Anjos rose as well. “Let’s hear him out, Miss Carvalho,” he said. “I believe Silva’s had a finger on this longer than any of the rest of us. I want to hear his side.”

Miss Carvalho sat again, her lips in a thin line.

“So gracious of you,” Silva said acerbically. He strode into the room, as much at ease as an actor on the stage. He turned his gaze on the Lady. “You’ve got the Special Police turning themselves inside out, girl. Where did you find that undead creature you’ve been using to terrify them into talking?”

Undead? Oriana kept her mouth shut. Could he mean this Miss Vladimirova?

“In a library,” the Lady answered coolly. “Where else?”

“I had little use for your father,” Silva said. “Always tinkering around with his magical toys and collecting books. A dilettante, but at least he wasn’t murderous. Your godfather, Maraval, is another matter. My prince would never approve of what Maraval has constructed, what he’s doing. I want to assure all of you that no matter Maraval’s intention, His Highness is not involved.”

That statement set off murmurs about the room that died out when Silva raised a hand for silence. “This morning,” he said dramatically, “I managed to find someone in the Open Hand who was willing to talk. She arranged for Miss Paredes to be abducted in hopes that her survival would trigger the failure of Maraval’s witchcraft.”

Ah, he’d talked to Maria Melo. Oriana didn’t bother to look in his direction. Did he know that Mrs. Melo was a sereia spy? Would it make any difference?

“And what did she tell you?” Anjos asked.

“That they planned to grab one of Carvalho’s daughters, since the young ladies walk to Mass every morning, and see if Carvalho would fall for the promise of a trade. But you already know that,” he added, “else you’d not be gathered here. Still, they don’t know that you know what they’re doing. They know you have part of the spell—a very small part—but not enough to tell you the truth about what they’re trying to accomplish.”

“Enlighten us.” Anjos drew out a handkerchief and coughed.

“They want to override reality,” Silva said, sweeping one arm out grandly. “And change history—”

“We already know about the spell,” Pinheiro interrupted. “Do you have something new to tell us?”

That was the first time the captain had spoken. Oriana wondered at the irritation in his tone. Mr. Ferreira laid a hand on her shoulder, warning her not to speak.

“That was hardly necessary, Captain Pinheiro,” Silva rebuked him gently. “My source says they intend to start putting one house in the water per night. They’re prepared to break into houses and steal victims from them if need be. They’ll place the copy of the Carvalho house in the water tonight, and take the Amaral one back out of the water so it can be, shall we say, repaired.”

Although he didn’t say how they were planning to repair that house, Silva’s eyes slid toward Oriana. She did her best not to react.

“So, how do I get my daughter back?” Carvalho demanded, arms crossed over his wide chest.

“We’ll have to time it carefully,” Anjos said, “but we might be able to rescue your daughter when they drop the house into the water.”

“Why not just surround the boat and arrest them all?” Carvalho asked impatiently.

Anjos sighed wearily and rubbed one temple. “Because while they have your daughter on their ship—or, frankly, within rifle range—she’s a hostage. If we try to arrest them, they will threaten to kill her outright. An impasse.”

Silva nodded sagely. “You’ll have to let the ship—it’s a medium-sized yacht with a crane affixed to the deck, by the way, painted dark blue—slip away first, I’m afraid.”

“You’ve seen it?” Inspector Tavares asked.

“I had a source on the inside,” Silva said with a wicked smile. “The selkie they hired to attach the chains to weights on the riverbed. Astounding how easy it is to buy a selkie’s loyalty. A few fish and a girl to bed and they’re most cooperative. Unfortunately he seems to have changed loyalty again, so I’ve had to find other sources.”

Oriana expected Mr. Ferreira was clenching his fists. Pinheiro rolled his eyes.

Anjos ignored the commentary, though, likely irritating Silva terribly. “Inspector Tavares, what grade of chain did you say they used?” Inspector Tavares supplied a number that meant nothing to Oriana. Anjos clearly understood it, though. “Good,” he said. “That’s not too large. We wait for them to drop the house in the water. As soon as the ship has pulled away far enough, we cut the chain. The main obstacle is getting a diver with bolt cutters into position without him being seen.”

“I can row close in a dory,” Mr. Ferreira volunteered.

“And I will cut the chain,” Oriana added, and was gratified when Mr. Ferreira refrained from protesting her involvement. She wasn’t going to let the threat of capture stop her from doing this.

“And how do you manage that without being seen?” Captain Pinheiro asked.

“Discreetly,” Mr. Ferreira said. “If they come before the moon rises, they won’t be able to see much. It’s far enough from the city that we won’t have any ambient light to contend with, and out of the way of river traffic. We just sit on the water, no lanterns, and wait for them to come to us. I might be able to find a selkie or two willing to give chase afterward.”

“Why bother?” Carvalho asked.

“If we stop them tonight,” Mr. Ferreira said patiently, “they’ll know it’s over. They’ll start preparing to flee. We have to find the workshop where they’re assembling the houses before they get a chance to destroy all the evidence.”

“Maraval won’t be there, even if the yacht is his,” Silva inserted. “He lets Captain Rios do most of his dirty work.”

Oriana wondered whether they were actually going to take Silva at his word—that Maraval was to blame and the prince knew nothing of what was being done in his name. Or were they going to put Silva under guard, as he’d suggested when he’d walked into the room? She wished she could see Mr. Ferreira’s face to judge his reaction. Then Anjos tilted his head to peer up at Silva.

Of course! Anjos was a Truthsayer. He could weigh Silva’s veracity.

Apparently Anjos believed him. “Leave Maraval to us,” Anjos said. “It’s well known that you have a long-running adversarial relationship with the man. Carvalho, do you have a room secure enough to keep Silva locked up?”

Carvalho made some growling noises that Oriana took for assent.

“Promise that you won’t even try to escape,” Pinheiro said, arms crossed over his chest.

“My dear boy,” Silva said smoothly, “how can you think . . . ?”

“Promise,” Pinheiro insisted.

“I give my solemn word,” Silva said with a half bow in the captain’s direction.

As the afternoon crept on, the police officers began to break down the new undertaking into tasks, finding boats, finding appropriate tools. Oriana listened, trying to remember where each person would be. Evidently the Lady couldn’t join them, as being on water made her ill, but Gaspar would be in the patrol boat. They might be able to keep other patrol boats at bay. Carvalho insisted on being on the water as well, which Oriana didn’t think would be helpful. Carvalho bellowed at them all until they agreed.

“I’ll keep the rowboat behind the patrol boat until the yacht closes in,” Mr. Ferreira said, “then row close enough to dive in.”

Oriana lifted her eyes to meet his. Was he going to try to cut her out of the action? “For me to dive in.”

“You don’t need to do that, Miss Paredes,” Inspector Tavares inserted quickly.

“I do,” she insisted. It would be full circle for her, back into the death-laden waters near The City Under the Sea.

“I was counting on your company,” Mr. Ferreira told her.

Thank the gods she didn’t have to argue about this. She was the best choice for working under the water, but there was more to it than that. She hadn’t been able to save Isabel. She was going to do whatever was needed now to save the Carvalho girl. It was her chance for redemption.