There was a pause, punctuated by the sound of men tumbling from their beds and the pacing of booted feet against the floor.

aIam Hal,a I said, awkwardly. It was only then that I remembered what Thom had told me about keeping silent, and that perhaps that was the only reason why head kept from introducing me until now.

aAre you?a The airman gave me an appraising look. He didnat respond in kind, with his own name. aI suppose youare a friend of Thomas?a aYes,a I said, hoping I wasnat a.s.suming too much. Thom didnat speak out immediately to correct me, though, and I felt marginally better about my own impulsive answer.

The airman didnat introduce himself, though. Instead, he only looked at Thom as though expecting to hear more of an explanation as to why head brought a stranger with him inside the Airman. It was much akin to either the most exclusive of small country villages or, the thought entered my head unbidden, a prison, wherein everyone knew one anotheras business, and distrusted all outside matters. Perhaps one day, if I didnat say anything to offend him again, I would be able to ask Thom how head managed to live under such conditions all this time.

My room at the chatelainas house had been small, but there had at least been a bed, and not a couch.

aBalfour,a someone hollered from down the length of the wide corridor.

aGood, youare up.a When I turned, I rather thought Iad been plunged into a roman, or that my life had taken some strange fantastical change. Ranged together in the hall were twelve men in matching uniforms but of such dissimilar appearance as to be completelya"individually and separatelya"the most striking people Iad ever had the opportunity to see up close. When Iad first met the Margrave Royston, Iad been captivated by some impalpable quality he possessed, the innate ability to capture the attentions of a room without speaking so much as a word. Each of these men here had the same powera"and when they stood together the effect left me breathless. Iad seen them at the ball, but now I was in their midst.

aWhoas the kid?a Rather abruptly, I was torn out of the reverie, as I remembered the talk of the coa.r.s.e manners of the airmen. Twelve pairs of eyes pinned me into place, and from behind me I was certain Balfour was doing the same. I cleared my throat, mouth suddenly dry.

aHe isnata"a Thom hesitated, then changed whatever it was head been about to say. aHeas a friend of mine.a The handsome one Iad seen at the balla"Rooka"gave me a look that was equal parts amus.e.m.e.nt and malevolence. He seemed about to say something when the redhead standing next to him elbowed him sharply in the ribs and indicated something over our heads.

I turned, helpless in my curiosity, and not wanting to stand out against any uniform motion that might underscore my position as an outsider. Standing opposite us was the fourteenth and final member of the Dragon Corps. He stood with his arms crossed, and his bearing was that of a man who knew full well that crossing his arms would be discouragement enough against any kind of insurrection. I recognized the Chief Sergeant of the airmen from Roystonas table at the night of the ball although he now had a beard and there were exhausted bags under his eyes.

I realized all at once that this was a coup. I was partially the cause of it, and I felt my cheeks and ears grow hot.

aAnd just where do you all think youare going?a The Chief Sergeant didnat appear pleased.

The men were momentarily very quiet, reminding me somewhat of a large pa.s.sel of children whoad been caught worrying the chickens. Then Airman Rook stepped forward, crossing his arms just as neatly over his own chest, and I moved quickly out of the way, so that I wasnat caught in their gaze as it met, straight and fierce as a path of fire.

aWeare going to see thaEsar,a Rook said. There wasnat any room for a please or may I in his tone.

aOh?a the Chief Sergeant asked. aIs that so? I donat believe I signed the necessary paperwork for that.a aYou can take that paperwork . . .a Rook began.

Thom cleared his throat and stepped forward to join him. aYou may already be aware of this,a he said, more gently, in what I a.s.sumed was an attempt to placate the Chief Sergeant, abut we are on the verge of something quite terrible. Inside the Basquiat at this very moment is some untold collection of magicians who are being kept there indefinitely for a reason it seems no one but thaEsar himself and those closest to him are privy to. Family and friends crowd outside the building, yet no one is being admitted entrance. Likewise, I believe that mosta"if not alla"of your men are experiencing some manner of difficulty with their dragons.a aSo weare thinking,a Rook cut in, athat if thereas something wrong with the magicians, and magicians made our girls, then knowing whatas wrong with the magicians might maybe explain whatas wrong with our girls.a Thom colored just slightlya"I believed I was the only one whoad caught the changea"when the airman Rook used the word awe.a It was another interesting detail, but one I was ultimately too miserable to make very much of.

aSo youare going to meet with the Esar,a the Chief Sergeant said, abecause you fancy yourselves a group of bastion-blessed diplomats.a There was another long silence, as everyone was left to consider the Chief Sergeantas words, rumbling and dark and strong as a physical blow.

