Saints Cathedral was like a smaller Cathedral of the Gods in Arnor City. It had the same basic shape with four towers and three sets of entrance doors at the front. Zandrue did have to admit, though, that it was made with a darker stone, and it didn’t seem to have quite as many gargoyles. No doubt the stained glass windows were quite a bit different, too. She had never really paid a whole lot of attention to the specific details of either cathedral, so beyond the basic “church shape” there was every possibility they weren’t actually all that similar.

Not that she cared much. In all her years living in Quorge, she had always avoided Saints Cathedral. Even in her mischievous days, she had never dragged Felitïa and Drummor here for a prank or any other reason. It wasn’t out of any sense of reverence, nor out of any kind of dislike. Churches just seemed like places to avoid unless there was a reason to be there. Being forced as a child to venerate Nyx—Night in the Universal Religion—could do that to a person.

Standing down the street from the cathedral with a group of six City Watchmen, rubbing his hands in the cold, was a familiar person. Zandrue paused. He hadn’t seen her yet, so she decided to let him suffer in the cold a little longer. Of course, that meant she had to suffer too, but a little discomfort so that Almais also had discomfort was worth it.

There was a limit to how much it was worth, though, and he would likely notice her eventually, so she only dragged it out for a couple of minutes. Then she approached, straightening her back as she did so. They were both the same height, but he was slouching a little, so if she stretched herself, she could look taller.

“Almais! Just the man I never wanted to see again!”

He only raised his eyes a little to look at her, so she couldn’t see his whole face, but she could be pretty certain he was scowling. He was always scowling.

She stopped about an inch in front of him. “What? No joyous words of welcome? No screams of delight? Come on, the least you could do is offer me a hug.” She spread her arms.

He spat in her face.

With a smirk, she wiped her face with her arm. She hated having his vile scent on her, but she effected her broadest smile anyway. “I’m gonna ignore that one, but that’s the only one you get. Obviously, you got the message from Lady Belone, or you wouldn’t be here. You will place yourself and your men under my command.”

“You’re a bloody Eloorin! My men and I—”

“What? Really? I’m an Eloorin?” She made a show of looking down at herself, her arms, and her legs. “Thank you for telling me. Wait here a minute while I rush off to Arnor City to tell the King to take away my noble title. Oh wait, the King already knows, yet he gave me a title anyway. Fancy that.”

“You’re no noble. You’re a street urchin I should’ve thrown in jail years ago. And thrown away the key!”

She effected her broadest smile again. “You did get Lady Belone’s message, yes? You read the whole thing? Maybe you didn’t, but that’s okay.” She shoved the papers she was carrying at his chest. “I brought a second copy of your orders just in case. You will put yourself and your men under my command or you will be rounded up and tried for desertion. I do believe the punishment is hanging.”

He snatched the papers from her, but didn’t look at them. “We will follow your orders.” He made no attempt to conceal the contempt in his voice. He turned and walked into the midst of the City Watchmen.

Zandrue waited for him to get several feet away and for him to be about to say something, before calling out, “Oh, Almais?” When he looked back at her, she crooked a finger at him and waited for him to return to her.

“Yes?”

She grabbed his tabard and pretended to straighten it. “Don’t think the fact you’re back in Belone green means I don’t know about or will forget that you recently donned red.” She pulled him closer to her. “I want you to know I consider anyone who willingly joins the Red Knights scum. No, worse than scum. Got that? You are worse than shit in my eyes, and if you step out of line—even a little—I will gut you. I swear it. And don’t think I’ll suffer any repercussions for it either. Even if you don’t believe I have Lady Belone’s ear, you know I have Princess Felitïa’s, and she’s in residence at the Belone Palace. I’m pretty sure she’ll cheer if she learns I’ve slit your rotten throat. Clear?”

His upper lip twitched, but he made no sound other than a couple dull grunts. For a brief moment, it looked like he might spit at her again, but then he nodded and a bit of saliva dribbled down his grey beard.

She shoved him away from her. “Glad we understand each other.” Before he could say anything to his men, she called out, “You lot! Into formation! I’ve got someone to introduce.”

“You heard her,” Almais growled.

As the Watch snapped to attention, and took their positions, Zandrue grinned. Gods, she was loving this!

She raised her hand and waved to Jorvan, who was waiting back some distance. He started forward.

Once he got closer, she turned to the Watch. “Everyone, this is Jorvanultumn. He’s our back-up. Just a reminder, the brief banning of non-humans from Belone by Danel Belone has been rescinded by her Ladyship. He is here legally, so no arresting him. You’d really regret it if you tried, believe me.” She lowered her voice to speak directly to Jorvan. “Thanks for waiting and letting me deal with this lot on my own.”

“You are welcome,” Jorvan replied.

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“Why do we need an Isyar for back-up?” Almais asked.

“It’s just a precaution,” Zandrue said.

“A precaution against what?”

“Just a precaution.”

He stepped closer to her, his usual scowl deepening. “Look, you don’t like me, I don’t like you. That’s fine. That’s the way it always is. I’ll still do my job, but if you want me to do it well, you need to tell me what the hell is going on. We’re going to a fucking church. What do you need the mini army for?”

Zandrue sighed. Keeping Almais in the dark would be pleasing, and bullying him a little was ever so fun. It wasn’t just the payback for years of him bullying her; it also helped keep her mind off Rudiger. Gods, even momentarily thinking of not making fun of Almais had brought back thoughts of Rudiger. Was he even still alive?

