'De la Rougierre,' said Kleindeinst, his knife out. The copper rolled the name around in his mouth.

'It's just,' Johann began, trying to pin down a doubt, 'it's just that he seems to be such a clown, you know. The absurd little creature pretending to be a man. He's like a stage Bretonnian, all perfume and silly gestures, with that exaggerated accent, those ridiculous moustaches, the endless chatter'

'He's still a dwarf,' said Kleindeinst. 'They can be vicious bastards. I should know, I've had to kill enough of them.'

'There is more than one dwarf in Altdorf.'

'That's true enough. But only one has been cropping up throughout this investigation.'

'He's an ambassador. This will be a big scandal. Relations between the Empire and Bretonnia are always questionable. King Charles won't like us executing his envoy.'

'Then we'll let him do it. A Bretonnian headsman's axe is just as sharp as an Empire blade. Just so long as the toad is squashed.'

Rosanna cried out, a wordless gulp of noise. Johann and the captain looked at her. She had her hands knit as if in prayer. 'I'm an idiot,' she said, slowly, 'and you are too'

Hasselstein pushed his way in without knocking and his heart shrank into stone. Yelle was not alone and the prospect of her companion replacing him in her bed made the Lector want to vomit bile.

'What are you doing here?' he said.

The dwarf turned away from Yelle, his hand going to the hilt of his ridiculously short sword.

'Both of you,' the countess said, 'get out. You are here uninvited.'

'I merely wished to apologise for last night, countess elector,' said de la Rougierre, dripping Bretonnian smarm.

Hasselstein laughed bitterly.

'I'm sure that was the extent of your motive, ambassador.'

Yelle had her face off and was snarling like a cat.

'I said 'get out', if anyone's interested'

'Lector,' said the dwarf, 'you are a cleric, but your deity is a warlike one. I am not honour-bound not to fight you. Remember that.'

Leos appeared at the door, his ready hand on his swordhilt. He looked at Hasselstein and de la Rougierre, unsure which to kill first. Yelle screeched and flung an enamelled brush at them. 'Mikael, ambassador out!'

'It's not from a cloak'

She should have known straight away. Before the Temple came for her, she had been apprenticed to her mother, the seamstress. She had hated every minute of it, preparing ridiculously decorated outfits for the local lord and lady. Her fingers were still grooved and scarred from the rough needles.

'it's from a dress.'

'What?'

'The stitching is completely different. The hem is higher. Even the thickness of the velvet is wrong.'

'A dress?'

'Yes, a formal dress. Maybe a ball gown.'

'Merciful' began Kleindeinst.

'Shallya,' completed Johann.

'Are you trying to tell us that the Beast is a woman?' asked Kleindeinst.

Rosanna reached into herself, combining the images of the murderer she had picked out of the victims' minds. It was dark, slim and a sharp edge sparkled like a jewel.

'No' she said. 'Yes.'

'Which?'

The Beast came out into the light and Rosanna saw her face.

'Yes.'

The Beast was beautiful 'The palace,' Rosanna said, 'now!'

beautiful and terrible.

The man-shell shrank, the boy-shell shrivelled All the former selves were dead. There was only the Beast.

It takes its claw and prepares for the last of them. The last of the disgusting women. The worst of them.

It is not sure whether it is hunting, or waiting. Anyway, it will be over soon.

This is the last of the grudge kills.

The Beast pads through the palace. It is proud to walk in the light. Itno, shedoes not need to hide any longer.

There is someone else in her mind, troubling her. A woman, a filthy woman! The Beast sees red hair, a pretty face.

There's a number, too. 317-5037. The woman presence doesn't understand. 317-5037?

The Beast is puzzled, for a moment. Then, it becomes clear. And she laughs There was a watch carriage outside the inn. Harald commandeered it and took the reins, while the baron helped Rosanna up onto the seat.

The scryer was almost in a trance, her open eyes twitching. She was like a human dowsing rod. She didn't speak, just sat rigid.

