—He is the General Enver. Do you know his name? He was once a friend, so say the more scandalous and unreliable history books, of one of your kind, who went by a name that’s on the tip of my tongue, Kan-Kuk, is that right? And in his head is one of your secrets, which I believe—
—We know all this. We planned it. We chose him. He promised to help us, he willingly took up the burden.
—Him and old Kan-Kuk made a deal, is that right? He was to take up your weapon, save his Republic, destroy his enemies, which are also yours, is that right?
—Stop prying, monster.
—You’re in my head, ma’am. And why would you—?
—He may pass. And the woman, perhaps. She is sane and we may be able to save her. Not you.
—Without me, they’ll die. I am terrible, ma’am, right enough, I disgust myself sometimes, but what’s behind me is worse: the men of the Line. The servants of the Engines. Only I can keep the old man safe from them, and the good Doctor. Without me the Line may take what’s in the old man’s head and then I have it on good authority will be unstoppable, and that will only speed the day they come out here smoking and roaring and digging up your rocks and warrens and who built those handsome statues, ma’am, may I ask, while we’re talking?
—Are you loyal to your masters?
—Not so loyal as all that, ma’am. Is there a better offer?
—I don’t know what to make of you.
—I’m trying to negotiate, but I guess we don’t understand each other well enough.
—We understand you well enough, monster.
—Would it help if I begged?
—No. It would be disgusting. Pass, then. For now. But we will watch you.
Without a further word, she turned her back and dove headlong into the water, her mane stretching out in her wake like weeds.
Liv struggled at the bank. The rocks were slippery and she fell and bruised herself again and again before she could climb free of the water. When she was safe, she turned back to see Creedmoor standing alone in the water, looking around.
The water was at his chest.
It receded.
Within moments, it was at Creedmoor’s waist. He strode through it—it was at his knees, now—and bent down to lift from the water the General’s limp body. In another few heartbeats, the water was gone. Liv’s clothes, which a second before had hung heavy and soaking, were dry again and dusty.
The General turned in Creedmoor’s arms and mumbled through his beard, which was wispy and dry again. He was asleep.
With a nod of his head, Creedmoor beckoned Liv back over. She came laughing and crying in relief to take the old man from him.
They left the giants behind in little more than an hour. The valley began to curve sharply south, and the giants were lost to view.
Ahead the sun was setting, and the valley flooded with red light. Creedmoor shielded his eyes from the glare and stared south down the valley ahead, then west up the jagged tree-lined slopes.
“What do you think, Liv? South, sticking with this valley where we’ve had such fun, or strike out west into the heights and the forests and who knows what?”
She stood behind him. The General hung limply on her arm.
“How would I know, Creedmoor?” She shook her head, too tired to think. “Where are the Line? For all I know, they never existed.”
“I haven’t lied to you lately, Liv. A few days behind us still. A little to the south.”
She shrugged. “West, then, I suppose.”
“I agree. West it is. We should be atop these slopes by nightfall. I’ll take our friend.”
“You certainly will.” She passed the General like a sack of meal into Creedmoor’s arms.
“Shall we go?”
“What happened back there, Creedmoor? Why did they let us pass?”
“We may have violated some by-laws of the locals. I had words with their representative. I told her, I am John Creedmoor, how dare you bar my path! And she turned tail and ran.”
“Then don’t tell me. And what happened before? When you held your head and—”
“My master is gone.” The words came out abruptly, and his face closed behind them. He paused, as if waiting for a blow that never came.
“For now,” he added.
“Creedmoor . . .”
He kept staring west.
“We’ll talk later.” He glanced back at her. “I have to think.”
He started out bounding up over the rocky banks and up the slopes and into the trees, the General slung over