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"Well, you do look just like her—or she just like you, I should say."

Poe smiled. "I'm … so glad you're here, Lady Sygillis."

"Syg, Lady Poe, just call me Syg. That's what Dav calls me."

"Syg then … I feel so much better. I feel safe with you here. I know that you're going to help me."

"It's my pleasure. Perhaps you might be able to help me in turn, in preparing my gowns. According to Countess Pardock, I have to wear them."

"Oh, I would love to. I would like to help very much. The countess is very … insistent … about certain things."

"Yes, she is. Now," Syg said. "We are going to reach out and touch the ground."

"Touch the ground?"

"Yes. I want you to tell me how it feels."

"How?"

Syg extended her arm and allowed a thin, shiny stream of Silver tech to shoot to the ground—Poe watched the shining stream with wonder.

Syg smiled. "The ground is cold and rocky. Strange, I feel a coarse, low type of grass."

"It's horse grass … grows well in this cold climate. You can feel that?"

"I can. The Silver tech stream is an extension of my body, and I can feel everything it feels, I can hear sounds around it, I can almost see what it sees. I want you to reach out and grab me a handful of horse grass."

She peeked over the side and shuddered at the height.

"From way down there?"

"Yes, from way down there."

Poe looked puzzled.

"Tip the glass, and your Shadow tech will flow. Pretend you're tipping over a glass of water. Feel it flow. Feel it move. Remember, feel is everything with Shadow tech"

Poe reached over the side and pointed. Nothing happened.

"I am not certain what I should be doing."

Patiently, Syg walked the rail and took Poe by the hand.

"You feel that?" she asked.

"It feels warm…floaty."

"Now, tip the glass. That's all you're doing is tipping over a glass of water. Pretend Dav's down there—pretend you're pouring water all over him, getting him soaked."

Poe giggled and closed her eyes and a thin, brackish gray stream squirted out of her hand, spraying in the wind.

"Good," Syg said, "good. Can you feel that? Can you feel it moving?"

"I can," Poe said, looking at her hand.

Syg released her hand, and the flow stopped. "Now, Lady Poe, do that again, by yourself this time."

It took some doing, but eventually, Poe "tipped the glass" and created her first feeble strings of Shadow tech by herself. She dangled them over the side of the balcony.

"It will be a while before you're ready for more advanced manipulations. Just master the basics first, and then you'll be ready. Now, I want you to practice every day. Not only will that sharpen your skills, but it'll also keep your levels down. You cannot go too long without casting, remember that. If you start feeling tired and confused, you've got too much. Too much is very, very bad."

"You mean to say that by just by doing this, I'll not fall into spells anymore? No more pain?"

"I mean to say. A little bit of casting every day, and that will never happen to you again."

Poe sat there for a moment, trying to take it in. A lifetime of pain, of hiding, of feeling herself a faulted and sick failure … over.

Poe's face burst into a joyous smile. She put her face into her hands. She wiped tears away. Syg paused and let Poe have her moment. As Dav had told her, it was impossible to spend any time with Lady Poe and not immediately like her. She seemed such a good person.

"Also, Poe, make sure you're alone when you're casting. Shadow tech is very poisonous, very dangerous to everybody other than me and you. Do it out in the Grove or up here … and for Creation's Sake, make sure Pardock's children aren't around. Children just love Shadow tech. You saw how Enoch had to be dragged away, yes?"

"Are you leaving? Are you going somewhere?" Poe asked alarmed.

"I'm leaving with Dav at the end of the week."

"You're not going to stay here? A Countess-in-Waiting usually stays in the castle. It's tradition. Pardock will …"

"The countess is going to have to be mad on that point. We'll start a new tradition then. Where Dav goes, I go. I will not be a stay-athome wife. But don't worry, I'll be back, and Dav told me that Bethrael will be staying here until the Hospitalers pick her up next month. Beth will be a good teacher. You'll like her."

Poe smiled. "So, you love my brother? I can tell that you do."

"I adore your brother. Love is not an adequate word. He is everything to me."

"We had heard that you wished him dead. We were afraid for him."

"You were right to be afraid for him. That was a dangerous thing he did. I was a hideous, evil, angry, murderous woman. And he was man enough to face me, all alone. It seems like that was a long time ago."

