Felitïa stepped out of the cover of the trees and into the latest downpour. She had her cloak on and the hood up. It might not have been a very Ninifin-style garment, but it kept the rain off. Besides, it was so dark, people wouldn’t be able to see there was anyone there, let alone what she was wearing.

She had spent last night and today by the banks of the Jaguar, not far from the top of the falls. It was isolated and only a short walk away from a good view of the City. She’d taken a couple looks at the City during the day to see if she could see anything noteworthy. Alas, while the view itself was gorgeous, it wasn’t possible to make out what individual people were doing, though she did see someone riding a horse in the field behind the Palace. Borisin maybe? The Queen or Rudiger?

She struck out now along the north road back towards the city. Her stomach grumbled. Although she had managed to forage a bit of food in the woods, it had not amounted to much, and she was getting hungry again. Still, a little hunger wouldn’t harm. Once she’d made contact with Nin-Akna or Rudiger, she could get more food. That was the plan, at any rate.

She had considered going after Meleng and Quilla. She was on the right side of the City for that. However, she wanted to wait until she had more to tell them. At the very least, she wanted an idea where Zandrue and Jorvan were first. That way, she could send Meleng and Quilla to find them.

Of course, seeking out Nin-Akna or Rudiger meant going back into the City, which she’d barely got out of yesterday. Going in at night under cover of darkness made things easier though. The overcast sky and rain made it even better. She could save energy and maybe even recuperate from yesterday.

The City itself wasn’t pitch dark like the road leading to it. Flickering lights came from the windows of homes and especially the Palace itself. But it was still dark enough to make movement through it unseen simple, especially considering there weren’t many people outside anyway.

Felitïa made her way along the northwest edge of the City, towards the Grand Temple and the Palace on the other side. In the darkness, the Grand Temple was only noticeable as a roughly triangular shadow blocking lights from the palace. As she got closer and it blotted out more and more of the Palace lights, it took on a more ominous feel. In the daylight, from the top of the falls, it looked beautiful. Now, it looked like a gaping maw of darkness waiting to swallow her whole.

Silly thought. It was no different just because there was no light.

Her path took her past the northeast corner of the Temple, where the Palace’s flickering lights were visible again. As she passed the steps leading to the Temple’s entrance, a chill passed through her.

Felitïa.

She stopped and listened. The patter of the rain on the stones of the pyramid and the dull roar of the Jaguar Falls in the distance were the only sounds.

Had she really heard something?

Felitïa.

It was barely audible in her head. She couldn’t even say for sure that it was using her name. It could be something different. Maybe just her imagination spurred on by the darkness.

She turned and looked up at the foreboding Temple beside her. Once again, she felt a chill in her bones. The plants and statues on its tiers were like dark shadows swaying with the breeze and rain against the much larger shadow of the Temple itself.

But only the plants should be swaying, not the statues too. It was hard to tell the difference between the two, but all appeared to be swaying.

Anxiety spread through her and her heart started to beat faster. She walked back to the steps and stood at the bottom, staring up. They were steep and narrow, and likely slippery from the rain.

Was this wise? Her ankle was mostly healed now, but it still gave her a bit of pain and stiffness from time to time.

She put her right foot onto the first step, then her left onto the second.

FELITÏA!

Her foot slipped. She fell back and landed on her butt. The intensity of the mental contact had startled her, but so had the familiarity of it.

The wet ground was starting to soak through her skirt, but she let it and didn’t get back up. Instead, she unfolded the Room and brought forward the line of people. The image of Nin-Akna loomed at her, the jaguar tattoos swiping. Felitïa gasped and almost lost control of the Room.

She took a deep breath and focused. The line was again as it always was, everyone up to Nin-Akna clear and the remainder, still an unknown number, blurred. But she wasn’t interested in the line this time. She was interested in the voice calling out the names.

Felitïa.

Zandrue. Rudiger. Borisin. Meleng. Corvinian. Jorvanultumn. Quilla. Kindanog. Nin-Akna...

Ever repeating.

It was the same voice.

Except not exactly a voice this time. More an impression. It hadn’t so much said her name as it had felt her name.

But somehow the source was the same. She was sure of it.

She folded the Room away and stood up, wiping dirt and water droplets off her skirt.

No, climbing those stairs right now was not a good idea. That was a task for later. There had to be answers there. First though, she needed to find Nin-Akna or Rudiger. Besides, she’d want others with her when she finally did enter the Temple.

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Felitïa.

She paid it no mind and hurried towards the Palace.

Despite the late hour and the rain, there were guards on duty in the lowest courtyard. Just a couple. Covered torches spaced around the courtyard provided some dim light, so she would need a bit of magic to get by, but it would still be an easy task. The torches also created a lot of shadow, which she could use to her advantage.

She encountered similar situations at the middle and top courtyards. The top one had more warriors on duty, but it was still near effortless to avoid them. She’d discovered recently that turning her head a tiny bit to the right before tilting it made the invisibility spell use a mere fraction of the energy it had before.