Rook tossed his braids over one shoulder; I felt reminded of the stamping and posturing of a thoroughbred horse. aThaEsar doesnat give us some f.u.c.king answers,a he said, athen we ainat gonna give him a f.u.c.king Dragon Corps.a aThe way we see it,a Thom translated quietly, ais that itas impossible for him to expect the men to fly under such conditions. If he wonat listen to the reason of one man, then he must surely listen to the reason of his fourteen airmen, without whom his war might never be won.a aI see,a said the Chief Sergeant. aAnd what, if you care to enlighten me, brought this pretty piece of inspiration on?a I swallowed thickly as I heard Thom clear his throat again as he glanced toward me. Then, as surely as if Thom had pointed in my direction, fourteen pairs of eyes were drawn to me and fixed me soundly in place. More than anything, I wished I could have disappeared, quickly as a shadow, hiding myself along the wall or at their feet.

aThis,a Thom said into the uncomfortable quiet, ais Hal.a The Chief Sergeant c.o.c.ked his head and looked at me. aI know you,a he said, unexpectedly, and I breathed an infinitesimal sigh of relief. a Youare Roystonas . . . apprentice. Arenat you?a I nodded faintly, trying to work up the courage to speak. aHis a.s.sistant,a I confirmed, when I could at last find the words. aHe introduced us at the ball.a aI remember,a the Chief Sergeant said gruffly. aSaid a few other things about you, too. Like how youare clever as a whip and sharp as tacking.a This time, when I blushed, it was under such intense scrutiny that I wished more than anything for a Talent that might allow me to disappear entirely. This, however, would give me no aid in finding Royston.

aI received a letter,a I informed the Chief Sergeant miserably. aIt said the Margrave Royston had returned from the front and was at this very moment inside the Basquiat, and thata"per his requesta"I was to be informed of his whereabouts. But I wasnat to be allowed admittance. Iave been waiting outside the Basquiat all morninga"you should see the crowds; family and friends, and no one knows anythinga"a I broke off, fists clenched so tightly at my sides that I could barely feel my palms where my nails bit into them. Thom reached out and put his arm around me, and over the sound of someoneas uncomfortable giggling behind us, I thought I heard the Chief Sergeant sigh.

aRoystonas a friend,a the Chief Sergeant said slowly, aand the corps is my business. I take care of you lot. Have you forgotten it?a The silence that followed his question seemed to indicate that, even if they had forgotten it before, everyone was certainly reminded of the fact and once again quite impressed by it.

aSo?a Rook asked darkly, the only man not even slightly impressed by the sheer force of will in the Chief Sergeantas words. aYou take care of us. Whatare you gonna f.u.c.king do about it?a aThe Esar wonat listen to you if you storm his door like angry children,a the Chief Sergeant countered smoothly. aWhy in bastionas name donat I have thirteen reports filed from you about the problems youave been having up in the air? Is it because youare all too f.u.c.king proud to see straight?a aIt sort of . . . built up on us, sir,a said Balfour quietly. His head was bowed, his shoulders slumped with shame, and I saw him toying with his gloves, tugging the fingertips loose from his fingers.

aDidnat seem as how we knew we were all experiencing the same thing,a Ghislain added.

af.u.c.k you all at your motheras t.i.t,a the Chief Sergeant snarled. aDonat a single one of you move until I get back here in five.a aWhat happens in five?a an impossibly pale man asked from the back. The man next to him burst once more into uncomfortable giggles.

aWe call us some carriages,a the Chief Sergeant said. aGets us to the palace much quicker than walking, doesnat it?a ROOK.

So there we werea"all fourteen of us and the professor, and the tagalong head managed to pick up out front of the Basquiata"waiting in thaEsaras foyer nice as punch for His Majesty to grace us all with his imperial sun-blessed presence. I thought that if itad do any of us a lick of good, Iad have gone for the throat right there, but like the professor said, more than anything we needed to know what the f.u.c.k was going on before we did anything. Most people are stupid acause they allow themselves to stay stupid, and I didnat manage to get out of Molly by staying stupid for long.

So anyway; there we were, no matter what we were all thinking about, sitting in chairs or standing and ranging around because the waiting was starting to p.i.s.s us off, like me for example, and Ace too, because we both knew how bad things must be if our girls werenat listening to us proper. We were all sort of mad at ourselves, too, even though Adamoad been a little over the top earlier because of whatever soft spot he had for that Mary Margrave of his, because this was halfway our own fault and we knew it. We hadnat been looking after our girls properly, and f.u.c.k the d.a.m.n paperwork; we should have brought it up to Adamo the first time it happened instead of letting it get so bad while we tried to ignore it.

