin conspiracy sent their loved ones, with some guards from their own households, to the Balitang home. Lord Obemaek told Fesgao that if worse came to worst, the families could flee Rajmuat from the house closest to the docks. Aly thought it sweet, though unrealistic. If Crown troops showed up in the Windward District at all, it would be because the rebels had been beaten, and no ship would be able to sail.Ochobu made certain that everyone who entered Balitang House first had to submit to truthspells wielded by Ochobu, Ysul, or the handful of Chain mages who had entered the city, or to questions under Aly's Sight as she looked to see if they lied. Those who failed the test of loyalty were locked up rather than executed. It was time to start changing their old policies, Ulasim had told the conspirators. If people who were not on their side were spared when possible, it might create goodwill after the fighting was done.As everyone bustled about in the hours after midnight,Aly sought a private moment with Ulasim. "You'll see Nawat later," he said before she could open her mouth. "He and his fighters will meet you and Chenaol." When Aly did not leave, he sighed. "That's not it? Well, can the rest wait?" he asked, trying to tie back his hair and write at once."It cannot," Aly said, taking control of his hair. "Believe me, I'm not here to waste your time." She did an efficient braid and tied it off.Ulasim finished his document and handed it to a waiting messenger. "Close the door," he ordered her. As the door thunked shut behind her, Ulasim looked up at Aly. "What is it?" he demanded.Aly crouched and held out a hand. "Lace," she called. It’s time.The darking had been hiding under Ulasim's chair. Now it rolled forward onto Aly's palm. Aly picked it up and showed it to Ulasim."This is Lace," she told her general, whose eyes had gone wide at the sight of the odd creature. "I cannot tell you how I came to know it, or where it comes from. You would really dislike the answer. Lace is a darking. Say hello to Ulasim," she instructed.Lace stuck up a neck and head. "Hello. What one of us knows, we all know. We can even show sometimes, if you are not in a hurry."Aly offered the darking to Ulasim. "I mean to give one to Fesgao, Ochobu, Chenaol, Nomru, Her Grace, and Dove." Gingerly Ulasim accepted Lace. "They're all I have left," Aly continued as he rolled the darking on his palm. "The others, but for my personal darking, are at the palace. You keep yours by you, as I always keep mine by me. Say hello, Trick."Trick put its head up from its necklace shape. "Hello," it said. "It is a fine thing to say hello to you people at last.""How long have they— No," Ulasim corrected himself as Aly raised a finger. "No questions. But can we trust them, whatever they are?""We have kept your trust for weeks," Lace informed him. "We have heard everything, and we have told only Aly."Ulasim started to speak, then stopped. He looked at their surroundings, the conspirators' meeting room, then at Lace. "For weeks," he repeated, his voice very dry. "And you reported only to Aly.""We do not lie," Trick said in reproof. "Not much.""Lies are boring," added Lace."A good thing we never planned to betray you," Ulasim told Aly.Aly smiled at him. "Now you're being silly," she replied. "The best place to wear one is around your neck. That way they can speak in your ear."Lace rolled up Ulasim's arm, raising goose bumps on the mans skin. It shaped itself like a band around his neck. "I tell you what is happening around other darkings," Lace explained.Ulasim hitched his shoulders. "It is the strangest feeling," he remarked. "Bright Eyes, it is always something new with you. Fesgao, Mother, Nomru, Chenaol, Her Grace, and Lady Dove?" Aly nodded. Ulasim smoothed his bearded chin. "And you. Very good. The Crown's mages can interfere with the communications of our mages. Will that affect these creatures?""No," said Trick, authority in its tiny voice. "We are not shaped from the Gift of mortals, but by Stormwing blood and magic in the Divine Realms."Ulasim looked startled."It will go better if you treat them as people," Aly’said gently. "With their own minds and thoughts. Treat them as you would any message runner. The only differences are, these never leave you, and they get news from widely scattered forces more quickly than any runner." She raised her eyebrows. "Have I permission to give one to the others?""I would be a fool to stop you," said Ulasim. "Though if your sources are limited, I would keep one back for Nawat. He will be meeting Chenaol's party.""Quartz," suggested Secret. "Quartz came with Countess Tomang. Quartz doesn't want to stay while we hunt.""Good idea," Aly told it.Ulasim gazed at Lace with a frown. "These . . . dark;ings ... are in the palace?""We hear things and we tell Aly," explained Lace. "Fun."With his free hand Ulasim rubbed his eyes. "I bless the day the god sent you to us, Aly." When Lace squeaked in indignation, he added, "And you darkings. I hope the god has no more surprises left. I have had all the surprises I can wrap my mind around." He flapped a hand in dismissal.Aly had similar conversations with Fesgao, Ochobu, Duke Nomru, Chenaol, and Winnamine as she introduced them to their darkings. She made sure to talk to each of them alone. It would be a bother to explain her small friends to even more members of the conspiracies. As it was, Ochobu threatened her with blisters for keeping them to herself.The last person she sought was Dove. The girl sat on the edge of the courtyard pool, little kudarung tucked and slumbering all around her, the big stallion and his mares dozing nearby on the grass. Though there were no torches lit in the garden, Aly could see Dove's face plainly. It was the face of mutiny."If you've come to say I serve best by waiting here..." she warned as Aly approached. "'Stay safe,' they tell me, while people are dying in my name. What kind of queen sits around eating guava while her people are in danger?""A creative one," Aly told her, kneeling beside Dove. "I have someone I want you to meet, my lady. Secret."There was a squeak from her left shoulder. While Trick, on her right, had spoken up with its own firm opinions as Aly introduced the others to their darkings, Secret had shriveled against Aly's skin, making itself smaller and smaller. Secret had believed it would have to stay with Aly."I have to meet someone secret?" asked Dove, confused."No, someone named Secret," Aly said, holding out her left arm and open hand. Secret rolled down her arm and into her palm, producing its head the moment it came to a stop. "I kept you back for Dove," Aly explained to the darking, which shivered with excitement. "I wasn't going to leave you out." She made her introductions and explanations and transferred Secret to its new friend. It gave her a pang to part with the little darking, but she could tell from the way Secret wrapped itself around Dove's slender neck that it had badly wanted work of its own.Aly got to her feet, her heart pounding. She kept her voice even as she said, "It's important that you stay safe. Without you, we have nothing to secure any kind of victory with. But there's safe and there's safe, if you take my meaning." Dove stared at her, then frowned. Aly continued, "True, it would do the fighters good to see you, but not if it will bring you within arrow-shot." She bowed to Dove. "My pack and I go hunting at dawn," she said. "If I don't see you again, I just want you to know, I would have worked for you gladly even without the god's involvement."Aly left the garden, thinking, if she takes the hint, Ulasim will kill me. She grinned. Though he'll have to dethrone Imajane and Rubinyan first. I can live with that.Her pack and their recruits assembled in her workroom while Aly changed into a specially made sarong that included hidden sheaths for her thin, flat knives. The sash also had a few surprises in its folds. Breifly she envied her mother, able to tuck herself into armor with a number of weapons at hand. Aly felt virtually naked. There was nothing more she could do apart from settling a length of chain in her sash. Her work was different from Mother's, that was all."We've been taking orders from a girl who's younger than any of us?" cried a recruit who had never met her.Boulaj and Junai fixed him with stony eyes. "She is the god's gift," Boulaj said in a voice like ice."I have a daughter her age," protested a woman who loaded grain at the Dockmarket as she gathered information for Eyun."I am ancient in treachery," Aly said with an agreeable smile. "If you're going to whine, you may stay and tend the real children here."Someone whispered, "She brought down Topabaw. She said she would do it, and she did.""He still rots out by the harbor," added Vitorcine, Aly's first double agent. "I haven't had to betray my masters since he got dead. I'll follow her wherever she likes."After that, there was no more discussion. They all checked weapons and each other's clothing. Chenaol arrived as they were doing a final count. The cook was also dressed to fight, a cutlass belted at her waist. In one hand she carried a heavy ax. Light slid along its curved, sharp edge."Let's go, my dears," she told them. "We have to cross the city by dawn."Getting to Flowergarden, the district west of Downwind, took them triple the time it would have taken if conditions had been normal. Royal patrols that numbered twenty and thirty grim-faced men roamed the streets. They did not submit to the rain of garbage and stones that fell from the buildings, but killed anyone foolish enough to be caught outside. Any fighter who shot at people who threw things went down the next moment with an arrow in his throat.After her people's fifth plea to help those attacked by the soldiers, Aly asked Chenaol for a quick halt and gathered them close. "We cannot stop and fight every fight along the way," she told them softly, firmly, keeping anger and nerves out of her voice and face. They had to see her calm and in control, these people who had only ever known the pack member who had recruited them. "If you want to drop out and die foolishly, do it without argument. The rest of us have a mission, a vital one. We can’t afford distractions, however many old ladies douse the King's Watch in night soil. Either leave or be silent."After that, they kept silent. Aly wasn't sure if it was her words or the glares of those who had recruited them. Either way, no one left their group. They moved on through the night, through tunnels, alleys, and sometimes up stairs and over rooftops, any course that would keep them clear of the patrols and the pockets of fighting scattered throughout the city. North and across Dockmarket, Market Town, then Middle Town they followed Chenaol, who seemed to know exactly when to hide and when to advance. As they crossed the city, Trick whispered in Aly's ear. Ulasim and his fighters had met Crown troops on southern side of town. These soldiers came from the Greater Fortress. They were hesitant and inclined to run. As the survivors of the deadly raids and fires at the fortress, they lacked the spirit of other men who had come to battle on the Crowns behalf. Ulasim told his darking that he thought these soldiers felt that they'd had enough raka fighting the night the two fortresses had burned.They would be remembering that there should have been more of them, and that many of them should have been whole and strong, not marked with burns.Fesgao's soldiers collided with nearly one hundred men-at-arms in service to loyal luarin families on the northeastern edge of the Swan District, where it met Market Town. The luarin troops were outnumbered but fighting well, his darking reported. Fesgao was far short of his destination, but Ochobu, hearing of his delay, sent two Chain mages to his aid. Three more mages joined Ulasim, while Ochobu herself led a small group of mages, hooded and cloaked like the Black Gods