Rian and Halbert reached the edge of the dense forest late at night. They had passed the village of Perch on the way, but hadn’t stopped. Thorny vines blocked the edge of the forest. Rian moved closer reluctantly. The vines pulled aside, allowing a narrow path between the trees. Rian looked at Halbert, who stayed back.
“I’ll be waiting out here,” Halbert said.
Rian entered the forest, feeling more nervous the further he went. He walked a long time before he reached the sacred lake at the center of the forest. The sun was rising when he got there, the light shining across the surface of the completely still lake. It would have been beautiful, if he hadn’t been completely terrified. He felt the presence of the gods already. One presence stood out from the others, as it made him want to run back the way he came.
“Mortua, calm yourself,” Vitir said.
The intensity of Mortua’s presence lessened, but only a little.
“The dead are restless,” Amoris, God of Love, said.
Rian could feel Mortua’s displeasure at this.
“Why are they restless?” Rian asked, his voice coming out quiet.
“Several groups of followers of Mortua have been misled,” Vitir said. “They have all received a dagger they believe is from Mortua and have been led to believe Mortua wants sacrifices. The dagger stops the souls of the sacrifices from moving on. It takes both Mortua and I to free the souls. Speaking to you now is all the time we have to spare. We need the help of the Speaker of the Dead.”
“Says you,” Mortua, Goddess of Death, growled.
“Says us all,” Dienia said. “Don’t be a fool, Mortua. You know you need his help. Helping the dead is his duty as well.”
For a moment there was silence.
“Very well.” Mortua’s reluctance was clear in her voice. “I do not want his help, but it is needed.”
A small wave in the lake stopped just short of Rian’s boots. When the water pulled back, a black stone hanging from a piece of leather rested on the small rocks at the shore of the lake.
“Take it,” Mortua said. “It will aid you. You are to show it to Ransey, my most loyal. He has been trying to infiltrate the cults.”
The presences vanished. Rian was glad to feel Mortua’s presence leave, but he’d been hoping for more information. Who was Ransey? He took the stone from the ground. It wasn’t the least bit wet. He had a bad feeling when he touched it or looked at it. He didn’t want to put it on, so he slid it into the pocket of his pants. The water of the lake had gone still again. He started back through the forest.
The sun was high and bright when Rian reached the edge of Divius. The thorned vines let him back out. Halbert was still waiting near the edge of the forest. Rian told him what the gods had said.
“Who is Ransey?” Rian asked.
Halbert was silent for a long moment. “He is Mortua’s most loyal. I’ll tell you more on the way back to Chayer. Ransey will be at the Sancta.” He didn’t sound happy about that.
The two of them started back across the plains, toward Perch.
“I would prefer not to work with Ransey,” Halbert said, “but I know the gods aren’t giving us a choice. He cannot be trusted…unless it’s with doing what Mortua bids him to. Be wary of him.”
“Do you know him?” Rian asked.
“You know Frida?” Halbert asked.
Rian nodded. She was a Sancta Knight, one of the few he wasn’t wary of. She was a friend of his parents and had traveled with his parents, Halbert, and one other for a time. A time they rarely spoke of.
“Ransey trained her,” Halbert said. “He was her master.” He hesitated again. “Ransey and I used to be friends. He too made a deal with Mortua, but the deal itself is what he sought from her, to live forever serving her. His loyalty to her has no limits. Understandably, he didn’t take it well when I turned away from Mortua.”
Rian hesitated, but he had been putting off this question for a year. “When you traveled with my parents, Frida, and Leaf, what happened? I know it has to do with Unris.”
She had been the Goddess of Night and Day, who had betrayed the Sancta. The space at the bottom of the symbol of the Sancta had once contained a fifth circle that represented her.
Halbert didn’t answer for a moment. “Unris defiled the waters of Divius and tried to bar the way of the other gods so that they couldn’t reach Ivrua. Your mother’s parents gave her to Unris as the goddess’s Speaker. Unris wanted to rule over Ivrua as the only god, and to do that she planned to take over your mother’s body after blocking all other gods from reaching this world.”
Rian definitely hadn’t expected that.
“We stopped her just in time and cleansed the waters of Divius,” Halbert said. “The gods destroyed Unris together.” He laughed quietly. “I think Frida learned a lot on our journey. At the start of it, she hated wild mages and any magic that didn’t come from the gods. She was a lot like Eiva back then.” He sighed. “And a lot like Ransey.”
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The two continued on in silence. They reached Perch late at night and didn’t stop walking. There wasn’t a reason to stop. They were back in Chayer when the sun was rising, the two of them going straight to the Sancta. The Sancta was a massive stone building. The stones were carved intricately with various things that represented the gods. Each god had a season associated with them. The current season of Green was Dienia’s season, the opposite of Mortua’s cold season of Fallow.
The Sancta Knights were expecting Rian and Halbert and knew who they were. They led Rian and Halbert through the confusing halls to a small study. A dark wooden desk, covered in books, occupied the center of the room. Rian had seen the man behind the desk one other time, soon after Arwel had left Fen with Norris.