Meanwhile, the professor had one arm around his tagalongas shoulders and I could see Compagnon watching them all sidelong and trying not to giggle, which, if I hadnat been so p.i.s.sed myself, wouldave set me to giggling, too. Instead, I was just mad, and if teasing Balfour wasnat going to make me feel better, then there wasnat nothing that was going to work. I wanted to get something done, I wanted to march right into thaEsaras fancy meeting hall and give him a piece of my mind, and maybe doing thatad distract me long enough from the guilt worrying at me, like maybe if Iad done something for Have sooner, then things wouldnat have got to this state at all.

as.h.i.t,a Ace said to me, drawing me aside all private-like. aTheyare just doing this to make us sweat.a aWeall make aem sweat before itas through,a I promised. aI figure we gotta have a plan for it. Like when weare flying.a aOh?a Ace asked.

aYeah,a I said. aBut Iam no f.u.c.king good at plans.a Basically, there was one idiot in this entire room who knew people better than the rest of us, or did in theory anyway, and who could work these things out on the back of his hand or Balfouras gloves if you gave him the pen for it. He was sitting there saying into his tagalongas ear whatever soothing horses.h.i.t he had stored up from a lifetime of horse-s.h.i.t memorization.

aAll right,a I said, whistling sharp, and he looked up quick as that, which made me more pleased than Iad like to admit. aYeah,a I confirmed, ayou. Leave your boyfriend alone and get the f.u.c.k over here. ThaEsaras making us wait, so we might as well use it against him, right?a Everyone was watching me now, which meant I was the only one who saw the professoras tagalong go red as a tomato all the way to the tops of his ears. It was like a circus sideshow.

aAh,a the professor said, giving his tagalong a squeeze before he stood. aHow do you propose we do that?a aWe gotta go to him like a team,a I said, spitting his own words straight back at him. aRight? We gotta use our strengths and his weaknesses against him. Itas your own theory.a aWell,a said the professor, looking at me with his doe eyes, like Iad given him a present and making me real uncomfortable, ain a manner of speaking, I suppose it is a . . . b.a.s.t.a.r.dization.a af.u.c.k you,a I said. aWho the f.u.c.kare you calling a b.a.s.t.a.r.d?a aI believe,a said Jeannot smoothly, athat heas calling your ideas the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.a as.h.i.t,a I said, acause that much was more than halfway true. aWell, thatas all right, then.a aWell?a Thom spread his hands before him. aWhat did you have in mind?a aI figure it this way,a I said. aWeave got a man here whoa"Esar or f.u.c.king nota"needs a whole lot of convincing. Weave gotta mix it so thereas no way he canat tell us what we need to know.a aYou want to bargain with him,a said the professor. aYou want to bargain with thaEsar.a aExactly,a I said. aBlackmail him. Whatever itas called. But weave all got to do it together, because if one of us calls foul and the rest donat back him up, weare all screwed cheap as a Hapenny. You get that?a Compagnon started giggling, but all the boys were with me, even Adamo, whom Iad never thought of as one of the boys and still didnat. The tagalong was watching us as if it were the best f.u.c.king theatre head ever seen, which in a way I guess it was. aAll right,a I went on, turning to the professor. aSo how do we do it? How do we make him do what we want?a aWell,a the professor said, real slow like I hate, but I could see he was thinking it over properly, and I forced myself to be a little patient. aI suppose the best bargaining tool you have is what you do for him. What youave already done.a aSo we threaten to take it away,a I said.

aIn a manner of speaking,a the professor agreed. aYes. Onlya"I donat think you can phrase it as such, in as many words. You have to be more subtlea"a And then, before wead had time to talk it out good and proper, the door in the far corner swung open and one of thaEsaras worm-mouthed servants made himself known to us with a stiff bow and a whining, aHis Esteemed Majesty the Esar is waiting for you in his royal conference room.a aRight,a Adamo growled out. aStep to it, men.a We all fell into line for the first time in our lives. There wasnat one in our number who wanted us to lose face in front of thaEsar, not when we knew we were cornered. What he hadnat counted on was how every man fought like a dog when his back was pressed up against a wall like ours were right now, and we were fighting for more than just ourselves, too. We had our girls to think about.

