'Yes, sir I'll do that right away. But sir, I want to help you, I want to be there with you.
'This is truly what I need. If you do this for me, we can still turn this day around.
'I knew you would, sir; I knew it.
Edeard was a hundred yards from the end of Burfol Street. He could see the big open square surrounding Bise's mansion. Fountains still played in the pools, providing the only movement in the whole expanse. Behind them, the iron-bound gates in the high wall were swinging shut.
He walked out into the square, and looked up at the circular mansion. Over a hundred people were standing along the top of the battlements on the external wall, as far as his farsight could tell they were all armed. Every revolver was lined up on him.
Behind them, the seven-storey tower formed a proud silhouette against a sky stained by pyres of smoke. Its walls were a mottle of green and yellow, with each level a shade lighter than the last. The top floor was almost white. Bise stood on the roof, his splendid robes of office waving in the gentle wind. His longtalk washed out, strong enough to reach over half the city.
'You have no authority here, Waterwalker. The District Master has full dominion within his own walls. Leave this place.
Edeard was immensely tempted to reply with a single hand gesture. Instead he said: 'Wait there, please. I have to deal with militia first. He turned his back on the mansion. A couple of shots were fired. He deflected the bullets easily. Heated orders flowed along the battlements. And nobody fired again.
Edeard waited patiently, with the farsight of the entire city resting upon him. He felt ridiculously cocky, and rejoiced in every second of the sensation.
Yeah, this is bold!
The militia regiment reached the end of Burfol Street and halted. The first three ranks took aim on the lone figure in the middle of the square whose cloak hung around him with unnatural stillness. Fountains gurgled away merrily on either side of him.
'Captain Larose, the Waterwalker said. 'I'm glad it's you. You are a man of integrity.
The captain stepped forward, and nodded courteously. 'As are you, Waterwalker. Would you please step aside so we may carry out our orders, as issued by the city's full legal authority.
'What are those orders?
'We are to arrest those malefactors hiding inside the District Master's mansion.
'They are heavily armed.
'As are we.
'Yes, and I will not permit bloodshed on such a scale those orders would entail. Not in my city. I will deal with Bise and those he harbours, you have my word. Edeard turned full circle, his longtalk growing stronger. 'Everyone has my word on that.
'Unfortunately, after today, your word is no longer enough, Captain Larose said. 'Stand aside Waterwalker, or I will be forced to order my men to shoot you.
Edeard gave the captain a genuine smile. 'And how, exactly, are they going to do that from up there? And he asked the city for its help.
'Up where? Captain Larose suddenly gave the ground a nervous glance. He started to crouch in an attempt to regain what he perceived as his failing balance. It was a motion which pushed his polished boots firmly against the pavement. A motion which pushed him off the pavement.
Behind him, three hundred soldiers did exactly the same thing as their senses told them they were falling. Three hundred soldiers began to drift up gently into the air. They yelled in consternation, and began windmilling their arms in panic. Thai only made it worse. They spun and twisted. Several of them bounced off the vine-clad walls of the buildings on either side of the street, which sent them tumbling through the main cluster of their frantic colleagues.
Edeard stood perfectly still watching them. The noise of their combined shouting was colossal, and the mental panic flooding out was enough to make him wince. Most of the soldiers weir ten or twelve feet from the ground now, and still their limbs were clawing wildly at the air. He noticed that the majority were holding on to their revolvers, and shook his head in rueful disbelief.
'You should try and use your third hands to guide yourselves together, Edeard advised. 'If you link up you'll probably be more stable that way.
'Stop this! Captain Larose bawled. He was turning lazily, his legs coming up parallel to the street below.
Edeard held up his hands apologetically, as if mystified by what he was witnessing. 'I'm not doing anything.
Larose's eyes bugged. He managed to bring his arm over and round, the revolver muzzle tracking down slowly towards Edeard.
'I really wouldn't do that if I were—
Larose fired. The powerful recoil force sent him cartwheeling fast back down Burfol Street. He careered into several of his men on the way, sending them spinning off. It wasn't good for their inner ears.
Edeard pulled a face as the first soldier was spectacularly sick fifteen feet above the pavement. Instead of splattering down, his vomit oscillated through the air, forming strange nebula shapes of its own. The horrified soldier next to him watched helplessly as he collided in slow motion. Then others started to spew up. The regiment's initial cries of shock changed in pitch to become wails of disgust.
Edeard held up a finger in remonstration. 'Don't go away. I'll be back in a little while; we can talk about you holstering your weapons then. He turned to face the mansion. This time, nobody on the battlements took a pot-shot at him.
The entirety of Makkathran was very quiet.
The Waterwalker looked up at the distant figure of District Master Bise. 'You claim jurisdiction here, yet you forget that with power comes responsibility. You and your family have continually abused your position and allowed the gangs to spread throughout your district. You encourage defiance and manipulation of the law to your own ends. The result of this is the misery and deaths that we have witnessed today.
'It is not me who brings—
'BE SILENT. Edeard aimed his right hand. A colossal bolt of lightning snapped out from his fingertip, striking the top of the tower roof a yard from where Bise was standing. Smouldering chunks of wall twirled out, falling to the courtyard far below. Bise cowered, his arms raised in front of his face.
'You forget, Master Bise, that neither you nor the Grand Council is the final authority here. We are all guests of the city itself. Living here is not a right, it is a privilege. As of this day the city revokes that right for you. The family Diroal is hereby stripped of its position and wealth; half of all its money will be redistributed as recompense among those of Sampalok who have suffered this day, the remainder will go to the new Master. 1 also add to that list of banishment all those who are named in the exclusion warrants. You will now leave Makkathran and you will not return. Ever.
'Not even you can force that upon us, Bise replied.
'No, Edeard agreed equitably. 'I cannot. The city, however, can. And it will begin with the revocation of your mansion.
For a long minute Edeard and Bise stared at each other. Nothing seemed to happen. Laughter began among those on the wall's battlements; catcalls and taunts rang out again.
The giant iron-bound gates in front of Edeard emitted a staggeringly loud crack. People gasped, and leaned over the battlements to see what was happening. The gates appeared to be intact.
Bise's shielded mind suddenly flared with dismay. The edge of the roof where it curved to blend smoothly into the tower walls was changing. It loosened and fractured, turning to the finest dust which then flowed as a liquid. Rivulets of the stuff dribbled down the wall towards the floor below. The rivulets grew to a deluge, swamping the delicate green and yellow patterns. Bise stared down as the accelerating tide began to rise over his boots.