If home was where the heart was, Riven was being forced to suffer too much heartbreak by Father. A flash post had arrived in the morning, requesting their presence before the Invigilator as soon as possible. Rose and Tam had already returned.

Riven, Viriya, and Rio arrived back in Providence city—via freight train taken from Welmark—at noon, loaded with great requests from Wilsall to procure some assistance from Providence’s great Invigilator with regards to the Frontiers Guards’ attempts to return to and re-establish some sense of normalcy. Riven would have been inclined to make the man’s case to Father if he hadn’t been dragged to the Invigilator’s office barely two hours after he got home. All he got was a warm shower, a few pieces of bread sandwiching a fried egg, before Viriya had appeared at his doorstep with her Coral cane and her regular irrepressibility of a landslide.

Rio joined the two of them on the staircase leading to the second floor of the Invigilator’s office. Viriya hadn’t talked much since the night before. Just the barest necessary words all the way from the Frontier to the city, and it was a big relief to have Rio’s chatter filling up the fetid silence.

Riven still didn’t know what was bothering her exactly, whether it was him or something in general he had no control over. Then there was Rio himself. Happy as Riven was to have the other Essentier to fill in the gaps in conversation, Riven still couldn’t shake off the feeling that he was being kept in the dark. It wasn’t painless to pretend to keep himself civil, and not appear suspicious. Such were the people he had decided were his friends. Which might have said something about him too, but the wasn’t the time for recriminating self-reflection.

Really, finally arriving at Father’s door was the main relief. Not a statement Riven had ever considered he’d be thinking.

Viriya knocked on the doors, ever the leader in their expeditions. They were bidden to enter, and Riven found himself alone in the room with only Father and his two companions for company. He had expected a larger audience, given the magnitude of what had occurred at the Frontier, but perhaps he had already met with others. Perhaps they were the only ones left.

Father observed them. He was sitting up straight, his hat in its place on the desk. Today’s hat had a purple band near the brim. “I commend the three of you.”

He didn’t say anything on why, just leaving it dangling for them to pick up and figure out on their own. Besides all that had happened at the Frontier, the fact that they had showed up deserved commendation. Especially considering Rio’s and Viriya’s wounds and injuries. She was still having to lean on her cane after all.

“We aren’t deserving of commendation, sir,” Viriya said. “Our success is limited at best.”

“Did you not complete your main assignment?” Father asked.

The other two looked at Riven, and he cleared his throat. A flush was threatening to break out over his neck and face. Why now, damn it. “I did find the Spectres, yes. They are taken care off, as the mission required.”

“The report says you killed them?”

“I did. They were hostile, unwilling to discuss much, and my hand was forced.”

Riven did his best to keep his face clear of any doubt, hesitation, or any other sign of lies. For it was a lie. The Spectres hadn’t died, only passed on when Riven’s prayer had been heard by the Scion. But he didn’t want to reveal the truth. No one ever communed with Spectres, and combined with the fact that he was hearing the words of that broken god in the pit, he had no wish to standout before he understood what the significance of what all that meant. Something told him Father wouldn’t be able to help in that regard much.

The hiding still made his heart stutter though. Especially since he had to keep it from everyone, including Viriya. Even now, he couldn’t tell how far or how strong their relationship went. If it came to a choice, would she pick Riven or Father?

At the moment, seeing the way Viriya only looked at him with great reluctance when absolutely necessary, the choice seemed easy.

“That was what the report said yes, along with many other things,” Father said. “It’s those that need to be discussed here today.”

“Father,” Riven said. “Are there any provisions being sent to Rattles?”

Father peered at him. “Rattles no longer exists, Riven.”

“Of course. But it’s people still do, and they need relief, not to mention the Frontier Guards stationed there. They are undermanned thanks to the demon attack and constrained by lack of manpower and resources.”

“Unfortunately, I cannot spare much for them. And before you argue, I’m not doing it on purpose. I’ll explain in a moment.”

“Sir,” Viriya interjected. “When we can spare anything, I recommend that the Frontier Guards be one of the first to receive it. They deserve it.”

Father nodded curtly. Viriya stared back at him, trying to stand straight as a good little soldier was wont to do despite resting much of her weight on the cane. Her left leg was in a cast, but she had refused any crutches. Riven glanced at her with a little smile, but she didn’t look at him. He turned to face forward again. Fine. She didn’t need his gratitude and that was all right.

