“Probably not out of the city, though,” Marcus said. “Too much risk of running into one of Janus’ cavalry patrols.”

“If I may ask a potentially obvious question,” Sothe said, “are these Names that important at this stage?”

“Yes,” Feor said. “They cannot be allowed to be taken to Elysium.”

“Why?”

“The abh-naathem, the Penitent Damned, already have a great store of naath at their disposal. The Thousand Names represents the only archive outside their control. If we lose them, we lose any chance of opposing them.”

“Having seen what the Penitent Damned can do, I’m inclined to believe that,” Marcus said.

“If Janus takes the city,” Raesinia said, “then we may get the Names back in any case.”

Sothe shook her head. “If they’re as important to the Priests of the Black as you say they are, they would try to get them out before the city falls.”

“I agree,” Feor said. “They will abandon Maurisk, if it comes to that. Cities and armies are not their concern.”

“So we have to get them back,” Marcus said. “Eight solid steel plates, taller than I am, that each take at least four strong men to carry. That’s not going to be easy.”

“Wait until they’re in transit,” Sothe said. “Then hijack them.”

Marcus had had much the same idea at Willowbrook, but since then he’d thought a little harder about the difficulties. “That relies on knowing when they’re in transit.”

“I can find that out,” Sothe said.

There was a moment of silence. The queen nodded, decisively, and looked at Sothe. “How badly are you hurt?”

“Not badly enough to slow me down much,” Sothe said.

“You’re in charge of intelligence, then. We need to know where the Names are now, when they’ll be moved. Knowing where the Penitent Damned are would be a big help, too.”

“That’s a bit of a tall order,” Marcus said.

“I can handle it,” Sothe said, looking at him coolly. “I still have contacts.”

Marcus looked questioningly at Raesinia, who shrugged. Sothe raised an eyebrow.

“I used to work for Orlanko,” she said. “Any other questions?”

Another, more strained silence.

Raesinia cleared her throat. “All right. I’m going to work with Cora to help with the refugees. Cora had some ideas on where we can house people, but it’s going to take delicate negotiation. Everybody’s closed up tight right now, and we can’t afford to fight the seedies in the open. Feor, until we find the Names, you can help us.”

“I would be pleased to,” Feor said, dipping her head.