Dow looked more weary and worried than a year ago. His short black hair had more gray in it. He still wore the pale yellow robes of a priest of Vitir. A metal symbol of the Sancta hung on a piece of leather around his neck. It was a big circle, with four small circles inside and room for a missing fifth at the bottom. The Sancta didn’t approve of any mention of Unris.
Dow frowned a little when he looked at Rian and Halbert. “Vitir told someone you were coming, that he and the other gods spoke to Rian and what was said.”
“Vitir told someone?” Halbert asked. “Not you?”
Dow’s brows furrowed further. “No, not me. I am still his priest, but I imagine that won’t last much longer. He is showing his displeasure by relaying his wishes to a new High Priest of Vitir.” He stared at his desk for a moment, then he looked up and spoke more quietly. “There’s going to be a trial. There is unrest within the Sancta.”
“Who is on trial?” Halbert asked.
“Me.” Dow smiled sadly. “Apparently I have aided enemies of the Sancta one time too many. Frida is expected to speak against me at the trial, so she will have to remain here.”
“And Ransey?” Halbert sounded tense.
Dow sighed. “Is that who Mortua chose? All Vitir said was that Mortua already had someone trying to infiltrate the cults. I’m not surprised it would be him. She does not have a High Priest, but only because Ransey is a knight and not a priest.”
“Then he doesn’t know we’re going with him?” Rian asked.
“He may not,” Dow said, getting to his feet. “We’ll find him.”
It didn’t take long to find Ransey. He was waiting by the front doors when they made it back there, out of the maze of halls.
“Ransey,” Dow said. “The gods have decided who will help you.”
Ransey looked about Dow’s age, maybe in his mid-sixties. Rian had thought he would look younger, as Halbert had said Ransey’s deal with Mortua was that he would live forever and serve her. His hair was entirely dark gray. His eyes were a dark shade of brown. He wore the tan clothes and light gray cuirass of a Sancta Knight and had a sword in a sheath through his belt. His tan cloak looked new.
Ransey frowned hard at Rian and Halbert. “You aren’t with the Sancta, are you?”
“No,” Halbert said. “Definitely not.”
Ransey stiffened. He looked as though he’d tasted something foul. “Halbert? I knew Mortua would send someone, but I certainly didn’t expect you.” His gaze moved to Rian. “And I take it you’re the Speaker of the Dead? The boy the Sancta failed a year ago.”
Dow cleared his throat. “His name is Rian.”
“It was my choice,” Rian said, knowing this might be part of why Dow was in trouble.
“That isn’t a choice,” Ransey said. “The Sancta must protect the young and impressionable. As I understand it, if it weren’t for Halbert’s words during the meeting in Derwen, there would have been no choice to be made. He said the Speaker of the Dead was needed.”
“He was needed,” Dow said. “You three have work to do. I suggest you get on your way while it’s still early.” He headed back into the halls, toward his study.
Ransey sighed. “Let’s be on our way. Do keep your hoods up.”
The three of them left the Sancta together. Soon they were out of Chayer, crossing the plains back toward Fiddle.
“We’re going to Haren?” Halbert asked. That was the neighboring country at one end of Caerulis. Virida was at the other end.
“We are,” Ransey said. “The first cult, the one I’ve been working on getting into, is in Noantha.” That was the main city of Haren. “They are a very suspicious group, so the going has been slow. I nearly have their trust. Enough to be there next time they sacrifice someone. Hopefully we can prevent it.”
“Are we going to get the dagger back from them?” Rian asked.
“Yes,” Ransey said. “We’ll get the dagger and return it to the Sancta, where the priests will work on destroying it and figuring out where it came from. Someone set this up, someone who is working against Mortua.”
None of them spoke again before they reached Fiddle at night. Ransey had been slowing down throughout the day. He headed for the inn. He got one room for the night, then the three of them found a table in a back corner. No one gave them a second glance or seemed suspicious of them. Rian knew from traveling with Eiva that no one was suspicious of a Sancta Knight. He wondered how Eiva was doing, where she’d gone after leaving the Sancta a year ago.
“I believe there is a graveyard at the edge of the village,” Ransey said, looking disgusted as he said it. “If you need to go there, now is the time.”
“We might as well,” Halbert said.
Rian hesitated. “Do you know Eiva?”
Ransey looked surprised, and for once not contemptuous. “I know of her, but I do not know what has become of her. She did not return to the Sancta a year ago, after traveling with the two of you.”
Rian hoped the Sancta wouldn’t go after Eiva. At least they didn’t know why she’d left the Sancta, that she was what they would call a wild mage. She had left to find out more about her magic.
Ransey sighed. “I am weary. I will meet the two of you at the other end of the village in the morning.”
“Are the years getting to you?” Halbert asked.
Ransey glared. “No, we walked a long way today and have more walking ahead of us. You may not need true sleep, but I do.”
“Mortua hasn’t stopped you from aging,” Halbert said.
For a long moment, Ransey said nothing. He seemed to consider answering. “She has not, but I do not question my lady. I’m sure she has her reasons.” He stood and headed for the stairs on the other side of the room.
“Let’s see about that graveyard,” Halbert said when Ransey had disappeared up the stairs.