City of Keys, page 25
Luk frowned. “Do you think that’s wise, Reverend Mother? Perhaps the mages mean to lure you out from the walls.”
“Then they shall get their wish,” she said angrily.
“I can send some of the Ravens with you, Reverend Mother,” Karolo offered.
Clavis nodded. “We’ll hit them hard.” She looked around the table. “If anything, this confirms what I expected. Balaur has no intention of remaining at Bal Agnar. He means to march. If it is a test of our resolve, let us show him that he has no chance of extending his reach through the Morho.”
The young Pontifex looked eager to ride out, but Alexei felt uneasy as she strode from the chamber, Gray hurrying behind her with the treaty in hand, the ink barely dry.
“Could Balaur have known about this council?” Luk wondered. “The timing could not be worse. There is still much to discuss.”
“I think we must assume he does,” Lezarius replied.
Luk stroked the bloodied hawk. “I will tend to her,” he said, rising to his feet. “With care, she will live.” He turned to Morvana. “Send a message to Rademacher that the Reverend Mother Clavis will join them with reinforcements. He is to hold his position.”
“Of course, Reverend Father,” she murmured.
Maria Karolo gave them all a cursory nod and swept from the chamber with her aide.
“I will walk with you, Luk,” Lezarius said with a sigh. “Would that we were reunited for a happier occasion, but it is still wonderful to see you.”
“And you, Lezarius.” He smiled. “I am relieved to find you well again.”
Alexei followed them out, pulling Misha aside as the knights from Jalghuth trailed the two pontifices down the corridor.
“Clavis looked grim,” Mikhail said.
Alexei showed him a copy of the treaty. “It was a success, but the mages are besieging Saint Agnes. It’s already begun, brother. I mean to find Patryk Spassov and Kasia Novak. I’ll look for you later.”
Mikhail nodded. “Stay on guard,” he whispered. “Something doesn’t feel right here.”
Before Alexei could ask what he meant, Misha was jogging to catch up with Lezarius’s honor guard. He’d taken half a step when a hand fell on his arm. She must have been lurking around the corner.
“Fra Bryce.”
He looked into a pair of chilly green eyes, his heart sinking. “Bishop Ziegler.”
“You owe me an explanation,” she said.
“I know I do.” Alexei glanced down the hall. “Can it wait?”
“No,” she replied. “It can’t. I saved your life. The least you can do is speak with me.”
He’d known this was coming. “I suppose that’s fair,” he muttered. The corridor bustled with aides and secretaries. “Where do you want to talk?”
“Outside,” she replied sharply.
He followed Morvana down the columned loggia and through a side door from the palace. They set off along one of the lightly wooded pathways that wound through the Arx.
“Why did you leave without any word?” she asked tightly.
“Because I was protecting someone.” He glanced at her. “I assume you found the bodies at the Danziger estate?”
“Bodies?”
“Jule and Hanne Danziger.”
“We found nothing. I thought they’d fled.”
“What about the servants?”
“Gone.” She caught his eye, troubled. “What happened?”
He felt suddenly weary of the constant, endless suspicion. The Kvens had just signed a treaty of unity. If he believed in that, as he claimed, he had to give her the benefit of the doubt.
“The Danzigers were leaders of the Order,” he said. “After I left you, I returned to the house. There were three women staying with them. And a priest. Friends of mine from Novostopol. The Danzigers were holding them hostage.”
“Why?”
“It’s not my secret to tell, Your Grace. But they had nothing to do with the Order. In fact, they were being hunted themselves. It’s why they left Novostopol.”
She looked annoyed, but nodded for him to continue.
“Did you see the half-human creatures in the laboratory?”
A grim nod. “Ja.”
“Jule Danziger was like that. A monster. He killed his aunt. Then he was killed in turn by one of the women.”
“I still don’t understand why you could not simply tell me this!”
“I’m sorry.” He avoided her eyes. “But I didn’t know how far the conspiracy went.”
She stopped walking. “You thought I might be involved?”
Alexei nodded.
Morvana stared at him. “I am no follower of Balaur.”
“I believe you,” he said quickly. “How is Sofie Arnault?”
“Staying with the vestals. They dote on her, poor girl. We arrested the parents who were not at the laboratory. They admitted everything, including the name of the last child they planned to take.” A grudging nod. “So you saved more than one, Bryce.”
They walked in silence for a minute, passing the bronze Fountain of the Five Virtues. Coins winked from the shallow depths. Alexei wondered if he should toss one in for luck.
“Do you approve?” he asked. “Of Luk’s decision?”
“After what I found in that laboratory? Yes.” Morvana sighed. “I never expected to see this day. Open war again! But as he said, there is no choice.”
Alexei waited for a pair of priests to pass them on the path. “I’ve wondered about something. Why didn’t you send the hounds after me?”
She cast him a level look. “Hounds? I had other things to worry about, Bryce. You were a minor annoyance at that point.”
“But you sent knights into the Morho.”
“No, I did not.”
“I saw them ride past hours after I left.” He studied her face. As always, Morvana was hard to read. “Kommandant Rademacher tried to stop us on the road to Nantwich.”