I hated the royal conference room, acause it was a b.i.t.c.h to get to, and worse than that it made me feel all turned around, like I was flying sideways and didnat know which way was up. Raphaelad said once that he read a book that explained why everything was built all winding and confused as s.h.i.t in the palace. Actually, the way Raphael put it was aa very subtle intimidation tactic,a but what that meant in real talk was that it made everyone except thaEsar feel out of place, and when people felt out of place they made dumb mistakes like getting nervous, and that was right where thaEsar wanted to put people. Nervous people needed a leader; nervous people did exactly as they were told. aCourse that wasnat taking into account how nervous often preceded panicky, and there wasnat nothing you could keep panicky people from doing once they got it into their heads to do it.

Get enough people together like that and it wouldnat matter what thaEsar said: Theyad tear the Basquiat down to the ground to get at what they wanted. Part of that was caring, I guessed, from what the tagalong had said about it being all family and loved ones down therea"and I knew I didnat need to ask which he was, since we were talking about that Mary Margravea"and even me with no heart to speak of knew it plain as day that people arenat ever crazier than when theyave got caring mucking up their brains on top of everything else.

The professor was walking up by me and Ace, like head taken my appeal as free license to do as he pleased. Or maybe he just thought head have a better chance of talking thaEsar down like he had Adamo if he were standing close by. But he knew his stuff, however pointless itad been in the past, and I thought maybe for the first time I could see my way around to looking at his viewpoint as not entirely cracked.

Much as I hated to admit ita"and I wouldnat ever admit it out louda"some of what head said was even going to come in useful, this trick the professor had of manipulating folk just by learning things about them. Of course itad backfired soon as I realized how well it worked for keeping the professor in line, too, though I doubt thatad been what he meant to accomplish when he started teaching us. Wasnat the first time anyone had underestimated my cleverness though he was probably the first to get out without a scratch on him.

Then the servant stopped, and a second door swung open, and I had more important things to think about.

We filed into the receiving room, Adamo first acause he was the most impressive out of all of us, even the professora"who when it came down to it was only a aVersity student. And, if we were saying all the what-came-down-to-whats, when it came down to it, we were Adamoas airmen, and not thaEsaras.

There wasnat room on the dais for fourteen men and two more besides, but some of us were scrawnier than others, and we crowded in like schoolboys at the back room of a burlesque show, jostling and elbowing for the glimpse of a creamy thigh or better. aCourse, looking at thaEsar was none so exciting as Lady Greylace, even though his clothes cost likely near as much as hers. I thought it was a little funny, looking around, that thaEsar was built powerful, like a sensible sort of man and not the sort whoad match his clothes to the cream of the walls with their fancy gold trim, but there we were.

Then again, I supposed that was the sort of thing that happened when your parents were your cousins, and thingsad been that way for generations.

ThaEsar sat in his chaira"not quite a throne, but still fancy enough that I was betting no one elsead make the mistake of sitting in it. He was toying with the signet ring on his finger like he was just waiting for us to make the first move when even the dumbest kid down in Molly knew that you didnat speak to thaEsar before he spoke to you.

Finally, after Ace had crossed and uncrossed his arms so many times that I was near to considering just throttling him right there, thaEsar cleared his throat.

aTo what do we owe the pleasure of this . . . unique visit?a he asked, like he didnat know what to call it and like he didnat know exactly the reason why we were here in the first place. I felt my blood start to heat like boiling water, threatening to bubble over everywhere at once.

Someone put a hand on my arm and I knew that it wasnat Ace, so it mustave been the professor. For some f.u.c.king strange reason, instead of hitting thaEsar then and there, I checked myself. Threatening thaEsar wouldnat be any way of helping our girls, as much fun as it might have been, and I knew the others wouldnat have appreciated my rash behavior any. Not that I was doing it for them, or the professoras stupid hand on my arm; I was doing it for Have, and Iad break any manas face in that said different.

aYour Majesty,a said Adamo, only his voice had changed, got real fine like he was some aVersity professor dictating instead of a man used to barking orders at them who listened about half as often as not. aWeare here about our dragons.a aWhat about them?a said thaEsar, still studying that d.a.m.n ring of his, although anyone with eyes could tell that he was listening good and proper now, his back gone rigid and his pale eyes sharp.

Adamo paused, like he was wondering how best to put it, and it was then that I knew without a doubt that Proudmouth had been flying as off as all the rest, and that he was a d.a.m.n hypocrite for not filing his own report to his own d.a.m.n self. aThey arenat flying properly,a Adamo said at last.

aWe have considered the idea that they may be in need of maintenance,a thaEsar allowed, the f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

aWeave considered,a I said, speaking loud and hot before anyone could stop me, athat it might have something to do with all those magicians locked away in the Basquiat.a It was then that thaEsar looked at me, and I guess it was supposed to be an intimidating look, but anyone could have told him that I didnat intimidate, so he was just wasting his energy and all our time. Still, I thought I could feel it working on some of the others, acause they stood up straighter, and there was some sparking, snapping thread of nervous energy running through the lot like we were all of us joined into a lit fuse.