priests, up Rittevon's Lance, straight into the fighting on the square. They started to blast their way through the soldiers of the hated King's Watch.Nomru and his fighters cut across the city at an angle to Rittevons Lance, driving across Middle Town and into the Swan District, attacking guards at the checkpoints and any household troops foolish enough to get in his way. He gave the same rough treatment to anyone on the edges of the riot if they did not move when he ordered.Everyone had plenty of light. The Honeypot was ablaze again, its fires spreading into Downwind. Isolated fires burned in Dockmarket, Market Town, and Middle Town. Aly and her group heard the roar of the riot and the shrieks of the injured. Over it all rose the eerie trill of feeding Stormwings. Lit from below, they looked like monsters from the realms of Chaos.Once Chenaol's group reached the border between Market Town and Flowergarden, they followed the ground as it began to slope upward. There were fewer soldiers to interfere as they cut across the house and temple gardens that gave the district its name. Aly frequently glimpsed a steady flow of warriors that came from the ridge where Flowergarden met the jungles at the city's back. These people stayed clear of Chenaol and her companions. Their faces—male and female, raka and luarin—were grim and eager in Aly's Sight as they flooded into the city to do battle.Higher Chenaol's group climbed, through a maze of cottage gardens where people grew vegetables for the city's markets. At last they crested the ridge, halting where a dirt road ended in a small shrine to the Jaguar Goddess. As they stopped to drink from their water bottles, each member of their company tossed a small token—a button, a flower, an arrowhead—down the deep well at the heart of the shrine. Even Aly contributed a flower. It was her philosophy that it never hurt to be polite to strange gods.She heard the rustle of branches, and a crow fledgling's unmistakable call for more food, followed by the call for "friend." Chenaol responded with a soft howler monkey call."You do that well," Aly whispered as warrior shadows approached from the shelter of the trees. The sky in the east shone with a pale gray light that just touched the edges of plants and weapons."A misspent girlhood in the jungles of Gempang," the cook explained.Nawat reached them, flanked by a hard-faced raka woman and a thin, whipcord-lean man who looked as if he might be related to Nawat. He had the same nose and floppy black hair, and he sported a knot of crow feathers at the crown of his head. Also like Nawat, he carried an unstrung bow and a fat quiver of crow-fletched arrows. Without making a sound their companions drew up around Aly's group. There were nearly two hundred of them, all wearing clothes that showed signs of hard use, under mismatched and battered armor. All carried bows and quivers of black-feathered arrows, just as all carried swords, from the sailor's heavy cutlass to longswords in nicked sheaths. Like the other groups of raka fighters Aly had seen, this one was composed of both men and women.Mother would love it here, Aly thought, then shook the notion out of her head. When preparing for combat, it was a good idea to concentrate on that and nothing else.As the new arrivals crouched to wait with Aly's pack and their recruits, Aly beckoned Nawat aside. From her pouch she took the last darking, Quartz, and introduced it to him. Once they had reached an understanding and Quartz had settled around Nawat's neck, Aly looked at the eastern horizon. The sun was coming. Already the extra-long rays that indicated the god was locked in battle thrust into the sky over the horizon.Positioning himself so that no one could see him do it, Nawat kissed her fingers. Aly smiled into his eyes. They said or did nothing else, but for them, that was enough."We go in first," Chenaol told Nawat's assistants, her voice soft. "Then you. We'll be out doing our work for a time before we call you in—Aly will signal Nawat. Then you must come through and attack anything in a uniform.""Try not to kill any more than you can help," Aly reminded them. "Particularly among the servants. It's time to start trying to live together. Tie them up or lock them in somewhere, if you get the chance.""What about the Gray Palace?" asked Lokak. "There are no tunnels there. How will we take the place?""Leave the Gray Palace to your old Duani," Aly told him. "We haven't come so far for nothing." Nibbling her lip, she looked at them all. She wanted to tell them to capture Imajane and Rubinyan, not to kill them. It would be nice if the new queen could show neighboring countries that the deposed monarchs had gotten a fair trial. Inspecting their faces, she realized it would be better to hold her tongue. She'd often heard her mother and other warriors say, "Never give an order if you are not sure it will be obeyed." She wasn't sure that her position as Duani gave her the authority to issue orders at all, let alone that one, just as she knew from the grim faces around her that she would not be obeyed if she gave it. She settled for "Don't take trophies from those you slay. They never look as good as you think they will."A wave of soft chuckles passed through the group."The sun comes," Nawat said, raising his face to its rays. "Mithros is angry."They all turned to look. The sun was the sun, shedding light and heat as it always did. Its rays streamed like dark orange pennants around the disk, whipping and rippling as if a hard wind blew them. The white veils of fire that had marked the Goddess in the daytime lengthened to cover the parts of the sky left to it by the sun, rippling like the sun's rays. Everywhere overhead the sparks that showed the Trickster's fortunes had expanded to the size of greater stars.On the slopes below their position, the rebels could view the city. The Rittevon Square riot still went on. Pillars of smoke from burning buildings rose all over town."Let us vex the sun god some more," said Jimarn. "Or do we wait until we die of old age?""No one wants to live forever," added Yoyox.Aly had already seen the suspiciously sturdy vine that twined around one of the shrine's pillars. Chenaol beckoned for one of the bigger fighters to help her. They hauled together on the ropy vine, teeth clenched, sweat soon gleaming on their faces. Two of Aly's pack went to help. Slowly the square of a doorway became visible in the ground. A handful of Nawat's people circled it, using blades to cut away the bush and grass roots that had woven themselves into the door's cover in the years since this exit had been used. With a last, long rip, the grassy hood pulled free. Those hauling on it dragged it back to rest against the shrine, then tied ropes around the ring in the door below. It too had settled into the ground and was reluctant to leave its bed. Growling, the warriors pulled it up."The one at the palace didn't give so much trouble," Aly murmured, watching."We make sure of that. We've had to use the palace entry as a hiding spot. There used to be other exits," said Chenaol, panting. "But this one is so isolated, it's hard to get at. And there's no way to keep people from coming on you here without warning."The door was up. Someone struck a flint to light the torches they had brought. Aly looked at the steps that led into the ground. "It's going to be nasty down there," she whispered.Nawat looked at her and gave his bird shrug, as if to say, Nasty is as nasty does."Trick, what news?" Aly wanted to know. Warriors went into the tunnel with torches and swords, clearing away cobwebs and roots. Aly, Chenaol, and Nawat followed them, ignoring the muttered comments from their people about the accommodations."Nomru at Rittevon Square," the darking said as the rebels passed along the tunnel, "catching soldiers between him and Ulasim. Fesgao's fight done. They are near the edge of Flowergarden. Fesgao says Fonfalas wait for signal to attack the Grain Gate." Aly nodded. The Grain Gate and the Gate of Carts were the side entrances to the palace, where supply wagons brought in ordinary goods for those who lived there. Ulasim and Nomru meant to attack the Gate of Victory once they combined forces.It seemed like hours until they reached the tunnels end at the stair that opened next to the Pavilion of Delightful Pleasures. The rebels hesitated there. If Vereyu hadn't got the message Ulasim had sent to her during the night, they might come up among Crown soldiers, who would be able to hack at them at will. Nawat beckoned one of his people forward, a small, perky young luarin with a headful of red curls, bright blue eyes, and a whip-weal that divided her face in half. As she climbed the stairs toward the closed door, the silvery fire of her magical Gift streamed upward to wriggle through cracks in the wood.She was nodding to Nawat—friends waited outside— when Trick whispered into Aly's ear, "Dove flies"Aly grinned. She wished she could see it: Dove astride the big chestnut kudarung as its great wings caught the air, carrying her over the battles in the streets. It was a risk. A well-placed arrow might ruin everything. But Aly's heart lifted at the thought of Dove in the sky, running risks so that her people might see her. If Aly were out there, fighting for the freedom of her native land, that sight would inspire her like nothing else.Trick added mournfully, "Secret flies too. Not me."Aly moved aside so that some of the fighters could get under the tunnel door to push. "I'll make it up to you," she whispered as the warriors thrust at the wooden barrier. Hearing the noise, those outside helped to raise it. Climbing the stairs, Aly looked up into Vereyu’s face. "Lovely day, don't you agree?" she asked, stepping into the open air. "Perhaps we'll have lunch on the water pavilions later."Vereyu's face was grim and set. "Only you would make jokes at a time like this," she told Aly."If not now, when?" Aly wanted to know as she brushed off her sarong, trying not to look at its bright colors. It only reminded her that she couldn't wait for the fight to be over, so that she could wear luarin quiet colors again. Eyun of Aly's pack, Vitorcine, and several of the full or nearly full-luarin recruits wore similar clothes, the kind meant to attract attention. Two of the women who waited with Vereyu were dressed the same way. All of them had been chosen for their looks and their pale skin.Vereyu and her companions had set a number of shallow open baskets on the ground. Most were loaded with fruit, bread, and rolls filled with slices of meat. Two baskets were full of water flasks, and had handles on either side so that they could be carried by two people."We did our best with breakfast in the mess halls," Vereyu told Aly. "Plenty of the men on duty have already run to the privy. I took your advice—I didn't drug everything, so they may not suspect you. Get off the wall if they realize their problem lies in the food." She looked down into the tunnel, where Nawat and his warriors waited. "How will we know when to turn these folk loose?"Aly smiled at Nawat, who stroked the band around his neck that was the darking Quartz. He'd discovered the darklings' relaxing purr. "They'll know," she said. "I hear Her Majesty has company." The Gray Palace darkings had been announcing the arrival of loyal, panicked nobles since early the night before."All the rotten eggs together," Vereyu said, and spat on the ground.I suppose it would take an extraordinary degree of hate to serve here, day in and day out, in the hope that sometime you would be able to tell your masters what you really think of them, Aly thought. Her respect for Vereyu, already high, doubled. She would tell Dove's spymaster to make good use of Vereyu. Bringing peace to the outlying Isles would be a long, hard job once the capital was won. Vereyu would be good for the distance."Any parting words of cheer?" Aly inquired.Vereyu grinned. "Get stuffed. And