"Don't be an idiot. What has that got to do with anything?"
Clier nodded slowly. "Don't think I'm a complete fool, Karin," he said. "Just because I hold my tongue, doesn't mean that I'm blind. How exactly has Ka Vail betrayed you? What, by lending assistance to your father?" He leaned forward. "You tell me what constitutes betrayal, Karin. We're talking about your father here, not just some Guild functionary. This is Principal Men Darnak, the man who brought you into the world, who cared for you, who looked after you, who saw to your well-being after your mother was gone. Who is the one doing the betraying?
"You were always ambitious, and that suited me, but you seem to have lost any sense of what is right and wrong now. I could overlook some things before, but now? Your father, your brother, Guildmaster Ka Vail -- what next?" He stood and walked to the back of the chair he had been sitting on. He rested his plump hands on the back. "There is a limit, Karin. There is a limit and the natural order of things will be maintained. The Prophet's will sees to that."
"You are a fool, Yosset," she said and laughed. "Hold to your superstitions and that religious nonsense if you want, but it won't do any good. The only reason things happen is because people make them happen, belief or not."
"You're wrong, Karin. And I'm starting to be afraid of what you've become."
She got to her feet. "Better to be what I am than a sniveling fat cretin like you. By the Prophet, I don't know how I've put up with you for all these years. We do what we have to do, you useless slug. We need to restore order."
"There will be no order if you're involved."
"Shut up, Yosset and sit down. We need to talk about what happens next."
"You simply refuse to listen, don't you?"
"Didn't you hear me?"
Clier sighed. His shoulders slumped. He moved back around to the front of the chair and sat heavily. Karin looked across at him with satisfaction.
"See, you can't even fight your own battles," she said. "You're not a man. You're a useless wretch. There's no way I can rely on you. And because of that, I'm going to be forced to take extra precautions."
"So," said Clier, finally, a tone of resignation in his voice. "What do you want me to do?"
"Well, with Roge gone, and with Aron out of the way..."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, I don't know. Karryl had some new toy. He used it to get the information out of Ka Vail. It seemed to affect him more than Karryl expected. Anyway, they finally threw him out. He was useless. I can't see him taking any action against us now."
"What do you mean -- useless?" said Yosset.
"Well, I don't think he could see, for a start. Whatever it's done to him, he's merely a hollow replica of what he was. I really don't know if he'll recover. He was a mess." She waved a hand. "But that's unimportant. I need you to do something. As I said, with Roge and Ka Vail no longer in the way to upset things, there's only one choice. I need to be closer to Karryl. He has the only significant power base left in the equation. With him and me together, there is nothing that can stop us. And you know Karryl -- he still has a few surprises for the bleeding masses yet."
Clier was frowning across at her. "You really don't feel anything, do you?"
"And what should I feel, Yosset? Remorse? Or satisfaction that those who have acted against us have been punished?"
He simply shook his head.
"So, pay attention," she said. "We need to call the Guild leaders together. We need to let them know what's happening and then plan how we are going to take care of the current situation. Ky Menin has some plans, but we have to convince all of the Guilds to act together. I need you to send out the call for a gathering, jointly with Karryl. That will bring them in. From there, it should be an easy matter to steer things in the way we want. You can take control of Primary Production fully, and from there..."
"What do you mean, I can take control of Primary Production?"
"Well, Ka Vail's out of the picture. The older Ka Vail boy is nowhere, and Jarid, well, he's just that -- a boy. With my help, he won't be any trouble at all."
Yosset leaned forward a worried expression on his face. "So what about the Ka Vail boy? How can we be sure of him?"
