all
of us owe a debt of gratitude to this woman. We wouldn’t be here without her.’
‘And we’re profoundly grateful to her for that,’ Karr stated. Serrah showed no recognition of the compliment. ‘But the circumstances in which you all met could have created problems,’ he went on. ‘From what our intelligence tells us we think no suspicions have been aroused about you, Kinsel. After all, you’ve been out of circulation for only a short while. But that doesn’t mean you haven’t been compromised.’
‘Your advice?’
‘It has to be your decision, but I think this may be the time to consider giving up your public persona and letting the underground protect you. You’ve had a good run, let’s not tempt the fates.’
Rukanis sighed heavily. ‘I’ve thought about it, to be honest. The thing is, my day-to-day work. I have responsibilities there, too. People depend on me. I can’t just disappear and leave them in the lurch.’
Karr smiled mischievously. ‘It couldn’t be that you’re loath to give up the glamorous life you lead?’
‘It’s nowhere near as glamorous as it might seem. And important as singing is to me, my work with the Resistance is more so. Anyway, who said anything about giving up singing? I fully intend performing under our new order.’
‘So you’ll think about joining us full time until then?’ Karr persisted.
‘I don’t want to address any of this until after the reception tonight.’
‘Might be best to forget that, Kinsel. Too risky.’
‘More risky than not turning up and snubbing some powerful people? And what about the information you wanted me to be alert for? Isn’t that still important?’
‘We can find other sources. Think of your own safety.’
‘Listen to him, Kinsel,’ Tanalvah cut in. ‘You don’t seem to realise how dangerous this all is.’
The children’s wide-eyed gaze went from her to Rukanis.
‘I’ll be all right, Tan,’ he assured her gently, ‘I can look out for myself. You mustn’t worry.’
‘We’re not going to change your mind on this, are we?’ Karr realised. ‘You always were your own man, Kinsel. Go ahead and attend the damned reception then. I’ll have some of our people reconnoitre the place beforehand, and they’ll stay nearby in case of trouble.’
‘What’s so special about this reception?’ Caldason asked.
‘All gatherings of top state officials interest us for the unguarded comments that tend to be dropped. This one’s particularly important because the commanders of the fleets are going to be there.’
‘Why do they interest you?’
‘We’ve heard rumours about an expedition that’s about to be mounted. It’s supposedly a trade mission, though there seems to be a lot of military involvement. We suspect the Bhealfan flag’s being used to cover some empire adventure. The whisper is that the flotilla’s heading north, so we think it might have something to do with Zerreiss, the warlord.’
‘The man who fell from the sun,’ Tanalvah said.
Karr frowned. ‘What?’
‘I heard him called that, in the ship on the way here. They say his own people gave him that title. I don’t know why.’
‘I knew he had some fancy names, but I’ve never come across that one before.’
‘I’ve heard something similar,’ Serrah added. ‘That came from seamen, too, and they’re usually a good source of information. When they’re sober. And back in Gath Tampoor my unit had a briefing on him.’
‘I’d be keen to hear about that.’
‘Don’t get too excited; it was pretty basic stuff. No more in it than you probably already know.’
‘I think I see where this is going, Karr,’ Caldason said. ‘You’re hoping to make this warlord your ally. An asset to the Resistance, like Founder magic.’
‘It’s crossed our minds. My enemy’s enemy and all that. But equally, we’d be concerned that Zerreiss might make an alliance with Gath Tampoor. An accommodation could suit both sides, and we’d have another force ranged against us.’
‘What’s to stop them doing the same with this Clepsydra thing and what you call the Source? They must have heard of them. Why haven’t they located them and turned Founder magic against the Resistance? Not to mention against Rintarah. Come to that, why hasn’t Rintarah tried finding them?’
‘We have no answer to those questions.’
‘An obvious one would be that these artifacts don’t exist and the empires know it.’
‘Or that they believe they’re just legends and haven’t bothered looking. Or they have searched and they’re just too hard to find. We still think there’s everything to play for, Reeth.’
‘Then the sooner you get me out there the better.’
‘We’ll be working on it, believe me. But you’re forgetting something. We’re putting ourselves out for you, so you could at least meet us halfway. Why not do the same as Serrah here, and Tanalvah, and join the Resistance formally? I know you wanted to think on it, but really, what’s there to think about?’
Caldason looked from one face to another, lingering just a little longer on the impassive Serrah.
‘All right,’ he said.
Taken aback by Reeth’s sudden change of mind, Kutch exclaimed, ‘Don’t forget me!’
‘Excellent,’ Karr enthused. ‘You can both have your own impromptu swearing-in ceremony, right here.’
‘Just make good use of me,’ Caldason told him. ‘I’m growing bored with inaction.’
‘Don’t worry about that. You’re going to be earning your keep from now on, believe me.’
Caldason was only half listening. His attention was on the inscrutable expression Serrah wore.
21
A lot happened in the course of the next few days.
The social gathering Kinsel Rukanis attended passed without incident. But it was disappointing in intelligence terms. He learnt almost nothing about the supposed trading mission to the north, except that it was due to depart in a matter of weeks.
Nobody was greatly surprised when Kinsel and Tanalvah Lahn set up home together, living with Teg and Lirrin as a family.
Kutch began his training as a spotter, supervised by Phoenix himself. It proved harder than he expected, leaving him exhausted after most sessions and sometimes uncharacteristically fractious.
There was a riot in one of Valdarr’s poorest quarters, sparked by a dispute over the provision of clean drinking water. The authorities’ heavy-handed response left eleven dead and an uncounted number of injured. Somebody burnt down a militia staging-post later the same day, bringing more reprisals.
A small group of insurgents, using a customised bootleg enchantment, managed to conjure an enormous flying pig. Hovering above the city, it spewed a multicoloured alphabet that arranged itself into a coarse limerick featuring a local official. Sorcerers had to be brought in to neutralise the pig with anti-glamour bolts. But not before the anatomically impossible feat described in the limerick had amused a wide swathe of the population.
An obscure member of the Bhealfan royal family was attacked in the street by a man with a grievance. The man was downed by bodyguards wielding glamoured shock sticks.
A district organiser with the Resistance disappeared, presumed captured or dead, and there was talk of betrayal. A mid-ranking military chief was assassinated on his own doorstep by an archer hiding on a rooftop opposite. A magical brawl between groups of licensed and unlicensed sorcerers started a fire that gutted half a dozen riverside houses and an inn.
And Reeth Caldason and Serrah Ardacris prepared to commit a robbery.
The United Revolutionary Council had ordered the formation of a special operations unit, similar to the one Serrah had commanded in Merakasa. But Serrah wasn’t made its leader. That role was pressed on a reluctant Caldason, for reasons best known to the council. If Serrah resented demotion to second-in-command, she didn’t show it. Perhaps because she allowed herself to reveal little in the way of emotions. Or because, in practice, she and Caldason led the group jointly.