'Hardly seems Crane's style. But perhaps it's relevant. Wilson and I saw a strange woman near Crane's house. She wore an iron mask, perhaps a reference to the Purge Mask. Maybe she is somehow involved in these attacks.'
'You well know that we lost many, Mr. Burn,' Veronica spoke up. 'Nearly all. There are younger children left, those who were eating in a different room. But for practical purposes, I am the last Bright who can hold this seat.'
'I did not wish to force your hand, Lady Bright,' I said, nodding to her. 'Anyone else?'
They all had stories. There had been assassinations, suspicious accidents and outright murders going back three months. They all seemed aimed at weakening each family's grip on power in the Council. Suddenly my father's madness didn't look so bad. The Families had not shared this information because the attacks seemed politically motivated. And there had been counterstrikes, though no one would admit to it. Heirs had been lost, and assassins had been hired to retaliate. One reason that the Badge had been assigned to guard each Family's estate was that everyone expected their rivals to use the curfew as cover for their final strike. And maybe that was happening, right now. More than one Councilor called for servants to hurry messages out into the city. Perhaps assassinations were being called off, or at least delayed. Hopefully we could stop killing each other, at least for a day.
'It seems to me,' Angela said quietly, after people had stopped talking, 'that we have been played for a fool. Crane, or Maker, or whatever his name is… Ezekiel has set us against each other. It doesn't take much to put us at each other's throats, does it?'
'Apparently not,' I said. 'And you were worried about letting me into your august company. Hardly seems worth discussing, to add another murderer to your ranks.'
'Hardly necessary, Mr. Burn,' Nathan said. 'But it doesn't matter. We have seen through Crane's scheme, and stand united. He tried to get us to kill each other. Instead he has driven us together. Fortunate that you escaped his clutches, Councilor.'
It took me a second to realize he meant me. I chuckled at the title. Uncomfortably.
'I would hardly say I escaped him, sir,' I said. 'Time and again he had me, and time and again he let me go. I think he was hoping to implicate me in the Patron's death. Nearly succeeded, too. At the end we were able to disrupt his control of the cog-dead just long enough to slip free. Near thing.'
Wilson came around the edge of my chair and cleared his throat. Being good aristocrats, and mistaking the anansi for my manservant, the other Councilors ignored him.
'It hardly matters now how you did it, young Burn. But I suppose that once this is all over we'll need to hunt the scoundrel down and give him a good thrashing.' Nathan removed his glasses and cleaned them with the edge of a cloth that hung from his belt, apparently for precisely that purpose. 'I suppose you'll want to lead that hunt, eh?'
'Jacob,' Wilson said. Before I could turn to him, Plumer stepped forward.
'Oh, I would think the Badge should handle that. Though I suppose a formal hunting party, sort of a parade or something. I suppose we could approve that. Do you think, Nathan?'
'Jacob,' Wilson hissed in my ear.
'In fact, I think we should make a day of it…' Nathan began.
'For gods' sake, Jacob!' Wilson grabbed me by the elbow and turned me around. There were gasps, at least one from me. Wilson was strong. 'What if we didn't disrupt his control, as you said? We never did understand how that worked.'
'We don't understand most of what he did, Wilson. Why?'
'What if he let us go? What if he held them at bay, just long enough to make it look good when we did get out? Enough to make our escape feel real.'
'Why in hell would be do that?' I asked.
'So we could come here. So we could reveal his plan to the Council. So we could foil his little scheme.'
'Well. That would be terribly clever of him, I must admit. That's exactly what he's accomplished. Look,' I said, waving an arm around the Chamber. 'Council's in session, no cog-dead ravaging through the hall, and we're not killing each other. Just as he planned.'
'Jacob,' he said. 'The crows. They let us through.'
'Maybe he… maybe he doesn't have as much control of those things as we thought?' Wilson just stared at me. 'Maybe he didn't expect them to believe me, thought they would throw me out and go at each others' throats the second my ass hit the pavement. Maybe…'
I had nothing else. He was right. It didn't make sense.
'What is your man implying?' Plumer asked.
'I'm not his man,' Wilson growled. 'And I'm implying that we're still being played. We're holed up in here, and the Badge is patrolling your estates. The rest of the city is empty of authority. He could be anywhere, doing anything.'
'Well,' Nathan said, 'that may be. But it sounds to me like we've got the important stuff covered.'
'I'll be sure to relay your sympathies to the rest of the citizenry of Veridon,' I spat. 'He could be butchering the population and turning them into an army of the cog-dead.'
The Council paled, except for Angela. She was pretty pale to begin with. And Veronica. She just sat there, thinking.
'What did Crane say to you?' she asked. 'Specifically. You said before, but I need to hear it again.'
'He said that he meant to strike at the heart of Veridon. To level the city, or something.'
'The heart. Gentlemen, and Lady' — Veronica stood — 'we are not the heart of Veridon. If you'll excuse me, I have a service to attend.' And she exited.
'Never knew the Brights to be the religious type,' Nathan said. 'But, you know, in the face of fear. It's the natural reaction, I suppose.'
'The Church,' I said, and addressed myself to Angela. 'What does the Church know of the attacks?'
'Nothing,' she said. 'We hid them from everyone. None of them affected the Church directly.'
'None of the attacks that you know about,' I countered. 'If we can keep incidents hidden from them, surely they can do the same to us.'
'Perhaps. But they're aware of the curfew. We sent a messenger, alerting them of the procedure and explaining its purpose.'
'You heard back?' I asked.
'No, but we took their silence as tacit approval. They're rarely verbose, especially to the Council.'
'I've heard enough.' I stood and crossed to Angela's dais. Holding out my hands, I said, 'Ma'am, I'm going to need my iron back.'
She looked at me crossly, but handed the shotgun over. We left the chamber without further comment.
'Excitable lad, isn't he?' Nathan said as I left. 'The Council will be an interesting place, with him voting.'
'Perhaps,' Plumer said. 'As long as he remembers to vote, and not just rush off…'
I was most of the way to the door before I heard a mechanical clattering behind me. Angela was on my heels, and making good speed in the formal engine. She rumbled past me and turned to block my path.
'Jacob!' she yelled. 'Don't go charging into anything just yet. You'll need help.'
'I can't imagine what you're going to offer me, but I suspect I'm better off on my own. Thanks, though.' I tried to push past her.
'Nonsense. You're very stubborn, but you're also very much just one guy with a shotgun. You think he's doing something at the Algorithm?'
'It makes sense, doesn't it? That cog, the Wrights even call it the heart. Or maybe he's after Camilla. It doesn't matter, though, does it? It was the Algorithm that got the Council to ban the Artificers. It was the Algorithm that replaced the Guild as the driving force of technology in Veridon.' I snapped my fingers and pointed to Wilson. 'In the Manor Tomb, when we were rushing upstairs. All the technology had turned into plants and stuff. Imagine what would happen if he did something like that in the Church.'
'We'd all be worshiping trees, I get it. But you can't think you'll be able to stop him on your own. I've sent for the Badge officers who are protecting the Manor. If what you've said is true, there's nothing there for them to guard, anyway.' She paused, then drew nearer. 'Is it true? Is the Patron dead?'
