“Her name is Dunyasha,” Inej said. “She called herself the White Blade and a variety of other things. She’s very good.”
“How good?” asked Kaz.
“Better than me.”
“I’ve heard of her,” said Matthias. “Her name came up in an intelligence report the drüskelle gathered on Ravka.”
“Ravka?” Inej said. “She said she was trained in Ahmrat Jen.”
“She claims she has Lantsov blood and that she’s a contender for the Ravkan throne.”
Nina released a hoot of laughter. “You can’t be serious.”
“We considered backing her claim to undermine Nikolai Lantsov’s regime.”
“Smart,” said Kaz.
“Evil,” said Nina.
Matthias cleared his throat. “He’s a new king, vulnerable. There are some questions regarding his own lineage. But the report suggested that Dunyasha is erratic, possibly delusional. We determined she was too unpredictable for such a venture.”
“Pekka could have had her follow us from Black Veil last night,” Inej said.
“Do we know how Pekka found the hideout?” Nina asked.
“One of his people must have spotted one of us,” Kaz replied. “That’s all it would take.”
Matthias wondered if it was better that they couldn’t be sure who was responsible. That way no one had to bear the guilt or the blame.
“Dunyasha had the advantage of surprise,” said Inej. “If the hotel is still uncompromised, I can get to the embassy and back unseen.”
“Good,” said Kaz, but the answer didn’t come as quickly as Matthias might have expected. He fears for her , Matthias thought, and he does not like it . For once, he could sympathize with the demjin .
“There’s another problem,” said Nina. “Matthias, cover your ears.”
“No.”
“Fine. I’ll just have to ensure your loyalty later.” She whispered in his ear, “There’s a very large bathtub off the master bedroom.”
“Nina.”
“It was just an observation.” Nina plucked the remnants of a waffle from the tray and said, “Ravka can’t win the auction. We’re broke.”
“Oh,” said Matthias. “I knew that.”
“You did not.”
“You think Fjerda isn’t aware the Ravkan coffers are empty?”
Nina scowled. “You could have at least pretended to be surprised.”
“Ravka’s financial woes are no secret. Its treasury was depleted from years of mismanagement by the Lantsov kings and fighting on both of its borders. The civil war didn’t help, and the new king has borrowed heavily from the Kerch banks. If we go through with the auction, Ravka won’t be able to bid competitively.”
Kaz shifted his bad leg. “That’s why the Kerch Merchant Council is going to bankroll them.”
Jesper burst out laughing. “Fantastic. Any chance they want to buy me a solid-gold bowler hat while they’re at it?”
“That’s unlawful,” said Wylan. “The Council are responsible for running the auction. They can’t interfere with its outcome.”
“Of course not,” said Kaz. “And they know it. Kuwei and his father approached the Merchant Council looking for aid, but they were so afraid of compromising their neutrality, they refused to act. Van Eck saw an opportunity, and he’s been operating behind their backs ever since.” Kaz settled more deeply in his chair. “What has Van Eck been planning all along? He’s been buying up jurda farms so that when the secret of jurda parem is unleashed, he’ll control the jurda supply. He wins no matter who has Kuwei. So think like him—think like a merch. When Kuwei Yul-Bo, son of Bo Yul-Bayur, announces the auction, the Council will know the secret of parem could become public at any time. They’ll finally be free to act and they’ll be looking for opportunities to secure their fortunes and Kerch’s position in the world economy. They can’t involve themselves in the auction, but they can guarantee they make a lot of money whatever the outcome.”
“By buying up jurda ,” said Wylan.
“Exactly. We set up a jurda consortium, a chance for willing investors to make a fine dime off the world going to hell. We bring the Council an opportunity and let their greed do the rest.”
Wylan nodded, his face growing eager. “The money never goes to the consortium. We funnel it to Ravka so they can afford to bid on Kuwei.”
“Something like that,” said Kaz. “And we take a little percentage. Just like the banks do.”
“But who’s going to shill?” Jesper said. “Van Eck has seen all our faces except Nina and Specht. Even if one of us somehow got tailored or we brought on another person, the Merchant Council isn’t just going to turn over their money to a newcomer with no real credentials.”
“How about a jurda farmer who’s been holed up in the most expensive suite in Ketterdam?”
Colm Fahey looked up from his coffee. “Me?”
“No way, Kaz,” said Jesper. “Absolutely not.”
“He knows jurda , he speaks Kerch and Zemeni, and he looks the part.”
“He has an honest face,” Jesper said bitterly. “You weren’t keeping him safe stashing him in this hotel, you were setting him up.”
“I was building us an out.”
“A hedge of your own?”
“Yes.”
“You are not bringing my father into this.”
“He’s already in it, Jes. You brought him into it when you had him mortgage his farm to pay for your degree in wasting money.”
“No ,” repeated Jesper. “Van Eck is going to make the connection between Colm Fahey and Jesper Fahey. He isn’t an idiot.”
“But there is no Colm Fahey staying at the Geldrenner. Colm Fahey rented rooms at a little university district inn, and according to the harbormaster’s manifests, he left town several nights ago. The man staying here is registered under the name Johannus Rietveld.”
“Who the hell is that?” asked Nina.
“He’s a farmer from a town near Lij. His family’s been there for years. He has holdings in Kerch and in Novyi Zem.”
“But who is he really?” said Jesper.
“That doesn’t matter. Think of him as a figment of the Merchant Council’s imagination, a wonderful dream come to life to help them scrape some profit from the disaster of parem .”
Colm put his cup down. “I’ll do it.”
“Da, you don’t know what you’re agreeing to.”
“I’m already harboring fugitives. If I’m going to aid, I may as well abet.”
“If this goes wrong—”
“What do I have to lose, Jes? My life is you and the farm. This is the only way I can protect both of those things.”
Jesper shoved off from the floor, pacing back and forth in front of the windows. “This is insanity,” he said, scrubbing his hand over the back of his neck. “They’ll never fall for it.”
“We don’t ask for too much from any of them,” said Kaz. “That’s the trick. We set a low floor to enter the fund, say, two million kruge . And then we let them wait. The Shu are here. The Fjerdans. The Ravkans. The Council will start to panic. If I had to bet, I’d say we’ll have five million from each Council member by the time we’re through.”
“There are thirteen Council members,” said Jesper. “That’s sixty-five million kruge .”
“Maybe more.”
Matthias frowned. “Even with all the stadwatch at the auction and the presence of the Council of Tides, can we really guarantee Kuwei’s safety?”
“Unless you have a unicorn for him to ride away on, there is no scenario that guarantees Kuwei’s safety.”
“I wouldn’t count on protection from the Council of Tides either,” said Nina. “Have they ever even appeared in public?”
“Twenty-five years ago,” said Kaz.
“And you think they’re going to show up to protect Kuwei now? We can’t send him into a public auction alone.”
“Kuwei won’t be alone. Matthias and I will be with him.”
“Everyone there knows your faces. Even if you had some kind of disguise—”
“No disguise. The Merchant Council are considered his representatives. But Kuwei has the right to choose his own protection for the auction. We’ll be up there on the stage with him.”
“The stage?”