Rael was the first to react. Crossing the ante-room floor he ran up a flight of stairs and along a wide gallery. At the far end he threw open the door and emerged onto the parapet above the roof. An Avatar archer stood guard there. ‘Give me your bow!’ ordered Rael, snatching the weapon from the surprised man.
Focusing his concentration, Rael linked to the weapon. Strings of flickering light appeared and he moved to the edge of the parapet. The woman in the white gown emerged onto the wide avenue below, a slender tiny figure. Extending the bow arm, he took aim.
‘Don’t do it, Rael!’ shouted Questor Ro, emerging on the rooftop.
Momentarily Rael froze, but then took aim again. At that moment the woman slipped into the crowd beyond and was lost to his sight.
The Questor General swung towards Ro. ‘Do you have any understanding of what she represents?’ he said, fighting to keep the anger from his voice.
‘A chance of survival,’ snapped Ro. ‘She is right, and you know it. The Almecs will not want peace. They are coming for conquest. You don’t send thirty warships in order to establish ambassadors.’
‘I am not talking about the Almecs, Ro. Can you not see what she is? What she is becoming?’
‘I don’t know what you are talking about.’
‘She is crystal-joined, Ro.’
The words hung in the air. Ro blinked. ‘That is not possible. The odds—’
‘One in a hundred million,’ interrupted Rael. ‘I know the odds. Her power will grow daily, because she is drawing it from every crystal in the city. Now do you understand?’
‘You could be wrong, Rael,’ said Ro.
‘I pray that I am.’
Agents were sent throughout the city seeking sign of Sofarita, and well-known informers were told that a huge reward was on offer to anyone who could discover her whereabouts. The councillors, together with armed guards to prevent attacks by Pajists, returned to their fortified homes. Rael and Ro stayed at the council building.
A fierce storm lashed at the city throughout most of the night, lightning blazing above the Luan estuary. The shutters rattled against the window frames in the high room above the Council Chamber as Rael paced back and forth, Ro had never seen the Questor General this unsettled.
‘I made a mistake,’ said Rael at last. ‘I hope it will not prove fatal.’ Ro said nothing. He was thinking of the dark-haired Vagar woman, and struggling to understand his volatile emotions. He did not disagree with Rael concerning the need for fear among the subject races -indeed he had spent the greater part of his life extolling the virtues of such a policy. But this time … All he could see was the way she tilted her head when she spoke, and how the tawny flecks of her eyes caught the light.
‘We should concentrate on the newcomers – the Almecs,’ he said.
‘She was right,’ said Rael. ‘They will not come in peace, and they will certainly not treat us as brothers. How did we become so arrogant, Ro?’
‘It is the nature of rulers,’ said the little man. ‘We flick our fingers and lesser men come running. They bow and scrape, and thus reinforce our belief in our superiority. It is a game we all play, Avatar and Vagar.’
‘Are you well, my friend?’ asked Rael, moving to sit opposite the Questor. ‘This does not sound like you.’
Ro sighed. T have learned so much today. It makes the last hundred years seem a waste of life. I cannot believe the events of this evening. A young woman with amazing talents was prepared to help us and we condemned her to death for it. What is worse, had Niclin brought her to the Council I too would have called for her life. What petty men we have become.’
‘I regret it also, Ro,’ said Rael. ‘But we must put it aside. The golden ships will be here with the dawn. And we must make plans, and issue orders.’
The two men talked through most of the night, then Rael sent for his most trusted officers and despatched them to gather their troops.