Rian slept that night at the inn in Rose. He dreamed of a dark cave, but it wasn’t the musty cave where the voices of the dead spoke to him. This cave felt bigger, though he could barely see anything past a faint circle of red light around him. There seemed to be piles of bones in the darkness. He was certain that’s what they were when he saw what was in front of him. The faint red light was coming from the eye sockets of the massive skull. The skull had long, curving horns.
“Trivius,” Rian said, his voice coming out quiet. Why was he seeing the Bone Garden?
The red light in the eye sockets flared brighter, like a fire.
“I have been with you all this time,” Trivius said. “A part of me managed to cling to you while the rest was sealed away.” His voice was tense, angry. “I too am trapped by what Mortua has done. If you die, so will this part of me.”
“I’m not going to unseal the rest of you,” Rian said.
“Not yet,” Trivius said. “In time you will realize you need me.” His certainty was worrying. “You are the Speaker of the Dead. That is how I was able to leave a part of myself within you. We have a connection that can never be broken.”
Rian took a step back, wanting desperately to wake up. “It was you I’ve felt inside of me.”
“Yes, it was.” Trivius sounded amused.
The red light in the eye sockets of the skull became dimmer. The darkness around Rian closed in. He woke up back in the inn room, the light of sunrise streaming in through the window. He knew that dream hadn’t just been a dream. A part of Trivius was inside of him, a part that had gotten strong enough to speak to him. He didn’t dare mention Trivius in front of Ransey. There wasn’t a moment the rest of the day when Ransey wasn’t close by.
The four of them crossed the plains mostly in silence. It was a warm morning, which would have been nice if it wasn’t making the smell coming from Rian stronger. He was relieved when the day cooled off and the sun was setting. By then they had reached Veron. There were still a lot of people out, even that late. Rian and the others went straight to the inn.
The inn was busy too, full of talk about the preparations for the queen’s marriage to a noble that was disliked by most of the other nobles. The rest of the city seemed happy about the marriage, even more so since the nobles didn’t approve. Halbert went to the graveyard alone, insisting Rian stay at the inn and try to sleep.
Rian didn’t dream of Trivius again that night, but neither did sleeping do him any good. He was only more exhausted when he woke up in the morning. Halbert joined Rian, Eiva, and Ransey at their table downstairs. Ransey and Eiva had a quick breakfast.
“Do we know where we’re going?” Eiva asked.
“We should speak to the queen,” Halbert said. “She should know of the cult, and if she already knows of them maybe she can help us find them.”
Ransey frowned. “What I found in Haren should be enough to go on.” He sighed. “But I agree speaking to the queen may be of help to us and her.”
The four of them left for the castle. Halbert spoke to the guards out front, one of which led them into the throne hall. The throne hall was even bigger than the entry hall had been, with pale blue arches reaching far above. The morning sun shone through the many windows on either side of the hall. Queen Ninette Wrede sat on her throne at the far end of the hall. The throne next to hers was empty, but she wasn’t wearing all black this time. She wore pale greens and blues and looked happy. Her long gray hair was tied in a braid.
The guard who had led them in bowed low. “My Queen. Halbert, Rian, Eiva, and Ransey have come to speak to you about a matter of importance. A group of cultists may be in the city. A group they have been tracking across the countries.”
The queen nodded slightly. The guard rose and left the throne hall. There were two other guards at the doors, watching the group closely.
“Congratulations on the wedding,” Ransey said.
“Thank you,” Ninette said, her smile wavering a little. “Things have been tense here. Odell, my fiance, fell out of favor with the other nobles years ago when he married a wild Ectu. He lost his wife to plague many years ago.” She sighed. “Spies from Acra have been found in Urvus, and I fear Tierney will try something desperate to stop my marriage. Now you bring word of a cult.”
“The king has not backed down with the word of your impending marriage?” Halbert asked.
“No. Far from it,” Ninette said.
Ransey looked annoyed at the change of subject.
“King Tierney of Acra, well known tyrant, still thinks he can convince me to marry him,” Ninette said. “He believes I cannot rule a country alone as he does. I would like to believe that I do it much better than he does, as my people do not fear me. I despise him and have told him so, but he doesn’t take no for an answer.” She glanced at the knights at the far end of the hall. “Leave us.”
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The knights left the hall, closing the doors behind them. Rian didn’t doubt they would be waiting on the other side of those doors.
