Alchymist

While we wait to hear from our spies, I'll keep working on the construct mechanism. Nish will assist me and Flangers will be our labourer. Irisis and Inouye will work with me on a flight controller. You, Flydd, will refine your plan to take Nennifer and consider what you will do afterwards. If Malien or Tiaan is abroad in a flying construct, half the world will know of it.'

'What about the Numinator, surr?' Irisis said quietly to Flydd as they went back to the fire. 'Since he controls the Council, he won't appreciate you overthrowing it.'

'A masterly understatement,' said Flydd. 'Know your enemy, and I don't, so there's no way to prepare for him. But he dwells a long way south, so it'll be a while before he realises what has happened. I'll have that time to deal with him.'

'Or be dealt with,' Irisis added gloomily.

'Quite.'

A month went by. Though they made no secret of their dislike for each other, Flydd and Yggur had managed to achieve a working truce. At the end of that period they met to report progress.

'I haven't come up with much, I'm afraid.' Yggur touched the little beetle-shaped device that he had demonstrated before. With a faint hum it rose into the air. He moved his hands before him, sending the device whizzing down the room. It curved around in a series of spirals then floated back just below the ceiling. Another wave of his hands and it settled to the table without a sound. Yggur went pale and abruptly sat down.

'It flies,' he said hoarsely, 'but only for a few moments, and takes a great deal out of the user. What have you to report, Irisis?'

Irisis demonstrated her progress on a flight controller, but the could do no more without testing it in a full-sized flying machine.

And you, Flydd?'

'The plan to attack Nennifer is coming along. I'll go through it with you in private later.'

'Did you manage to contact Muss, surr?' said Irisis.

'He's disappeared,' said Flydd with knotted jaw. 'Flangers could find no trace of him and he didn't reply to messages left at any of his rendezvous.'

'He's left you,' said Yggur. 'Muss has struck out on his own.'

By the scrutator's expression he thought so too, though he did not appreciate Yggur's pointing it out.

'Has either of you had news of the war?' Irisis asked.

'It's not much worse than before,' said Yggur. 'And with the coming of winter we can expect the situation to ease. The lyrinx breed at that time, avoiding conflict if they can.'

'They attacked our manufactory in winter, over and again,' said Irisis.

'Just small bands, I'll warrant, made up of lyrinx who had not yet mated.'

'Then let's pray for a long winter' said Nish, 'and a vigorous mating season.'

'Judging by the early snowfalls,' said Yggur, 'it's going to be a hard winter. There'll be famine in Lauralin before spring.'

'Is it better to starve to death in the cold or be eaten by the enemy?' said Flydd. 'I think I'd probably choose the latter. If that's all, I'll go back to my work.'

'Ah!' Yggur held up a long finger. 'One more thing. A skeet came in the other day, bearing a message that's come in relays all the way from the east.' He looked pleased about it.

'Well?' Flydd snapped, not liking his own tricks being used on him.

A flying construct was sighted over Stassor last week.'

'What!'

'It's true. It was seen on more than one occasion.'

'So Tiaan has gone to the Aachim.'

it would appear so …'

Yggur looked as if he was holding something back, and Nash thought he knew what it was. 'I happened to be up on the wall at dawn this morning,' Nish said; 'I couldn't sleep. I saw another skeet come in.'

It brought even better news. Just two days ago a second flying construct was seen above Stassor. It was a new design, quite different from Vithis's constructs.'

'So the secret is out!' breathed Flydd. 'If they can make two, they can make a thousand. And so, hopefully, can we.'

'What were they doing?' asked Nish.

'Good question,' said Yggur. 'The original one was flying a regular pattern over the mountains surrounding Stassor.'

'Really?' frowned Flydd.

'It flew slowly along a line, east-west, further than my informant could see, turned south for a league and flew back along a line parallel to the first. It did that all night. My spy was not able to find out what the flying construct was doing, though he did learn the identity of one of the people inside, as it turned for home in the morning. It was Tiaan.'

'She's surveying the nodes,' Irisis burst out. 'Even when she was a child, Tiaan used to map fields.'

'Interesting,' said Yggur, and there was a strange gleam in his eye. 'I'm getting an idea.'

They scarcely saw Yggur after that. He spent day and night in his workroom, labouring frantically on a project that he would not talk about, and rebuffed everyone who came to the door.

Irisis was insatiably curious. One day, being at an impasse in her work, she decided to find out what he was up to. She cooked another of her glorious meals, loaded up a tray and knocked at the door.

'Go away!' he roared, sounding more frosty than usual.

Irisis faltered, but she had not got this far without being strong of will and thick of hide, so she turned the handle and went in.

'Get out!' he said without looking up.

'I brought you something to eat,' she said softly. 'It'll be a change from the gruel your cook provides, the same thing day after day.'

I like the same thing day after day.' He glanced at the tray, at her, back at the tray. He moistened his lips. 'Oh, very well, bring it here.'

She pushed the door shut with her foot and put the tray on the table, careful not to disturb his work. 'I've made—' she began.

'I can see! What do you want, Irisis?'

'I don't want anything …'

'I'm not stupid.'

'All right,' she said quietly. 'Let me be honest with you.'

'Why do those words always make me think I'm about to be conned?'

'I want to know what you're working on.'

And I don't want to tell you.'

'Don't you trust me?'

'I don't trust anyone except the one person who has never let me down. Myself.'

'I've never let you down.'

'Ah, but you will. Everyone does, in the end.'

She laughed. 'You're a sad man, Yggur.'

And you're making me sadder.'

'I'm doing you good. Anyway, I know what you're up to.'

Yggur selected a freshly baked roll, bit into it and leaned back in his chair, chewing reflectively. His black boots rested on the edge of the table. 'Go on.' He smiled, as if knowing she was going to make a fool of herself.

Perhaps she was. 'Until our last council of war, your door was always open and everyone could see what you were working on — either your little flying beetle, or the construct mechanism. You haven't touched them in weeks.'

'How do you know?'

She ran a fingertip over the iridescent surface of the beetle. 'Dust! The only devices free of it are the sphere of Golias the Mad, and this controller apparatus we took from the construct. And judging by the way you've rebuilt the controller, I can tell what you're doing.'

'Really?' he said mockingly.

'You're trying to combine the two so you can seize control of a flying construct, should one ever come this way.' It was just a hunch, but a good one.

The chair fell forwards and his eyes met hers. 'Go to the door, check that there's no one outside, and lock it.'

She did so.

'Sit down,' he said fiercely. 'Who else knows?'

'No one.' Irisis took the chair at the end of the table, not entirely comfortable. She knew his reputation of long ago. Yggur was a hard man, not averse to riding over others to get what he wanted. If she was a threat to him, he might even decide to be rid of her. She didn't think so — Irisis was a good judge of character — but you could never tell with mancers. 'I worked it out just then. It was a flash of insight, really.'