He lay back on the bed, resting his hands on his chest. “It’s the best idea we’ve had so far,” he added. “Jade, what did you learn from Tam?”
“The Levellers are keen, but they’re short on weapons and training,” Jade said. “A lot of weapons were seized, it seems, during the Purge. They’ve been stockpiling firearms and gunpowder, but they haven’t been able to practice using them. And they’re understandably worried about who might be reporting back to the king.”
Particularly now, Emily thought.
“In some ways, the Purge might have been a blessing in disguise,” Jade added, after a moment. “Flower knew a lot, but most of the names and faces she probably reported to her superiors have already been purged. I dare say that any spying networks within the Levellers have been severely dented, at least for the moment. They’ll recover, of course, but by then we should have a new cellular structure in place.”
His face darkened as he looked down at his hands. “That said, supplies of food coming into the city have started to fall. Really, it’s been happening for a while now, but Randor has been opening the siege stockpiles to keep people fed. The last thing he wants is food riots, obviously…”
“But he’ll run out of food sooner or later,” Cat said, from the bed. “Right?”
“Right,” Jade said. “The Levellers have been doing some calculations. Tam thinks the city has a month or two before starvation becomes a very real possibility. Personally, I think that’s optimistic. Randor can issue whatever orders he likes, but if the food supply really starts to fall, prices are going to go up sharply. And then people will start hoarding food…”
“Like Farrakhan, but on a much bigger scale,” Cat said. “Surely, they can expand the fishing fleets. It isn’t as if they can fish the water dry.”
“No,” Jade agreed. “But men can’t live on fish alone.”
“Tell that to the dockyard workers,” Cat said, dryly.
Emily cleared her throat. “Why are the food supplies starting to fall?”
Jade grimaced. “It depends on who you believe,” he said. “One theory suggests that the peasants are simply leaving the land and going…away. Another blames the nobility; a third insists that it’s the king himself who’s starving his people. It’s probably some combination of the three. Randor has every reason to want the peasants to return to the farms and grow more food.”
“It isn’t going to work,” Emily said, quietly.
“Probably not,” Jade agreed.
Cat sat up. “So,” he said, clapping his hands. “What’s the plan?”
“Emily works out the spellwork, carefully,” Jade said. “And we both check it, equally carefully. And then we start building and charging the…ah, batteries. How long will it take?”
“I’m not sure,” Emily admitted. “Several days, at least. More likely a couple of weeks.”
“That gives us enough time to find a few other ways to bring pressure to bear on Randor,” Jade said. He sounded energized, now they had the makings of a plan. “Cat, you and I will start training the Levellers…once we develop a way to vet their loyalties. We’ll also start crafting useful tools for them, chat parchments and the like. Emily can help with that, once she’s done the calculations.”
“You’re welcome,” Emily said, dryly. She understood Jade’s logic–Lady Barb had told her that female instructors had problems getting the point across–but she didn’t like it. It was easier when teaching magic. “I’ll need a handful of supplies.”
“I’ll make sure you get them,” Jade said. “And ask for a few other things too, just in case. We don’t want them working out what we’re planning to do.”
Emily rather doubted anyone would connect an iron ring to a pocket dimension, let alone a magic-storing device, but she took his point. The spies would understand a request for gunpowder or potion ingredients–it would make sense to them–yet a request they didn’t understand would alarm them. They’d either think they were being conned or, more likely, they’d spend a great deal of time and effort trying to figure out what was going on. There was no point in risking detection unnecessarily.
“Two weeks,” Cat said. “We should consider moving a little slower. Too much activity is bound to alert the king.”
“There’s also a lot of anger on the streets,” Jade said. “We have to make use of it before it fades away again.”
And you want to get Alassa out of jail before it’s too late, Emily thought. She understood, all too well. She’s…what? Three months pregnant? Or four?
“That is a good idea, I suppose,” Cat said. He didn’t sound convinced. “As long as the rebels aren’t linked to you, we should be fine.”
Jade leaned forward. “There’s another point,” he said. “Emily, Alicia and her husband have moved into the Winter Flower Mansion.”
Emily lifted her eyebrows. “Both of them?”
“Yes, and their baby,” Jade said. “I don’t know why they’re staying there.”
“It isn’t as if Randor doesn’t have the room,” Emily said, automatically. Alicia had been the king’s mistress, once upon a time. And Lord Burrows could be expected to be compliant if the king decided to resume the relationship. “I wonder if Alicia and Randor fell out.”
“You’d expect him to hurl her into the Tower,” Jade said, shortly. “As it is, if the Levellers are correct, she’s spending a lot of time at the castle. She just isn’t staying there.”
Emily puzzled over it for a long moment. A person’s importance at court–and their relationship with the king–could be gauged by where they stayed in Alexis. Someone the king wanted to honor would be offered rooms in the castle; someone who was not in royal favor might be offered a townhouse on the Royal Mile, where there was more room but less prestige. It had driven Imaiqah mad, when she’d been making the arrangements for the wedding. Putting the wrong person in the wrong place could lead to social disaster.
She frowned. A baron–or a baroness–who stayed with the king would be so closely associated with him that no one would believe they were independent. Randor had used her like that, once upon a time. Alicia moving out of the castle might be a declaration of independence or, more likely, Randor trying to show the country that Alicia was an independent woman while maintaining control. There was no reason to believe that Alicia would turn against the king. And there was a great deal to be gained by having her appear to be acting of her own free will.
“Interesting,” she said, finally. She needed some time to sort it out. “Do you want to make contact now?”
“It would be worth trying,” Jade said. “She’d listen to you, not to me.”
Emily nodded, stiffly. “We’ll try to figure out a way through her defenses,” she said. She had no idea what sort of defenses Alicia might have, but there was a good chance they’d be fairly weak. Her father had made the mistake of plotting treason, after all. “And then I’ll try and talk to her.”
Jade stood. “I’ll tell Tam the good news,” he said. “But not in too many words.”
“Don’t tell him anything he doesn’t need to know,” Cat warned. “We don’t want him spreading the word. If Randor figures out what we’re doing, we’re fucked.”
“I know,” Jade said. “Emily, get started on those calculations. I want to know we can make it work within a day or two.”
“Yes, sir,” Emily said, dryly. “I’m sure we can make it work.”
Jade smiled at her. “I’m sure you can make it work too,” he said. “But I also want Cat to check your work.”
Emily nodded in understanding. Simple spells were very hard to get wrong, particularly when one had enough magic to overpower any flaws in the spell, but opening a portal required an incredibly complex spell. The slightest mistake could waste the magic they had gathered or, worse, open the portal to an unknown destination. Emily didn’t want to jump through and find out the portal opened several miles above the ground. She didn’t think she could teleport out of that.