I half expected Compagnon to start giggling with the strain of it at any moment, though he was probably considering what Adamo would do to him if he did, and that was the only thing shutting him up even now.

aWhat do you know of the magicians in the Basquiat, Airman Rook?a ThaEsar asked his question like he really thought I knew something more than what anyone with a brain could know; that there was some serious s.h.i.t going down and a crowd big enough to choke the streets surrounding.

aI know them magicians are the ones that made our dragons,a I said, since head addressed me and all, so I guessed Adamo and the professor would just have to get their fainting over with later. aIf thereas something thatas happened to aem, then I guess itas not such a stretch to think that maybe itas got something to do with the way our girls ainat doing what theyare supposed to anymore.a Next to me, the professor winced, like using bad grammar in front of thaEsar was an unimaginable crime. I didnat care. I wasnat like Adamo, couldnat turn it on and off like a switch. Even if I couldave, I wouldnatave, because as far as I was concerned thaEsar was a man the same as anyone, and just because his great-great-granddaddy had seen to conquering a nation didnat give him any more rights than the rest of us, aspecially me, and especially when head had the nerve to tell us our dragons werenat doing what we said they were.

Iadave liked to see him try and fly one.

He waited a long moment, examining each of our faces like we were a room of criminals and if he could get just one of us to crack, head have us all. aYou are all experiencing this?a he began at last, and it was the first time Iad heard him sound anything other than smug and infuriating. a This . . . wrongness with our dragons?a I didnat like the way he said aour,a but I let it slide when the professor tightened his fingers on my arm.

aYes, Your Majesty,a said Adamo, speaking for all of us. After a moment everyone set to nodding, like theyad all been waiting for their neighbor to go first. It was like not knowing what had happened to the girls had cut off our b.a.l.l.s and we had to behave neat as students in case thaEsar had any information that would lead to fixing them.

A strange look pa.s.sed over thaEsaras face. He mightave been worried, for all I knew, though it sure looked all wrong on him. He probably wasnat much used to it.

For a second I thought he was going to kick us all out of the room. He put a hand over his face for composure, and when he removed it his expression was back to normal, the way it looked in all his portraits.

aWe have faith in your ability to weather out this disobedience as best you can,a he said at last. aIn addition, we will have someone sent to inspect the mechanics of the dragons should they continue to give you trouble.a aMy men,a said Adamo, straightening upa"and he wasnat that tall to begin with, but he could look f.u.c.king impressive when he wanted to, awonat fly under these conditions.a I felt something unfamiliar, pervasive, and kind of warm in my chest, though whether itad come from the others or something else I didnat know. It was a little like being proud, Iadave guessed if Iad been forced to name it, though Iad never had it directed at anyone besides Havemercy when shead done really fine.

aIs that so?a asked thaEsar, though somewhere deep in the back of his expression I could tell something was shaken loose. aWe regret that it has come to this.a aWeare fighting your war,a said Adamo, and I didnat need to look at the professoras face to know head gone stupid with shock; he mustave been figuring it was all over for us now that head lost his one sane ally in all this. aI think weave got a right to know whatas going on, and I say we ainata"arenata"leaving the ground until we do.a The threat settled into the middle of the room like a flag torn from the pole. For a moment things were impossibly silent, like maybe we were all holding our breath and waiting to see whether thaEsar would snap and order us all executed for treason, or whether head smarten up quick and remember who it wasad been winning this war all along.

It was thaEsar that looked away first, head bent to examine the ring on his finger again, but we all knew what it meant.

Just because a man was thaEsar didnat mean he didnat give signs of surrender the same as all the rest.

aIf any of you sees fit to spread this about the city,a he began, awe will see to it that the only place youall ever fly again is off of the cliffs at Howlas End, do you understand? If there is word of this anywherea"if our Provost thinks the people have been given so much as an inklinga"we will hold the lot of you personally responsible, and we will not hear otherwise on the subject.a I thought I understood what he was saying, and it was pretty clever, because anyone could claim accidents happened, but here he was telling us right up front that even if accidents happened, it would still be our fault. That had us f.u.c.ked, good and proper. Yet as much as I hated it, if he could see a way toward fixing Havemercy, then I guessed Iad have to stand it.

Leastways, I had to stand it until she was fixed, then I could think of a way to repay thaEsar for all his kindness.

Some of the others were grumbling quietly, but I knew they were all just as stuck as I was, keen to get the information thaEsar had even if it meant head caught us in his net.

aWe understand,a said Adamo, in a tone of voice that held dark things for those of us who didnat.