send anyone who needs care to the Pavilion of Delightful Pleasures."Aly nodded and looked at those who were playing royal servants, come to help the soldiers on the Luarin Wall as they stood guard in the hot sun. The soldiers would welcome their burdens of food and water, not realizing the annoying or, in enough quantities, deadly secret in many of the fruits, rolls, and flasks. "Ladies, shall we?" she invited.They strolled down the Golden Road, past the servants' mess hall, and out through the Gate of Carts. That gate was nearly closed, those who kept watch on it fidgeting nervously. The Grain Gate, one hundred yards from the Gate of Carts, was shut and barred. Wagons had been rolled in front of it as an extra barrier.Aly and her girls reached the stair to the watch posts on the Luarin Wall and began to climb. They braced their baskets on one hip, a position that ensured the bearers gait would have a little extra sway. Once they reached the top of the wall, Aly fluttered her lashes at the tough-looking sergeant who waited for them beside the steps. "Something to wet your throat, Captain?" she asked, thrusting her basket of fruit at him with one hip. Men always liked it when a girl promoted them. The sergeant grinned and took his time selecting a star fruit. Aly’s companions passed food and water to the men who watched the green belt through the crenels at the top of the wall."Tell me, Captain, should we be afraid for our lives?" Aly inquired, her eyes lingering on the mans face. "I've heard these wild raka are no better than animals." He swelled with pride and self-importance, never asking why a girl like this appeared so interested in a blue-chinned fellow whose arms and legs were covered with tattoos."Just rabble, girlie," he told her. "Rioting, burning up their own homes. Half crazy with snake fever, if you ask me. And make no mistake. His Majesty will come down hard on them. They'll never get the city fixed up in time for the coronation." He tried to snag Aly around the waist.Nimbly she stepped just out of reach, glancing at him sidelong from under her lashes. "I’ve work to do, sir!" she said, and put her nose in the air. Apparently relenting, she smiled and added, "Perhaps when I come round again."He guffawed as she ambled down the walkway. You keep laughing, she thought amiably. Things will be different when you see me next.Slowly they worked their way around the broad stretch of wall, distributing their offerings, until they reached the Gate of Victory. Here they found a surprise. Aly did a fast count. One hundred and fifty Lancers waited on the ground by the gate, men and horses alike in battle armor. If they rode out, that would leave only fifty Lancers to help defend the palace. Behind them stood three companies, or three hundred men, of the Rittevon Guard, drooping with heat and boredom. They too were dressed for battle and stood in combat formation. The captain of the Guard and the commanding general of the Lancers conferred with each other and with messengers in the shadow of the gate. Obviously they were waiting for orders.Aly asked Trick to pass the information to Ochobu, Ulasim, and Nomru, who were supposed to meet where Rit-tevons Lance entered the open green lands around the palace. They would have to deal with these fighters. Once Trick finished, Aly crossed over the gate on a walkway, her girls behind her. There were whistles and called remarks of appreciation from the bored men below, until their officers silenced them. The young women giggled or laughed, and offered their drugged goods to the rest of the men on the wall.Vereyu's people met them with fresh supplies by the Gate of the Sun, the closest gate to the Gray Palace. This Gate had been closed and blocked with stone, hastily laid but solid. No one could enter and leave the palace there. Aly and her women continued around the wall, joking with bored sentries whose posts overlooked little but cliffs or jungle behind the palace as they passed them food and water. The women had almost reached the Grain Gate when Trick said, "They come. Fesgao, Nomru, Ulasim, they come all together. They are on the grass."Aly looked at the Crown's men around the Gate of Carts. Faces were already missing, the guard smaller by a third. "Tell Nawat to come," she whispered to Trick. To the women who followed her she hand-signaled, Retreat Get off the wall.On she walked with her empty basket, coming up beside the sergeant who had been so complimentary earlier. He had gotten none of the drugged food, she guessed, since he still looked hearty enough, though he sweated in the day's remorseless heat. Aly handed him a flask of water. He took it absently, scanning the merchants' road with a spyglass. "I feel like there's more to all this than a riot, even if it's just a riot close to us," he murmured. "It's more than a herd of ragged beggars crazy with the summer sun."She sharpened her Sight. The Fonfala men-at-arms emerged from the jungle in the distance. With them were armored raka warriors, bearing a crest on their breastplates: a chest topped with a copper key. She had seen that emblem on things that Sarugani had left Sarai and Dove. It was the coat of arms of the Temaida family, the shadowy relatives who lived on other islands and waited for their last hope to become real.The sergeant put down his spyglass and surveyed the men around him. "Where's Hessken? Mayce? Rufert?""Privy, sir," called another man. "Something off with breakfast, I think. I'm not so well myself.""Breakfast, or . . ." The sergeant turned to look at Aly, the picture of innocence with her empty basket. The sweat on his face was heavier, the drops rolling off his cheeks."Let me help you, Sergeant," she said, hooking his feet from under him with one of hers. He collided with the wall and slid down until he sat, his eyes fluttering as the sleep drug took him. When he gave her a last glance, she said kindly, "I'll look after things up here.""Help me!" she cried to the closest men. "His eyes just rolled up and he fell." She went down on her knees as if to help. Two soldiers turned to come to her, only to sprout black-feathered arrows. They toppled from the wall to the ground outside the wall.Aly ran for another stair to the ground rather than get in the way of Nawat's people as they scrambled to the wall. A few more arrows whizzed past her. She wove from side to side to throw off the Crown's archers who could still aim. Once on the ground, she raced for the cover of the trees as a storm of crows descended on the wall's defenders. In the distance Aly heard men roar as the rebels swarmed onto the green belt. She saw them in her mind's eye, carrying gates they had removed from buldings on the way here to use as bridges over the streams and their deadly occupants."Gate of Victory opens," Trick informed her as she trotted down the path to Sevmire's headquarters. "Rubinyan comes with soldiers. He leads Guards and Lancers out to fight Ulasim, Fesgao, Nomru.""I love it when warriors get noble," Aly said as she yanked open the door to the spymaster's building. "They get themselves killed with hardly any help from us. It's the best time-saver." Here was the corridor where the spymasters hanged the victims of recent tortures to frighten people like Aly Homewood. Sadly, each pair of shackles held a captive. In one bloodied, broken-armed wreck Aly recognized a cook whose dumplings were one of Dockmarket's main attractions.Running to Sevmire's office for the keys, Aly halted when Vitorcine emerged from it. She held a bloody knife in one hand. Behind her something cast flickering orange light through the door. She had set the place on fire.Aly brought out her lock picks. "I don't suppose you thought to get his keys when you lit him up?" she called, running back to the captives. Starting with the one closest to the hall where the fire burned, she got to work on the padlock on his chains. A moment later a grimy hand thrust a ring of keys under her nose."Why do you think I went in there?" asked Vitorcine.Aly looked the keys over and singled out the one that opened the shackles. "Catch them as we take them down," she told Vitorcine as she began to undo locks. "You know, Sevmire wasn't worth killing."Vitorcine gently helped the cook to stand. "He wasn't worth leaving alive, either, Duani."Aly shrugged. "You have a point." She glanced at the end of the hall. The fire was brighter. "Let's get them outside," she suggested. "I'm sure they'd be happy for sunlight, and we don't want them getting all crispy in here."Vitorcine nodded and began to escort people out of the building. Aly freed the last prisoners as flames began to crackle beyond Sevmire's office. Some of the captives could walk. They and Vitorcine helped the rest outside.Aly followed them into the open air. "See if you can get them to the Pavilion of Delightful Pleasures," she told Vitorcine. "And nice work." Moving off toward the Golden Road she asked, "Trick?""Nawat's friends put wedges under barracks doors to trap soldiers who sleep," Trick replied obediently. "Ulasim attacks Rubinyan from the left, Fesgao and Nomru from the right. Ochobu, Ysul, and Chain mages come up Rittevon's Lance with their spells hiding in the air and in the ground. Luarin mages not looking at air or ground, only at Ochobu and Chain. Ground is eating luarin mages and their horses. Air is pushing other mages under soldiers' horses. The crows attack soldiers on the wall. Dove says more royal soldiers come to protect Gate of Carts from Fonfalas and Temaidas."Aly looked up. Overhead circled the chestnut stallion with Dove in a saddle on his back. Outside the walls, she heard a deep-throated roar as men and women cheered the girl's appearance. With Dove looking on, they plowed ahead without letup, battling their way toward the Gate of Victory."Uh-oh," said Trick.Aly, her eyes on Dove, said, "What oh?""Soldiers on horses ride up from city," Trick replied. "Secret sees them. Soldiers and archers. And archers climb to walls near the Gate of the Sun."Aly cursed. The nobles who had taken refuge with Ima-jane in the Gray Palace must have left men in the guest barracks. If they were so healthy, they couldn't have eaten the food Vereyu's people had poisoned. Perhaps they'd brought their own rations? She'd find out later, if there was a later."Tell Nawat of the archers on the walls," she ordered Trick. "Tell Fesgao that an attack comes up behind Ulasim. Nobody else, understand? Just those two."A squad of soldiers wearing the crest of a luarin noble house came toward her at the trot. As they swerved around Aly, she reached into her sash for a small packet of sleep dust. Suddenly a soldier screamed and went down, a crow-fletched arrow in his eye. Other arrows flew from a clump of trees, followed by the archers: Nawat's people, bows set aside and swords taken up."Stop!" Aly yelled. Everyone, the soldiers and Nawat's warriors, turned to stare at her. "Wouldn't it be nice to be able to trust the person on the throne?" she asked their enemies. "To not have to live wondering each day as you wake if your family is safe, or if your master is rotting by the harbor?"Nawat's people waited."Do you really want to die for the Rittevons?" Aly asked more quietly.Three soldiers raised weapons and fell, shot by Nawat's suspicious archers. The rest hesitated. Then one of them, a sergeant by the bright red bands on his breastplate, set down his sword and dagger. When he straightened, one of his own men tried to attack him. Two other luarin soldiers grabbed the attacker and wrestled him to the ground. He lay there, killed quietly by one of his fellows. They in turn dropped their weapons. Others followed suit.A woman with crow feathers in her hair shrugged and took a coil of thin rope from her belt. "Our brother said if they surrendered, bind them and move on," she said. She looked at the surrendering soldiers and grinned, teeth flashing in her lean face. "If I meet you again