“I plan to name Odell’s son, Gale, as my heir,” Ninette said. “For now this is a secret even from Gale. Only Odell and I know. I fear Tierney isn’t the only one who might try to stop the marriage. Many nobles of Urvus are unhappy with my decision to marry Odell, due to Gale being half Ectu.” Her expression softened. “Odell has told me he loves me enough to suffer the wrath of the nobles and the King of Acra, but I fear for his safety and Gale’s.”
One of the throne hall doors opened and two people entered. No knight accompanied them. Ninette smiled when she saw them. Rian recognized the two, as they had visited his parents in Fen several times. The man was Leaf, a half Ectu who lived with the group of wild Ectu that Blossom was elder of. Blossom was the woman with him. The two had been responsible for most of the progress between humans and Ectu.
Leaf was only a little taller than his wife, who was shorter than anyone else in the hall, as Ectu often were. His short light brown hair was just long enough to tie back. Leaf’s eyes were a pale shade of purple, due to his pact with an animal. Blossom’s dark hair went down to her waist. She had long pointed ears.
“Leaf. Blossom,” Ninette said, nodding to both of them. “This is Halbert, Rian, Eiva, and Ransey. They’ve come about a possible cult in Veron.” The queen looked at Rian and the others again. “Leaf and Blossom have come to Veron to show the Ectu’s support of my and Odell’s marriage.”
“My mother supported Odell’s marriage to his first wife many years ago,” Blossom said. “Odell has often visited my village with Gale.”
“Tell me about this cult,” Ninette said.
“They follow Mortua, but they have been misled,” Ransey said. “Someone has given them a dagger with a dark enchantment and convinced them, I don’t know how, that Mortua wants sacrifices. The souls of the sacrificed cannot move on because of the dagger’s magic. Mortua and Vitir are focused entirely on freeing the trapped souls so that they can move on. In Haren, we found a lead that points to another cult being here in Veron.”
Ninette frowned hard. “I know nothing of this cult in Veron, but I will find out what I can. I will help you in any way I can if you stay for the wedding. If anything goes wrong, I would like to have as many allies nearby as possible.”
“We’ll stay,” Eiva said.
Rian and Halbert nodded.
Ransey frowned. “Yes, we will stay.” His reluctance was clear in his voice.
The four of them left the castle, stopping in an alleyway away from the crowded main roads.
“This could delay us,” Ransey said, “but I see no way around it.”
“It will take us time to find the cult and get close to them,” Eiva said. “We’ll be here for a couple of days anyway.”
Ransey still looked reluctant. “I suppose we will.”
For the rest of the day Rian, Eiva, and Halbert helped at the castle with preparations for the wedding. Ransey was in Veron somewhere, searching for the cult. The wedding was to be the morning after next. At the inn that night, Ransey hadn’t yet located the cult and was grumbling more than usual.
The next day, Ransey left just after sunrise to search for the cult again. Rian, Eiva, and Halbert went back to the castle to help. Rian kept watch with Leaf after sunset, in the garden behind the castle. The two of them walked along the well kept paths among the trees and flowers.
“How are things with your parents?” Leaf asked. “Have you seen them recently? I haven’t managed to travel to Fen in a while.”
“Ora took them to the Sancta,” Rian said. He told Leaf all about the trial at the Sancta.
Leaf frowned. “The Sancta has gotten more active about the things they disapprove of. They’ve never liked Ectu, but they’ve been harder on wild Ectu found in cities lately, fearing their magic.” He hesitated. “Are you alright? I saw your hands earlier. I had thought you were fully undead, and I know that’s not what it looks like when someone is becoming undead.”
“Mortua gave me an amulet that was supposed to help me infiltrate the cults with Ransey,” Rian said. “It seems to have given me enough life to slowly rot to death.”
“Mortua is known for her dislike of undead,” Leaf said, “but it seems she would want you alive to stop the cult.”
“She didn’t want my help,” Rian said. “The other gods insisted on it and she agreed, but I know she didn’t want my help.”
Leaf nodded slowly, his brows furrowing. “Have you found anything that might undo what she did? Has Halbert found anything?”
“Not yet,” Rian said, trying not to wonder again how much longer he had.
Leaf looked about to say something when shouting came from somewhere up ahead, closer to the castle. Rian and Leaf ran toward the commotion. A group of knights, servants, and nobles had gathered around someone lying on the ground at the edge of the garden, by a wall of the castle. Rian had only seen Odell briefly the day before, but it was definitely him lying there.
“What’s happened?” Leaf asked a knight, a young woman.
The woman looked terrified. “No one saw what happened, but I found him lying here. A noble said Odell’s been poisoned.”
“Does he know what kind of poison?” Leaf asked.
The knight shook her head. “He doesn’t recognize it. He doesn’t know the antidote.”