'Yes, he groaned ecstatically.
'Beautiful girls. Young girls. Girls like Kristiana married off to equal nonentities out in the merchant classes or the militia — our country cousins. They'll have the daughters who'll go on to marry the next generation of first sons. Every family will be in a fervour for them. She sucked in her cheeks thoughtfully, suddenly playful. 'Maybe I'll be able to negotiate a percentage of the dowry as part of your stud fee.
Edeard was suddenly bedevilled by an image of Mistress Florrel, which he must have allowed to slip out.
Ranalee laughed delightedly. 'Her! Yes, that's why she was so sought after, she is an amazingly strong psychic; I'm four generations down from her myself. And don't forget Rah, either.
'Rah!
'Why do you think every Grand Family claims to be descended from him? We actually are. A third hand strong enough to cut through the city's crystal wall, who wouldn't want that?
'I never knew any of this, he said softly. It all made such perfect sense now she'd laid it out.
'Within three generations your descendants will rule Makkathran. That's less than a hundred years, Waterwalker. And then you will be king in all but name. Think what you can achieve with such power.
'I will break them, he said, eager now she had opened his eyes to so many opportunities. 'I will destroy the gangs. The city will regain all it has lost since Rah's time. The Skylords will come again to carry us off to Odin's Sea.
'I will go there with you.
'Yes, together!
'As it is this night, it will always be for you. I pledge myself to that cause. Your pleasure will never end. She rose above him, face gleaming triumphant in the tranquil candle light. 'Now you will celebrate our union, she told him, her whisper filling the room in a crescendo.
Edeard's mind lost all focus as his flesh obeyed her demands. He was lost between ecstasy and delirium.
'You will give me our first daughter this night, Ranalee decreed.
Edeard laughed ecstatically. 'Let's just hope it is a daughter. Tears of joy were running from his eyes.
'It will be. They all will be. Every girl knows how.
'How?
'How to take care of an inconvenience like that. They must be girls.
'But the boys…
'There can be no boys. They have no value. The families practise primogeniture, apart for the odd embarrassment like the Culverits. So your daughters can marry directly into a family's main lineage.
'What? His thoughts were swirling as panic contaminated his physical delight. 'What?
'The embryos are not people, she crooned. 'Not at the stage where their gender becomes apparent. There isn't even any discomfort for me. Don't think of this any more.
'What? No!
'Relax, my beautiful strong Waterwalker. Do what you do best.
'No, Edeard shouted. He felt smothered, fighting for breath against a torrent of horror. 'No no no. He pushed. Pushed hard. Pushed with his third hand. Pushed himself away from such evil.
Ranalee wailed in shock as she flew through the air. Edeard was panting hard, trying to shake the miasma from his thoughts. He felt as if he was shaking off a nightmare. His heart was yammering in his chest. He searched round frantically to see Ranalee sprawled across the rug at the foot of the bed. She looked dangerous, her hair wild, a snarl on her lips as she stood up and faced him.
'What happened? he gasped, still fearful. He could barely resist the urge to continue, to bend her over the bed and take her — and from that to rule Makkathran through his offspring.
'I set you free, she growled.
Her voice seemed to clang around the inside of his head. He groaned at the intensity, jamming his hands over his ears.
'I showed you your real desires. Follow them. Liberate yourself.
'Stop it, he begged. He was curling up, struggling against his own treachery, the yearning to follow her path into the future.
'Inhibitions aren't for people like us. You have strength in your blood, as do I. Think what we can achieve together. Believe in us— That last she caterwauled at him.
The force behind the command almost sent Edeard tumbling from the mattress. Her mind was bright and hot. It finally made him realize it wasn't her voice he was battling. Somehow she was speaking directly into his mind. Insidiously potent longtalk had corrupted his own thoughts, forcing him to bend to her will as if he were no more than a genistar being ordered to clear up manure. He clenched his teeth, and concentrated, willing his third hand to contract around him, becoming hard enough to deflect longtalk. Pleading to the Lady to make him strong enough.
'Listen to me! Ranalee demanded.
Edeard could see her lips still moving, as her voice faded away. Every trick he'd learned in the city about shielding his emotions was woven together and reinforced by his telekinesis. He crouched on the mattress, hearing nothing, sensing nothing. Isolated.
Ranalee glared at him. Once his nerves had steadied, he glared back. His hands were trembling from shock and fear.
'You, he gulped down a breath. 'You tried… You wanted me to… Oh sweet Lady. The thought of what he'd only just managed to elude sent another shiver along his spine.
Ranalee regarded him contemptuously. She said something.
Edeard cautiously allowed her voice through the shield his third hand had created. But not her longtalk. Lady no! That he kept perfectly blocked. 'What?
'You stupid pitiful country peasant.
'Bitch, he spat back.
Her contempt matured into utter scorn. 'You think that isn't you? You believe you are noble and kind? Do you know how the dominance works? It plucks at the true strings of the heart. And I am a master of those passionate tunes; I play men for the simpletons they are. I recognize what lurks within, Waterwalker. You are all ruled by your ego and your lust, the real traits flowing in the blood. Everything I offered is a seed inside you. I simply give you the chance to let your true nature grow.
'I am not like that.
'How many family girls have you already bedded? You gave in to yourself on that quickly enough, didn't you? How many months have you and your pitiful squadmates spent in a lowlife tavern plotting and scheming to overthrow the gangs and make you Chief Constable? That is exactly what I offer you. Not in the way your childish daydreams imagine, I can give you all that for real, Grow up, Waterwalker. Your supposed virtue cannot bring you to power by itself, for that power is ultimately what you crave. The power to shape the city in your vision. That's right, is it not?
'Yes, he murmured. 'An honest city. One where people are not bred for advantage and profit.
'Sometimes you have to do what's wrong in order to do what's right.
He stared at her, stunned.
'Oh. A phrase even you've heard, then? Do you know who said it? Rah himself, as he forced his way through Makkathran's walls. He knew that only inside would his people have sanctuary from the chaos spilling out from the ships which brought us here. So he gave us the city. He took the city, and by doing so gave us order and stability that has stood for two thousand years.
'No, Edeard shook his head. 'I'm not… children shouldn't be born for that. They should be loved for themselves.
'They would be. And ours would be destined for greatness, too.
'It's not right'
'Really? And what if you only marry one girl, a nice sweet little thing who loves you dearly the way it is out in your backward villages? What do you think awaits those children of the Waterwalker? Me. That's what. Me, and all the others like me. The fewer children you have, the more valuable they become. The boys will be seduced by family daughters, the girls will be taken as trophy wives by our first sons. It will make most excellent sport. We will have the strength of your blood, one way or the other.