in battle, I won't be so nice," she warned them.Aly moved on. "Trick?""Crows drive archers from the wall and knock some off," Trick replied. "Some crows are shot dead. Fesgao fights soldiers who attack Ulasim from behind. Nomru leads his people forward against Rubinyan's. Mages fight each other. Ochobu is saying many bad words to them."On and on it came, a flood of information. Aly finally had to stop helping her people, Nawat's, and Vereyu's clean out pockets of resistance in the greater palace. She hid in a corner of the Robing Pavilion and sorted out who needed to know what piece of information. Trick pooled in her lap, allowing images to form inside it. Now Aly could see what the darkings saw when she asked Trick to focus on each of them.Dove and Secret gave Aly a view of the entire battle that raged all around the Luarin Wall. They pointed out breaks in the lines of enemy soldiers where Nomru, Fesgao, Ochobu, and Ulasim could swamp them, and when an attack came at them from the sides or the rear.Dove told Aly that fifty of Nawat’s people had cleared and opened the Gate of Carts and the Grain Gate, allowing the Fonfala and Temaida fighters to stream into the palace. Secret showed her Nawat and another band of his people, picking more defenders from the walls of the Gray Palace with arrows. Quartz, riding around Nawat's throat, showed Aly the front of the Gray Palace. The gates were shut and barred. It was finally serving the purpose for which it was built, a last stronghold for the luarin Crown.Ochobu's darking reported that the old woman was ill, tottering as she pulled up all the strength she had in one last spell. Her heart burst as she flung it out, taking five luarin mages to the Peaceful Realms with her. Aly cringed as Ochobu's darking fell to the ground with her, seeing it all as the darking did. Keening its grief, the creature moved promptly to Ysul, who took command of the Chain. There was little he could command, as Trick and Aly could see. His cohorts were locked in their own battles. Ysul used his power briefly to direct them to new targets as they each finished wrestling one enemy mage to powerlessness or death. When the mages were occupied again, Ysul looked for a project of his own. Trick and Aly looked with him.Behind Rubinyan and his troops loomed the Gate of Victory, shut tight, locked with heavy timbers, written over with spells of protection. Ysul's darking told Aly that he was "up to something." While it could feel magic course through the raka mage, that was a sensation it couldn't pass along to Trick or Aly. Instead the two looked around, prepared to warn Ysul if someone was about to attack him. No one was. As if they sensed the power Ysul summoned, the people who battled near him left him alone at the center of a rare open space. Once Ysul sent his magic out into the ground, hidden like most raka magic, Aly could See it course through the earth. It passed under the fighting men of both sides. The luarin mages didn't even notice it, hidden as Ysul's spell was. His magic streamed up into the Gate of Victory. Aly held her breath. Suddenly the dense, bespelled wood of the gate burst into white devouring flames.Lace broke in, showing its views of the battle. Ulasim, wielding a longsword, had cut his way through the last of Rubinyan's protectors. Aly and Trick watched as Rubinyan closed with Ulasim, hacking at him from horseback. Lace dropped from Ulasim's neck to batten onto the cinch strap on Rubinyan's saddle. For some moments all Aly could see were Ulasim's straining legs. Then the saddle slid. Down tumbled Rubinyan, twisting to fall on his back. In lunged Ulasim, his blade passing through an opening in Rubinyans armor to cut deep. Rubinyan, grimacing, rolled and thrust his sword through Ulasim. For a moment the two men stared at one another.Then Ulasim looked up. Dove swooped in on her kudarung, venturing close to the enemy's archers in her need to save him."Look!" Ulasim bellowed, pointing up to her. His voice rang over the clash of weapons and the shrieks of warriors and Stormwings. "Look at her! There! See our future? See how we can be great?"He swayed and fell as his darking keened. Beneath him lay Rubinyan, already dead.Aly didn't realize tears streamed down her face as she told Fesgao's darking what had befallen their general. Fesgao didn't hesitate. He plowed through the warriors, crying for them to follow him, in the queen’s name. As the raka, howling, surged forward, the Gate of Victory collapsed, burned to cinders by Ysul. Behind it, the Raka Gate, too, burned.Ysul dropped to his knees. When the Raka Gate fell to ashes, he lay down. Two rebels ran to pick him up. His darking told Aly that Ysul was alive, but worn out. The creature went to the next mage to take command of the Chain.From Dove's position Aly saw that the fighting had slowed in many places close to where Ulasim now lay. Seeing that Rubinyan was dead, a dozen or more luarin warriors raised their hands in surrender. The other Crown troops, mauled by the attacking Fesgao and his fighters, had borne enough. They turned and ran through the destroyed gates. Nawat's warriors and the Fonfala and Temaida troops met them there. Caught between Fesgao's rebels and the forces that had taken the palace grounds, the luarin soldiers fought or surrendered, as they preferred. The more soldiers farther back who saw them put up their hands, the more surrendered.Aly wiped her eyes, gathered up Trick, and began the weary trudge from the pavilion to Rittevon's Lance. They weren't finished yet. Chenaol caught up to her. The cook and her weapons were smeared with blood. Silently they joined the rest of their people, watching as the last of the Crown's forces inside the walls gave up. Soon Nawat, sweat-soaked and disheveled, came to stand with them. The Fonfala and Temaida warriors stripped the weapons from those soldiers who had surrendered and herded them against the wall to be held under guard.At last Fesgao strode through the gate, Nomru behind him. They joined Aly, Chenaol, and Nawat, looking with dull eyes at the ruin that surrounded them. None of them was unmarked. Even Aly had picked up a handful of cuts, though she couldn't remember when. Fesgao looked them over and nodded, as if they'd just met in the marketplace. As soon as those mages of the Chain still able to work caught up, he turned and led the way to the wall that surrounded the Gray Palace. Nomru, Aly, Chenaol, Nawat, and the rebel warriors followed him, weapons in their hands.High above Stormwings shrieked in ecstasy. Seeing the bulk of the soldiers were surrendering, they began to swoop down, to plunder the dead. Nawat raised his voice in a raucous crow bawl, a sound that told other crows a hawk had come to steal from them. Cawing in one thunderous voice, hundreds of crows rose into the sky above the palace and turned, heading for the Stormwings.Aly looked at Nawat. "I could not bear for Stormwings to touch the old woman," Nawat admitted, his eyes bright with unshed tears. "Or Ulasim."Aly touched his cheek, her own lips quivering. "If she thought you cried over her, Ochobu would just throw magic at you again.""That is why I waited until the death god had her to do it," replied Nawat.At last they stood before the granite walls of the Gray Palace. Aly looked at their heights and blinked. There was no guard in view. For a moment Fesgao waited, unsure of what happened now."Trick?" Aly asked. "What do the palace darkings say?""Surprise," Trick replied. Extending a tentacle, it pointed to the top of the wall."We need to make a ram," Fesgao said wearily. Nomru nodded. Aly stepped up to them and put a hand on each man's arm. When they looked at her, their eyes reddened from the dust, she pointed to the wall. Taybur Sibigat stood there at parade rest, hands clasped behind his back. He looked down at them and nodded, his face expressionless.Slowly the gate to the Gray Palace swung open. Soldiers in the black clothes and mail of the King's Guard, all of whom looked the worse for heavy fighting, lined the flagstone road that led to the residence with dead men all around them. It was four of the Guard who had opened the gate."Those troops still loyal to the Rittevons are locked up. So too are those noble families and servants who remained loyal," Taybur called, his voice and face as emotionless as if he read a marketing list. "I surrender the Gray Palace to your war chief. Queen Imajane is being held.""Does he lie?" Fesgao asked Aly without taking his eyes from Taybur."No, sir," Aly replied. "He tells the truth."A long shadow fell over them. Everyone looked up, then backed away to clear a space as Dove's mount slowly descended. At last the kudarung stallion stood on solid ground, its sides streaked with sweat. Fesgao strode over to help Dove from the saddle.At the corner of her eye Aly registered a wave of motion. She looked around. First those of raka blood went to their knees. Slowly the luarin troops, even stubborn Duke Nomru, followed suit. Aly knelt slowly. At last only Nawat and those who looked as if they had recently been crows stayed on their feet.Dove saw them and grinned, her small face lighting up. "Cousins," she said with a nod.The rattle of chain mail drew Aly's gaze to the men of the King's Guard on the flagstone road. They, too, knelt and bowed their heads. Taybur, who had descended from the walkway overhead, knelt at the center of the open gate.Dove looked at him. "Imajane?" she asked, her voice steady."In her rooms," Taybur replied. "Your Majesty."Aly glimpsed a flutter of pink high on the side of the residence, on a balcony that overlooked its small garden. "There's a balcony outside her chambers," she said, refusing to look at that spot with her close-in Sight, amazed her voice did not quaver at what the deposed queen was about to do."I know," replied Taybur as the bit of pink plummeted from the balcony rail."At least we don't have to pay to house and try her," Jimarn murmured from somewhere behind Aly.Fesgao pointed at the sky. The white veil that showed the Goddess's battles with Kyprioth and his allies was shrinking. The long, swordlike rays that framed the sun, Mithros's sign, were shrinking, too. The brilliant sparkles that had shown the Trickster's growing power flew together to form a single multicolored globe, with a handful of brilliant stars scattered around it: the lesser tricksters, Aly thought. The Goddess's veil and Mithros's rays did not vanish.There's still work to do, Aly thought. We haven't won, not completely.In the weeks that followed, Aly learned the truth of something both her parents said: cleaning up always seemed to take much longer than the fighting. She would have told them it only seemed that way because everyone was tired, except that she was too weary to write a letter home.The Islanders buried their dead quietly, with services held for a week in the temples of the Black God. Dove insisted that Ulasim have a grave beside the steps to the Throne Hall, covered over in malachite and bronze, with a white marble marker stating his name, dates of birth and death, and the simple epitaph THE STRONG ONE. Ochobu was buried on the far side of the steps from her son, her grave covered in lapis and bronze. Her epitaph read THE WISE ONE. In time, Fesgao would join them as the warrior of the old prophecy. Aly knew where she fit in, but she wasn't sure that she wanted a marker on her grave that read THE CUNNING ONE. It seemed to her most fitting that no one know where she was buried at all.Ulasim and Ochobu were not their only losses. Vereyu was alive but would limp all her days; Imajane had slashed the tendons behind her knee when Vereyu went to take her prisoner, and the healers had not reached her in time to completely mend the damage. Of Aly's pack, seven had been killed in the fighting: Lokak, Hiraos, and Ukali among the men, and Guchol, Eyun, Kioka, and Junai among the women. Aly mourned them bitterly