Now, where would Nin-Akna or Rudiger be? Rudiger was working in the stables, so perhaps finding the stables was the way to go. At this time of night, he was probably somewhere else sleeping, but she could wait in the stables until he showed up in the morning. If anyone else showed up in the meantime, it would be easy to hide from them. It would mean staying awake all night, though.

Nin-Akna was probably in the barracks with the other two Youth Guards. There would be a lot of other warriors there as well, so it wasn’t the best choice.

The stables it was then.

She couldn’t be sure where the stables were, but close to the field she’d seen someone riding in made sense. That meant the back of the Palace.

She followed a path that led around the north side of the main building. Along the way, she passed a few more warriors and servants hurrying through the rain, but she kept herself hidden from them all. There were several buildings along this path, so she glanced at each of them as she passed, but none of them looked much like stables. None of them had doors big enough for horses for a start.

The path led to the west side of the main building, behind which was the field she had seen earlier in the day. A short distance away, near the back of the main building but not right against it, was a large wooden building with wide doors like a barn. That seemed promising, and she hurried over to it.

Sounds came from inside. A thud followed by a grunt. Then a moan, an excited... Oh.

Then the emotions hit her. Lust. So much lust flooded through her, and she found herself thinking of Maneshka, remembering... No. Now was not the time. These were not her feelings. They were...

Wait. Was one of them Rudiger? Yes, that was Rudiger. Oh gods, that was embarrassing.

The woman wasn’t Zandrue, though. The two of them hadn’t been sexually active when she’d last seen them, but she’d always assumed they would end up that way.

“What?” Rudiger said, speaking Ninifin. “She is? Shit.” The sexual thoughts faded in an instant.

“What’s the problem?” the woman said.

“Borisin said he smells—”

“Never mind, he just told me too.” The woman laughed.

“Just give me those,” Rudiger said.

A moment later, one of the doors creaked open a crack and Rudiger peered out. “Felitïa! How wonderful to see you again!”

She just looked at him, her cheeks getting warmer. Hopefully, in the darkness, he couldn’t see.

“Come in.” He stepped back and opened the door wider. Felitïa stepped inside, and he closed the door behind her. Then he came round in front of her. “So, uh...” He looked away from her. He was topless, and his breeches were hastily tied. One hand was bandaged.

Felitïa looked around. Borisin was sticking his head out of one of the stalls, and a Ninifin woman was standing up from a haystack. She was still mostly naked.

“We were just, um,” Rudiger began. “I mean...we...this isn’t...”

The woman rolled her eyes.

“I know what you were doing, Rudiger,” Felitïa said. “And it’s all right. I’m the one who came here unannounced in the middle of the night.”

“Going to introduce me?” the woman said.

“Oh right!” Rudiger responded. “Felitïa, this is Ses-Izel. Izel, this is Felitïa.”

The woman came up to Felitïa and held out her hand. Felitïa shook it, but then looked away to hide her own embarrassment.

“Oh good grief,” Ses-Izel said. “You’re as bad as he is.” She began picking up pieces of clothing from the floor. “It’s just human bodies, just sex. In Ninifin, only the rich get bedrooms to themselves. Everyone else shares with the people they live with, usually their family. You get dressed in front of each other. You have sex in front of each other. Believe me, growing up watching your mother having sex, your uncles having sex, your older siblings too, permanently drives away any embarrassment.” She pulled a blouse over her head.

“I’m sorry,” Felitïa said.

“It’s fine. I’m not offended. Just amused. Anyway, I’m impressed to see you here. The entire Palace is on high alert. Everyone is looking for you since you killed your jailer and escaped.”

“What? I didn’t kill the jailer.” Felitïa’s heart sank. “I just put her to sleep.”

“I told you she wouldn’t have done it,” Rudiger said. “Not if there was another way.”

“And I told you, it doesn’t matter,” Ses-Izel said, tying her skirt. “She knows what I mean.”

Felitïa sighed. “They killed her so they could blame it on me.”

“And as a punishment for letting you get away,” Ses-Izel said. “But basically yeah.” She slipped on a jerkin and began lacing it up.

“Glad you made it here, though,” Rudiger said. “We were a little worried. Well, I was. It is good to see you.” He spread his arms.

“You, too,” Felitïa said. She took up his offer and hugged him. He was sweaty, but it was good to see him again. “Has Nin-Akna contacted you yet?”

He nodded. “Spoke to her yesterday before you escaped. Probably while you were escaping now I think of it. Guess you haven’t spoken to her since, which means I need to fill you in on everything.”

“That would be good,” Felitïa said. “First, where’s Zandrue and Jorvan?”

“Ah, see...” He turned aside and looked along the ground, picked up his clothes. “That’s, uh...”

Ses-Izel poked him on the shoulder. He straightened up a bit. “Stop being so embarrassed. You don’t know where she is. Just tell her that.” She kissed him. “I’ll let you two get caught up. See you in the morning.” She headed for the door, but paused beside Felitïa. “It was good meeting you.”

“Same,” Felitïa said.

Ses-Izel continued out of the stables.

“So, you don’t know where Zandrue is,” Felitïa said.

He shrugged.

Why didn’t that surprise her?