Mari finally smiled slightly. “I don’t know if I believe you, but… It’s nice to think I may have at least made good mistakes.” Her smile vanished. “But Alain, everyone will be counting on me in Edinton. What if my mistakes there are all bad ones?”
“Then you will do something to fix them,” Alain said. “That is what you do, is it not? Fix things?”
That earned him another brief smile. “Why do they trust me, Alain? I’m not somebody like General Flyn. I’m just me. Yet they’re letting me make the big decisions about Edinton, including attacking the Guild Hall.”
“Master Mechanic Lukas did not simply accept you as a leader,” Alain said. “Not until you had passed the tests he asked of you. And if anything goes wrong in Edinton, they know you have proven the ability to make decisions quickly under great stress.”
“You mean like in Altis, where my great decisions trapped us in a warehouse?” Mari said.
Alain shook his head at her. “Your decisions were not wrong. They should have worked. You did not know we were being perceived by that Mechanic device that betrayed our location. I will remind you that you kept making decisions despite the situation getting more and more desperate. You did not freeze in terror or indecision.”
“I came awful close, Alain,” Mari admitted.
“But you did not. You kept thinking and you kept acting.” Alain reached to rest one hand on hers where it lay in her lap. “You have two more important qualifications. One is that those who follow you believe in you. That confidence is no small thing in battle. Call it pure illusion if you will. You know almost as well as I the power that such an illusion can wield.”
Mari grimaced but nodded. “What’s the second thing?”
“You listen to those who know more and are willing to accept their advice, just as you have listened to me and are willing to accept that perhaps you are not so awful a leader as you fear. Perhaps you are even very good at it.”
This time her smile lingered. “What did I do to deserve you?”
“You did not kill me when first we met.”
“I’m never going to live that down, am I?” Mari closed her eyes and sighed. “I should try to get a little sleep. Would you mind lying down with me? When you’re holding me, it’s easier to keep the nightmares at bay.”
“I could be convinced to lie down with you and hold you,” Alain said.
“I’ll bet you could!” She smiled at him. “Thank you. Sometimes I think too much.”
“You will never be someone who thinks too little,” Alain said.
“That’s true. Every time I think you’re totally deluded about me and just seeing some perfect illusion of me, you say something that helps me realize you do know me.” She nodded to him. “Whatever happens in Edinton, I’ll do my best.”
The Gray Lady and the Pride of Longfalls, both flying the flag of the Mechanics Guild, entered the harbor of Edinton just before midnight. A harbor police boat rowed up to the Pride, but before those aboard could issue any instructions Captain Banda called down to them in the arrogant and assured tones of a Mechanic. “Guild business!”
That was all it took to get past the harbor defenses, which had been strongly admonished not to interfere in any way with Mechanics Guild shipping.
Leaving behind the unhappy occupants of the harbor police boat, the Pride led the way through the harbor, past a variety of large sailing ships which carried out trade all over the Sea of Jules and into the Sea of Bakre as well as many smaller ships whose size, oars, and sails were suited for short voyages up and down the coast. Reaching an anchorage as close to the main quay as possible, the Pride tied up to the buoy and passed a line over to the Gray Lady so the smaller ship could tether to the larger one.
The boat from the Gray Lady and two much larger longboats from the Pride of Longfalls came alongside the boat landing a short time later. Crewmembers tied up the boats as thirty-one Mechanics disembarked displaying widely varying degrees of physical skill and agility. Alli arranged the armed Mechanics in front of the group, which produced an intimidating image. “We have as many rifles as two or three Imperial legions,” she commented to Mari.
A few city guards at the landing, previously bored as they endured the tedium of duty during a period of the day when little ever happened, were gaping at the Mechanics. Their officer came forward, looking as nervous as could be expected. “Honored Mechanics, may I request—”
Mari held up her hand to forestall questions she wasn’t going to answer. “This is an internal Mechanics Guild matter,” she said. “Neither the city of Edinton nor the Bakre Confederation is involved. Stay clear of us, do not interfere, and do not sound any alarms. No harm will come to your city.”
“But—” The officer’s eyes came to rest on the six Mages accompanying the Mechanics as the Mages walked into the light of the guard post lantern, and her jaw dropped. “I must… I must inform my superiors, Lady Mechanic.”
“Of course you must,” Mari agreed. “Feel free to notify your superiors. Just don’t sound any alarms and don’t get in our way.”
The officer’s gaze had shifted and was now locked on Mari. “Lady? Are you…?”
“Don’t do anything,” Mari said, giving the words all of the force that she could. “Tell the city leaders, tell your commanders, that they should not do anything. I will speak with them before I leave this city.”
“Lady, I must know. Have you come from Julesport?”
“Yes.”
The officer saluted, then hastily moved to one side. Mari waved her force onward and they walked past the common soldiers, who gazed at the procession with rapt expressions.
“A couple of those soldiers ran off once we were past,” Calu told Mari. “Taking the news to their bosses, I’m sure. A lot of commons in this city will be getting early wakeups this morning.”
“Just as long as none of the Mechanics hear about it,” Mari replied.
It was a long slog from the waterfront to the vast open plaza that surrounded the Mechanics Guild Hall of Edinton. Mari’s force labored along nearly deserted streets, the Mechanics soon feeling the exertion required to maintain the speed necessary to reach the Guild Hall in the hour before dawn. Edinton was pretty far south on the continent, and even at this hour the Mechanics grew uncomfortably warm in their jackets. But none of them would remove those signs of their status and their knowledge.
The Mages, wearing their robes, walked as if they could hold the same pace for days without pausing. As far as Mari could tell, none of the Mages had even broken a sweat. She wondered why she gained an impression of smugness even though they were revealing no feelings at all.
The few commons they encountered hastily sought shelter in the nearest open building or side street. Whatever an armed group of Mechanics was doing at this predawn hour was not anything any smart common would want to get involved in. And if the commons spotted the Mages among the Mechanic jackets, that only offered further grounds for avoiding the group.
“We are being paced,” Alain said to Mari. “Cavalry and some soldiers on foot.”
Mari glanced over as they passed a side street, seeing a couple of mounted soldiers a block down riding parallel to the progress of the Mechanics. “What do you think they’re doing?”
“Watching,” Alain said. “There are far too few to threaten us. The city leaders of Edinton are taking the wise course of waiting to see what we do.”
“Good.” She cast an annoyed look at him. “Why are you keeping your eyes on the street so much? You’re looking down as though you expect to see something.”