Maya glared at the huge book. “This is someone’s idea of a joke?”

“More like a ritual,” Varo said.

“I’ve never heard of it,” Beq said. “Let me see.”

Beq swiveled the book to face her, flipped it open, and twisted a dial on the side of her spectacles, which made something inside the lenses shift. The page was covered from edge to edge in tiny, neat writing, and she leaned forward to read. As she did so, she reached up automatically to brush back a coil of green hair that had escaped from her braid, tucking it behind her ear. Something about the motion, the perfect curve of the neck thus exposed, did strange things to Maya’s guts. She felt as though her internal organs were jostling for position.

This is ridiculous, she admonished herself. You’re going to be a centarch, for the Chosen’s sake. Have a little self-control.

“Sorry,” Maya said, aware that Beq had been talking but not of what she’d said. “What was that?”

Beq looked up, her eyes huge beneath her spectacles. “I said it’s just lists of junk. Listen to this. ‘One spherical device, approx. one meter cubed, for the control of flame in piping, nonfunctional. One ovoid device, approx. thirty-five meters cubed, for the purification of water, working order.’” She flipped a page. “‘Devices of unknown purpose, cubical, of less than one meter cubed, separated by provenance.’” She frowned and flipped again. “‘Three suits of armor, of the Gevaudan pattern, badly damaged.’ That’s dated two hundred years ago!”

“You know how big this place is,” Varo said. “The storehouses go on forever, so the quartermasters never throw anything away. Every piece of scrap that’s ever come into the Forge is still in there, somewhere, just in case someone needs it. When someone asks for the full catalog, they take them literally.”

“That doesn’t seem the most helpful way to behave,” Maya said.

“Even quartermasters need laughs, I suppose.” Varo shrugged. “If you needed help, why didn’t you ask Tanax?”

Maya pulled a face. “Tanax doesn’t seem inclined to offer much assistance. Or to talk to me at all, for that matter.”

“Oh?” Beq closed the book and dialed her spectacles back. “I thought it was just me.”

“He gave me the brush-off, too,” Varo said. “But that’s centarchs. Not much time for the rest of us.”

“Really?” Maya frowned. “I’ve never worked with any support staff.”

“Never?” Varo raised an eyebrow. “Is this your first time doing this kind of work?”

“Not exactly,” Maya said. “But it’s always just been me and my master and her other agathios. We never spent much time at the Forge.”

“That explains why you’re so friendly,” Beq said with a grin. “I didn’t think that centarchs were allowed.”

Maya smiled back as her heart double-thumped. Varo cleared his throat.