where no one could see her. Junai had watched her back all that summer at Tanair. The others had been her pack. Only Nawat understood how cruel it was to lose them, just as she understood his grief for sixteen of his flock-mates, as he called the humans and transformed crows he had led.The priestess Imgehai Qeshi had perished in her burning temple, Lord Obemaek in the fighting. Countess Genore Tomang was dead, killed helping to defend Balitang House. Her son Ferdy lost an eye in the battle before the palace gates. Aunt Nuritin had kept looters from breaking through the servants' gate at the house before a stroke felled her. She was working now to speak again, but the healers said her left hand would never regain its strength.Once the fires were put out and the palace secure, Dove met with the captive luarin nobles. Chenaol, the duchess, Quedanga, Ysul, and Duke Nomru were present to advise her. From those who surrendered and acknowledged her as queen, she required a blood oath on the spot. She did not ask for one from Taybur."They murdered his king," she explained to her council of advisors. "As far as he was concerned, their authority over him ended there. I will trust him."Her elders argued. They told Dove that, having betrayed one set of monarchs, Taybur could never again be trusted, but Dove would not be swayed. Aly said nothing in front of the others. She had already convinced Dove that Taybur deserved a chance.Dove also sent out messages to the commanders of the Rittevon forces in the outlying Isles, and to the rebel raka. She received replies in trickles, promises of surrender or vows of resistance. A number of noble luarin hurried to court, anxious to convince their unofficial new queen that they deserved to keep their wealth and lands. Dove told them, every time the subject came up, that property would be redistributed. The luarin could be content with less wealth than they had possessed before, or they could leave the Isles. Most chose to stay, particularly as the Nomrus, Balitangs, Fonfalas, Obemaeks, and Tomangs began to divide their own lands with those who had a legal claim.For the challenges to her rule, Dove sent out troops led by Fesgao, Nomru, and others. Nawat, who wore a multicolored, incredibly gaudy necklace these days, as did every crow Aly saw, also went out to persuade the fighters to stop. As summer deepened and began to wane, crops were far more important than battle. By the end of August most of the Isles had decided to see how they'd manage with a half-raka queen. Only Ikang and parts of Malubesang and Lombyn continued to resist.Aly worked even harder than she had before the fighting. Rubinyans old study, with its well-executed maps and many useful books, became her office. Soon she had to clear rooms on either side to make space for her deputies, Vi-torcine, Yoyox, Olkey, and Atisa. They took in the information that arrived each day and rendered it in a form that could be presented to Dove and her counselors. When she could leave things in their hands, Aly ventured out into the Isles, turning the spies of the raka conspiracy into her agents. She chose people from every walk of life. By the start of September she had broken the Kingdom into districts and appointed an agent to take charge of each.One September morning she woke up—she had fallen asleep on her desktop again—to find Trick squeaking in her ear and Dove settled in a chair in front of her desk. Aly, her brain muddled, struggled to push herself to her feet."Stop that," Dove said crossly. "When was the last time you slept in a bed, not at your desk?"Aly yawned. "Recently, Your Majesty." "When was the last time you saw Nawat?" Aly grinned. "Very recently, Your Majesty." She touched the antipregnancy charm he'd given to her. She wore it on a chain long enough that she could tuck it into her breast band under her sarong."Better. When are you getting married?" "Before I lay eggs," Aly said, awake at last. "Why is Your Majesty asking me these questions?""Do you plan to nest here or at home?" Dove wanted to know. "Because of all those I have worked with, you are the only one who hasn't sworn to me. Are you going back to Tortall?"Aly bit her lip. Why couldn't Dove have started this after Aly had spent a night sleeping in a bed? At last she replied, "I wouldn't sell your secrets to other realms, Your Majesty.""That isn't why I'm asking," Dove snapped. Secret squeaked from its position around her throat. She and the small darking had been inseparable since their first meeting, just like Aly and Trick. "I'm sorry, Secret. But really, Aly, one moment you're braiding my hair and the next you're at least a table length away, giving reports. It's not the same." She looked down at her bronze silk lap. "I thought you were my friend," she added quietly. "I still need a friend."Aly’sighed. It was time to make choices about her future. "Taybur would do very well as your new spymaster," she said, shuffling papers. "He's got the right shifty turn of mind.""Until the Isles are at peace, I need Taybur with the Queen's Guard," retorted Dove. "He's thorough. If I'm to visit some of the Isles next week, I want him preparing the way. I want you for spymaster."Aly looked at her sadly. "There are things about me you don't know," she told Dove, her belly clenched with tension. "Things that make it impossible for me to be your spymaster. Things that as your permanent spymaster I must tell you."Oh, stop bouncing and say it." Kyprioth appeared in a window seat, dressed in a jacket and sarong like woven copper, jangling with jewelry. "You know you want to."Aly scowled at him. "I thought you were going to be really large if you won.""I am large," retorted the god. "This is only the part you see. I imbue this palace with my essence, every stone and every drop. My visit will do wonders for the flowers."Aly propped her chin on her hand. "So does manure," she observed.Kyprioth chuckled. "Whyever would you want to leave me, my dear? We're made for each other, in a god-to-servant way." He looked at Dove. "I see you're removing those statues of my sister and brother outside." His face lit with anticipation. "Will you have them melted down?""Perhaps you can afford to offend them," Dove replied. "I can’t. They’re going to the temples of Mithros and the Goddess in Rajmuat, as is proper. Do you want me to put up a statue to you? Our custom says it's very unlucky.""Put a statue up of me? Nonsense," scoffed the god. "I am multitudes. You see but one of my faces. I am—""Vast," Aly interrupted. "Yes, you've mentioned it.""So when's the big day?" Kyprioth asked Dove, unmoved by Aly's sarcasm. "When is my queen to be crowned?""The day after Midwinter," Dove replied, a smile tweaking her mouth. "So my official reign begins with the rebirth of the year.""With the rebirth of the sun," the god corrected her. "Not that I begrudge him, poor fellow. He still hasn't gotten his shield back. That thief I got is truly talented." He raised an eyebrow. "Ah. A summons." He looked at Aly, black eyes dancing. "If she's crowned at Midwinter, the foreign delegations will have to come by the end of October and stay the season," he pointed out. "Your monarchs are sending their very favorite people. You had better hurry up and tell her." He vanished, leaving a thin layer of copper sparkles where he'd sat."What did he mean by that?" Dove wanted to know.Aly had a very bad feeling. "I'd like to tell Winna at the same time, if I may," she said wearily. "I think you both should hear it from me. Trick?"Trick sat up on her shoulder. "She comes," it said. Like the other darkings given to specific people, Winnamine's had chosen to remain with her as the duchess took over the running of the domestic side of the palace. She had long since ordered Aly to call her by her nickname.Waiting for her, Aly and Dove talked over plans for Dove's visit to the nearby Isles. The chief problem lay in finding ways for her attendants to keep up, since she would be riding the winged stallion she had named Kypry. "I just won't land until I know the place is safe," she was telling Aly as Winnamine swept in.The duchess had set a new fashion, wearing her dark-ing as a glossy band twined throughout her hair. Other ladies of Dove's new court were trying the same style, without success, since a darking could grip better than a satin ribbon. "Midget says you two want to discuss something with me," she said as she settled into a chair. "It's not bad news from the outer Isles, is it?""You should wait," said Trick. "Fesgao and Chenaol come, too. We told them.""Why?" Aly wanted to know."The darkings are right," said Dove. "They were with us at the beginning. They should hear whatever it is, too."Aly changed position, hiding the fact that she was making sure the knives in her sash and under the top of her desk were ready to hand. Sheer self-preservation had made her flinch from telling members of the old raka conspiracy. Of all the people Aly had dealt with since her arrival in the Isles, she felt they had the most right to be vexed when they learned the truth about her."While we're waiting," the duchess said, pulling a folded parchment from a pocket. Dove and Aly recognized the bold writing right away."Sarai!" cried Dove, and grabbed the letter.As Dove read greedily, Winna told Aly, "They married when they reached Carthak. Sarai is expecting a child next spring." She smiled, her lips trembling. "If it is a boy, they do mean to name him Mequen. They won't be here for the coronation, but they promise to visit as soon as it's safe."Chenaol arrived from the kitchens, her arms covered to the elbows in flour. Dove had pressed her to accept a more important position, but the raka had refused flatly. Her place was in the kitchen, she'd told Dove. If people wanted to talk weapons, they would find her there.Fesgao was not far behind the cook. As commander of the queen's armies, he kept an office at the headquarters building near the Rittevon enclosure. He had settled into his work, spending his days like Aly, sorting through papers to decide what mattered and what did not. He'd told Aly that he looked forward to Dove's trip as a break from documents.When the door was closed behind them, Aly took a deep breath. "Your Majesty, friends," she said quietly, her hands resting on her sash, "I cannot be your spymaster. I am the daughter and granddaughter of Tortall's spymasters, and the daughter of Tortall's King's Champion. The god did not teach me most of what I know—I learned it at my father's knee. I am not working on Tortall's behalf. Kyprioth claimed me after I'd foolishly left my home, and set me to work with you. That is the truth of it." She looked down, listening for the slightest hint of movement. The knives in her sash were the quickest to reach, but if it was Fesgao who came for her, she'd need the sword secured under the desktop.For a very long moment, much too long for Aly's taste, no one spoke or moved. Then Chenaol hoisted herself to her feet. "If that's all, I've got two wagonloads of flour coming from Digger Brothers' mill. I want them to explain how I found gravel stitched into the bottoms of the bags last time. Then I need to decide how much I'll take out of them in blood."Aly stared at her. "That's it?" she demanded, shocked. "Or will I find you waiting for me in some dark night with one of those thousand and three new carving knives you bought for the kitchens?"Chenaol rolled her eyes. "Half for the kitchen, half for the armory," she explained. "Why should I care? The god picked you. How many times do you have to prove whose side you're on? Oh, I remember—you've already done that." She stomped out.Fesgao called after her, "Wait." To Aly he said, "She's right, you know. The god wouldn't saddle us with someone who worked for a rival country. I wonder what happens now. Will your father spank you for playing with the neighbors?" He followed Chenaol. "I thought I asked for a thousand knives