Harald whipped the horses and the carriage tore through the fog. He hoped that the vehicle made enough noise to warn people to keep out of the way.

He imagined the map of the city and took the shortest route to the Emperor Karl-Franz Bridge and then on to the palace.

'It's Emmanuelle,' said the baron. 'The Marquess Sidonie was with us all the time last night.'

Harald didn't say anything. Nothing was proved yet.

'There were no other women in the company.'

A horse reared up in the fog, looming. It was one of the runaways, as yet not rounded up.

Harald pulled back hard and kept his own animals on course.

The stray was panicked, but galloped out of the way, fading into the grey murk.

'But the countess? Why?'

They were over the bridge and the streets were wider. There was mercifully little traffic, what with the fog and the leftover from the riots.

'Kleindeinst,' the baron said, 'earlier, you claimed that a womanslayer was the worst kind of criminal there was.'

Harald grunted a yes.

'Well, could you become one?'

Harald thought of the Countess Emmanuelle, tried to imagine her with knives in her frail hands, tearing away at the dead women, cutting young Elsaesser's throat.

He still couldn't answer the baron's question.

Ahead of them, its massive outline clearly visible, a stone hammer raised high above the structure, was the palace.

And inside was the Beast.

'I think my sister wants you to leave,' Leos said, calmly.

De la Rougierre and Mikael Hasselstein looked at the viscount and were chilled into silence. Leos took his hand away from the hilt of his sword and everyone breathed again.

'Yes,' said Emmanuelle, 'that's right.'

His sister was frayed around the edges. Without her paint on, the delicate lines around her mouth and eyes were visible.

The dwarf and the cleric both wanted to protest, but Leos counted on their taking his swordsmanship seriously.

De la Rougierre broke first. He clapped his hat on his head and left the room, attempting to draw himself up to a dignified height.

'Yelle,' Hasselstein pleaded, 'can't we?.'

'No,' Emmanuelle said, 'we can not. Please go.'

The cleric made useless fists in the air and backed out of the room, grinding his teeth. He looked as if he would scream as soon as he got out of earshot, or take out his anger on a servant. His robes of office brushed the floor as he walked.

The door closed behind them.

Emmanuelle's face was twisted. Her hands were up in the air, sharp nails pointed like talons.

'Yelle,' Leos said, 'it is over'

Emmanuelle screeched.

Within seconds, Viscount Leos von Liebewitz was dead. And the Beast had killed him.

V.

A pair of guardsmen stood in the middle of the gateway, with their pikes crossed, barring the road.

Kleindeinst shouted a warning, but made no attempt to stop.

Johann wondered if the two men would stay and be trampled. He held his breath.

Rosanna was mumbling and painfully gripping his arm.

The guards decided on survival over honour and Kleindeinst lashed the horses. The carriage rushed through the gateway.

Someone had unlocked the portcullis chain and it rumbled down behind them, spikes spearing the stone.

A guardsman drew his sword, but Kleindeinst pushed his badge in the soldier's face.

Johann showed his face and the guardsman saluted.

'Elector,' he said.

'I'm sorry for this,' Johann said, 'but it's urgent. I'm on the Emperor's business.'

Rosanna snapped out of her trance and vaulted out of the carriage, landing well.

'Follow us,' Johann ordered the gate guards.

Rosanna led the way, as if she knew every stone of the palace, and Kleindeinst and Johann had to stride to keep up with her.

She was taking them to the guest apartments.

At the main door of the block, they ran into Mikael Hasselstein. His face was stony and his knuckles white. Rosanna pushed her former patron out of the way without seeming to recognize him and pulled open the door.

'In there,' she said. 'The Beast.'

Hasselstein took notice. 'What?'

There was no time for explanations.

The party marched through the passageway. Along the way, they picked up Mnoujkine, the guests' steward. Johann told him to have all the other servants and guests evacuated.