Part 63 (1/2)
Bechter frowned. That failed to conform to his Brotherhood vision of how the world should work.
”Yet another conflict between what we want to be true and what we have to suffer,” Hecht said. Those conflicts tormented everyone but the Patriarchal Society for the Suppression of Sacrilege and Heresy, these days. Faith had begun to creak under the strain.
The Society thought G.o.d was testing faith by dealing contradictory evidence.
Piper Hecht wondered why G.o.d-anybody's G.o.d- would bother. The G.o.d of the World ought not to be so petty.
Bechter said, ”Prosek is back.”
”Tell me.”
”He was just coming in when I heard you wanted me. I just had time to say h.e.l.lo. And make sure he didn't attract attention.”
”I thought he was dead.” There had been little communication with Plemenza. That little had not been optimistic. The falcons had been destroyed, their crews injured, and Prosek lost. The pa.s.s was open but the fate of the monster remained uncertain. It might be lying up somewhere, recovering.
Princess Helspeth's having opened the pa.s.s had generated a political storm inside the Grail Empire.
Hecht suffered troubled nights.
”I need to see him as soon as he's able.”
Gervase Saluda and the Princ.i.p.ate from Aparion, with minimal courtesy, demanded an audience. After lurking in the background for weeks, acting as Collegium spies. Hecht expected an argument about access to Drago Prosek.
The Princ.i.p.ates surprised him.
Saluda, never warm since he had a.s.sumed the Bruglioni seat in the Collegium, said, ”We've received a suggestion from Brothe that it may be time to be a little more aggressive toward Castreresone.”
Not subtle, Gervase Saluda, hinting that Sublime had grown impatient. ”Really? I think he'd let me know directly if he was. He hasn't been shy about that yet.”
Saluda observed, ”This siege can't go on forever.”
”Nor will it. In fact, I'm authorizing you to go up there and talk them into giving up. Right now.”
Both were startled. There had been no negotiations whatsoever, even sub rosa. ”Terms?”
”I trust you to be sensible.” He just wanted them gone. Bechter had Drago Prosek ready to report. Anyway, Hecht was sure that the White City did not yet despair enough to contemplate surrender.
Queen Isabeth remained poised just twenty miles away. And her brother had begun to stir behind her.
Gervase Saluda gave Hecht one long, penetrating look as he departed.
Hecht shrugged.
”Rough trip?” he asked Prosek.
”Yes, sir. Not attracting attention. Especially after I crossed the Dechear. We're not popular out there.”
”Where anyone cares. Sit. Be comfortable. Sergeant, bring the man whatever he wants. So. Tell the tale.”
t.i.tus Consent entered as Bechter left. He made Prosek uncomfortable. But Prosek began after an encouraging gesture from his commander.
”Why didn't you go back to the others?”
”I didn't trust them. That Princess. She was probably straight. The ones around her... I figured they'd do what they did. Once we took care of their monster.”
”That being?”
”They locked everybody up. Gonna force them to explain firepowder and how the falcons work. And how to make them.”
”I see.” Hecht smiled. ”And you're the only one who could tell them anything.”
”Pretty much, sir. Those guys aren't ignorant. They know the theory-just not the practical knowledge.”
Typical of soldiers. Indifferent to why something worked, so long as it did when the arrows started flying.
Prosek continued. ”On the up side, sir, they'll get decent medical care. Which most of them needed. Both falcons committed suicide. I made sure the firepowder was used up.”
”The monster. The Instrumentality. What about it?”
”We didn't kill it. But I don't think it'll be a problem again. It can't be much more than what it was when it was still a man. And it's badly crippled. It could barely crawl.”
”Good. Good. I'll ask Princ.i.p.ate Delari what it all means. Then we have to figure out how to make these confrontations go our way faster.”
”I had a lot of time to think while I was traveling. I had some technical and tactical ideas.”
Hecht listened patiently. Prosek amazed him. ”Stunning. And expensive. G.o.dawful expensive.”
”Not my money, though. And worth it if you really want to break the Tyranny of the Night.”
”Lieutenant Consent. Work some financial sorcery on these ideas. The rest... The way to speed the firing cycle... That'll have to go to the foundry people. Traps, though... We'll get to work on those. We can experiment right here. The Connec has become an Instrumentality-rich environment.”
Consent said, ”I don't have to do a lot of calculating to tell you there isn't enough silver in the world. So long as the wells of power keep producing. A vigorous push against the Night could even be counterproductive.”
”Explain.”
”The wells are fading. Which is cyclical. This time looks like the worst ever. For us, that means more people pushed into smaller territories having to survive on dwindling resources. Fighting over those makes things worse because much of the resources are destroyed in the fighting. Right here, we can see how that works. You see people worried about where food will come from-for the first time in centuries.”
”And that connects with the Night how?”
”The wells of power produce the food and wine of the Night. Again, dwindling resources. If we remove an ent.i.ty from the compet.i.tion, there'll be more resources for the rest.”
”I think I see.”
”I didn't make that as clear as I should have.”