“Do you want to depose him?”
I glanced at the old woman with Fell’s relative in tow.
“I wouldn’t mind,” I said. “I think he’s pretty toxic, pretty damn ugly, in terms of how he operates.”
“As opposed to working with what are very nearly the worst sorts of ally? Leveraging them as tools?”
“You know what I mean,” I said.
“I think I do, but perspectives will vary,” Isadora said. “Do you want to rule, then?”
I almost laughed. “No. Definitely not.”
If looks could kill, I might die ten times over from the various glares that were directed my way. It jarred with the ridiculousness of the question. What kind of lunatic would I have to be to want to be in charge?
“What do you want?” Isadora asked.
“I want to be left alone,” I said. “This needs to end, but I’m not the person to end it. People have made that clear. I’m too… too questionable. So I’m leaving it up to you. I would hope that you decide on a new leader, someone who wants to be in charge badly enough to stick their neck out and risk getting hurt, but whatever you decide, I’ll hear you out.”
“Will you do what we ask without hesitation or objection?” the Elder Sister asked.
“No,” I said. “Because that takes me back to square one. I’m sitting this one out. I’ve earned a break. I’m going to use that break to do some reading I’ve fallen behind on, I’m going to look after my circle, and when that’s done, when I feel ready, I’m going back to the factory.”
There were a few exchanged glances, murmurs.
Paige looked a little bewildered.
“That could be construed as a threat,” the old woman said.
“It could be,” I said. “But it’s not intended as such. If I have to capture, I will. I’d rather eliminate the problem altogether. Scour the buillding. I’d appreciate help, but I’m not going to expect it.”
“We’ll do what we can,” Nick spoke up. “From a distance.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“That’s it?” Duncan asked. “You throw everything into disarray, lure us all here, and then announce that you’re shirking the responsibilities that come with victory?”
“I take it you don’t have any conception of what’s in that factory,” Nick said. “He’s not shirking responsibilities at all. He’s picking his battles.”
“If it was so easy to put in someone disposable as Lord,” Isadora said, “We would have done it already. People have tried, and I was among the people who helped shut them down. Wasn’t I, Jeremy?”
Eyes moved to the Drunk.
He didn’t answer.
“Rhetorical question,” she said.
“Yes, then,” the drunk said.
“Nothing more to say? I thought you would be making a bid for power here.”
“No. Not like this. I know how things function, I am interested. In my own way, in my own time,” Jeremy said.
“One contender,” Isadora said.
“If you can call it that,” Jeremy said. He had a beer bottle in hand, and stared down the neck at the liquid within, rather than at the room. “And no, I’m not implying I’m weak. Only that I’m not joining the fight just yet.”
He took a drink.
“We can’t have someone who’s just going to die five minutes after he takes power,” Isadora said. “Or we would have let Jeremy take the position when he last tried for it. We need people who will secure the city, maintain an equilibrium. Even one that’s latently unpleasant. Because chaos and upheaval are worse. Anything new demands that it be tested by outsiders, and we can’t weather that sort of test.”
“Allow me to disagree,” the old woman said. “You’re the most comfortable person in this room, lounging. Drinking without a care in the world, because you know you’re just about untouchable. You haven’t been on the unpleasant end of the lord’s attentions.”
Isadora smiled, “No, I suppose not.”
“Emily will be assisting anyone who looks like they can securely take the position,” the old woman said.
“We’ll be making a bid,” the Elder sister said.
There was no surprise on her subordinate’s faces.
“I’d say it’s been nice knowing you,” Nick commented, “But… well, no.”
“Behaims?” Isadora asked.
“No bid,” Duncan said. “I’m not insane. But we could provide assistance, for a favor in turn.”
His eye moved, then he shut them, stopping short, as if he’d only started to look at me, then cut himself off.
“The Shepherd, I presume, will be backing the Lord himself,” Isadora said. “Opposing Thorburn and attempting to wrangle the Lord’s release or kill Thorburn?”
The Shepherd nodded.
He’s a champion of Conquest, and the contest isn’t technically over.
Fuck.
“I may do the same, we’ll see,” Isadora said.
Fuck!
I remained still. It helped that I was tired.
The questions went around the room.
Nobody else was willing to say whether they were making a play for the Lordship or not.
“Outsiders will turn up,” Isadora said. “It’s the way of things. But I suppose that doesn’t concern you, does it, Thorburn?”
I shook my head a little.
“Then I suppose that’s enough for now. We’ll cease intruding.”
Just like that, they did.
They were gone in a fraction of the time they’d taken to arrive. Only the Knights didn’t leave right off the bat.
■
“Sorry to leave you out of it,” I told Rose.
“It’s fine,” she said.
“See anything interesting from the glass?”
“Not so much. I was mostly watching for trouble.”
I nodded.
“The factory demon is next?”
“Maybe,” I said. “There’s stuff to wrangle.”
“Like?”
“Like working around the no-magic limitation, for one thing, in case this stalemate lingers,” I said.
I turned my attention to the Hyena’s broken sword.
The Hyena was dead, the face on the hilt a skull now.
“And,” I added, “If I can manage it, I could really do with an implement.”