‘The numbers are about to change, Your Grace,’ Komier said. ‘My friends and I have decided to participate this time.’

‘Now that’s unusual,’ Patriarch Emban said. ‘The Preceptors of the militant orders haven’t participated in a vote of the Hierocracy for two hundred years.’

‘We’re still welcome, aren’t we, Your Grace?’

‘As far as I’m concerned you are, Your Grace. Annias might not like it too much, though.’

‘How very unfortunate for him. What does that do to the numbers, Talen?’

‘It just went up from sixty-nine votes to seventy-one and a fraction, my Lord Komier. That’s the 60 per cent Annias needs to win.’

‘And a simple majority?’

‘He’s still got that. He only needs sixty-one.’

‘I don’t think any of the neutral Patriarchs will go over to him on a matter of substance until he meets their price,’ Dolmant said. ‘They’ll probably abstain, and then Annias needs –’ he frowned, thinking hard.

‘Sixty-six votes, Your Grace,’ Talen supplied. ‘He’s one vote short.’

‘Delightful boy,’ Dolmant murmured. ‘Our best course then is to make every vote a vote of substance – even a vote to light more candles.’

‘How do we do that?’ Komier asked. ‘I’m a little rusty on the procedure.’

Dolmant smiled faintly. ‘One of us rises to his feet and says “substance”.’

‘Won’t we just be voted down?’

Emban chuckled. ‘Oh no, my dear Komier,’ he said. ‘A vote on whether a question is a matter of substance or not is itself a matter of substance. I think we’ve got him, Dolmant. That one vote he doesn’t have will keep him off the Archprelate’s throne.’

‘Unless he can get his hands on some money,’ Dolmant said, ‘or unless more Patriarchs happen to die. How many of us does he have to kill in order to win, Talen?’

‘All of you might help him a bit,’ Talen grinned.

‘Mind your manners,’ Berit barked.

‘Sorry,’ Talen apologized, ‘I should have added “Your Grace”, I suppose. Annias needs to reduce the total number voting by at least two in order to have the 60 per cent he needs, Your Grace.’

‘We’ll have to assign knights to protect the loyal Patriarchs then,’ Abriel said, ‘and that’s going to reduce the number out in the city trying to locate the missing members. It’s starting to hinge on taking control of the streets. We need Wargun here very badly.’

Emban looked at him, puzzled.

‘It’s something we came up with at Demos, Your Grace,’ Abriel explained. ‘Annias is intimidating Patriarchs because Chyrellos is awash with church soldiers. If a Patriarch – either you or Patriarch Dolmant – declares a religious crisis and orders Wargun to suspend operations down in Arcium and to bring his armies here to Chyrellos, the whole picture changes. The intimidation starts going the other way at that point.’

‘Abriel,’ Dolmant said in a pained voice, ‘we do not elect an Archprelate by intimidation.’