'Then we do it tomorrow at first light, Dinlay said. 'They're not organized yet. There were only ten of them there, Buate's orders won't have got any further tonight. We grab him first, then get the other district stations to pull in the rest of the list.

'We're not ready either, Edeard said. Rushing into the arrests was the first thing he'd thought of. 'It'll take us at least a couple of days to organize things with the station captains.

'I think it's safe to assume Buate's riot and destruction scheme won't have the support of the Grand Families, Boyd said. 'Maybe their agents would like to help us?

'Not a chance, Macsen said in a disgusted tone. 'To them, we remain the problem; without us Buate wouldn't be planning this. We are the source.

Edeard took a deep drink of his beer. 'They know what we're planning, and we know what they're planning. But they don't know we know.

Dinlay growled in dismay, clasping his hands to his head. 'Don't start that again.

'It's our only advantage, Edeard said. 'We have to think how to use it.

'How? Kanseen asked.

'I don't know, Edeard said miserably.

'Buate doesn't have a plan, Macsen said. 'Not really. This is instinct kicking in. And it's a good instinct, I'll admit that. If we don't make the arrests, he'll still try to wreck the city and kill the constables when the Council passes the banishment edict. He's got nothing left. Mass confrontation is his last shot to stay in the city. It's the only way he can make the Upper Council back off.

'How do we turn a riot to our advantage? Boyd asked. 'I don't see it, I really don't.

Edeard wished he knew how to answer, to show his friends some leadership. He'd settle for a single strategy. Instead all he-could do was stare into his beer and pray to the Lady for some kind of inspiration. And she was going to have to be quick about it.

The room was a simple cube measuring ten yards to a side, with a single light circle on the ceiling. One corner had a high bed, with the same stiff spongy mattress found on every Makkathran bed. A second corner had a small washing pool, where water circulated constantly. The third had a simple pedestal that served as a toilet. The fourth was empty. There was no door. Slits near the ceiling let fresh air flow through.

Farsight couldn't penetrate through the walls or floor or ceiling, they were all too thick. No sound carried in. The light circle did not respond to any command to dim or brighten, it remained constant.

The room's single occupant had spent the first day walking about, examining every square inch with his farsight, sliding his fingertips over the walls, looking for cracks, some hint of the way in — and out. He found nothing. Nor could he longshout for help, the thickness of the walls prevented that.

When he woke up to find himself in his not-too-unpleasant cell there were three plates on the floor in the centre of the room. They had bread and butter and two types of cheese, some slices of cold beef, fruit, and a rather nice apricot tart. He munched his way through the food during the day. On occasion he did a series of press ups, then sit ups. Several times he tried shouting to his captors. Pleas or insults it made no difference, there was no reply.

Eventually, the light circle dimmed down to the faintest orange glow. He waited for a while, then gave in and lay on the bed. It took a long time for him to go to sleep.

Eight hours later, the light strengthened. It revealed three new plates of food on the floor. Of the old ones there was no sign.

So began his second uneventful day.

At midday, Edeard slid up through the floor. The man was sitting on the bed at the time, eating some sweet green grapes. He stared in fascination at the way the floor around Edeard seemed to remain solid, his farsight examining it keenly.

'Now that really is impressive, Waterwalker, he said with a rueful grin, and popped another grape in his mouth.

'Thank you, Edeard said. 'And you are?

'Who I am doesn't matter.

'It might to your wife, or children.

'Not married. Thankfully. Too quick on my feet. But congratulations on your engagement. Quite a catch, young Kristabel.

'Why were you following us?

The man glanced at his chest, fingering the scorch mark on his indigo shirt. 'Just going about my business, officer. I wasn't following anyone. Someone assaulted me and I woke up in here.

'Yes. That was me. Sorry about the shirt. It's a nice one. Where would I get one like that?

'A coastal town called Chelston. It's north of here. Several days' sailing in a strong wind.

'You do understand that I won't let you out of here until I get some answers?

'What happens when you don't get them? Do you try and beat them out of me?

'No, of course not. You just stay here until you answer to my satisfaction. Apparently isolation is quite an effective method of encouraging cooperation. Edeard glanced round the underground chamber which the city had converted for him. 'I'm not sure isolation is supposed to be quite as comfortable as this, but I'm a bit vague on the method. Sorry about that.

'Asking tough questions in Makkathran is usually a little different, the man admitted too casually. 'It normally involves blades and fire and heartsqueeze and lungsqueeze. Only the Waterwalker could come up with an interrogation as strange as this one.

'But you know it's going to work. You're already getting disturbed by the confinement, I can tell. So why don't you skip the whole unpleasant part and tell me what I need to know, then I can let you out of here.

'Where exactly is here, Waterwalker?

'The constable station in Jeavons.

'You're a poor liar.

'I know. Everyone tells me I can't shield my thoughts the way you cityborn can. I leave too much emotion visible.

The man popped down another grape and grinned. 'You're getting better.

'Really? Have we met before?

'Everyone knows you, Waterwalker.

'But not everyone is frightened of me.

'I'm not frightened.

'Your family is, otherwise you wouldn't be following me round.

'I told you, I have no family. Wrong place, wrong time, that's me.

'Why do they fear me?

'I know nothing of such things.

'But if you had to guess?

'That voyage I took up to Chelston, it's a standard run for the captain. He knows the route, knows what to look out for. He's sailed it all his life, as did his father before him, and his father before that, and so on back to the day the ship fell from the sky. It's a route that keeps him and his family clothed and fed and comfortable; it is their life. It's a route that works. How do you think he would feel if one day a reef suddenly appeared in the water ahead of him and threatened to rip the keel off his ship?

'A smart captain would know how to steer round it.

'His ship is very large, and extremely heavily laden. It doesn't turn easily.

'I don't suppose it does, not with people like you holding it on course. But you never know, those waters on the other side of the reef, they might be easy to sail in.

The man shook his head and sighed. 'How can anyone so naive get so far in this city? It is a mystery I doubt even the Lady can fathom.

'Some say the Lady has chosen me to repeat her message to this world.

'How wonderful, are you really going to claim that you are Rah reincarnated?

'No. Because we both know I'm not.

'Ah well, at least you're not declaring you have a divine right to wreck a society that's worked for two thousand years. That's some comfort to me, I suppose.

'I'm marrying Kristabel, who is a greater part of this city than a dozen minor families like yours. Do you really think I will destroy everything her family has built? It is to be my family.