Then Merrin grabbed the cone out of his hands and shouted into it. “The Demons are free! Run for your lives! The Demons are free! Run for your lives!” Merrin operated some sliding pins on the cone, and the device repeated what they’d both just warned—and shouted.

“Why did you say ‘demons’?” Kordas asked.

“Because everyone knows what a demon is,” Merrin said, with impeccable logic.

Faintly, sounds of screaming came from outside the office.

The Palace began to shake. The last glimpse Kordas had of the Imperial office was a rain of plaster and gold leaf heaping onto the carpet. There was no value to gold when the world was disintegrating.

Kordas and his companions got their footwear and other gear back on in the Records complex; one of the Dolls jammed paper talismans in their pockets for the foot-Gate at the refuge. Star accompanied them, snapping off information and updates as quickly as raindrops came in a downpour.

The Regatta’s warships came in to dock and took on passengers.

Dolls used their tremendous strength and speed as polemen to get boats and barges through water-Gates.

Civilians turned up street- and canal-side, and in more than a few cases, their tools, belongings, and trade-carts were tossed into barges by Dolls.

Some of this, Kordas got glimpses of; some, he only heard from Star. The false Golds! They’re at the chariot down by the waterfront!

Kordas bolted out through a Gate to the Imperial Chariot; Merrin followed. “Damned if I’ll let my horses burn,” Kordas growled, while he and Merrin released them from their harness. They weren’t Chargers; the ground shook beneath them, there was fire in the air, and they reared and stamped with growing panic, but Kordas tore off his coat and threw it over the head of his, and it calmed immediately. They knew; they’d been trained. If they had been “blinkered” like this, they were with a human who would care for them and they’d be safe. Merrin fought with his for just a moment, saw what Kordas had done, and did the same, grabbing the halter just under the chin as Kordas had. “Gate!” shouted Kordas, and they made for it, as the ground shook and a hot wind began to blow.

Behind him, the warships cast off after the first loud crack sounded from somewhere in the Palace compound. “Take them,” Kordas told Merrin, and when the new Duke had hold of both horses and was through the Gate to the refuge, Kordas stepped aside to help people escape. The destruction escalated over the next candlemark, and with Star beside him, Kordas stood and watched the Capital die. Jets of steam and smoke erupted from around the City, accompanied by more booms. One very large jolt sent a powerful enough shockwave to knock Kordas off his feet. Still Kordas stayed, coordinating the last rescues with the Dolls that remained.