‘That’s easy. Too easy, you want my righteous word on it. Ship’s the Shady Lady, captain’s some cove by the name of Sobradin. That’s screaming through. Sobradin wants your opinion on the opening auguries for a bauble down in the . . .’

‘All right. That’s good. That’s very good.’

‘You want the rest of it, the stuff that’s whispering in under all that? Not from the Shady Lady. Someone a lot further out, but coming in on the same node.’ Still with my eyes closed, I added: ‘Marquess of Shadows, under Resparis, losing lungstuff at the Daughters of Blood and Milk . . . any vessels close to the fourth sector of the third processional make all sail to assist . . . Auskersund transmitting from the Hollow Mistress says to scupper and repair to all launches . . . estimated crossing time on full ions will be three days, nine hours . . .’ I tugged the bridge from my hair. ‘Do you want more?’

‘No,’ Trusko said. ‘That will be sufficient. More than sufficient. You were right about Sobradin, and I doubt there was any way for you to know that name unless you pulled it from the skull. But the rest of it? You overplayed your hand, Fura. I’d have been ready to sign you, at least as apprentice Bone Reader, but you took me for a fool. There’s no way you pulled the rest of it from that node, not when Sobradin was already sending. Maybe one in a thousand has that discrimination . . . but I’d know, wouldn’t I, if someone with that sort of talent was looking for employment?’

‘You do now.’

His expression was tight, composed. ‘No. I’m not green.’

‘Get on the squawk,’ I said. ‘If there’s a ship bleeding out down in the Sunward processionals, word’ll reach the Emptyside soon enough.’ I slipped the neural bridge back onto its hook. ‘I know what I heard, Captain. It came through bell-clear, too. I didn’t even have to work at it. You’ve got yourself a good skull here, whatever worth Grestad’s made of it. Now all it needs is a sharp Reader.’

‘I will get on the squawk,’ Trusko said. ‘And I will have word of something going wrong with that ship, if it even exists. You’d better pray that it does, Fura. I don’t take kindly to having my time wasted.’

‘Nor do I, Captain.’

There was a silence, which he curtailed with a contemptuous snort. ‘I’ll prove you wrong. But since my time is precious, I may as well have the pleasure of seeing the rest of the crew sound you out first. They’ll plumb you, Fura.’

‘Plumb away.’