for the armory," he told her."Five hundred is what you get with the treasury in the mess it is," they heard her reply. "Talk to Quedanga, if you want to hear her moan about all the money spent on food supplies for those whose crops didn't make it."Aly blinked, then looked at Winna and Dove. "Maybe the god's recommendation is good enough for you, Your Majesty," she said to the queen. To the duchess she respected she added, "But, Your Grace . . ."Winnamine smiled and rose to her feet. "Chenaol is right. You have more than proved who has your allegiance, Aly." She came over and leaned down, in a puff of lily-of-the-valley scent, to kiss Aly's cheek. "I would hate to force you to choose between your family and us, but it goes without saying that we need you more." She smiled at Dove and left them, gently closing the door behind her.Aly looked at Dove."Are you going to be my spymaster or not?" demanded the younger girl. "Winna's right. We need you more. We met your father, didn't we? Last year, at Tanair. Only he said he was a merchant.""Your Majesty, he lies," Aly said, shaking her head with regret. "He lies all the time. I think sometimes he lies just to stay in practice."Dove smiled and stood. "And to protect his daughter, alone in the enemy's country," she pointed out. "Will you be my spymaster, please? I still do need a friend."Aly got up and walked over to her, then knelt, took Dove s hand, and pressed her forehead against the younger girls fingers. "I will serve you all my days, Your Majesty," she told Dove softly, meaning it with her whole heart. Then she looked up. "You're wearing five rings. You promised you'd never wear more than three."Dove giggled. "Boulaj says they look nice." The young woman had decided that she liked the post of bodyguard-maid and kept it."She's Kyprin," Aly scolded. "They think twelve necklaces on one neck is nice."Dove pulled a ring off, a gold band with a piece of basalt set in it. Embedded in the smooth, matte black stone was a small copper kudarung. "Then here," she said, holding the ring worn by her personal household to Aly. "You wear this one.For once Aly had nothing to say. She could only nod, and slide the ring onto her index finger.Someone pounded on the door. "Your Majesty!" called Nuritin, pronouncing each word with care. "You have an audience in the Throne Hall this morning. Will you be late to your own audience?"Dove grimaced and walked out to meet her obligations.Aly looked at her jumbled desk. "Well," she said wearily, "if I'm staying, I'd better recruit some more help."The day after the end of Midwinter, the Throne Hall of the royal palace blazed with the light cast by a thousand lamps and candles. It glittered on gold and silver jewelry, hoards of gemstones, silks and satins, and in the hundreds of pairs of eyes that were fixed on the dais. Incense rose to form clouds against the high ceilings, scenting the air. Chimes tinkled as breezes moved through the hall.Taybur Sibigat, captain of the Queen's Guard, knelt on the second-highest step of the dais, holding a cushion above his head. On it shone gold shaped as a crowned headdress at the front, with a spray of copper sprigs at the back, each dangling gold drops. Copper drops hung from a forehead plate. Dovasary Haiming Temaida Balitang, dressed all in silver satin patterned in black, reached for the Crown, made from old descriptions to look like the original Crown of the Isles. With hands that trembled, she raised it for her audience to see, then carefully lowered it to rest on her own head. It was how the Kyprin queens had always been crowned, since no one wanted to offend their peculiar god by claiming his priesthood.The onlookers, noble and common born, sent up a thunder of applause and cheers that startled the small winged horses from the beams overhead. They swooped around the new queen, who stood there patiently, waiting for quiet.To the side, tucked into the shadow of a pillar, her spy-master leaned against Nawat Crow with a happy sigh.EpilogueAt the Kudarung Inn Rajmuat in the Copper Isles April 2,464 H.E.In the morning the Tortallan delegation would sail home, with reports for their monarchs on the new queen and her government. For this occasion some of its members had taken a private room for a very private dinner. Their two local guests came separately, one as a crow who changed into human form once he reached his father-in-law's chambers. Aly came disguised as a Carthaki lady, complete with veils.She and Nawat sat at the table with her family, everyone full of good food and busy with lively talk. Aly, whose morning sickness extended sometimes to evenings, had contented herself with a mild broth and fruit juices. She looked frequently at the slight swell of her belly, mystified by the thought that another human being was taking shape beneath her navel.She sat between her father, George Cooper, baron of Pirate's Swoop, and her mother, Alanna the Lioness, lady knight and King's Champion of Tortall. From that position she could look at her brothers. Alan wore a squire's gear. His knight-master had allowed him to carry word to his parents that it was time to come home, and to attend his twin's wedding before he returned with them. Thorn was bouncing Sar-ralyn Salmalin on his knee, explaining to the two-year-old the difference between a star and a moon, while Sarra beamed up at him. Next to him Veralidaine Salmalin, known as Daine the Wildmage, gently rocked baby Rikash and talked softly with the crowd of darkings assembled on the table before her. Her husband, the mage Numair, was deep in conversation with Aly's grandfather, Tortall’s official spy-master, Myles of Olau. Eleni, lady of Olau, discussed bird lice cures with Nawat."Well, I never thought you would do it," Alanna remarked as she sat back in her chair.Aly gave an inward sigh, certain she was about to get a speech in how she ought to behave. "Do what, Mother?" she asked, keeping the impatience from her voice. It's the last time I'll see her, she scolded herself. I can take a little lecture from her, surely."Find a cause that caught you up and gripped you in your very veins," Alanna replied quietly, her eyes on the raka tapestries on the walls. "Find some passion that would consume you. Make you a fool with the rest of us fools.""I'm hardly consumed," Aly began to say. Then she looked at her mother, at the lines at the corners of her mother's famed violet eyes, at the blue pearl drops hanging from her ears, Aly's Midwinter gift, at the callused and scarred hands that Alanna had folded on the table. Slowly Aly's sense of reality overcame her. Her mouth twitched. Her mother was right. Aly had found something to consume her, even if she didn't show it as her mother did. "Have I ever mentioned that I hate it when you're right?" she asked instead.Alanna shook her head. "No, I don't believe you have. As far as I could tell, you never thought I was right."Another bubble of vexation fizzed up out of Aly's belly and popped. She could see a smile tugging her mother's lips. "Since you mention it, no. Except now, Mother." She offered her hand.Alanna took it and kissed Aly on the cheek. "Goddess bless you each and every day," she whispered. "The Great Mother is surely too wise to hold a grudge simply because you helped her brother."Finally Aly and Nawat had to go, or fall asleep on the table. Aly took leave of her family, hugging everyone hard, fixing their faces in her mind. She saved her father for last. Standing on tiptoe, she whispered, "Da, I'd like all of your agents out of the Isles by the end of the month. Elsewise I'll arrest them and ship them home."George looked down at his daughter, his eyes lighting up with amusement. He raised an eyebrow at her.Aly knew what he meant by it. He would simply recruit new people in the Isles, because that was his job. Smiling wickedly, she raised one eyebrow of her own.Back in their palace quarters, Nawat watched as Aly walked onto the veranda. The late-night air blew around her, molding her light nightgown to her body. "You will find ways to see them, and they to see you," he called to her. "They are not lost to you, or you to them. They will always be your flock.""I know," Aly called, looking up at the sky. The sliver of the moon and the dots of the stars were as they had been in the months before the gods had waged their battle in the Divine Realms. Kyprioth had reclaimed his true throne in full, and Mithros and the Goddess were still searching for their shields. "I know. There's no reason we can't see each other, if we're discreet. Though we're going to be frightfully busy.""There is much for us to do," Nawat agreed. "But there must be time for fun as well. Fun, and sparklies, and nestlings, and all the other things that make life interesting. For example, you could make my life interesting right now, if you chose."Aly laughed. "And where would you be if I didn't choose?" she asked, walking inside once more.Nawat smiled at her, the smile of a man who loved a woman. "Right here," he said confidently. "I would wear you down."Aly was drifting off to sleep when a familiar, crisp voice whispered in her ear, There's a girl. You get some rest. The Isles will give you all the interesting things you can stand. Kyprioth added, And so will I. CAST OF CHARACTERSAcharn Uniunu - boy noble, member of Dunevons courtAdona         - luarin noble houseAlan of Pirates Swoop     - Alianne s seventeen-year-old twin brotherAlanna of Pirates Swoop and Olau  - the Tortallan King's Champion, lady knight Alianne of Pirate's Swoop- daughter of Alanna and George of Pirate's Swoop, former slave Ankoret Obeliten - noblewoman at regents' court Atisa Libo- pretty, plump, Guchol's sister, one of Aly's spy pack Bacar - footman for a Balitang neighbor Bean-  darking placed in the palace Boulaj- raka warrior, maid to Sarai, one of Aly's spy pack Bronau Jimajen- Rubinyan's deceased brother, murderer of Mequen Balitang Callyn - spy recruit, works for the harbormaster Chenaol - free raka head cook for the Balitangs, armorer for rebels Dori/ize - Nuritin's maid, member of raka conspiracy Dovasary (Dove) Balitang - Mequen's half-raka daughter from first marriage Druce Adona - nobleman, one of Sarai's suitors Dunevon Rittevon - boy king of Copper Isles Edunata Mayano -luarin noblewoman, one of Imajane's ladies-in-waiting Eleni of Olau - Myles's wife, Aly's grandmother Elsren Balitang - Dunevon's heir, luarin son of Mequen and Winnamine Eyun - part-raka warrior, determined, member of Aly's spy pack Faithful - supernatural cat, Alanna's former companion Feather - darking placed in Teak Sitting Room, Balitang House Fegoro - hard raka warrior, member of Aly's spy pack Ferdolin Tomang (Ferdy)- one of Sarai's suitors, count, wealthy luarin Fesgao Yibenu - raka sergeant of Balitang men-at-arms, rebel war leader Flame - darking placed to spy on Duke Nomru Gazlon Lelin - boy noble, member of Dunevon's court Genore Tomang - dowager countess, Ferdolins mother, member of luarin conspiracy George of Pirates Swoop - Alanna's husband, Aly's father, baron and second in command of his realm s spies Gian - Elsrens manservant, spy recruit Graveyard Hag - trickster, primary goddess of Carthak, Kyprioths kinswoman Grosbeak – Topabaw’s spy, collector of information Guchol Libo - plump, good-humored, Atisa's sister, one of Aly's spy pack Haiming -former raka ruling house Hazarin - deceased former king Herbrand Edgecliff - luarin bookseller, member of raka conspiracy Hessken - soldier, Rittevon Guard Hiraos - handsome raka, member of Aly's spy pack Huldean Obeliten - boy noble, member of Dunevons court Hunod Ibadun - noble executed by the regents Imajane Jimajen - born Rittevon, King Oron's half sister, princess regent Imgehai Qeshi - priestess of Black God of death, member of luarin conspiracy Inayica        - female ship captain Isalena Obemaek - luarin, one of Sarai s friends Jesi - Nuritin's secretary Jevair Ibadun - noble, one of Sarai's