Though it wasn’t easy to look at Father either. How could he refuse to help all those poor villagers who had their lives torn away from them? How could he refuse to help the valiant soldiers of the Frontier Guard?

They stayed silent, waiting for Father to go on. He glanced at the papers lying on his desk, then regarded each of them. Behind him, the paintings looked down on all of them, Riven’s entire family including the younger version of himself considering all of them as though they were balanced on scales.

“Have you heard what has gone on elsewhere?” Father asked.

“I haven’t, sir,” Viriya said for all of them.

Rio didn’t say anything to contradict her, and neither did Riven, their silence repeating the same thing. Riven hadn’t seen or heard anything about what the reactions to yesterday’s events were, though he was now very curious. What did people elsewhere say about the Cataclysm that had descended from the Beyond? Did they know about the Chosen? About the destroyed village of Rattles, and the breach in the fence that was supposed to have kept the Deathless away? What were their opinions on the appearance of the Scion in the heavens?

The last was especially intriguing. All the more so for the Scion had disappeared from the sky earlier in the day.

“We have received orders from High Invigilator Orbray,” Father said, mouth quirking ever so slightly when he mentioned Orbray. Why did he hate the man so much? It seemed well beyond professional rivalry. Father had always been gunning for the post of high Invigilator for as long as Riven had known, hoping to go so far as to secure a position on the Decal Council. “All Demesnes adjacent to Severance Frontier shall be under immediate curfew. That means no one is allowed outside their homes after sunset, except of course Demesne officials like Essentiers such as yourselves. We are also going under strict rationing, so expect supplies to dwindle for a bit, which is why I said I cannot spare much for the Frontier Guards and the beleaguered people of Rattles. Most importantly, all Essentiers are now to be on constant high alert. Any and all Deathless are to be accosted on sight no matter where they may be, and every Demesne needs to assemble a team to hunt down the Cataclysm.”

Father sighed once he had rattled off the items on his list. He arranged the papers into a neat sheaf before pushing them away from him a little. Maybe they had Orbray’s distasteful signature or something.

Rio cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Sir, what exactly are we expected to do to this Cataclysm?”

“Confront him. Keep him under control. Restrict his ability to cause any more chaos than he already has.”

“We’re talking about a Cataclysm, sir. Not a lowly Infernal.”

“I am aware. Your orders—the orders for all Essentiers—are there regardless of that fact. Besides, the team will be comprised of stronger, more experienced Essentiers. I cannot say if the plan is a sound one, but I cannot disobey either.”

Father’s tone left no doubt that he thought the plan was as unsound as it could ever be.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Rio wasn’t done, however. “How are these teams going to formed? As in, what criteria are they looking for, with regards who gets to be a part of the team?”

Father’s hands twitched as though he was resisting the urge to rub his fingers along his temples. “I will see if you can be cajoled into a team, Escario. That is all.”

Rio subsided with a little smile. Riven tried not to stare. He wanted to be part of a Suicide squad of Essentiers looking for that monster? Why? The idiot looked positively excited at the possibility.

“Sir, is the curfew because Deathless activity is expected to surge?” Viriya asked.

“It is. That’s why all Essentiers are on high alert now, and why all Deathless must be confronted to ensure they aren’t plotting from within, if you will.”

“Seems a little excessive,” Riven said.

“Better safe than sorry. This is simply an extension of my original mandate that all Deathless activity, however minor seeming, will now have to be investigated thoroughly.”

Father gave them some time to digest the information. He leaned back ever so slightly on his chair, his gaze measuring just like the ones on the paintings.

Once again, Riven found it hard to focus his eyes forwards. All he wanted was to get to that research facility and make inquiries about a cure for Mother. Didn’t matter that Rose said it was nigh on impossible, a foolish dream based on childhood fantasies. But they were living in a fantasy weren’t they? If demons could wield powers like whatever that Cataclysm had done, if Scions could part the sky to look down upon them all, if one of them could even go so far as to grant Riven’s wish, then surely curing Mother couldn’t be that difficult. They just had to look. Had to research.