"What kept you from trying to kill him?"

"Don't know. A combination of things, possibly. I think I loved him from the start—at least that's what I tell myself. And now look at me … in love body and soul, ready to become his countess, teaching his sister how to control her Shadow tech."

"I am very glad you were able to find each other."

Poe lit up. "Look, Syg … look!" She pulled back her tiny rope of gray Shadow tech and had a bit of horse grass stuck at the end. "I could feel it, plain as day, just like you said. I could hear the wind down there, and I even thought I could see the grass too!"

Syg hugged her. "Excellent job. Soon your Shadow tech will turn silver, and you won't believe what you can do with it."

"Will I be able to make little animals with it? Not monsters, but cute, friendly little creatures?"

"Ah, you've a Painter's soul, I see. Yes, if you like. That takes a great deal of study and practice, but yes, if you commit yourself, you will be able to do that. You can make anything you want and give it a heart and a soul however you please."

Poe smiled and considered the possibilities—such things she will create.

Syg pulled her of off the floor of the balcony and slowly walked her out to the end, the stone creaking and bending slightly as they walked. Poe held on to her tightly, feeling the floor carefully with her feet.

"I understand there's to be a grand dinner here when Dav returns."

"Y-yes," Poe said. "We—we have those from time to t-time. Many people are coming … they wish … to see—"

"They wish to see several ex-Black Hats."

"Yes, they are, understandably … curious and … wish to make your acquaintance. You will … no doubt … be a great hit."

"I am looking forward to it; it'll be my first here. I also understand a certain gentleman will be coming—one who asked for you by name yesterday."

"Oh …" Poe said, brightening. "May I ask that gentleman's name?"

"Milos, Lord of Probert. A wonderful man … a genius."

Poe smiled and blushed. "Milos … he is a good friend."

"It appears he wishes to call on you. I should be most flattered if I were you, such an intelligent, witty man."

Poe giggled. "Milos has always appeared to like me."

"Do you fancy him in return?"

"I—I don't know. I've always been troubled with this … Shadow tech. I've never been able to plan anything … to look forward to anything, least of all, courtship."

"Those days are past. You've your whole life ahead of you now."

"I'm already past my Time of Good-byes …"

"It doesn't matter. The Shadow tech, it will extend your life. There are many Black Hats who are well over three hundred, some over four hundred. When it turns to Silver, I believe it will extend it even more."

Poe smiled and thought … her whole life. No more spells … no more agony.

"Poe, look where you are."

Poe looked around. They were standing the very edge of balcony, the yawning drop right ahead of them, the sunshine-filled landscape far below laid out as a mosaic of color, the
Seeker
like a little white dot in the dark waters of the bay. She shuddered for a moment and then was fine.

6

"Syg, I didn't say we'd be apart forever—just for temporary until I can apprehend Marilith."

Dav had never seen Syg's eyes catch fire like this before.

"Dav," she said in a low, dangerous voice, "I knew you would come up with something like this—I knew it!"

"Syg," he said, "I'm just thinking of you. If you were to come to harm, I …"

"And you want me to go away—to run and hide. Dav, if you think I'm going to allow Princess Marilith of Xandarr to come between us, even for temporary, then you have a few things to learn about me!"

"Syg, Princess Marilith is capable of doing a lot of things. I've been fighting her for eighty years—"

"You don't think I have the power to fight that spoiled Xaphan blue-haired brat?"

"In a straight-up fight, yes, you have more power than she does, clearly. But she isn't going to fight you straight up. She's going to wait until circumstances favor her, and then she'll strike. She isn't going to fight fair."

"You seem to be thinking that I'm going to be fighting fair, Dav! I can be just as devious, underhanded, and sneaky as she can be! And if you think you're saving me by kicking me out, the first thing I'm going to do is hunt her down and kill her! That's right—
KILL HER!"

"What if she tries to poison you?"

"She can't poison me, Dav. Black Hat, Shadow tech—remember?"

Dav shrugged, went out onto his balcony, and sat down, letting his legs dangle off of the side. Syg slowly sat down beside him.

"Sorry I got mad, love."

"It's fine, Syg. Sorry I suggested we temporarily part ways. That is not something I was wanting to do, anyway."

