“Well,” David said. “Whatever the truth, it is good to see you.”
The older woman smiled at him, and once again David felt that familiarity. It was Cadell’s memory. He had shared a past with this woman. Images came to mind, sensations that weren't at all unpleasant. He knew this woman. Cadell had known her, and as intimately as the city. Her dark eyes regarded him steadily, and he felt a jolt run through his body that wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
He could see the strength in her, and not just musculature — she was lean, her fingers long, almost delicate, though they moved with a force and a precision that was anything but. She reached out and touched his hand, and there was something electric in the contact. He wanted to pull his hand away only a little more than he wanted to pull himself in closer to her. He did neither, and still her gaze was fixed on him.
“Hello,” he said, his voice catching in his throat, but at least he’d managed to speak first.
“Welcome, David,” she said, her voice as calm as his thoughts were ragged. “I don’t believe that we have had the pleasure-”
“You know who am. Don't pretend otherwise, eh,” she said, and she laughed lightly.
And that familiar laugh thrilled him, in a way that was too unseemly. All at once he felt unsettled, unsure of himself. Who was he? David or Cadell? Could he even tell any more?
“I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce you,” Kara Jade said, and David wondered just what she was playing at. “This is Mother Graine, Air Mistress, and Senior Servant.”
“Servant?”
Mother Graine flashed him a smile. “We do not rule here, we serve.”
“The distinction is subtle, I’m sure,” David said.
Again she laughed that glorious and disconcerting laugh. “It always is, isn’t it? Just as it’s common courtesy to bow to a Mother of the Sky.”
“I’m not in the practice of bowing.” David nodded towards Margaret. “And don’t even bother expecting it of her.” It was Margaret’s turn to give him a look of warning. He hardly noticed it.
Mother Graine clasped her hands together, stared down at the Orbis Ingenium. “So it is you! The wolf in the clothing of such a dull child.”
David blinked. Perhaps he hadn’t taken enough Carnival that morning; it had been hard to administer while Margaret watched him. He gritted his teeth, he was going to fix that and soon. “Not quite,” he said. “Cadell is buried deep.”
Mother Graine nodded, and what may have been disappointment passed across her face. “You are not nearly as annoying as he was,” she said at last. “That’s something at least. He'd have grabbed my hand and dragged me from this place, and we would have been fighting within a minute.”
“You haven’t been around him long enough,” Margaret said.
Mother Graine stared at her appraisingly. “My child,” she said. “I have known him longer than you could believe.” She clapped her hands for silence. And it worked. “Here are our guests. David Milde, lately of Mirrlees, and Margaret Penn of the Tate Penns, last of a line of thinkers — though you would not know it to look at her. We are blessed indeed to have them here. Bid them welcome one and all, let them enjoy our city’s hospitality. For they will not be here long, and where they are going will require strength and bravery beyond anything that either has known.”
“We’ve much to talk about,” she said quietly, to the pair of them. “But not here. Not now.” She gestured to Kara. “Maiden Jade will see to your comfort. We will have a reception tonight, very informal, of course. Afterwards we will talk.”
She dipped her head once, and David bowed, stiffly. Mother Graine laughed. “Tonight,” she said, her eyes searching his face, and David worried that he was disappointing her. “Please, remember that you are welcome here.”
CHAPTER 21
The Mothers of the Sky were perhaps the most influential force in the history of Shale. Forget the Old Men, forget the Council. It was the Mothers that ruled, and they did so with subtlety and force.
THE CITY OF DRIFT 1400 MILES NORTH OF THE ROIL
Margaret couldn’t understand what was happening. They’d clambered off Pinch to see Kara Jade, safe and sound, both of them on edge for signs of betrayal, and now here David seemed to be flirting with a Mother of the Sky.
She glanced over at Kara Jade. Margaret gestured at David and the older woman, and Kara Jade shrugged. It was as though they had ceased to exist.
“We thought you were in trouble,” Margaret said.
“A misunderstanding, no more,” Mother Graine said, suddenly back in the conversation.
“Yes, yes, misunderstanding,” Kara Jade said.
Margaret wasn’t very fond of misunderstandings. She looked over at David, and he stood there, still looking very confused, and not a little flustered.
Mother Graine smiled. “We’ve ammunition for your weapons, even Chill should you wish it; our artisan chemists are among the best in the world. Though where you’re headed I doubt you will require either.”
“My guns and my blades kill humans just as well as they kill creatures of the Roil.”
Mother Graine patted her arm gently. “Of course they do, my dear. I’m sure you could kill with a glance.”
Though if that were true, Mother Graine would be on the ground twitching out her last. “I’ll take whatever you can spare,” Margaret said. “We’ve long miles to the north.”
“Yes, you do,” Mother Graine said. “And though I’ve not set foot upon the earth in an age, the way to Tearwin Meet is familiar, and perilous. Even to think on it for too long is dangerous. There are forces there that will ruin your mind should you let them.” She sighed. “But that is for another time.”
“I’d hear it now, if I could.”
“Yes, I know, you must be anxious to begin the real journey. We are all anxious to see an end to this, but there are other things we must consider first.” Mother Graine looked over at David. “Tonight. We will discuss them tonight.”
She left, walking back through the crowd, and they parted for her like water is parted by the bow of a boat: swiftly, elegantly and almost without thought.
“Now, there goes a woman with the weight of the world on her shoulders,” David said.
Margaret watched after her. “So, she would have us believe.” With her gone the crowd began to relax.
“Where are the other Mothers?” David asked.
“Mother Graine has always been the foremost voice,” Kara said. “But these last months the Mothers have all but disappeared. We are bred to trust them, almost as much as we distrust the earth below, but even that acceptance has been stretched to its limits.”
“So you don’t think we will see them here?”
“No, not even for you and Miss Penn over there. There is something going on, I guess, plans. Maybe even a new weapon against the Roil,” Kara Jade said. “A single Mother is common. Indeed, Mother Graine is all we have seen in the past few weeks. Now, I really must introduce you to a few people before we get you into your rooms. Unless you'd rather go straight there.”
Margaret shook her head furiously. “I've been cooped up inside for days. I’m rested enough.”
That proved a mistake.
After being stuck with just David, these crowds came as a shock. At first it was exciting, almost energising, but soon, all these people — even with Kara offering some protection — were exhausting. All that noise, questions of the south, of the true fall of Tate: Margaret was forced to consider things that she had been avoiding for
