Yes, but how are we going to do that? He shook his head. Even if we did, they can maneuver just as fast as we can. They have less ground to cover than we do to redeploy their forces.
As to how well fool the snake into uncoiling, she said, it helps to have your own snake to consult with. She turned and waved to some figures standing a few yards away. Jacoby Sarto emerged from the shadows; he was a silhouette against Klieg lights that pinioned a pair of hulking locomotives in the center of the roundhouse. He was accompanied by two armed soldiers and a member of Bryces underground.
The commander bowed to Sarto, but then said, Im afraid we cannot trust this man. He is of the enemy.
Lord Sarto has seen the light, said Venera. He has agreed to help us.
Pah! The commander sneered. Sacrus are masters of deception. How can we trust him?
The politics are complex, she said. But we have very good reasons to trust him. I do. That is why I brought him.
There were more glances thrown between the colonels and the aides. The commander twitched a frown for just a moment, then said, NoI understand the dilemma were in, but my sovereign and commanding officer is Principe Guinevera, and hes in danger. Politically, saving our leadership has to be the priority. Ill not countenance any plan that weakens our chance of doing that.
Jacoby Sarto laughed. It was an ugly, contemptuous sound, delivered by a man who had spent decades using his voice to wither other mens courage. The commander glared at him. I fail to see the humor in any of this, Lord Sarto.
Forgivable, said Sarto dryly, as youre not aware of Sacruss objectives. They want Liris, not your management. They havent crushed the soldiers pinned down at the worlds edge because theyre dangling them as bait.
What could they possibly want with Liris?
Me, said Venera, because they surely think Im still thereand the elevator cable. They need to cut it. All they have to do is capture me or make it impossible for me to leave Greater Spyre. Then theyve won. It will just be a matter of time.
Now it was the commanders turn to laugh. I think you vastly overrate your own value, and underrate the potential of this army, he said, sweeping his arm to indicate the paltry hundreds gathered in the cavernous shed. You alone cant hold this alliance together, Lady Thrace-Guiles. And I said it before, the elevator cables are of little strategic interest.
Venera was furious. She wanted to tell him that shed seen more men gathered at circuses in Rush than he had in his vaunted army. But, remembering how she had thrown a lighted lamp at Garth in anger and his gentle chiding after, she bit back on what she wanted to say, and instead said, Youll change your mind once you know the true strategic situation. Sacrus wants She stopped as Sarto touched her arm.
He was shaking his head. This is not the right audience, he said quietly.
Um. In an instant her understanding of the situation flipped around. When she had walked in here she had seen this knot of officers in one corner of the roundhouse and assumed that they were debating their plan of attack. But that wasnt what they were doing at all. They had been huddling here, as far as possible from the men they must command. They werent planning; they were hesitating.
Hmmm She quirked a transparently false smile
at the commander. If you men will excuse me for a few minutes? He looked puzzled, then annoyed, then amused. Venera took Sartos arm and led him away from the table.
What are you going to do? he asked.
She stopped in an area of blank floor stained over the decades by engine oil and grease. At first Venera didnt meet Sartos eyes. She was looking around at the towering wrought-iron pillars, the tessellated windows in the ceiling, the smoky beams of light that intersected on the black backs of the locomotives. A deep knot of some kind, loosened when she cried in Eilens arms, was unraveling.
They talk about places as being our homes, she mused. Its not the place, really, but the people.
Im sure I dont know what you mean, he said. His dry irony had no effect on Venera. She merely shrugged.
You were right, she said. He cocked his head to one side, crossing his arms, and waited. After the confirmation, when you said I was still Sacruss, she went on. And in the council chamber, even when we talked in your cell earlier tonight. Even now. As long as I wanted to leave Spyre, I was theirs. As long as theyve known what to dangle in front of me, there was nothing I could do but what they wanted me to do.
Havent I said that repeatedly? He sounded annoyed.
All along, theres been a way to break their hold on me, she said. I just havent had the courage to do it.
He grumbled, Id like to think I made the right choice by throwing in with you. Takes you long enough to come to a decision, though.
Venera laughed. All right. Lets do this. She started to walk toward the locomotives.
There you are! Venera stumbled, cursed, and then flung out her arms.
Bryce! He hugged her, but hesitantlyand she knew not to display too much enthusiasm herself. No one knew they were lovers; that knowledge would be one more piece of leverage against them. So she disengaged from him quickly and stepped back. What happened? I saw the semaphore station blown up. We all assumed you were