‘To do what?’ asked Drusher. ‘Use their machine against them? To achieve what?’

+An ending.+

‘To what?’

+The Long War. The primordial fight.+

‘Wh-what are you intending to do, sir?’ asked Voriet.

+Control the fire. Then… increase the rate of the Loom. Unpick a hole in the warp. Open one space into another. An extimate fold. Between here and… Queen Mab.+

‘What is that?’ asked Voriet.

+The City of Dust. Another… another extimate space, I think. I’m going to open it wide and engulf the King in Yellow. Unmake him on his own Loom. Uncreate him word by word.+

‘Sir, this is a heresy that must end,’ said Voriet. ‘You are employing devices and powers beyond our understanding–’

+I understand.+

‘Do you? Do you really?’ yelled Drusher. ‘Or is this just the obsession coming out again? The old drive? The old desperation? The old craziness that doesn’t recognise when it’s time to stop?’

+You are outspoken, Valentin Drusher. You are ignorant.+

Drusher kicked the bars of the cage.

‘You’re the one locked in a magical frigging cage trying to unpick the fabric of reality,’ he yelled. ‘I’d rather be ignorant than crazy!’

He looked at Voriet.

‘Unpick the fabric of reality, near enough?’ he asked.

Voriet managed a shrug. ‘I think, pretty much. Yeah.’

Drusher knelt down and stared through the bars.

‘I’m not ignorant,’ he said. ‘I’m very knowledgeable. Educated. I’m smart enough to know my own limits. Do you know yours? Do you know when a good idea stops being a good idea? Do you know what “too far” looks like?’

+Enough, magos.+

‘What happens when you do this?’ asked Drusher. ‘Does Keshtre collapse? Do you die? Do we die?’

+Perhaps.+

‘We came back for you!’ Drusher snarled.

+I did not ask you to.+

‘You did, actually. You asked for my help. I asked for yours, but you refused. That’s all right. But I said I’d come and help you. Now you don’t want my help.’

+I don’t need it.+

‘So tell me what happens when you do this?’ said Drusher. ‘Some kind of cataclysmic cosmic event, I shouldn’t wonder. Continental upheaval. Planets imploding. Stars blowing out. Another Long Night. Am I close?’

+The King will die.+

‘Fine, what else?’ Drusher asked. ‘How many people die here on Gershom if you do this? How many people in… What was it called? Queen Mab? How many innocents? How many children?’

Eisenhorn’s mind did not reply.

‘Who is Beta?’ asked Voriet.

‘I don’t know,’ Drusher replied. ‘But the name was just in my head too. Did that feel like sadness? Regret?’

Voriet nodded.