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door on the other side with offices, storerooms and living quarters to left and right, all dark and deserted. Half way along it Peki paused to listen at a large door for a moment, then tugged it open. Beyond was a walkway overlooking two pairs of cradles where large boats had once rested, and Nerek followed the little girl along to a set of downward steps, Blind Rina spoke in her thoughts.
    Once, river yawls were berthed here, ready to offer aid, to shuttle passengers and prisoners from ship to shore, and even to save lives. Now there is only the rot and stink of neglect. But we managed to hold on to a few treasures
.
    Peki had vanished into the shadows beneath the walkway, and now reappeared dragging something long and narrow, an open canoe with its paddle loose in the bottom.
    Now you must hurry. Those hunters are drawing near to this place, so you must pick up this little craft and run down to the water’s edge. Now - go now!
    The urgency of Blind Rina’s words stung her into action, and she lifted the canoe with both hands. There was only time to see the girl Peki, face still intently serious, give a little wave goodbye before she rushed forward out of the boathouse. Voices shouted from along the riverbank but she kept running.
    Ignore them. Get the boat in the water, climb in and start paddling. Don’t worry if you hear them following you - just concentrate on quickly getting away from the bank.
    Nerek splashed the canoe down and almost leaped in. Then she began to paddle with furious energy, alternating the strokes from one side to the other. There were curses behind her and the sloshing sound of feet trying to run in the shallows, so close she expected to feel a sword point enter her back at any moment.
    Then the curses turned to startled cries then to shrieks of pain. Still paddling she risked a backward glance and saw two figures flailing in waist-deep water which was rippling all around with small shapes. One of them stumbled and plunged under the surface which suddenly boiled with activity, while the other began wading back to the riverbank.
    Ripperfins… the ever-hungry, but most dangerous in winter
…
    Blind Rina sounded weary, distant. The escaping man almost made dry land before slumping face down in the shallows which were churned into bloody froth by the swarming predators. Meanwhile, up on the bluff overlooking the yards, a solitary figure turned and dashed out of sight back into the empty quarter.
    When next you speak with Bardow, child, ask him about the Lesser Power
…
    Nerek watched the frenzied feeding with cold satisfaction, then nodded and resumed paddling.
    * * *
    Alael shivered and drew her fur-collared cloak tighter as she and her four-man escort followed busy Spinneret Street down to the quayside. The snow had stopped falling but a cold breeze was coming in off the river, nipping ears and noses and bringing a briny sharpness to the air. All around her as she walked Alael saw the poor and down-at-heel of Besh-Darok, their clothes threadbare or patched, their faces made gaunt by hunger and privation. They in turn observed her with sideways glances that held neither adoration nor fear - since the battle, innumerable tales about her and the Earthmother had percolated throughout the city, growing more fabulous with each retelling, regardless of her own patient denials.
    On a broad, first-floor balcony some way along Spinneret Street a troupe of choriants from one of the city’s academies was singing plainsongs in Old High Mantinoru. Alael understood less than one word in ten but the interweaving voices had a rich, haunting beauty which stirred in her recollections of childhood. Then, near the end of the street, a pair of minstrels with strange, triple-mouthed pipes played an odd, disjointed jig which sounded almost unsettling against the faint voices of the choriants.
    Alael and her guards turned with the chattering crowd onto the long, wide quay known as Goldbarrel Wharf, only to find the