ThaEsar paused for a moment. aWho is that?a he asked finally, looking toward the tagalong. aHe isnat one of our corps.a aMargrave Roystonas a.s.sistant, Your Majesty,a Adamo answered, so smooth it was like head been expecting it all along. He was smarter than his smashed-up face let him look. aIf he leaves this room, then so do we.a There couldave been a standoff there and then, only wead already postured long enough, and it seemed thaEsarad grown tired of it. Good; better not to waste all our time and get the f.u.c.k on with it.

aThere is a sickness,a said thaEsar. aIt began shortly after you were called upon to resume your services to our realm, and it began with some of our oldest and most treasured families of great Talent. With the information that we have been able to gather to this date, we can state that the illness manifests with similarly minor symptoms across the board. All the cases began with headaches, small fevers, and an aching of the joints. This later progressed to dizziness among the subjects we observed, leading to a general state of disorientation and nausea. It is after an afflicted personas attempt to use his or her Talent that the illness. .h.i.ts hardest, often disabling the patients in question almost immediately.a It was a lot of talk to explain something that thaEsar had been keeping a secret all this time, and parts of it sounded real nasty in particular, like keeping the magicians under observation as some kind of medical experiment instead of invalids needing proper care. Considering how thaEsar did things, I wasnat much surprised.

I took that to mean that whatever was going on with this magiciansa plague, itad begun just after the air raids started up again. That was a long f.u.c.king time to keep us in the dark about things, though it explained why head been so keen on calling back them thatad wronged him bad enough to be exiled in the first place. He needed them pretty bad, since all his good little soldiers had been hit with this asickness.a I felt anger snap through me clean like a whip, knew that I couldnat release it atil wead heard the whole storya"but thaEsar was going to have to see a way toward explaining why head kept his own counsel about something as f.u.c.king serious as whatever plague had hit the city while we fought to defend his own precious self.

No one spoke, and so he continued.

aWe do not know the cause, only that it has thus far afflicted only our magicians. As you can imagine,a he added, suddenly sharp again, like he had any right to be intimidating when he was such a liar it made the rest of us look like the purest saints of Regina, ait has been a crippling blow to our efforts in the war.a Abruptlya"the way it felt when Have turned a perfect arc or we dove with the wind singing around usa"everything fell into place. Why the Ke-Han had been rolling over, getting us real nice and sure of our victory. The Ke-Hanad had another move planned all along, the way Adamo always did in chess, and right when you thought you were about to take the king, head come in from behind and destroy everything youad worked for. The raids had all been one h.e.l.l of a distraction, and if Havead been flying right, Iadave left the room to get on her right then and teach the hordes a thing or two about how much I hated feeling like Iad been tricked. Theyad done us over real nice.

aThereas magic in the dragons.a That was the professor this time, and I donat think he realized right away that he was addressing the f.u.c.king Esar because head got that tone in his voice, like when he argued with me even when he knew it was suicide, and hadnat said aYour Majestya even once. aThatas why they arenat working. You knew there was something wrong with the magicians, itas the simplest connection to make between them and the dragons. Itas obvious. Whateveras attacked the magicians is also affecting thea"a His voice caught on something, like maybe the realization that he was as good as telling thaEsar head f.u.c.ked up bad. aItas affecting the dragons,a he said quickly, with a trace of whatever iron it was he had in him that had kept him standing after the ride with Havemercy.

Maybe he was also realizing what it meant to be standing with us when thaEsar had marked him out real private as his own spy. That part of my plan, at least, had gone over without a hitch. It was easy to see what side the professor was really on, and whatever satisfaction I felt over it was just because Iad planned things exactly that way.

aWe had hoped that it would not come to this,a said thaEsar, neither acknowledging nor discounting what the professor had said. I thought he might faint with relief, but he went on standing. He was stubborn like that. aThe corps is our best hope in the war to come, and with the magiciansa"disabled, as it werea"perhaps the corps is our only hope.a Big f.u.c.king surprise there, I thought, but I only sneered a little.

aYour Majesty,a Adamo started again, real placating like. aIam afraid I donat understand what sort of a help we can be with things going wrong the way they are all over.a ThaEsar lifted his head, serene as you please, like he hadnat spent the last months lying to us, like we wouldnat have all got killed for no proper reason if wead been a bit unluckier and not so good at our jobs.

aWe are greatly in need of time,a he said. aTime to figure out what we can do to counteract this ailment, that we might beat our enemies across the border for good.a aYou want us to keep them occupied,a said Adamo, and it wasnat a question so much as something head only just figured out.

aYes, Chief Sergeant. That is exactly what we are asking of you.a aFlying our dragons the way they are now,a said Adamo, careful and clear, ais simple madness. If it isnat suicide yet, it soon will be.a He left out the part I knew he wanted to add: that it was something thaEsar couldnat ask us to do, acause nothing got a man riled up like telling him what he couldnat do, and Adamo knew it. There was no sense in provoking hima"he was a man already on the edge of something too big for him to handle and something he had to handle nonetheless.

