A loud thump woke Corvan, and he fell clumsily to the stone floor.

Red light flickered at the keyhole. Crawling over, he put one eye to the keyhole and discovered it was from a fire in an enormous metal brazier on the far side of the courtyard. He could see the outlines of men sitting on the ground facing the fire. Others were patrolling the tops of the crypts.

A horn sounded somewhere in the distance, and the men on the roofs began pounding rhythmically with their bladed staffs.

Ignoring the incredible racket inside the crypt, Corvan felt his way across the floor until he located the round key. Jumping back to the flickering light, he unlocked the sliding door and eased it open a crack. He wasn’t going to wait around to see if Jorad would be telling the rebels where he was hiding.

The pounding abruptly ended as three older men in hoodless tunics entered through the alley across the way. They walked in unison onto a low mound behind the brazier, then they turned to wait at attention until another man finally strode into view.

The man that joined the three at the brazier was the tallest person Corvan had seen in the Cor. He was dressed in a long, flowing brown coat that looked like leather or oilskin. His head was covered with an animal skin that had the head still attached. The dead creature perched looked out over his forehead, and its glistening skin wrapped tightly around the man’s skull with its clawed legs hanging down by his ears.

The man stepped closer to the firelight and some in the crowd chanted, “Cor-Van, Cor-Van, Cor-Van!”

Keen eyes shone from the shadows beneath his prominent eyebrows as the man surveyed his subjects and soaked up their praise. Throwing out his chest, he motioned discreetly to the three men behind him. One picked up a container shaped like a pointed Greek vase and poured a shiny black fluid into a hole at the edge of the metal brazier. The flames leaped higher along with clouds of sticky black smoke and more cheers.

The tall man raised his arms, and the crowd grew quiet.

Corvan eased the door open a bit wider.

The man swept his hand over his audience then clenched it into a fist and struck his own chest three times. “Our time has finally arrived! For too long we have been reduced to living in holes, our days growing darker as the rulers of Kadir consume the remaining light for their own pleasure. But the end of these evil days is in sight.” He spread his arms wide. “As your Cor-Van …” He waited for cheers, but when the crowd did not immediately respond, he dropped his arms to his sides. “As your Cor-Van, I am pleased to tell you that the final sign of our victory against the palace has been confirmed.” He turned toward the city where the upper edges of the courtyard gate were visible and raised a clenched fist in the air. At his back, the firelight revealed a wide, forked tail hanging from the animal skin on his head.

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Corvan felt a growing fear in his belly. During the war years, he had seen movie reels featuring leaders like this at the theater in Fenwood. Terrible things had happened all over the world when the masses followed a leader who spoke like this man.

Fist high in the air, the brown coat whirled about to face the men on the ground. “To defeat the palace and rule as your Cor-Van, I must have a worthy counterpart.” A murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd. “But since the rule of the Watchers, all possible counterparts, including your wives and daughters, have been taken to the palace!”

All the men jumped to their feet, shouting in anger and pressing forward. Unchecked, they would have overrun their Cor-Van and attacked the palace immediately. It took a while for the leader and his three men to calm them down and get them seated again.

“When all is ready and I take my place as the rightful Cor-Van, we will overthrow the palace.” He took a step back from the crowd, glanced up the alley, nodded, and turned back to his followers. “Things are moving forward. The priests of Kadir have finally seen the light and have acknowledged that I am to lead the Cor. They wish to join our cause.”

A murmur of questions rose from the crowd, but the leader pressed on.

“The Priests of Kadir have suffered greatly. The Chief Watcher has poisoned the High Priest. His son Tarran is dead, and Tyreth has been charged with the murder of Morgan.”

Anger rippled through the crowd at Tyreth’s name, but the leader forged on.

“These are desperate days, and the priests of Kadir have come to me in their hour of need.”

The crowd was silent. The man turned to the alleyway behind him, and Jorad walked out of the shadows to join him at the fire with his hood thrown back.

Corvan studied the priest’s face. He could not tell whether Jorad was pleased to be helping the rebel leader. The leader stepped to one side and waited for Jorad to speak, but the young priest only looked directly over the crowd in Corvan’s direction.

A long silence was finally broken by a few catcalls. The leader raised one hand to silence them. “Tonight, Jorad joins our cause as the High Priest of Kadir. He is the only one left who can lawfully join your Cor-Van and his counterpart in everlasting union.” He gestured to the alley where two men appeared, carrying a chair bearing a veiled woman in a long white cloak. “A counterpart worthy to be joined to your Cor-Van has been brought to us by the priests!”

The bearers stopped. Jorad took the woman by the hand and helped her down.

The leader stood beside her. “With the blessings of the High Priest, and to fulfill the office of your Cor-Van, tonight, in your presence, I will take as my counterpart a prominent woman of Kadir.”

The flames leapt higher.

The leader pulled away the veil.

Kate stared blankly over the silent crowd.