‘The Arista on the Blade,’ Stenwold agreed.
‘Someone’s favourite daughter, no doubt,’ Tomasso concluded glumly.
‘She deserved her death,’ Danaen said contemptuously. ‘She deserved a worse death. An arrow was too clean. Do not tell me now that we should have spared her.’
‘Laszlo has explained to me the circumstances,’ Stenwold said, ‘and you did what you had to. Still… she was a fool to try and face you down. If she had been wiser, she would have lived, I’m sure.’
Danaen’s expression was not so sure of that, but Stenwold did his best to overlook it. Save me from over- zealous allies. ‘Well, if it comes to that,’ he said, ‘we’ll have to see how Collegium artifice matches up to Spiderlands cunning. The Vekken did not find it so easy to take us, either by land or sea.’
‘The Vekken, however, did a lot of damage – and so did the Empire after them,’ Jodry said miserably. ‘We cannot go on fighting wars. We cannot afford the cost in lives or goods. Stenwold, have you thought about finding allies in some other Spider house?’
‘Which?’ Stenwold asked him.
‘Well, I have no idea, but the Aldanrael must have enemies.’
‘Spider politics, Jodry. As you say, we have no idea. They change their faces daily in that part of the world. Each morning they get up and learn a new list of who their friends are, and who their enemies. Arianna, am I right?’
‘You would not lack for people willing to profit from you,’ she conceded, ‘but you would never know their hearts. Anyone you dealt with could easily be an agent of the Aldanrael. Do not enter those waters. You have neither compass nor chart.’
‘As an example of this, I received a message from the enemy, last night,’ Stenwold announced. ‘It was left on my pillow.’ He showed them the small slip of parchment. ‘It says no more than this: “You have heard your spies. Perhaps you would now wish to listen to us. State your time and place, if you would not have the ships sail.” I suspect I shall hear no more from my agent in Everis. He has done what the Spiders wished and told me of the threat to Collegium that they are assembling.’
‘But Teornis wants to talk,’ Jodry prompted.
‘Supposedly.’ Stenwold took a deep breath.
‘You cannot talk with Spiders,’ Danaen spat scathingly. ‘Every word is a lie. Every promise is made to be broken. The only peace to be had with Spiders is after you’ve killed them.’
Jodry coughed. ‘Yes, well, for my part I say we have to meet with him. He won’t want a fight, so we can surely find some way through this mess that doesn’t see a hundred ships blockading our harbour and landing soldiers all the way down the coast. The Spiderlands is vast, Stenwold. We have no idea what they might send. They have plenty of artificers amongst their subjects, too. Don’t think it will just be sailing ships and swords.’
Danaen was scowling at Jodry, and looking daggers at Arianna as well. The two Flies sat back, waiting to be of some use. Stenwold put a hand to his forehead. ‘I will meet with him,’ he stated.
The Mantis made a hissing sound. ‘If you so much as hear them speak, they will corrupt you, – or kill you. There is no dealing with them, save with a blade.’
‘That is not our way,’ Stenwold snapped, with enough authority to beat her down. ‘This situation is slipping out of control. Spider-kinden who have lived in Collegium all their lives are fearing to show their faces in the streets. Honory Bellowern, of all the cursed people, sent me a message of support from the Empire, in our time of need, and if this cannot be resolved – if Spider sails reach our harbour – then no doubt the Eighth Army will march into Myna so as to bring that support so much the closer. We have to act, therefore. I will meet with Teornis.’
‘Stenwold Maker, listen to me,’ the Mantis declared fiercely. ‘I will kill Teornis of the Aldanrael.’
Stenwold stared at her. ‘I don’t…’
‘I will take a score of my people and I will go to where he is, and kill him and his servants and guards and all who lodge with him,’ Danaen stated flatly. ‘That is the only way to negotiate with Spiders.’
‘And what will that accomplish?’ Stenwold demanded. ‘We’re not at war with just Teornis, we’re at war with his whole cursed family. All that would achieve is ensure that we would never again be able to negotiate any kind of peace.’
Danaen folded her arms sullenly. ‘Where will you meet him then? How will you deal with him? He will twist your mind with his Art. He will have his agents hiding, ready to poison you or slay you.’