“Now,” Father said, bringing out another paper. This one held a familiar sign at the corner, a stamp Riven himself had applied, though not on this report specifically. The seal of the Essentiers. “It is the contents of this report that we need to discuss most. Certain specifics that don’t fall under our overall purview nor dictates our main courses of action. However, some details might be very pertinent in the future, and I wish to clarify those. First off all, Riven. What did those ghosts you sought tell you? Did they give motives for their actions?”

Riven blinked. No space for hesitation or doubt again. No room for any hint of secrets or lies. “The Sundering. They all keep talking about this mythical Sundering, though these Spectres specifically talked about ascending to the Scion’s realm.”

“The report says they were free of the Deadmage’s control, so they had more autonomy and freedom of thought. Thus they could express the deeper motivations behind their actions, correct?”

“Yes.”

“They’re all working for the same thing in a sense, sir,” Viriya added. “The Phantoms, the Deadmages, and the Infernal were all seeking to become stronger so that a Scion would take notice and pull one of them into the Beyond. This is their method of ascension.”

“Would you say the demons under the Infernal’s thrall were also seeking that?” Father asked. The question floated about hem all, but his eyes were locked on Rio for some reason.

Rio shrugged. The motion made the jewel at the end of his earring bounce, glittering violet and pulling at Riven’s gaze. “Very likely. But I think the important takeaway is the idea of being under thrall, sir. With the Infernal dead, they no longer pose the same kind of threat they used to before the Cataclysm’s arrival.”

Strange how he highlighted the Cataclysm’s arrival. Monumental as that was, the demons had fled the battle, the same battle where the Frontier Guards had held them at bay for so long. And yet, their contribution got lost in the scale of their potential troubles.

Father appeared thoughtful, staring at his hat as though he’d set it aflame with his sun fire eyes. “Couldn’t it be then that the Scion came to our world to make one of them ascend? You were unable to recover this Infernal’s head, which was alive even after decapitation. Perhaps the Scion might have pulled him up and granted him the powers of a Cataclysm.”

“I was never under the impression that the Deathless reached the peak of their powers thanks to the Scions,” Riven said.

“They don’t have to. I’m sure many are already immensely powerful when they ascend. There are records of those who flattened mountains and wiped out cities with their great power, only disappearing and leaving their mortal victims when a Scion pulled them up.”

“It doesn’t seem likely that they’d pick such a…” Viriya paused, as though wondering what the best word was.

“A pathetic fake?” Riven offered.

She gave him a brief nod. “He is too weak to be ever considered on the level of a Cataclysm, sir. Though it is an intriguing proposition. Maybe there is a Deathless somewhere we have no idea about who is now in the Beyond. A Wraithlock or a Revenant perhaps.”

“Worrying indeed.” Father sighed. “Do you happen to know how exactly the Cataclysm was summoned? Your report had no mention of it, but was there any clue? Anything you noted at the moment of its appearance?”

Rio shrugged and then shook his head. He hadn’t been there, at least not according to him. Viriya took a moment to think, but Riven didn’t need to. The Infernal hadn’t done anything exactly, but there had been one other person.

“The Scion’s Hand came down after the Cataclysm went into the pit,” Riven said. “he followed the demon in. I think they may have fought.”

“A Chosen?” Father’s voice had dropped low, as though he was inviting them into a conspiracy. “Why were they fighting?”

“The Cataclysm tried to kill the god.”

“Ah yes, you said so in your report. One thing to remember, these details, specifically the ones about a god situated at the bottom of the Sundering Pit, need to be kept private. Is that understood?”

They all nodded. Riven had to expend an enormous amount of effort not to stare at Rio. Why was Father including that sly bastard from Ascension Demesne into this?

Riven recalled the specific moment of the Cataclysm’s arrival. “No, there hadn’t been anything that stood out when the Cataclysm had arrived. The Infernal was just talking about summoning him, and then all of a sudden, the Cataclysm was here.”

“Could he not have summoned the Cataclysm at all then? But then, how did the Cataclysm appear all of a sudden?” Father pressed his eyes closed, a deep frown drawing a collage of wrinkles all over his face. Sometimes, Riven forgot Father was quite advanced in age. He had two even older children after all. “Speculating will not help. I will carry out personal investigations, but for now, you’ll need to keep your mouths shut regarding the matter. Besides, I have tasks for all of you.”

Riven frowned. “Tasks? I need to go to Rennervation Demesne. Remember, this was supposed to be my last assignment until I had checked the research out?”