Much as I hated thaEsar right then, I didnat fancy being in his boots, either, and not just acause of the color of them.

aYour Majesty,a Jeannot spoke up, stepping past Ace and Ghislain and making his way to the front to stand by me, aallow me to presume so much as to see if I am completely clear as to your royal plan.a There was something snide in the way he said it, but it was perfectly politic. Jeannot was f.u.c.king clever, make no mistake. ThaEsar nodded and waved his hand in a gesture that seemed to indicate he was done wasting words on us and just wanted us to get all our cards on the table at once. Maybe then head sweep us from underneath. Maybe not.

aThe reason we werenat informed of the present situation was that we would continue to keep the Ke-Han busy at the pa.s.s,a Jeannot explained, neat and simple as youad like, aduring which period the corps could buy vital time for some . . . cure to be discovered.a ThaEsaras mouth went a little white and his cheeks a little red, since his complexion was the sort that betrayed too much emotiona"not enough of the old Ramanthe in him any way you cut it. aIn a manner of speaking,a he said at length, athat was indeed our plan. We hope, Airman Jeannot, that you are not insinuating your displeasure for this plan?a aI hope Iam not insinuating anything at all, Your Majesty,a Jeannot replied, and melted back into the crowd, having made his point loud and clear enough even for the deaf, dumb, and blind.

We were all silent for a while, mulling that one over, since it was pretty obvious to all of us by now that wead been used as bait, flying targets, a forlorn f.u.c.king hope they called it in romans or in melodramatic theatre, and I was so mad right then seven shades of red had come down over my eyes. It was only the professoras fingers digging into my elbow that kept me locked into place, and even that wasnat going to be enough real soon.

aI take it that no cure has yet been found,a the tagalong suddenly said. We all mustave forgotten he was even there because suddenly everyone in the room was looking at him, even me, and we could all see clear as day that he was crying.

aThe illness is a peculiar one,a thaEsar said, not out of pity for him, just stating the facts. aIt seems to have affected first and most seriously those of purest Talent, and has worked onward from there to those with Talents more and more diluted.a aSo basically,a I said, afor the first time, youare lucky if youare a mutt.a The left corner of thaEsaras mouth twisted, sort of like a mirroring of my own sneer. aI suppose that is one way of phrasing it,a he conceded at last.

aYour Majesty will beg my pardon,a Adamo said, in a voice that didnat sound as how that was what he wanted thaEsar to be begging for in particular. aBut I canat let my men fly under such circ.u.mstances. At this pointa"with the rate of deteriorationa"flying any one of the dragons out to the Cobalts and back would be enough of a risk, much less trying to use them for battle.a aWe have no other recourse,a thaEsar replied.

aThen weare going to be overrun by the Ke-Han,a Adamo said, squaring his jaw. aWithout anything but the Cobalts standing between us and them.a Now there was real trouble. To be honest? I thought thaEsar was going to sentence Adamo to death right away, and his face turned purple like a dragonad set his head on fire. It was ludicrous enough to be funny, only there wasnat a single man jack of us who could see their way around to laughinga"not even Compagnon. We werenat the only poor f.u.c.ks who were screwed seven ways, both up and down. Everyone in Volstov was going to be smoking opium and having twelve wives pretty soon, that is if the Ke-Han didnat just decide to f.u.c.king kill us all. It was only a matter of timea"which was why thaEsarad been so careful with ita"before the Ke-Han rode on over here across the plains and took what theyad been wanting since it had belonged to the Ramanthines, because we didnat have a way to defend it.

It was a sobering thought. It made a man feel helpless, and if there was one thing I hated more than anything else, it was knowing someonead tied my hands behind my back. But no matter which way I turned the problem to the light, I couldnat see my way clear toward solving it. The whole thing blew like a Hapenny wh.o.r.e.

aAre you refusing to do your duty, Chief Sergeant Adamo?a thaEsar asked.

