As soon as I came forth, she said, Sacrus knew that Buridan had survived, and they knew why we had stayed hidden. They knew that I carried with me the last key to Candesce!
She stopped, letting the echoes reverberate. Crossing her arms, she gazed out at the army, waiting. Two seconds, five, ten, and then they were muttering, talking, turning to one another with frowns and nods. Some who prided themselves on knowing old legends told the men standing next to them about the keys; word began to spread through the ranks. In the front row, the officers were looking at one another in consternation.
Venera raised a hand for silence. That is what this war is about, she said. Sacrus has known of the existence of this key for centuries. They tried to take it once, and Buridan and its allies resisted. Now they are after it again. If they get it, they will no longer need Spyre. To them it is like the hated chrysalis that has confined them for generations. They will shed it, and they dont care if it unravels in pieces as they fly toward the light. At best, Spyre will prove a good capital for the world-spanning empire they planonce theyve scoured it clean of all the old estates, that is. Yes, this cylinder will make a fine park for the palace of Virgas new rulers. Theyll need room for the governors of their new provinces, for prisoners, slaves, treasure houses, and barracks. They might not knock down all the buildings. But you and yours well, I hope you have relatives in one of the principalities, because rabble like us wont be allowed to live here anymore.
The soldiers were starting to argue and shout. Belatedly the officers had realized that they werent in control any more; several darted at the locomotive, but Venera crouched and glared at them, as if she was ready to pounce. They backed away.
She stood up onto her tip-toes as she flung one fist high over her head. We have to stop them! The key must be protected, for without it, Spyre itself is doomed. You fight for more than your livesmore than your homes. You are all that stands between Sacrus and the slow strangulation of the very world!
Will you stop them? They shouted yes. Will you? They screamed it.
Venera had never seen anyone give a speech like this, but shed heard
Chaison work a crowd and had read about such moments in books. It all took her back to those romantic stories shed devoured as a little girl in her pink bedroom. Outrageous theatricality, but none of these men had ever seen its like either; few had probably ever been in a theater. For most, this roundhouse was the farthest they had ever been from home, and the looming locomotive was something they had only ever glimpsed in the far distance. They stood among peers, who before today had been dots seen through telescopes, and they were learning that however strange and foreign they were, all were united in their loyalty to Spyre itself. Of course the moment made them mad.
Fist still raised, Venera smiled down at the commander who shook his head in defeat.
Bryce and Jacoby Sarto clambered along the side of the locomotive to join her. Whats the news? she asked over the roar of the army at her feet.
Bryce blinked at the scene. Uh theyre on their way.
Sarto nodded. I semaphored the Sacrus army commander. Told him you realize your situation is hopeless, that youre going to lead your army into a trap.
She grinned. Good. She turned back to the crowd and raised her fist again.
Itistüüüüüme !
20
patCome away from there, said Veneras friend Eilen. They stood in a musty closet crammed with door lintels, broken drawers, cracked table legs: useless junk, but impossible for a tiny nation like Liris to throw away. Lantern light from the corridor shone through Eilens hair. She could have been attractive, a habitual part of his mind noted. At one time, he could have helped her with that.
I have a good view of the Sacrus camp, he said. And its too dangerous to be on the roof right now.
Youll get a bullet in the eye, she said. He grunted and turned back to the view, and after a moment he heard her leave.
He couldnt tell her that he had recognized one of the uniformed figures moving down theremaybe two of them, he couldnt be sure. Garth was sure that Eilen would tell him he was suffering an old mans delusions if he said hed recognized his daughter among the hundreds of crimson uniforms.
He could be imagining it. Hed had scant moments to absorb the sight of her before shed signaled her superiors and Sacruss thugs had moved in on him. Yet Garth had an eye for women, was able to recall the smallest detail about how this or that one moved or held herself. He could deduce much about character and vulnerability by a womans stance and habitual gestures, and he damned well knew how to recognize one at a distance. That was Selene standing hipshot by that tent, he was sure of it.
Garth cursed under his breath. Hed never been one to probe at sore spots, but ever since theyd thrown him into that stinking cell in the Gray Infirmary, his thoughts had pivoted around the moment of Selenes betrayal.