Mama interposed her bulk, shielding the geomancer and shoving hard at Stanislav. Now separated from his target, he half-rose and shook Luiza clear with a shrug of his broad shoulders. She landed with a squeal and tried to scramble back into contact, but Dalip got within range and brought Stanislav down.

The man raged and frothed and bellowed, and Dalip could barely hold him, let alone control him. It was like riding a tiger, and not even his fabled grandfather had done that.

Luiza threw her club next to him. She was right: it was either that or the knife. He snatched it up, got his arm around Stanislav’s neck and smashed the club against the crown of his head. The first strike seemed to have little effect. The second knocked him back flat against the floor. The third was ill-timed and weakly done, and only the fourth, where he was able to get a better swing and connect with the wound already on Stanislav’s temple, stunned him.

‘Get him out of here,’ demanded Mama. ‘Just get him out before he does that again. And when he comes to his senses, tell him we do not do that – to anyone! That man is becoming too much of a liability to have around.’

Dalip threw the club aside and dragged Stanislav by his collar to the stairs, then bundled him down them and into the room he’d first entered via the window. He slammed the door shut and put his back against it, bracing himself upright. He swung wildly between shock and fury.

‘What was that? What did you think you were doing?’

Stanislav, sprawling half under the table that still held the specimen tray, groggily put his hand to his head where Dalip had coshed him.

‘Answer me!’ He thought of all the words that the other boys at school used, openly, between themselves. ‘You were … you were …’

‘You don’t understand,’ slurred Stanislav.

‘That, at least, is right. Mary – Mary can do magic now. The geomancer wasn’t a threat any more. She was beaten. She was our prisoner.’

‘She is still dangerous—’

‘No. She isn’t. It’s you who’s too dangerous. You’ve already killed two people tonight. One of them in cold blood. And then you want to kill the steward, and the geomancer, and then you, you were tearing her clothes off. That’s just not …’ All the long words had failed him. ‘That’s just not right.’

‘She is dangerous,’ roared Stanislav. ‘She needs to be, needs to be – subdued. Conquered. Looted. Like a city. Her walls must come down, yes? It is not enough to force her to her knees, she needs to remember why she is there.’

‘That’s—’

‘She was using you to fight animals to the death. Have you forgotten that?’

‘No, I haven’t, but—’