Bayar surveyed the council gravely, like a pudding-sleeve priest delivering the bad news about damnation. “We don’t know who is responsible for the murders, though we have our suspicions,” he said. “It may be the copperheads. It may be someone else, someone with more experience in street violence.” Again, his eyes settled on Han long enough for everyone to take notice. “Or it may be a collaboration between the two.

“We do know this: all of the murdered gifted have been found in Ragmarket. And so it stands to reason that whoever is responsible must be based in that squalid quarter. Or, at least, they are being protected and abetted by residents of the slums.”

Bayar leaned his elbows on the table, propping his chin on his hands. “In the past, when the Queen’s Guard could not or would not effectively address the criminal element in Ragmarket and Southbridge, the council has intervened. As some of you know, a year ago, we launched an operation that cleared the gangs out of Southbridge and Ragmarket. It was temporarily effective. Gang activity diminished—at least until recently.”

Heads nodded around the table. Including Abelard’s.

Han kept his street face in place, while his insides roiled like a pot on the boil. He waited to speak until he felt confident he could control his voice.

And succeeded. When he spoke, his voice was low and even. “You’re saying that Queen Marianna agreed to that? Who was her representative on the council?”

“I served in the dual role of Queen Marianna’s representative and High Wizard,” Lord Bayar said, his voice as silky as blue-blood smallclothes. “Which makes better sense than the current arrangement. Of course the queen was informed. She agreed—something needed to be done.”

Han had suspected this was so, but now it was confirmed. The demons that had murdered the Southies. That had tortured and murdered all of the Raggers they could find. The bluejackets that had torched the stable with Mam and Mari inside—that had been an official operation of the Wizard Council and the queen. Not just a secret campaign of the Bayars.

The Bayars were the Wizard Council. This was their gang, and they called the shots.

Bayar’s voice broke into Han’s thoughts. “Although we disposed of and dispersed members of the most prominent criminal gangs less than a year ago, it appears that Southbridge and Ragmarket have been reinfested. One cannot exterminate rats without flushing them from their dens. And that is exactly what I propose.” He looked at Han directly as he said it.

“That is an excellent idea,” Lord Mander said. “We need a permanent solution to this problem.”

When Han looked around the table, he saw nothing but agreement there.

“What do you mean?” he said, tasting metal on the back of his tongue. “What are you suggesting?”