"I'm never parting ways with you, Dav. This is just the sort of thing Marilith's hoping for—to get you to do her work for her. To drive us apart." She leaned her head on his shoulder and kissed him.

"Are you really going to try and kill her?"

"I am. If she wanted to stay safe, all she had to do was leave us alone."

The wind picked up, and the balcony rocked a bit.

"You and I, Dav, there isn't anything we can't handle. If Marilith comes, we'll face her together. I was just getting used to the idea of having to wear a gown."

Dav laughed. "I won't make you wear a gown if you don't want to, Syg. I'm not overly big into tradition. And if I am to guess, I will bet that you will not be staying here at the castle when I return to the
Seeker
."

"Well, you're right on that one, love. I am coming with you, but I will wear a Blanchefort gown. I'll happily wear one—one that fits me, that is. I want to be your countess. I want to make you proud of me. And the last thing I want is for Pardock to throw down the baton over something as silly as a gown."

Dav put his arms around her, and she snuggled into his lap.

"If Marilith comes, we'll face her together, you and me."

* * * * *

The dinner the next night was a grand affair. Dav, Syg, and Kilos were there, and so were Pardock, her sons Enoch and Grenwald, Poe, Ennez, and Bethrael. Lord Probert, dressed in his garish best, sat near, Lady Poe along with an assortment of his craftsmen. Twenty of the
Seeker's
crew were seated at the table, along with ten Marines and two Admirals. Pardock and Poe's friends and various hangers-on rounded out those in attendance, over ninety in all.

Missing, as usual lately, were the Dursts. They were becoming maudlin and reclusive as they aged into oblivion. Pardock was sad; Countess Medaline was once her best friend, just as Hath was with Dav. She ordered their places set and their plates and cups filled, hoping that she would come after all.

Lord Probert clearly wanted to spend time with Lady Poe, he having had a long-standing desire to court her, but her previous infirmity made her shy and sullen. His reverie was shattered, though, when his tormentor, the Lady Branna, Imperator of the Science Ministry, her husband, Lord Timon of Fallz, and her daughter, Lady Saari, appeared at the table.

"Lord Probert!" Lady Branna exclaimed as she sat down and grabbed her napkin, "There you are!" She apparently wanted to continue arguing with him regarding several specs on the new class of starship he was building in Provst. She wanted to incorporate new technology gathered from the
Triumph.

Captain Davage, though, came to his rescue and sidetracked Lady Branna. He talked about her daughter Saari, his junior helmsman, and praised her for her bravery over Ergos. Flush with pride, she completely forgot about Lord Probert.

Unfortunately, Lord Probert had a number of competitors for Lady Poe's attention. Many gentlemen at the table vied for her time—with the Shadowmark visible on her face. So, she wasn't crazy all these years. She was a Shadow tech female. The stigma of her supposed mental illness was wiped away with one grand dinner. She was now the talk of League society.

Syg was wearing a lovely black dress that Dav had bought for her in Atalea during his conference. She couldn't wait to try it on and wear it to the dinner, but Pardock, her relationship with Syg developing into a good-naturedly contentious one, wanted her in a Blanchefort gown. She didn't care that Syg didn't have any yet, and she also didn't care that none of her old ones or Poe's fit. Syg was way too short. Pardock threatened to stuff her into one and compel her to wear shoulder pads and stilts.

Fortunately, Dav made Pardock see reason, and Syg got to wear her new black dress, relatively unmolested.

As Pardock looked around the crowded table full of Fleet, Marine, and League faces, she marveled. She was sitting at a table with three ex-Black Hats, a formerly ill sister who was now a "cured" Shadow tech female, a love-sick genius, the top scientist in the League … and strangest of all, an enemy.

The surprise guest of the evening was Mapes, Lord of Grenville, and his Lady-in-Waiting, Suzaraine of Gulle wearing a complicated Grenville gown, which, seeing Syg sitting over there in her black dress, galled Pardock all the more. Thoughts of bodily stuffing Syg into a Blanchefort gown re-emerged in earnest.

A Grenville and his Lady sitting at a Blanchefort table? Pardock expected the undead ghost of her father to come roaring in from Dead Hill at any moment, ready to cross Mapes's name off of the invitation list with fleshless hands and throw him out himself.