‘Some neutral party, perhaps, to mediate…?’ Jodry started.
‘Who?’ the Mantis snapped at him. ‘Who, indeed, that they have not bought? Who, that you can fully trust? You can trust only my kind, to be rid of all the influence of his kinden, and we say kill.’
‘And who could we trust with the knowledge of what would be said at such a meeting. No third parties, Jodry. If we do talk to Teornis then we must talk fully and frankly.’
‘Well, then,’ the Speaker for the Assembly looked grim, ‘the Mantis is right, Sten. How could you be sure it wasn’t a trap?’
‘Arianna says he won’t just have me killed out of hand, since it’s not their way,’ Stenwold told him.
‘With respect, Master Maker,’ Tomasso put in, ‘their way is to win.’ He had sat in silence for a long time while the others talked, with Laszlo fidgeting at his side. Now his voice drew their attention. ‘Spiders play Spider games with each other, and the top Aristoi will tell you how they keep to their little rules. But, Master Maker, those rules are only for those at the very top, only for the people that move the pieces around.’
Stenwold thought of Teornis’s earlier note, welcoming him to the Dance. Or was that just to lull me into a false sense of security? Do I really believe that a Spider Aristos would consider me an equal?
‘And besides,’ Laszlo put in, ‘doesn’t mean they don’t off each other sometimes.’
Stenwold opened his mouth, then closed it again, the words gone. After a pause he said, ‘There must be a way. I want to believe that Teornis just wants a way to back out gracefully, without making himself look a fool before his family. But I see what you say.’ He sighed. ‘There must be a way,’ he said again.
‘Perhaps it will come to us,’ Jodry said thoughtfully. ‘Some place, some mediator, some guarantee of safety. Let me think about it. I’m sure something will spring to mind.’
‘Well, if not, then the armada,’ Stenwold agreed. ‘While you’re racking your brains, spare a thought for our sea defences too.’
After his informant had left the parlour, Helmess Broiler settled down on his couch thoughtfully. ‘Who would have thought…?’ he kept repeating to himself. Elytrya draped herself across the back of the couch and traced her fingertips across his scalp, waiting patiently for him to unpack his thoughts to her.
‘This whole Spiderlands business has taken me quite by surprise,’ he told her eventually. ‘In this life you learn to be wary of apparent good fortune, especially where a Spider is involved. However, perhaps life has finally decided to give back to me some of what Stenwold Maker has taken away.’
‘Perhaps killing that man Failwright was a mistake,’ Elytrya suggested.
‘Apparently not, for they’re blaming the Aldanrael for it, and that makes me a very happy man.’ Helmess poured her some wine. It was a good Spiderlands vintage, and he reckoned that it would be in short supply soon. ‘You had better keep yourself indoors for the moment,’ he added. ‘After all, I know you’re no Spider-kinden, but the general populace of Collegium are unlikely to be as enlightened in that particular respect as I am.’
‘So there will be war,’ she observed. ‘You people always seem to be having wars.’
‘Only because Maker insists on dragging us into them,’ Helmess retorted. ‘Well, let him try to drag himself out of this one. He’ll find it won’t be so easy.’ He paused, thinking. ‘Although he has a clever mouth on him, does Maker, and I can’t deny it. I don’t think we can allow him and Teornis to hammer out an accord. That wouldn’t suit us at all, now, would it?’
‘You want your Spider fleet to come sailing into the harbour here, do you?’ she said, gently mocking.
‘Why not? Would a few dozen wooden ships pose any difficulties for your warriors?’
She snorted. ‘Rosander’s Greatclaw-kinden would sink every last one of them before they had any idea what was going on.’
‘Well, then, you may even become the heroes of the hour, until everyone realizes that you’re not stopping with just the Spiders.’ Helmess laughed. ‘We must try to arrange for Maker to be standing front and centre when that happens. Have him hold out his hand in friendship. I want to see Rosander pincer it off at the wrist.’ Abruptly his mood darkened. ‘Or maybe not. Maker’s too clever by half, and he could talk a Fly out of the sky. I think maybe the Spiders should do him in.’
‘That would make sense,’ she agreed. ‘Why should Failwright be the only martyr?’