But damn it, Almais was right. He needed to know. “Hopefully nothing at all. You and your men are here mainly to provide an intimidation factor. However...well, how much do you know about what happened last week?”

“The Red Knights attacked the Hall of Knowledge and lost, and the late Lord Belone’s Isyar advisor went mad. That’s the gist of it. I’ve heard bits and pieces of other details, but mostly just unsubstantiated rumour. During it all, the new Lord Belone died and now we have yet another ruler. Barely more than a child, but I suppose that’s what we’re stuck with. She doesn’t favour the Red Knights, so they’ve been escorted out of the province. Should I know more?”

“Plavistalorik was a Darkness Worshipper, and she ran what was potentially a fairly extensive network of Darkers in both the palace and the city, maybe even across the province or farther.” Zandrue paused for a moment to watch his reaction.

Surprisingly, he showed very little reaction, only a slight twitch. “Darkers?”

“Yes, potentially a lot of them.”

“But why are we going into the cathedral? Are you suggesting…?”

Zandrue shrugged. “Honestly don’t know. But this isn’t limited to just Quorge. There was a network of them at the Palace in Arnor City as well. We got a bunch of them, but… Look, there has been stuff going on in Arnor City for months now, news of which should have reached here, but it hasn’t. I’m here to try to find out why. The mini army is in case things go badly. Got it?”

With a grunt, he nodded.

“Great, let’s go. While we walk, tell me what you know about the head priest, Victrin Bandren.”

As they started towards the cathedral, Almais made a quick hand motion, and the other Watchmen fell into line behind him, Zandrue, and Jorvan. “Not a lot. He’s been there for a decade now, and is generally liked by his congregation. I don’t worship there, though, so I’ve never met him personally. The church rarely calls for assistance from the Watch, and when they do, it’s usually just to pick up a thief they’ve already apprehended. I’ve never seen anything to indicated Bandren might be a Darker though.”

“Well, like you said, it’s not much,” Zandrue said. “Still, I’m not suggesting he is a Darker. All the Darkers need is someone with access to whatever method the church uses to receive and pass on messages. That might not need to be the head priest.”

As they reached the steps leading to the entrances to the cathedral, Jorvan moved a little to the side. “I will wait here.”

“I have no idea how long we’ll be,” Zandrue said.

“I will be fine.”

With a quick smile at Jorvan, Zandrue continued up the steps.

“He’s not coming with us?” Almais asked. “I suppose there’s a certain tactical sense to have him waiting outside, but a couple of my men could do that. Wouldn’t he be useful as intimidation? The threat of what an Isyar could do…”

Zandrue pulled the central doors open. “It’s a religious thing. Isyar are forbidden from entering a place of worship that is not one of their own. Besides, Jorvan works best with lots of open space. Anybody runs, they’re not getting away. I want one man on the inside of each of the entry doors.”

Almais snapped his fingers at three of the men. “You, you, and you.”

One stopped at the doors they were at, while the other two split off to go the doors on either side.

As she, Almais, and the three remaining Watchmen approached the doors to the nave, a young man in clerical robes approached from the side. “Can I help you…?” He peered closely at Almais’s rank insignia. “Captain, is it?”

Almais gave a brisk nod and motioned for the Watchmen to stop. “Captain Benito Almais, and this is…” He motioned to Zandrue, his lips curling momentarily and practically sneering the next word, “Lady Zandromeda Armida. We need to speak to Father Bandren.”

The young...priest?...nodded. His robes were a plain grey, but Zandrue had no idea if that meant he was a full priest, or some sort of non-ordained assistant. “Of course. I will summon him immediately. I hope this isn’t serious.”

“It may be a bit delicate,” Zandrue said, leaning in close to the priest and sniffing, “so if you could also arrange for us to speak somewhere we could have relative privacy, that would also be good.”

Recoiling slightly, the young priest nodded again. “I will tell him your request. Please, wait here a moment. I’ll return shortly.” He slipped past them and through the doors to the nave.

Once he was gone, and the doors were closed again, Zandrue said, “You know, I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard your first name. I suppose you wouldn’t appreciate me calling you Benny, would you?” She grinned.

Almais frowned, and Zandrue stifled a laugh.

“You know,” Almais said, “the presence of so many Watchmen is going to put any…” He paused a moment and glanced around before continuing in a quieter voice, “Any Darkers here on alert. It might have made more sense to come here and talk to Bandren on your own or with a much smaller group.”

“I know, but I’m almost certainly going to have to be blunt with Bandren, and if he turns out to be a Darker himself…”

“Fair point. You said Belone’s Isyar was running the Darker network. Now she’s dead…” He paused. “She is dead, isn’t she? That’s not just the story told to make people feel safer?”

“She’s dead,” Zandrue said. “Felitïa made certain of it. Trust me. I saw the body.”

He nodded. “Very well. She’s dead, so who’s in charge now?”

“No idea. I’m hoping they’re in disarray.”

“Of course, if this network is widespread, aren’t you risking me or one of my men being a Darker?”

Zandrue looked him in the eyes and gave a slow nod. “Yes, I am, but I’ve got to trust someone. You, Benny...you’re a bigoted asshole. You might listen to the bullshit rhetoric of the Bloods, but I don’t think you’re a Darker.”

“I suppose I should be thankful for that,” he said.

“Don’t prove me wrong.”

He just grunted.

The inner doors opened, revealing the young man from earlier. “Father Bandren says he will see you in his office. This way.”