Feather went very quiet for a moment. “This . . . is truth,” it whispered. “You need only tell this one what you wish Kordas to know. Kordas need only tell Star or Rose or Clover what he wishes you to know.” It paused. “This one can tell you that what concerns Kordas the most, at the moment, is the repercussions that will fall on those left behind in Valdemar if they refuse to come to the refuge.”

“Well,” Ponu said after a moment of thought. “I think I have an idea. But it’s going to take a hell of a lot of power. Still! We can siphon off a fair bit from the power nexus here, and put it into storage crystals, and do it.”

“Do what?” Isla asked sharply.

“Wipe everyone’s memory,” Ponu replied. “It’s a crude spell, but effective. Take away their knowledge of the Plan and how we all left. It’ll leave holes in their memories, and that’ll disturb them all, but the Emperor’s inquisitors can’t find what isn’t there.”

Isla looked appalled. Delia felt as appalled as Isla looked.

Ponu looked from Isla to Delia and back, and snorted. “So what’s better? Lose your memory or lose your life? The Emperor’s mages will find the residuum from a spell that big all over the Duchy, and there won’t be any question that those of us who left forced it on them.”

“We need a better idea than that,” Isla said flatly. “I won’t allow it. And besides, won’t that just point the finger directly at those of us who left? And then they’ll have even more reason to try and hunt us down.”

“They’ll already have all the reasons they want to hunt us down.” Ponu shrugged. “You’re the leader here. Maybe we can think of something else. Probably we can keep them from finding our refuge here. And if we can’t think of anything else, well, you and the Duke will share responsibility for hanging the ones left behind out to dry.” And he turned on his heel and walked away.

“You’d better!” Isla shouted after him. “You’d better think of something!”

He raised his hand in a rude gesture.

“It’s not Ponu’s responsibility to come up with a ‘better’ idea,” Delia observed, earning her a glare from her older sister.

“Please come with me, Feather,” Isla said, rather than answering Delia. “I would like to find out exactly what is going on with Kordas.” And she led the Doll away—which had the immediate effect of making nearly everyone else who had been near it relax again.

Valdemarans just aren’t used to seeing that much magic, Delia thought. Much less something as powerful and uncanny as animating a cloth doll.

Which makes me wonder how they are going to react when hundreds of those things start showing up.