“Missing your honeymoon already?” Edeard asked.

Gealee didn’t start or feign surprise when he emerged from the shadows of a deep alcove on Spinwell Lane, a dark narrow passage barely a couple of yards wide in some places. She was using it as a quiet shortcut back to Steen Canal.

Instead, she took the moment to adjust her wide-brimmed hat. “Did you enjoy watching?” she retorted.

“Not really. Dinlay is one of my oldest friends.”

“And I’m his wife. I am quite devoted in that respect. He wants for nothing, I assure you.”

“Did Tathal tell you to make sure of that? Did you even have a choice?”

Her lips pushed together into a pout as she gave him a shrewd glance. “Clever,” she said with a reluctant sigh. “But then, I never did think you got to be Waterwalker by brute strength alone. How did you know?”

“Tathal knew I was going to put myself forward for Mayor. I trust the people Dinlay has spoken to about making up my team, just as I trust Dinlay and the master and mistress of Sampalok. That leaves you.”

“Well done. But it doesn’t really help you, does it?”

“I’m not sure. How do you think Dinlay will react when I tell him you used domination on him?”

Gealee laughed. “Oh, but we didn’t; that’s the beauty of it. I’m his type. You know that well enough; you’ve seen all his wives and the girlfriends between. All we needed to do was put me in the same room as him and wait. It was inevitable. Actually, he’s quite endearing-for someone his age. So dedicated to the rule of law, to you.”

“You leave Dinlay alone. Do you understand?”

“You want me to leave him? To break his heart? Once more?”

“I want you to wait a decent interval until he realizes he’s made another mistake.”

“Why don’t you just tell him? A true friend would.” She tilted her head to one side, regarding him thoughtfully. “You don’t know what to do about us, do you? Which means you know you can’t defeat us.”

“You’re the ones who think in those terms.”

“We’re the same as you. The only difference is that we’re family, not loners. Why don’t you join us? You know we’re the future. Why else are so many of us appearing? It is our time. You can’t argue against that. But you can play such a large part in birthing a new world, a new way of life. That’s what you were sent here to do; that’s why you’re the first: to lead the way.”

“We cannot split society between those who have and those who don’t. People the Lady has blessed with an exceptional talent have a duty to use it for the greater benefit. I’ve seen what happens when the ruling group begins to think only of itself. You weren’t even born, but that’s what Makkathran was like when I arrived. Your way of thinking isn’t the future; it’s the dead past. You have despoiled your gift; that is what I will end.”

Her smile became cold. “Join us.”

The command was so strong that Edeard’s eyes actually watered; it was like having a needle of ice penetrate his brain. “Ladyfuck.” He staggered backward struggling to shield his mind.

Gealee made no move, no attempt to follow up her demand. “You see, Waterwalker? That was just me, and I’m not even the strongest of us. Do you really think anyone can resist the entire nest?”

He shook the stupor from his head, staring at her with a mixture of anger and fright.

“Now that you’ve found out what I am, I can hardly spy on you anymore,” she said in a chillingly level tone. “I’m going to return to the nest now. You’re Dinlay’s friend: You tell him why he doesn’t have a wife anymore.” She adjusted her orange and black coat and walked off down the alley, her heels making loud clicks on the pavement.

Edeard watched her go, still shaken. His trembling palm wiped cold sweat from his brow. So much for using her to expose a weakness. But it did illustrate the lengths the nest would go to in order to find out what he was doing, what he was capable of. And he had one ability left of which they had no clue. The ultimate sanction. If I have to use it, I won’t be so brutal as before. I’ll go back and try to reason with Tathal, to persuade him to share his talent before he becomes a selfish power seeker. Somehow the notion didn’t leave him feeling as confident as it should have, mainly because there was only one person left to ask about the origin of the nest’s leader. He really didn’t want to do that, but there weren’t a whole lot of choices left.

With three days left until the Skylords arrived, the throng around the towers of Eyrie was so tightly packed that any movement within the district was becoming difficult. Some families resolutely refused to move on, setting up camp with enough food to see themselves through the duration. Constables struggled to keep pathways open. Mothers and their Novices suffered abuse for not allowing the eager aspirants up into the towers. The Mayor’s appeals for calm and tolerance went completely unheeded. After all, none of the visitors had voted for him or even against him. He wasn’t their authority figure.

Edeard sat under a canvas awning and wove a seclusion haze around himself as his gondolier sailed past the edge of the district. It was early evening, and the smell of food cooking on open fires trickled across the canal. Open fires were of course banned in Makkathran. He gritted his teeth and ignored the violations. Something was going to have to be done about the stopover visitors before the next Skylords arrived. But right now he had something a lot more important, not to mention personal.

The gondola traveled the length of Great Major Canal to Forest Pool. Edeard alighted at a mooring platform. He could just see the ships berthed at the docks, their sails furled amid a forest of rigging. Natran had confided to him that the number of passengers his ships were bringing in for guidance had risen sevenfold over the last eighteen months. Some fleet captains were talking about commissioning a whole new class of ship, one without any cargo holds, just to bring people in from the farthest coastal cities.

There were times when Edeard believed half of Querencia’s population was on the move to Makkathran so they might ascend from the towers. He watched the ships for a while before admitting to himself he was just finding excuses. He turned his back on the docks and walked into Myco.

The House of Blue Petals was open, but this early in the evening there were hardly any customers. As always, there were two burly men at the big front door. They gave him a very surprised look when he walked past them but said nothing. He sensed their urgent direct longtalk up to the office above.

His third hand pushed the door open. He wondered just how many times he’d come to this place over the years. How many confrontations had there been by now? Weariness and malice mingled to produce a rogue thought: I should just demolish this place, get the city to make a park. But the nest probably would reverse the action.

Ranalee was waiting, hair perfectly styled in narrow curves, long pale-gray dress of fine-knit wool. The soft fabric clung to her, revealing a belly heavy from the fifth month of pregnancy.

It was a sight that brought Edeard up short. All the words he’d rehearsed, ready to snap at her, withered away.

She caught his surprise and smiled complacently. “Dear Edeard, is something the matter?”

“I … didn’t know.” He waved a hand toward her, embarrassed, mainly at himself.

“And why should you? You have a city to run.” She poured some wine and held the glass out to him. “It’s a lovely Sousax; try it. I can’t have any myself, not in this delicate condition.”

“No thank you.”

“Afraid I’m trying to poison you?”

He sighed. “No.”

Her smile turned mocking, and she let out a theatrical moan as she sank down into a long settee. “Then why are you here? Kristabel not interested in you anymore? I have several truly lovely girls at the moment, and they’re all very discreet.”