Father took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He seemed nearly on the verge of giving into his fingers to rub his temple. “I understand your need, Riven. I do. But I need you to do this little task for me. A small task, and then you can go off to Rennervation Demesne.”

“You said that the last time. Why should I believe you now?”

“Remember what your mother said?”

Riven’s lips twisted. Faith. Mother was always counselling faith, always making him recall the importance of remembering to trust his family. They had his best interests at heart. In the end, all they did was because they cared. “What task?”

“The flash posts need maintenance. The job is routine, but too much of our communication now runs solely on flash post. We’ve become very dependant on it. I want you, and Viriya, to make sure that the post office in the western precinct is properly operational.”

“Deathless activity?” Viriya asked.

“A Spectre was seen stealing letters, yes.”

“Stealing letters?”

“So I’ve heard. The job should be simple, and then you can escort Riven to the research facility in Rennervation Demesne for a day.” Father sighed, burying the lower half of his face behind his steepled fingers. “A little holiday of sorts.”

Riven blinked. Was he hiding a smile? Father of all people?

“Sound all right, Riven?” he asked.

Riven’s mouth opened on its own, but he shut it with some effort. There was no point in arguing further. He’d finish the task, and he’d return to deliver his report and endure another debriefing just like the current one, all so that he could be shunted into another little assignment. Father had no intention of letting him anywhere near the research facility.

“That’s perfect,” Riven said.

“Good.”

Riven tried for a smile. Yes, it was good. Once he was done with this silly job, he’d head for Rennervation. Reports and debriefings could go straight to the Chasm.

“Escario,” Father said. “Your job will be to head back to Ascension. You’ll have to be my liaison. I hope you understand all that entails.”

Rio raised a hand in a serpentine salute. “I do, sir.”

“Good.”

Riven looked between the two of them, noting the way Father’s lips tightened when he said Orbray’s name, the way Rio shared a tiny smile with Father when that happened. What were the two of them planning? Rio was supposed to be an Essentier under the High Invigilator, yet here he was colluding with Father. If Riven had to guess, whatever they had in store went against Orbray’s wishes. Traitor. Rio was a traitor.

A traitor to everyone, including Riven.

“Riven, your sister will be waiting to have dinner with you at the Willow Leaves,” Father said. “If you don’t know where it is, Viriya can guide you. You’re all dismissed.”

Riven didn’t linger. He’d been dismissed, and though he had questions, the thought of Rose drove him out. Damn it, he’d forgotten to ask Father about Rose’s part of the mission. He was yet to meet his sister after arriving at Providence city, which was tragic in a sense, but that was more Father’s fault than his sister’s. He had dragged Riven to his office after all.

They passed out of the office, and Viriya limped away without a backwards glance, her Coral cane tapping away at the floor.

“Something wrong with her?” Rio asked. “You didn’t tell her she was a little too scary, did you?”

Riven shook his head. “I did not.”

“Well, I’d try to poke her after some space, if I were you. Give her room to breathe. Relax. She’ll come around eventually.”

“Some space, is it? Should I poke you in the meantime?”

“Whoa now. No need to be so forward, now is there? I’m not ready to go that far yet.”

Riven stared at him. What did he mean? Poking—Riven flushed, looking away. Damn bastard tripping his words up worse than any demon ever tried to do. “What do you intend to do about this High Invigilator? Seems like you and Father have… plans.”

“Nothing. You’re reading too much into things. Your father simply hates the High Invigilator’s guts, and I indulge him because the man really is quite odious. But that’s it.” Rio glanced at him, a lazy light crawling around in his pale eyes. “What happened to your precious Sept crystal, Riven?”

“It’s safe.” Riven had hidden it in his apartment, which wasn’t hiding much. But it wasn’t like he could carry that thing around. Not when it wouldn’t let him use his essence. “Why, you want it?”

“Would you give it if I did?”

“Not really.”

Rio snorted. “Then why ask?”

“Just checking our answer.”

Rio shook his head, then slapped Rivne good-naturedly on the back. He went down the stairs, shoving one hand into his jacket and raising the other in farewell. “Take care, Riven.”

Riven was left alone with only his thoughts for company. So much to do again. But first, he needed a proper rest. Then he’d go to Rose, and Viriya afterwards if time allowed.

He had to learn to control his damn Essence.