“Those were not my orders. I was busy rounding up the alchemists. We put their lair to the torch, but not before a thorough search. It took days. “
“So who did send them?”
She frowned. “I will ask the Reverend Father. Good day, Nuncio.”
They’d reached a juncture in the pathway. Morvana gave him a neutral nod and strode off, long legs devouring the distance back to the palace. Alexei watched her go.
Well, he thought, that could have gone worse.
But he kept flashing back to the knights thundering past on Marksteeds, mere hours after they’d left Kvengard. Was Morvana lying? She would have been well within her rights to send them. Why bother denying it?
It all circled back to his initial suspicion that someone else at the Arx was involved.
He shook his head and set off in search of anyone who could tell him where to find Kasia.
Chapter Twenty-Three
She pounded at the door for an hour straight. No one came.
Now Kasia regretted asking for a windowless chamber. But after her encounter with the winged monsters at the ruins, she’d felt safer that way. No one could creep inside while she slept.
At length, she used the Nine of Keys to open the liminal door again and prowled the empty stone corridors, searching for another way out. One that might take her into a different part of the Arx.
She found none.
Only a never-ending series of wide avenues, some with dry fountains at the intersections, others with vast plazas that held benches and statues and planters with arid dirt, as though flowers once bloomed there.
Stranger places, too. A lobby with patches of black mold growing on the wallpaper and an escalator so long it vanished into the dimness far above her head.
Even with her prodigious memory, Kasia was wary of exploring too deep into the secret city. Who knew how far it went? And what might be waiting there?
Yet she hoped she did encounter Jule Danziger again.
He’d caught her off guard, but she would be ready next time.
“And then I’ll make sure you’re properly dead,” she muttered.
Exhaustion finally overtook her. She returned to her bedchamber and shook out the sheets, making sure there were no hidden stones. Then she curled to one side and sank into sleep.
The garden was sun-drenched at first, drowsy and sweet with the smell of new grass. She patrolled the flowerbeds with a pair of shears, pruning away any signs of rot. There seemed to be more than usual. A blight that turned the petals a sickly brown. It couldn’t be allowed to spread.
Kasia snipped away every hint of the disease with ruthless efficiency. She filled a wheelbarrow with the offending stems and pushed it to a distant corner of the garden where the brambles grew thick. She threw everything into a mossy well. Then she wrestled a large stone over the edge to weigh the pile down. Kasia leaned over the edge, listening for a splash, but heard nothing.
The well was very deep.
By the time she finished, clouds darkened the sky. She brushed dirt from her hands and walked to one of her favorite places. A gazebo overlooking the pond. Kasia settled herself on the steps, watching a long-legged white bird hunt frogs in the marshy edges.
Rain pattered down, forming overlapping circles on the still water. It thickened to a downpour. She retreated beneath the roof and sat on a bench, listening to the steady drip. Rain would be good for the plants.
She wore a sleeveless sundress patterned in yellow flowers. It was soft, worn cotton and had large pockets to keep treasures in. She fished out the day’s discoveries and set them on the bench. A smooth, oval stone with a line of white quartz. The feather from a barred owl. Two acorns. Half of a speckled blue shell from a finch’s nest. Kasia stuck the acorns between her big and second toes. They fit perfectly.
A rustle of movement made her turn. A bent figure hobbled down one of the paths, aiming for her sanctuary. He leaned heavily on a staff. A hood concealed his face, but he walked with the stiff gait of an old man.
When he drew near, he threw the hood back, squinting at her through the rain.
“May I share your shelter?”
The voice was at odds with his appearance. Strong and commanding.
“You again,” she said with a scowl.
He peered up at her through the hood. “I won’t stay long. But it’s raining very hard and my feet are weary.”
Kasia studied him. His face was gaunt, the eyes shadowed with pain. She felt a stab of pity.
“Until it stops.”
He smiled. “Thank you.”
She swept up her treasures and let him share the bench.
“Ah, that is much better,” he said. “How does your hunt go?”
He spoke as if they were continuing a conversation, though she couldn’t recall it.
“Hunt?”
“For your friends.”
Kasia blinked. “I found them. At a place called . . . .” She searched for the name, but it eluded her.
He laughed as if at some private joke. “The Lethe Club.”
“Yes! That was it.” She frowned. “There was loud music. I didn’t like it.”
“Do you know why they call it that?”
She shook her head.
“The Lethe is a river in the underworld. All who drink its waters experience total forgetfulness.” He chuckled. “Some prefer oblivion to reality.”
“But I remember.”
“Because you are different.”
A warning buzzed in her mind. “What is your name?”
“I never told you.”
She rounded on him. “It is Balaur!”
He gazed out at the pond. “Very good. You are learning.”
Kasia leapt to her feet. “What do you want of me?”
“Only to talk.” He shrugged. “I am lonely.”
“Go talk to someone else!”
His brow furrowed. “Why such animosity? I have never done you wrong.”
“You murdered children!”
“I gave them eternal life.”
