“Looks like we caught our last little loose end!” Petronio brushed mud and bits of dead leaf from his padded britches as he walked over to Mucum. “Your boss, Jobby Jones, sold you out for a couple of sovereigns. And what kind of sissy name is Gladioli?”

“Sod you!” Mucum should have killed him, but now he was stuck like a fly in the guard’s muscly web. All he could do was spit into Petronio’s face. The aim was good and he idly noticed that a decent gob now hung from the other boy’s nose.

“Such insolence, from a nobody! Is that the best you can do?” Petronio pulled out a silk handkerchief and slowly wiped away the saliva. He was tempted to pull out his knife and stick the common oaf there and then. Instead, he slammed his fist into Mucum’s stomach. “That, boy, is for dirtying my doublet. These clothes cost, you know!”

Salix pulled his knife away just in time, letting go of Mucum’s other arm so that the boy doubled over in agony.

Petronio straightened up, pleased with the effect. “That was for starters. Take him to the dungeons. I’ll deal with him later.”

Mucum felt numb as he was pulled up and dragged away, no better than a bark-dog on a leash. Ark was dead. The country had gone to the logs and he was finished. As the guard prodded him forward with the point of his sword, he realized his promise to Flo was permanently broken. He wouldn’t be back, ever.

After his prisoner had been taken away, Petronio lifted up the lamp, its flickering wash of weak color lighting up the pool of blood on the woodway. Why had he let the dumb bird have all the fun? He should have dealt out the slicing punch into the gut, a perfect disemboweling. Ark would have stared as his intestines slid out of his stomach like glistening worms.

Petronio’s ability to deliver a killing blow had so far been limited to a safely trussed-up wild boar, squealing in terror as he hacked at its neck. Doing it to a Dendran was … for a moment he didn’t know what it was.

Yet, when he informed Councillor Grasp of Ark’s death twenty minutes later, he had almost received a smile in acknowledgment. Petronio left out the small fact that Salix had saved his life.

“You should have let my men deal with Malikum!” said Grasp, sighing. “But at least our work will no longer be impeded.” It was the best Petronio could hope for. He was dismissed. He thought about calling on the little sister and telling her that her brother was dead, but even he had some limits. Let her sleep.