‘That does you credit, sir.’

‘You know, commanders of old had aides whose job it was to whisper in their ears that their victories and triumphs, like life itself, were all transient. If not actually illusions.’ He smiled again. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t require that of you two. I have no need of such. That voice has always been here, in my head.’ He lifted a hand to his temple. ‘I stray from the point. But I think you see what I was getting at with the story of the Sythea. The people of the city below are troglodytes, through no fault of their own, and see no need to come out of their comfortable caves. Our mission is to bring them into the light. The true light.’ He let that soak in, then said, ‘Why do you follow me?’

Had the question been asked by a true tyrant, his minions would have been quaking for fear of giving a wrong answer. But this was Zerreiss.

‘Because you are a great conqueror, sir,’ Wellem said.

‘Exactly what I’d expect from an old soldier.’ He looked to his other, younger aide. ‘Sephor?’

‘Because you are just, sir, and seek to make your peoples’ lives better.’

‘I want to bring them into the light, yes. But I say you follow not me, but what I have, what I

am

. Not the man but

the tinder he carries inside, let’s say.’ He seemed pleased with the analogy. ‘We are firm in our resolve? As one in the legitimacy of our crusade?’

‘Yes, sir!’ they chorused.

‘Then I’m blessed.’ He turned a benign grin on them. ‘To more mundane matters. What do we know of the two ships the empires sent our way?’

‘They’re making a race of it, sir,’ Sephor reported. ‘It’s difficult to say which will enter your waters first.’

‘When they do, we must be ready for them.’

‘Do we meet them as friend or foe?’

‘I’ve yet to decide on what response would be appropriate.’

‘With respect, sir,’ Wellem said, ‘would it do to antagonise Gath Tampoor or Rintarah?’

‘I think the question is better put the other way about: would they be wise to antagonise me?’

‘Perhaps they simply need assurances of the limit your influence will extend to, sir,’ Sephor suggested.

‘We push further south.’

‘Yes, sir. But where do we stop?’

‘Stop? We’ve hardly begun.’

The arrival of a messenger put paid to the discussion. He was blue with cold and caked with snow. Shivering, he stamped his boots while delivering a salute. ‘We have tidings, sir.’

‘You look perished, lieutenant,’ Zerreiss told him. ‘A warming drink for this man!’ He moved closer and asked, ‘What’s their decision? Yes or no?’

‘They refuse to surrender, sir.’

Zerreiss sighed. ‘Then it comes to my intervention again.’ He walked to the open tent flap and looked down at the city and the great fortress it suckled. Its shimmering lights and the driving snow made it all seem unreal somehow. His aides joined him. ‘Let’s be done with this,’ he decided. ‘Make

ready the troops. We move to the endgame.’ He lifted his hands.

What happened next had those around him thinking that perhaps he was a god after all.

As yet, whatever the warlord did had little effect in the temperate south. Besides, they had pressing problems nearer to home.

In a run-down, near lawless quarter of Valdarr, not far from the docks, a secret hide-out had been hastily established. It was in a deconsecrated temple that had seen its congregation go down along with the area. A new, empire-built place of worship in an adjoining, more salubrious neighbourhood had taken the rest. Now it was boarded-up and dusty, and ideally situated for Resistance purposes.

In one corner, Phoenix and Caldason stood before a wall-mounted, luminous map. For once, the sorcerer wasn’t trying out a magical disguise.

‘See it?’ he said, pointing to one of numerous specks off Bhealfa’s northern coast.

‘Just about. And you’re sure that’s the place?’

‘There’s nothing totally certain about it,’ Phoenix admitted. ‘But Covenant’s been studying the mystery of the Clepsydra for years, and all the probabilities indicate this islet.’ He tapped the map with his finger.

‘Probabilities,’ Caldason repeated.

‘It’s the best we can offer, short of going there.’

‘Which I hope you’re not thinking of doing, Reeth,’ Karr said. He’d approached without them noticing. ‘At least, not unless you’re part of a Resistance mission.’

‘We have an agreement, don’t we?’

‘We do. But I know how frustrating it must be for you having to wait.’

‘I asked Phoenix to show me where the thing might be

because I’m curious. But there’s a limit to my patience, Karr. Do you have any idea when I’ll get to go?’

‘No, frankly. What with the move, and now what’s happened to Kinsel. And there’s still the question of getting the gold to Darrok.’

‘I thought that might be on your mind.’

‘Well, at least you don’t go into a sulk whenever it’s mentioned. I suppose that’s some kind of progress.’

‘I’m thinking about it.’

Karr brightened. ‘I’m glad to hear that.’

‘But don’t take anything for granted. Like I said, I can only be patient for so long.’

‘Shouldn’t we be getting on with the business at hand?’ Phoenix reminded them.

‘Yes, of course,’ Karr agreed.

They moved off to the main part of the hall, where there were more people, some on benches, a few making do with the floor. Caldason shoved in next to Serrah. Kutch was there, too, along with Quinn Disgleirio. Phoenix joined Karr’s indefatigable administrative officer, Goyter, carrying her inevitable wad of documents, at the side of the room.

The remaining twenty or so people were all known to Caldason to a lesser or greater degree. They consisted of high-ranking members of Covenant, the Righteous Blade and several other groups affiliated to the movement. No more than half of them sat on the United Revolutionary Council, as care was taken never to have every important operative present in the same place at the same time.

Karr went to the front of the group, and addressed them without preamble.

‘We’re all far too busy to spend too much time here, quite apart from the security considerations, so I intend keeping this as brief as possible. I don’t have to tell you that we’ve taken on a massive task. The coming move has to be one of

the biggest endeavours in recent history, and so far things are going more or less to plan. Which is remarkable considering the pitfalls we’ve encountered, not least the fact that the authorities are bearing down ever harder on the civil population.’

‘He doesn’t look any healthier, does he?’ Serrah whispered.

‘A little worse, if anything,’ Caldason replied.

‘The purpose of this meeting is two-fold,’ the patrician continued. ‘First, it’s for you to report on the progress of your particular areas of responsibility. That way, we can all get an idea of the larger picture. Second, it’s an opportunity for you to meet your counterparts, exchange ideas and maybe help each other out with any problems you’re encountering. We’ll keep it simple. There’s no need for names, just remind us of your position or function and tell us how you’re doing. Got that? Good. Who’s first?’ About half those present raised a hand. ‘Yes, you.’ He pointed at a heavily built, full-bearded man in the front row.

‘Shipping,’ the man declared bluntly as he got to his feet. ‘Our fleet’s up to about two-thirds of what we’ll need, though it’s as ragtag a navy as you’ll ever set eyes on.’ There was some laughter at that. ‘We could use more ships, naturally, any class; and we’re especially short on experienced seamen to handle them.’ He sat down.

‘We’re doing what we can about that,’ Karr assured him. ‘We’ve increased the parties we have out buying and stealing vessels, and we’re looking into the possibility of building our own. They only have to be capable of the one crossing, so that shouldn’t prove too difficult. Now…’ He looked around. ‘You.’