She shook her head. “I saw them. You stole their innocence—”
“I restored it! They have been purified by the ley. Can you say they are not happy now? Never to experience sickness or hunger? To be one with the mystical force that flows on this planet. How can such a transformation be evil?” A gentle smile. “There are wonders you and I will never understand, but we needn’t fear them.”
“You twist everything.”
He settled the staff between his knees. “Well, I promise you, I will not trouble them again. And I have no plans to interfere with any others. The Magnum Opus was not what I expected. Ah, well. We learn the greatest lessons from our failures, do we not?”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Believe what you wish.” He rubbed the stumps of his fingers. “But I have helped you, Katarzynka.”
“My name is Kasia.”
“Whatever you prefer, it makes no difference to me.” He cocked his head. “Do you think you stumbled over that liminal door on your own?”
She crossed her arms.
“You don’t remember our last discussion. I told you all about the undercity.”
“More lies.”
Yet a worm of doubt burrowed into her chest. She should be in complete command here, but he came and went as he chose. And she never remembered who he was until it was too late and he had tricked her into speaking with him.
“I told you other things, too,” he said. “You are in danger, Kasia.”
“From you!”
“Never from me,” he said seriously. “I value you. Not for who I want you to be, but for who you are. You will say I do not know you, and that is true. But I know enough to see that you are too trusting. How did your friend know to paint that symbol on the card, hmmm? Why did she put it there unless she already knew about the Lethe Club?”
Kasia shook her head firmly. “No.”
“How certain are you of Natalya Anderle? It would not be the first time someone close to you lied—”
“Don’t you dare speak of Tessaria Foy to me!”
He recoiled at the fury in her voice. “Never mind. I understand the complexity of your feelings. Do you know, I never wanted to join the Church? But I was given no choice. My father was a cardinal. A severe man. He didn’t beat me. That would violate their precious Meliora. But he insisted on strict propriety in all things.
“Even the slightest moral failing was an excuse for lengthy chastisement. Imagine how I felt when I discovered that I was the product of an illicit affair. With an Unmarked char.” His lips pursed in distaste. “My mother was barren. She tolerated the affair and raised me as her own.”
Kasia stared at him. A ruse to gain her sympathy? Yet his voice had the ring of truth.
“What happened to the char?”
“She was sent away. I don’t know where. When I confronted my father, he forbade me to speak of it.”
“How did you find out?”
“When I was twelve, I gained the ability to walk in the dreams of others. At first, I only spied on them for my own amusement. Truly, you would not believe what the most pious people get up to in dreams! But then I began to make mischief as boys will do. It came to the attention of the Pontifex of Bal Agnar. She summoned me before her. It is not a normal ability, you see. My father had concealed the truth of my birth even from her, but under duress, he confessed all. My views changed radically in that moment. I realized that he was nothing but a vile hypocrite.
“Yet who was punished?” A snort. “Not my father. The pontifex set me a penance caring for the dying. Bathing their putrid flesh. Spooning mush into trembling, toothless mouths.” He shook his head in disgust. “She said it would teach me compassion. Well, I did learn a valuable lesson. This mortal coil is a prison, Kasia, with bars of flesh and bone in which the soul is left to bear witness to its own inevitable decay. Marks cannot save us from it. But alchemy! It promises another path. That was when I began to explore the forbidden texts. And to continue my dream-walking in greater secrecy.”
Balaur sighed. “I am a half-blood, Kasia. That is my deepest shame. And greatest gift.”
Kasia stared down at the fragments of blue shell at her feet. Her fingers had torn the pretty, fragile thing to pieces. “Why are you telling me all this?”
He gazed at her frankly. “Because you will not remember. And it unburdens me to speak of it with someone.” His eyes sharpened. “There is another half-blood in the world. Newly arrived. I’ve seen the signs. We are very strong. Each with a unique ability to wield the ley. I would find this child.”
“You just said you wouldn’t hurt any more children!”
“Then help me, Kasia. There is another way.” He waved his hand. “Look at these and tell me what they mean.”
Seven keys floated in the air, each of a different size and shape. Silver and gold, bronze and tin. Mercury, iron and copper.
Beyond them, a gate with seven keyholes.
And beyond that a golden city, limned in fire by the rising sun—
“What do you see?” he demanded. “Where can I find them?”
Kasia waved her hand. The images vanished.
“I saw nothing,” she said. “And I wouldn’t tell you if I had.”
His jaw knotted. “Why not?”
“Because you are evil.”
“That is a relative concept. Is it evil to sever the hands of those who defy Church doctrine? Is it evil to shell an entire city to punish unbelievers?” His gaze swept her bare arms. “To test children for so-called deviancy and condemn those who fail to the margins of society before they’ve committed a single wrongful act?”
The last struck a nerve—as he’d intended—but she kept her voice calm. “You will not use me to further your own ambitions. So you might as well leave.”
Anger flashed across his face. Then it smoothed out again. “What would you do with great power, Kasia? I could give that to you. The elixir of everlasting life—”
She laughed. “Is that what you’ve promised your followers? The Magnum Opus failed, so now you will find a magical elixir! You chase illusions, Balaur.”
“It is called the Amrita, silly girl. Sometimes the Aab-i-Hayat. And it exists! You will see—”