Adamo didnat back down for even a second. aThe way I see my duty, Your Majesty, is this,a he said. aWe signed up to die for our country. In the past, some of us have done exactly that. But part of our code is to protect our dragons before anything elsea"and if we fly them as you wish us to, thereas no doubt in my mind that they will be destroyed. If thatas what youare thinking is best for our countrya"to let them fall into the Ke-Hanas hands, to let the Ke-Han have at what they want so badlya"then Iam ready, as a soldier and as a man loyal to my country, to hear your reasoning.a ThaEsar made another one of those bird-wing motions with his hands. aWe are working tirelessly even now to find a cure for the illness,a he said. aYet we must have time to thinka"to incorporate into our actions this troubling new knowledge you have brought before us. It changes a great many things.a Adamo nodded once, curt, like the f.u.c.king perfect soldier he was. aWe will call for you this evening, once we have considered the evidence before us, and, hopefully, have come to an arrangement that is more agreeable for all of us. But understand this, Chief Sergeant Adamoa"if I say that the dragons must be sacrificed, then they must be sacrificed.a There was this terrible silence, and I felt it deep down as my bones and blood and even further. Right then, if Iad been allowed to keep my knives on me before stepping foot inside the palace, I wouldave split His Majesty apart before he had a chance to spew out plat.i.tudes and horses.h.i.t as f.u.c.ked up as all that. He mightave paid for her, but Have was mine, and Iadave staked my life on how the other boys felt pretty d.a.m.n close to the way I did.

Adamo just nodded; and then he bowed, stiff and formal, like wead all been dismissed without us noticing, and turned to leave.

aYour Majesty,a the professor said, clearing his throat, and I had to give him points for how brave he wasa"even though it didnat matter much for how stupid he was at the same time as that. aThere is one other matter, if I may presume to address it.a ThaEsar lifted an eyebrow. aYouave presumed many things today,a he said, leaning forward in his chair. Then, against all f.u.c.king odds, he nodded. aBe quick. Our time is quite precious, as you are well aware.a The professor swallowed and came forward. aAs for the situation with the magicians being kept in confinement at the Basquiat,a he said, asince this young apprentice has already learned of this private mattera"and as the reason for the magiciansa confinement is not, in fact, due to the quarantine of disease but rather to prevent the spread of panic alonea"then I should think there is little reason at present for this young man to be kept from his mentor. It may also prove somewhat usefula"though of course Your Highness is far better versed in these matters than I could ever hope to bea"to allow a fresh young mind to work on the problem in tandem with a man I believe to be one of Your Majestyas most talented magicians.a aThe Margrave Royston,a thaEsar said. He obviously thought it was worse than being bled to death, being given a good idea he hadnat thought of himself, but he wasnat a fool, and I could see right away he liked it. aVery well,a he said after a long pause. aThe young man shall be taken to the Basquiat. The rest of you, however, must return to the Airman and await our summons.a Things happened after that sort of all at once: Adamo barking out orders, and the tagalong thanking the professor as though he was some kind of saint or something, and then there were servants being let in, some to show us out and the rest, I figured, there to show the tagalong the secret way of getting inside the Basquiat. I almost wanted to go with him, to get some answer about how to fix Have, but that wouldnatave done anyone a lick of good. Besides that, I was too busy watching the strange look that came over the professor and made him glow all over, almost like head stepped into a shaft of sunlighta"only we were deep inside the palace, and so he couldnat have done.

I guess it must have been pride or maybe even happiness, but in any case it wasnat the sort of expression Iad ever seen the professor wear before that minute. Not during all his time at the Airman. Not even once.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

ROYSTON.

I didnat know how long Iad been there, but at least I did recognize where I was: inside the Basquiat, her golden dome arced and splendid above me, and I wasnat alone. All around me were the refugees of the epidemica"faces I recognized and faces I did not, all in various stages of misery.

At times I was worse than others, but during periods when my fever was less p.r.o.nounced, I could piece together something of what Iad been told and what Iad come to understand on my own. Somehowa"and even suffering as I was, I knew this was the keya"the Well had been poisoned. We were all afflicted by it, every last one of us, from those with the purest Talent in their veins to the most b.a.s.t.a.r.dized; from Berhane and Daguerre and even Caius himself to Amer from the Bacque, who dealt in tricks and potions (all performed for a fee) at the farthest end of the Crescents.

It was something akin to a nightmare.

Such a disease was unprecedented. It undid us from the inside out, working first at the core of our Talents, until we could no longer hear the sound of it in our own bodies. Then, as Talent and blood were bound so inextricably together, it began to work as any disease on what held us together as men and women, raging through us as swiftly as any plague that had ever struck at the heart of the city.

During my staya"however long it wasa"I know that there were some who died, though when I asked who they were, no one would answer me.