ur Majesty," s

nd rashes. Tyron had tried so hard to overlook it, to tell himself that it was his loyalty and his intellect that mattered, but if the Brigadier was right he was a traitor to the Empire, to all humanity. Would he have spotted it for himself if Tiver had been of more normal appearance? If Tyron hadn't been so desperate to be

kelby's condition. Every time I ask the doctors I get the same reply. He's on the mend but not yet ready to r

pport his weight, but one did not sit when the Emperor was standing. "Some kind of neuro-degenerative condition, they think now. It's possible that it's relapsin

stic prospect of his r

one for the Empire, it would seem callous and ungratef

etary of State who is capable of fulfilling all the duties of his role. I will be announcing his retirement at this afternoon's assembly. The time

n in the outer provinc

aving the desired effect," replied Tiver. "I am confident that the

are these n

essing of traitors. The death penalty has been brought in for all but the most minor of offences, and we are offering large cash rewards for information le

e likely to stir up the provinces even more?

sequences, your Majesty. I am confident that this

imself. Am I that blind? More to the point, why did none of my advisors warn me about him? They must know what he's like! Does he have something on them? Is he blackmailing them? He remembered someone telling him that Fienwell was his 'problem solver'. Did those problems i

wlessness. I think it's time we tried a new approach. Reaching out to the common people, finding the root causes of their dissatisfaction and

grave mistake. They would see that as weakness and be encoura

tary of State, see what he thinks. I was thinking

n and mopped more sweat from his face. "Pardon, your Majesty

to the Empire, has a great many useful connections with the Constituent Assembly and has

To brief him on the exact situation in every part of the Emp

set. A fresh mind, seeing ever

is devoted to the Empire... Sire,

his government that he couldn't afford to offend. "Not at all," he said, therefore. "No-one appreciates everything you've done more than I, but

ming around him as if he

r and importance. I'm sure

I have great influence in

cretary," growled Tyron. "Tha

. He mopped his brow with his handkerchief again. The frilly cloth was so wet n

a slight tremble in his voice. "You simply surpris

erous,

cauldron, Majesty. We have been trying to keep a lid on

iver, perhaps what is necessa

I beg you! You

ll have all your staff with you in C

o replace the e

to stay, for continuity. I'm appointing him Howell's new

important Ministry in the Empire! You ris

il. That will be all, Tiver. You

nce before closing the door behind him, and the Emperor wasn't surprised to see a brief look of purest malice on his pimply, rash ri

Well, he's the Carrowmen's problem now. From what I've heard of the place, he'll fit right in over there!" The room was still full of t

aid Brownley. "It was unoccupied. We lef

. Half raised by the Radiants, possessing the power

they're harder to curse than normal men. Don't w

owed. "And send Howell in on your way out. We've got to reform the guard across the who

☆

aths among the protesters, to fire up the common people even further, and they would arrange an invasion, by screaming, torch bearing workers, of the building itself, in which several junior executives would be injured, even killed. The governm

ow. It might even be impossible to stop, even if he and the other agitators did nothing more. So thin, the veneer of ci

ice in his head. *There are m

base of operations while in the city. He would have preferred something larger and grander, but he met with members of the popular uprising here sometimes and he had to appear to be one of them.

the street, passing by, but no-one loiteri

te your home. Another of us saw them ent

are

hey were warned by their former Helberion allies. We knew it was just as matter of time once we declared open warfare against them. We are w

e'd come, trying to look relaxed, nonchalant. Had his ambushers seen hi

are in Helberion. If that happens, you will be needed as a foot soldier. Your ability

d heard him. A postman, sorting through his mailbag for anything on this street, looked up in su

. If you do not, you will be of no fu

? What does

ny of them, thanks to your efforts, are angry enough to be willin

p them achieve justice and revenge!

was following him along the street, low enough for pedestrians to have to swerve to avoid its dan

not! I'd nev

h to die in battle and will betray

just stir things up a bit, then become one of you and live i

ther lower life forms who multiply without thought until they exh

me! You lied

have to in order to a

elid because Radiants carried people off all the time! If he screamed and fought, people would pro

was past it, sprinting for all he was worth. The Radiant was slow and clumsy and continued on for several more yards, blowing gases out of it

by careless children. They looked harmless, and to most people they were such a common sight that they barely noticed them, the way most people barely notice the full moon, but the sight of them sent a surge of desperate fear through Fienwell. The wind was picking up, lifting dirt

me in! It's Fienwell! It's the man you were sent to get! Please, let me in!" He looked back the way he'd came. The Radiant was much lower now, moving fast with the help of the wind from behind. Its longest tentacles touched th

pletely out of character for the normally docile, serene creatures. "What's it doing, mummy?" He heard a half ra

ok like a normal citizen, most of whom carried small weapons as a defence against muggers. His knuckles went white as he gripped it tightly, though, drawing some measure of comfort fro

him, and then the door opened behind him and a hand grabbed his elbow, pulling him inside. "Drop the knife!" another man demanded as t

nts of the house all drew pistols and fired at the tentacle, which lashed around, trying to find them by feel. When it came close

well. "Save me and I'l

t the door held. The tentacle reached further in through the window, followed by two thinner ones, and the four men backed away in

rom his forehead with the sleeve of his coat. The sleeve took some of his skin powder

it had heard his voice. Maybe it had, for all Fienwell knew. It wrapped around his waist and the man cried out as he was pulled towards the window, his face turning red as it crushed the breath out o

ienwell. "They're co

en just nodded, pointing back to the front door. "We run!" the subordinate said. "Just run. They can't keep pace with a running man, un

. "There's nothing but the city wall to th

step at a time. And you..." He pointed at Fienwell. "You st

hide luminous skin had been discovered, he couldn't hide among humans either. His one hope was that the information he could give them would be enough for the Ke

ws were all broken, tentacles protruding through them, waving like seaweed in a slow current, and when the leader of the house's occupants ge

all the exits at once. If we're fast, we might be able to get far

re the others get here,

ed. "Okay, then.

entacles wrapped themselves around him and lifted him up into the air. Then the Radiant rose up into the sky, carrying the unfortunate man with him, whom it then dropped

and looked back. "Keep going,

ll be alive! W

othing we c

small part of his mind wondered why the carriage was going towards the Radiant, instead of away from it, until it drew up alongside , the driver pulling up on the reins to stop the horses and simultaneously slamming his foot on the brake block. The door opened and a man in army uniform leaned

Those Above! W

! Just

street. For a moment Fienwell feared that it would become jammed in the narrow alley between one house and the next and he looked out the window to see that the Radiant was almost on top of them, followed closely by half a dozen others. It was being blown by another gale and its tentacles were reaching forwar

e sounded in his head. *Fienwell! We have reconsidered. You are clever and resourceful. You would be w

ust cannon fodder to you! We all are! You lied to

re going to destroy this civili

cared you are! I know what you're scared o

thquakes will come, he thought, but they can only cause one earthquake in each city, releasing whatever stress there is in the underlying bedrock. Once they'

grabbed his wrist and closed a manacle on it, then on his o