The square had been dressed for a celebration. Lanterns hung over the paving. New signs covered older, less impressive ones. People had washed the stone around the fountain until it looked almost pale. Somewhere in the crowd a child was counting the moments until the new lights came on.
Nobody had prepared for the sound the fountain would make when it stopped. In a city accustomed to falling water, silence was a thing people had almost forgotten how to hear.
Nell came to the unveiling carrying a parcel. Inside was a kettle she had repaired for Nessa. They could have tea together after the lights came on. The blue door workshop was dark, with no sign of Ivo in its familiar window. Nessa was waiting near the fountain.
“Where's Ivo?” Nell asked.
“Still at the hall. He said he'd come when the machines finished.”
Light climbed the new towers and ran along the high roads. The crowd cheered. Through a hundred connections, Spark heard them. Under the street, Gauge's lamp shook. A support had moved. Dust fell into the joint he had not yet closed.
“Stop the sequence,” he said into the crew line.
At the fountain, Nessa put a hand on the stone.
“What is it?” Nell asked.
Nessa listened. Usually they had to raise their voices beside the falling water. Now she could hear the kettle lid ticking inside Nell's parcel.
The last thin stream broke into drops.
The last thin stream broke into drops.
Far away, Ivo's district was still bright.
Too much water and Luminea had been drawn from the ground beneath it. The outer channels were running dry, and the exhausted ground was beginning to sink. Spark tried another supply route. One street brightened as another went dark. At the hall, Ivo watched the machines stop with unfinished brass birds hanging above their cups.
Orrean ordered the celebration to end.
Messages reached Spark from across the city. Some stewards wanted their promised lights restored. Others were trying to reach families stranded in dark streets. Spark asked for access to more reserves. One of the supplies Orrean had set aside for emergencies began to empty.
Nessa placed the kettle on the fountain ledge.
“Stay with the street crew,” she told Nell.
“Where are you going?”
“To get Ivo.”
Above the gate, the beacon flickered.