Eles sucks at a hard bony lip and says to himself, I will not be provoked.
Ject is silently triumphant. Herse has overplayed his hand, and Ject will take the pot, starting with the money the soldiers are giving away.
For the moment, though, he has to bring some order to the current situation. Chaos is no longer necessary. He tells Ravis, “Blow the general alarm. Then we’ll bring the councilors back to South until the plaza is safe.”
Ravis blows. Horns respond from around the plaza. It’s a sad scattered sound. The crowd’s energy hardly abates.
A riot will still be worth it, Ject thinks, even if we take no prisoners.
To avoid the tower plaza, Chelson’s party approaches the tower from the rear. “Only fools take the front door,” he says.
Chelson leads them down an alley to a small courtyard where several carts are making deliveries at a wide stoop. A cook complains about the filth on some cabbages. When she sees Chelson approach, she stands aside. The cabbage dealer doesn’t realize he’s there until Chelson is breathing on his shoulder, astounded that someone is in his way.
Chelson tells the cook, “Buy no more from him,” and goes inside.
The cabbage dealer apologizes to no avail. Herse waits until Chelson disappears and says, “Speak to Birming, one of my supply masters. He’ll need your cabbages.” The man glows.
The cook approves, but warns him, “Tell your man to make sure there’s no filth on them.”
Eles elevates his nose and says, “We will not go back to South or back to anywhere. We will go to the tower.” He cuts between Ject and Ravis and stalks across the plaza. The guards hurry to catch up, and the rest hurry to stay within their circle. Ject reluctantly follows.
Near the steps to the wide porch in front of the tower they’re seen. The tide turns and tips toward them.
Eles mounts the porch as workers lap against Ject’s men and are pushed back. The tower guards knock, the doors are unbarred, and as they open Eles says to the crowd, “Get to work, you useless eaters.”
Ject watches a small silver fish—a boops, he thinks—arc, glistening, and hit him squarely in the eye.
The crowd on each side of the issue laughs as Eles wipes fish smear from his face. They laugh harder as he wheels around and leads his party to the brass doors. Eles surveys the crowd as the Council enters. His expression suggests the crowd has overplayed its hand.
As Ject enters, Eles says, “We won’t require your testimony today, General.” And he signals for the tower guards to shut the door behind him, leaving Ject outside.
Ject looks up now in total exasperation. He notices the huge Hanoshi ravens aren’t circling the dome or perched on the edge. That can’t be a good sign either. Nothing drives them off. He wonders what might have and realizes something.
“Ject?” Ravis says.
“When we looked for the dragon,” Ject says, “we didn’t search the cupola.”
2
* * *
Herse and Rowan stand in the waiting area outside the council chamber while the Council conducts some last-minute horse-trading over who will get what shares of the army contracts. After seeing Eles close the door on Ject, Herse is feeling confident. Rowan looks less so.
“You’ll do fine, son,” Herse says.
“It’s not that,” Rowan says. He’s reluctant to be too familiar with the general, but he’s Herse. Rowan was raised on stories of his exploits on the ballcourt and how he used to go into the crowd after big wins, especially against Aydeni teams. His interest in a ship’s boy is encouraging.
“It’s my father. He’s a supply master. Birming.”
“I thought I recognized you. You used to wait for him outside camp.” The boy nods. “Steady man, your father,” he says. “Like yourself, I understand.”
Rowan’s spine stiffens.
Herse got the basics of Rowan’s story from Chelson as they walked to the tower. The boy saw scores of men die horribly. Herse knows what that’s like from fighting bandits. You can’t get the images out of your eyes, like the glare that persists after you look at the sun. As much as Herse wants to ask about the dragon and how Rowan survived, he’ll wait until after Council. When they grill him on this, he needs Rowan’s emotions to be fresh and raw.
“Have you seen him yet?” Herse says. “Or your family? You have a sister, right?”
“A sister, yes,” Rowan says, “and no. There’s been no time.”
“I’ve kept him busy the last couple days too. Right after Council, we’ll change that.”
“It’s not that either,” Rowan says. “When we go to war, what will happen to him?”
“He’ll do his job,” Herse says. “I’ve always counted on him.”
“Will he die? Like Tuse?”
Herse says, “I was younger than you during the last war. Do you know why it was fought?” Rowan shakes his head. “Tolls. Tolls. My father went, though. Many fathers did. Not for the owners. For their neighbors.”