suitors Jimarn - former slave, deadly member of Aly's spy pack Jonathan of Conte -  king of Tortall, Aly's godfather Junai Dodeka - Ulasim's daughter, Dove's bodyguard, one of Aly's spy pack Kaddar Iliniat - emperor of Carthak, patron and cousin of Zaimid Hetnim Kadyet - noble house, Balitang neighbor Kioka - pert raka, one of Aly's spy pack Konutai - female Stormwing, Taybur's friend Kyprioth - trickster god Lace - darking placed in raka meeting room, Balitang House Lehart Obemaek - luarin lord, member of luarin conspiracy Lelin - luarin noble house Lohearn Mantawu - Topabaw, duke, Crown spymaster Lokeij - raka hostler for the Balitangs, deceased Ludas Jimajen - second in command of the luarin invasion of the Copper Isles Lutestring - Topabaw's agent and information gatherer Matfrid Fonfala - Winnamine's father, lord, member of luarin conspiracy Mayce - soldier, Rittevon Guard Meipun Kloulechat - raka baron Mequen Balitang - deceased duke, father to Balitang children Merani - luarin noblewoman Murtebo - Balitang neighbor Myles of Olau - head Tortallan spymaster, Aly's grandfather, Alanna's adoptive father Nawat Crow - crow who turned himself into a man Numair Salmalin - powerful mage, Daine's husband Nuritin Balitang - great-aunt to Balitang children, unofficial head of extended Balitang family Obeliten - luarin noble house Ochobu Dodeka - mother of Ulasim, leader of mages of the Chain Olkey - chubby, thoughtful, one of Aly's spy pack Own Rittevon - deceased king of the Copper Isles Otaviyu Lelin - one of Sarai's friends, parents are members of luarin conspiracy Pembery - part-raka, Winnamine s maid, belongs to rebellion Peony - darking placed to spy on agent Grosbeak Petranne Balitang - Mequen's first child with Winnamine Qovold Engan - baron, royal astronomer, member of luarin conspiracy Quartz - darking placed with Countess Tomang Quedanga - Balitang housekeeper, head of communications, member of rebel leadership Raoul of Goldenlake and Malories Peak - lord, knight-commander of the King's Own, Alan's knight-master Rasaj - handsome raka, member of Aly’s spy pack Rihani - raka healer, nursemaid to Petranne and Elsren Rikash Salmalin - Daine and Numair's infant son  Rittevon Lanman - leader of luarin conquest of Copper Isles Roald of Conte - prince, heir to Tortallan throne Roger of Conte - King Jonathan's deceased uncle, rebel Rosamma Tomang - one of Sarai's friends, Genore's daughter Rubinyan Jimajen - luarin, husband of Princess Imajane, prince regent Rufert - soldier, Rittevon guard Saraiyu (Sarai) Balitang - Mequen's oldest daughter, half raka, from his first marriage Sarralyn Salmalin- Daine and Numair's daughter Sarugani Temaida - Mequen's first wife, raka, mother of Dove and Sarai, deceased Sevmire Ambau - Rubinyan's personal spymaster, luarin Shinkokami - princess, wife of Prince Roald, heir to Tortallan throne Spot (now Secret) - darking first placed in king's bedroom, then with Aly Sulion - royal governor of Tongkang Taybur Sibigat - captain of King's Guard Temaida - raka noble house, keepers of  the Haiming bloodlines, Sarugani s family Thayet of Conte - Queen of Tortall, co-ruler with her husband, King Jonathan Thorn of Pirate's Swoop - Aly’s older brother, a student mage Tkaa - basilisk, immortal and friend of Aly's family Topabaw - people's name for Duke Lohearn Mantawu, Crown spymaster Trick - darking who stays with Aly Ukali - wicked, dangerous, one of Aly's spy pack Ulasim Dodeka - head footman to Balitangs, general of rebellion, raka, Ochobu's son, Junai's father Uniunu - luarin noble house Vedec Golzai - young luarin noble Veralidaine (Daine) - half goddess, called the Sarrasri Salmalin Wildmage for her skills with animals, Aly's adoptive aunt Vereyu - raka servant, head of raka conspiracy at palace Vitorcine Townsend - double agent, maid to Obemaek family Vurquan Nomru - duke, luarin, popular, member of luarin conspiracy Wayan - raka child, message runner at Bali tang House Wesedi - luarin noble house, friends of Winnamine's Winnamine Fonfala Balitang - duchess, mother of Petranne and Elsren, member of luarin conspiracy Yoyox - cheerful, bold raka, member of Aly's spy pack Ysul - mage of the Chain, mute, member of raka conspiracy Zaimid Hetnim - handsome Carthaki healer, friend of the Carthaki emperor GlossaryAmbririp: harbor on northern tip of Imahyn Island. arak: distilled palm-sap liquor.Azure Sea: body of water between Imahyn, Jerykun, Ikang, and Lombyn islands, known for its calm, bright blue waters.basilisk: immortal (cannot be killed by old age or disease), lizard-like creature, can be seven to nine feet tall, walks erect, is skilled with languages, possesses a shriek that can turn its targets to stone.Bazhir: collective name for the nomadic tribes of TortalTs Great Southern Desert.Birafu: estates on Tongkang belonging to Jimajen family, in rebellion.Black God, the: hooded and robed god of death, recognized as such throughout the Eastern and Southern Lands.blazebalm: sticky, paste-like substance that clings to everything it touches and burns very hot.Carthak: slaveholding empire that includes all of the Southern Lands, ancient and powerful, a storehouse of learning, sophistication, and culture. Its university was at one time without rival for teaching.Chain, the: network of rebel mages, mostly full and part-raka, spread throughout the Copper Isles, with members on every isle, including one posted especially close to the isle's royal governor. It has been in existence over one hundred years. Its present commanding mage is Ochobu Dodeka.Copper Isles: originally named the Kyprin Isles, once ruled by queens of the Haiming noble house, presently ruled by the Rittevon dynasty. The Isles form a slaveholding nation south and west of Tortall. The lowlands are hot, wet jungles; the highlands cold and rocky. Traditionally their ties are to Carthak rather than Tortall. Kyprin pirates often raid along the Tortallan coast. There is a strain of insanity in the Rittevon line. The Rittevons hold a grudge against Tortall (one of their princesses was killed there the day that Jonathan was crowned).Corus: capital city of Tortall, on the banks of the River Olorun. Corus is the home of the new royal university as well as the royal palace.darking: creature made in the Divine Realms that has evolved into an independent being; small, blob-like, able to manipulate shape, reproduce by splitting, capable of thought and learning; some reside in Dragonlands in Divine Realms, others have returned to Mortal Realms.Dawn Crow: male god of the crows.Dimari: eastern harbor town on the island of Lombyn.Divine Realms: home to the gods and to many immortals.Dockmarket: section of town defined by Dockmarket Street along wharves; open-air markets for food, spices, various products; includes warehouses, slave market.Downwind: poorer section of Rajmuat. duan: raka word for old man, boss. duani: raka word for old lady, boss.Eastern Lands: name used to refer to those lands north of the Great Inland Sea and east of the Emerald Ocean: Scanra, Tortall, Tyra, Tusaine, Galla, Maren, Sarain. Original home of the luarin nobility and kings of the Copper Isles.Ekallatum: one of the most ancient kingdoms in the history of the Southern Lands, now part of the Carthaki Empire.Emerald Ocean: body of water west of the Eastern and Southern Lands, containing the Yamani Islands and the Copper Isles, among others.Examples: Kyprin term for nobles and wealthy people who are executed by the Crown and displayed on posts as a warning to others.Fief Tameran: neighboring fiefdom to Pirate s Swoop.Flowergarden: district north and west of Downwind, contains lower-class residences, also district of brokers of domestic animals, fullers, tanners, blacksmiths.Gainel:   god  of dreams, with  one  foot  in  the  MortalRealms and one foot in the realms of Chaos.Galla: country to the north and east of Tortall, famous for its mountains and forests, with an ancient royal line. Daine was born there.Galodon: housing town for military and royal navy fortress and reserves.Gempang: island in the Copper Isles, across the Long Strait from Kypriang.Gift, the: human, academic magic, the use of which must be taught.Gigit: smallest coin of the Copper Isles: 10 copper gigits equal 1 silver gigit; 50 copper gigits (5 silver gigits) equal 1 copper Ian; 1 copper gigit will buy a cup of tea, a bun, or an orange.Gray Palace: Eastern Lands-style castle built inside a separate wall on the palace grounds, to house the Rittevon family.Great Mother Goddess: chief goddess in the pantheon of the Eastern Lands, protector of women. Her symbol is the moon.Greater Fortress: citadel that guards the southeastern approach to Rajmuat harbor.griffin: feathered immortal with a cat-like body, wings, and a beak. Males grow to a height of six and a half to sevenfeet at the shoulder; females are slightly bigger. No one can tell lies in a griffin s vicinity (a range of about a hundred feet). Their young have bright orange feathers to make them more visible. If adult griffin parents sense that a human has handled their infant griffin, they will try to kill that human.Gunapi the Sunrose: raka warrior goddess of volcanoes, war, and molten rock.Haiming: name of the former ruling line of raka queens, supposedly wiped out during the Luarin Conquest, with members who survived in secret until the present.healer: health-care professional with varying degrees of education, magic, and skill.his realm's spies: network of a kingdoms agents, charged with gathering intelligence at home and abroad; spies in service to a particular country.Honeypot, the: worst of the Downwind slums.hostler: person who cares for horses: their feed, medicine, grooming, cleanliness, saddling.Human Era (H.E.): time period that begins 463 years prior to the present book, marking the exile of the immortals from the Mortal Realms.hurrok: immortal shaped like a horse with leathery bat wings, claws, and fangs.Ikang: island to the southwest of Lombyn (the northernmost island).Imahyn: island just northwest of the Long Strait and Gempang.Immortal: creatures from the Divine Realms who cannot get sick or grow old. They can be killed, but otherwise they live forever.Immortals War: short, vicious war fought in 452 H.E., named for the number of immortal creatures that fought, but also waged by Carthakis (rebels against the new emperor Kaddar), Copper Islanders, and Scanran raiders. These forces were defeated by the residents of the Eastern Lands, particularly Tortall, but recovery is slow.Jaguar Goddess: feral and bloody goddess native to the Isles, overthrown by Mithros and the Great Mother Goddess during the Luarin Conquest and chained below the earth until she should be freed. Sister and sometime consort of Kyprioth, who also prefers that she stay chained.Jerykun Isle: smallest of the Isles, situated between Imahyn in the south and Ikang in the north. Virtually all of Jerykun is held between the Tomangs, who have grown rich from the trade in sunset butterflies (a source of precious blue dyes and magical ingredients), with smaller estates held by, among others, Sibigat House.Kanodang: prison to the northeast of the Downwind slums, over the ridge of the Kitafin mountains that runs between Rajmuat and the coast.King's Council: Tortallan monarch's private council, made up of those advisors he trusts the most.King's Guard: small contingent of soldiers/bodyguards responsible for the safety of the ruling monarch of the Copper Isles, presently led by Taybur Sibigat. Their armor is chain mail painted black.King's Watch: patrol group that polices the city, wears armor painted red.K'mir: brown-skinned nomadic horse tribes of Saraine, expert at guerrilla fighting against the Saren ruling class of lowland whites. Queen Thayet of Tortall is half K'mir on her mother's side and has been responsible for a migration of K'miri, who now work for the Tortallan Crown.kudarung: Kyprish (raka) term for winged horses.Kypriang: