There were a lot of innocent people in the city. And a lot of not-so-innocent people in the Palace, but a lot of innocents, too. Kitchen staff, guards, and maybe there were more nobles like Merrin had been. Maybe more than he would have thought.

He turned to the nearest Doll. “Is there any way we can announce something to the entire Palace and City?” It seemed wildly unlikely, but . . .

“Of course,” the Doll said, and produced a golden cone, open at both ends, from a drawer behind him, while other Dolls emptied every hidden cache and display case in the office. They moved so swiftly now that there were actual breezes. The Gate in the room alternated between Dolls leaving with their arms laden and new ones coming through an instant later. “Just speak into the narrow end. Your words will be repeated all over the Palace and City.”

“I could have told you that,” Merrin said, looking at him with a hint of reproach. “He used to use it all the time to announce a parade when he was sufficiently bored.”

Kordas took a deep breath. “I’m going to release the thing in the Chamber of the Beast,” he said, wondering if Merrin knew what he was talking about.

Merrin went white. “But—”

He nodded. “I know. It’s going to wreck the entire City, and what it leaves standing, its parents are going to destroy.”

“But—”

“It’s a child. And it’s been tortured for decades.” He looked at the nearest Doll again. “About how long after I order it released do you think people will have to get out?”

The Dolls all froze. Finally the one he was talking to spoke again. “Earth Elementals move slowly. The Child will flee, most likely, and the elder ones will move toward it once they can detect it. Then, we expect, they will move to take revenge on the City. Based on the measurements the mages have made of the elders’ movements, three candlemarks.”

Kordas took a deep breath and tried to steady himself. This was going to be the hardest speech of his life. He was about to tell people that they had just enough time to grab what was essential, what was closest and dearest to them, and abandon their homes. “People of the Empire,” he began, and heard his own voice booming outside the office a moment later. “The City and Palace are in danger. An evacuation is ordered immediately. Take what is vital to you and get through a Gate to anywhere but here. Dolls will assist you at full strength and speed if you wave them down. One candlemark remains. Evacuate the City and Palace. Expect nothing to remain here.”