main island of the Copper Isles, holding the capital, Rajmuat, and its harbor. Location of the Plain of Sorrows, site of the last great defeat of the raka by the luarin.Kyprioth: Trickster, greatest of the trickster gods, former patron god of the Copper Isles, overthrown by his brother Mithros and his sister the Great Mother Goddess, now relegated in the Isles to rulership over the seas that surround them. Cousin to the Carthaki goddess the Graveyard Hag.Ian: largest money coin in the Isles: 1 gold Ian equals 10 silver lans; 1 silver Ian equals 5 copper lans; 1 copper Ian equals 5 silver gigits, or 50 copper gigits.Lesser Fortress: citadel that guards the eastern arm of Rajmuat harbor.Lombyn: northernmost island of the Copper Isles, home to the Tanair estates of Lady Saraiyu and Lady Dove Balitang, the legacy of their mother Sarugani. The location of the Turnshe Mountains, Kellaura Pass, Dimari town and harbor, and the villages of Tanair, Inti, and Pohon.Long Strait: narrow, tricky body of water between Kypriang and Gempang islands.luarin: raka term for the white-skinned invaders from the Eastern Lands, now used in the Isles to indicate anyone with white skin.mage: wizard, male or female.Malubesang: largest and most southern of the Copper Isles, notorious for streams that are home to meat-eating fish. Home to the most prosperous estates of the Isles, particularly those of Nomru House. The extended Fonfala family also has lands bordering the Nomru ones.Maren: large, powerful country east of Tusaine and Tyra; the grain basket of the Eastern Lands, with plenty of farms and trade.Market Town: pricier market district west of Dockmarket.Middle Town: district that is part residential for middle class, part shopping area, includes Rittevon Square.Midwinter Festival: seven-day holiday, centers around the longest night of the year and the sun s rebirth afterward. The beginning of the new year. Gifts are exchanged and feasts held.Mithros: chief god of the Tortallan pantheon, god of war and the law. His symbol is the sun.Moriji Cove: cove on the southern coast of Kypriang near Fonfala estates.network: group of spies or other persons who exchange information among themselves.pavilion: an outdoor structure that can be open on its sides, walled halfway up its sides, or fully walled in.Port Udayapur: port city-state on the northeast corner of the Great Inland Sea, entry gate to the mountains called the Roof of the World.Rajmuat: capital of the Copper Isles under both the raka and the luarin.raka: copper/brown-skinned natives of the Copper Isles, under the lordship of the luarin arrivals from the Eastern Lands for nearly three hundred years.Rittevon Guard: guard that covers the palace grounds and walls; combined sun and moon engraved on breastplates.Rittevon Lancers: light cavalry military force. They generally carry lances and swords as weapons.Rittevon's Lance: major street of Rajmuat and the palace, running through the center of Rajmuat and up through the Gate of Victory to the center of the palace enclosure. Ends in the palace street called the Golden Road.sarong: for women, a dress-like wrap-around garment that extends from under the arms to the calves. For men, a skirt-like wrap-around garment that can be kilted in the middle to make rough breeches.Scanra: country to the north of Tortall; wild, rocky, and cold, with very little land that can be farmed. Scanra's war with Tortall began in 460 H.E. (the events are covered in Lady Knight) and has moved into its third year, though Scanra is visibly weakening.scry: to look into the past, present, or future using magic and, sometimes, a bowl of water, a mirror, fire, or some other peering device.shape-shifter: someone who can take the shape of an animal or another human.Sight, the: aspect of the magical Gift that gives its holders certain advantages in matters of vision. It can be erratic, showing holders only lies, illness, magic, or future importance. In its fullest form, it can allow the holder to see clearly over distance, to see tiny things in sharp detail, and to detect illness, lies, godhood, magic, death, and other aspects of life.Sky: the crow goddess, consort of the Dawn Crow.slave broker: one who buys and sells slaves.Southern Lands: another name for the Carthaki Empire, which has conquered all of the independent nations that once were part of the continent south of the Great Inland Sea.Stormwing: immortal with a human head and chest and bird legs and wings, with steel feathers and claws. Stormwings have very sharp teeth, but use them only to add to the terror of their presence by tearing apart bodies. They live on human fear and have their own magic; their special province is the desecration of battlefield dead.Swan District: residential neighborhood for the newly rich, north and west of Dockmarket, Market Town, and Middle Town.Tanair: Lombyn Isle estates that form part of the inheritance of Lady Saraiyu and Lady Dove Balitang, granted to them by their mother, Sarugani Temaida. Estates include Tanair Castle and village and the villages of Inti and Pohon.Tongkang: island to the south of Gempang, between Gem-pang and Malubesang isles.Tortall: chief kingdom in which the Alanna, Daine, and Keladry books take place, between the Great Inland Sea and Scanra. Home to Alianne of Pirate's Swoop and her family.Tusaine: small country tucked between Tortall and Maren.Tyra: merchant republic on the Great Inland Sea between Tortall and Maren. Tyra is mostly swamp, and its people relyon trade and banking for income. Numair Salmalin was born there.Vassa River: river that forms a large part of the northeastern border between Scanra and Tortall.wild magic: magic that is part of the natural world. Unlike the human Gift, it cannot be drained or done away with; it is always present.wildmage: mage who deals in wild magic, the kind of magic that is part of nature. Daine Sarrasri is often called the Wildmage for her ability to communicate with animals, heal them, and shape-shift.Wind: Kyprioth's cousin, a god.Yamani Islands: island nation to the north and west of Tortall and the west of Scanra, ruled by an ancient line of emperors, whose claim to the throne comes from the goddess Yama.Yimosuat: capital of Gempang Island, known for its many temples. Notes and AcknowledgementsAly's story is a pair of books instead of a quartet thanks to J. K. Rowling (I haven't met her!), who taught adults that American kids will read thicker books, which means I don't need four books to tell a complete story.My thanks, I think, also go to my beloved editrix, Mallory Loehr, who suggested both that I write about a spy and that I write a character who is laid-back and easygoing, not driven. One day I will find the proper manner in which to express my appreciation of an exercise that made a Moebius strip of me for the last three years. Sarai's fate is her idea as well. My gratitude also goes to my Australian editrix, Margrete Lamond, for her very provocative pointers on pomp and on the behavior of gods.Thanks as ever to the home team, those who gave me help with so many of the problems that cropped up in the Trickster books: my excellent Spouse-Creature, Tim Liebe, who gives me so many plot ideas and twists, and also supplies necessary photographs; my best friend Raquel Starace, fashion consultant on flattering colors for everyone who is not a fair-skinned redhead like me, and the progenetrix (through her discussions of making an inanimate object animate and her analysis of the differences between human and computer animation) of the dark-ings; my wonderful assistant, Sara Alan, for her proofreading and for her reassurances with regard to my feminist credentials as well as for her tolerance of major author flake-outs; my agent, Craig Tenney, he of the watchful eye and the sound advice; Peter Glassman at Books of Wonder for shoring up my faltering courage; and the excellent Christina Schulman and the National Aviary for crowned pigeons and tropical woods mood enhancement.I bow also to the Law & Order franchise, World Wrestling Entertainment, National Geographies photographs of people around the world, and photographer Joyce Tennesons Wise Women collection in thanks for their inspiration for a numberof characters; to the novels of John Le Carre, particularly Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smileys People for insights into effective spycraft, as well as to the innumerable books by innumerable experts I have read on the art of guerrilla warfare.For musical inspiration I have turned to sources that may appear odd and unrelated, but aren't: Alan Lomax and the singers of his collection Negro Songs and Work Calls, performed by Southern blacks in the 1930s and 1940s; pianist Glenn Gould and his classic recordings of Bach's "Goldberg Variations"; composer Ottorino Respighi and his incredible "Pines of Rome," of which I have at least three recorded versions with three different orchestras and conductors; and "Two Cries of Freedom: Gypsy Flamenco from the Prisons of Spain," sung by Jose Serrano and Antonio "El Agujetas," Reachout International Records, Inc.Those interested in the historical sources of some of my ideas and conflicts may want to examine Alexander the Great's conquest of Egypt and his placement of the Greek Ptolemies over the native Egyptians; William the Conqueror's arrival in England and its centuries of consequences; American slavery; the history of Tudor England during the childhood of Edward VI and the beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I; and the history of any power that invades a country that is not its own and attempts to keep it. As the Rittevons and Jimajens learn, it's hard to completely pacify a country when the bulk of the people who live there are opposed to being pacified. About the AuthorTamora Pierce captured the imagination of readers more than twenty years ago with Alanna: The First Adventure. As of September 2004, she has written twenty-two books, including three completed quartets—The Song of the Lioness, The Immortals, and Protector of the Small—set in the fantasy realm of Tortall. She has also written the Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens quartets. Her books have been translated into many different languages. Some are available on audio from Listening Library and Full Cast Audio. Tamora Pierce's fast-paced, suspenseful writing and strong, believable heroines have won her much praise: Emperor Mage was a 1996 ALA Best Book for Young Adults, The Realms of the Gods was listed as an "outstanding fantasy novel" by VOYA in 1996, Squire (Protector of the Small #3) was a 2002 ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and Lady Knight (Protector of the Small #4) debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Trickster's Choice spent a month on the New York Times bestseller list and was a 2003 ALA Best Book for Young Adults.An avid reader herself, Ms. Pierce graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. She has worked at a variety of jobs and has written everything from novels to radio plays. Along with writer Meg Cabot (The Princess Diaries series), she co-founded Sheroes Central, a discussion board about female heroes, remarkable women in fact, fiction, and history, books, current events, and teen issues. She now sponsors Sheroes Central and Sheroes Fans, helping to run it with her beloved Spouse-Creature and an administrative team of adults and teens.Tamora Pierce lives in New York City with her husband, Tim, a writer, Web page designer, and Web administrator, and their five cats, two birds, and various rescued wildlife.For more information, visit: www.tamora-pierce.comSheroes Central at: www.sheroescentral.com
  • ← Prev
  • Back
  • Next →
  • ← Prev
  • Back
  • Next →

Chief Librarian: Las Zenow <zenow@riseup.net>
Fork the source code from gitlab.

This is a mirror of the Tor onion service:
http://kx5thpx2olielkihfyo4jgjqfb7zx7wxr3sd4xzt26ochei4m6f7tayd.onion