Ardent

by Florian Armas

  “Dark clouds are gathering,” Sybille said, “and we need to face them. The Conclave and the Fracture should not have been kept hidden.”

  “We did not want to hide anything, it’s just that some things must be understood better before being spoken about,” Drusila smiled. “Some of our sisters are more impetuous than others. We need to address everything properly.”

  “Valera had the vision of the Fracture. That was seven months ago,” I said. “Should I ask if some sisters are too slow in addressing the threat over our heads?”

  “We thought it better to wait until you came back with the results of the Conclave.”

  “Drusila, I was sent to ask for a Conclave, not to bring back results. You are distorting things to hide a bad decision. Acknowledge it.”

  “I am not distorting anything; you came back with the Judgments of the Conclave.”

  “You were not expecting any Judgments. You are deceiving us once more.”

  “Judge her.” Shouts rose behind me.

  “I am your First Light. Only a Frankis Conclave may judge me,” Drusila said coldly.

  “A Conclave we will gather if we can’t agree today.”

  “We are adults,” Drusila shrugged. “I am sure we can negotiate. Let’s meet in the High Council.”

  “We can talk here,” I gestured around. “Our sisters deserve to hear us. Then we can vote. Alba is the main Hive and alone can gather a Conclave. We don’t need a Conclave to judge Splendra.”

  Splendra started spluttering again. “Judge me? This, this is an outrage.”

  “You should learn the Rules, Splendra,” I said. “This is our way of solving things that go wrong.”

  “The only wrong thing is you and that lynch mob behind you,” she raged. There was anger inside her, sharp as an Assassin’s blade. That was the wrong thing.

  “Bring the amphora for voting,” Sybille said to her guards.

  “What should we vote for?” Drusila asked.

  “Conclave and Splendra,” I said.

  “You can’t,” Splendra raged. “I am the Third Light and part of the Inner Council. Tell them, Drusila.”

  Drusila stayed silent, her face calm.

  She is too calm.

  “I am the Third Light!” Splendra moved out from the group behind Drusila, trying to leave the room.

  Drusila nodded, staring strangely through me, my eyes split between her and Splendra. I caught movement in the corner of my right eye, and my arm sprang to the side. It met another hand throwing a knife. The knife flew strangely, up at first, almost touching the candelabras, before hitting the floor with a thump – the only sound in the sudden silence.

  “You tried to kill the First Light!” Splendra shouted. “Arrest her,” she pointed at me, and Drusila’s guards moved forward.

  My hand turned to grab the arm which threw the knife. The woman’s knee went into my back, and I jerked, losing her. She sprang, trying to run. Jumping on her back, my guard Mira put her down, and Sybille helped to restrain her. The woman remained suddenly still, face down, her long hair spread out on the floor.

  “You brought violence to our Hive,” Drusila said coldly. “An unacceptable action. Put that sister in a cell. Dochia has to answer to the Inner Council. Escort her to her room.”

  Two of her guards replaced Mira and Sybille, and forced the knife thrower to stand. She went to her knees, her head down. The guards dragged her.

  Who is that woman? “Bring her here!” I shouted, and tried to move forward. Drusila’s guards stood in my way. My guards interfered too, in a small melee. I rolled aside, and sprang toward the woman, whose face remained hidden. “Let us see that woman!”

  “Take her out. We will judge her later,” Splendra ordered. “We must put things in order here first. Such violence is inacceptable.”

  Sybille joined me, with her guards. Splendra did the same with hers. The woman was dragged further, her face hidden.

  “I want to see that woman!” I shouted.

  “Stop the violence!” Splendra shouted back. Her two guards pushed me away, and I rolled back, pulling them with me. They fell onto all fours.

  “Arrest Dochia!” Drusila shouted, and more sisters moved forward. They moved slowly while I sprang, jumping over the guards I had pulled down. My guards, Mira and Irina intervened too, blocking the path, giving me enough space to react. Dragged by Drusila’s guards, the woman who threw the knife was now advancing fast toward the door. I ran. Sybille followed me. The guard on the right of the woman turned to stop me. Then the other one. I dodged one’s hand, and kicked the door at the exact moment the strange woman was trying to leave, alone. The door hit her face, and she stumbled back. I grabbed her long hair, and tried to turn her face. She cried and resisted, and another wail was heard from the corridor. Something muffled it.

  Drusila’s guard hit my arm. Anchored in the long hair, the effect was that finally the woman’s face became visible.

  I never saw her before... “Who is this woman?” I shouted, and turned to put her body between me and Drusila’s guards. I was half out of the room, and I saw two Wanderers guarding my friend Olmia, the Eighth Light. Her hands tied, she was badly beaten.

  “Take them out!” Drusila ordered again. “They will be judged later.”

  “Judge the knife thrower now!” I shouted. “Olmia is wounded outside.”

  “Dochia is right.” Denera joined me, and ten sisters ran toward the door.

  I pushed the unknown woman forward and went out. “Sybille,” I shouted and ran out of the Common Hall. Drusila’s guards were dragging Olmia away.

  “Don’t interfere,” one of them hissed. I hit her in the neck and she fell down. The second one unsheathed her knife. Olmia jerked, and went with her shoulder against the other’s hip, pushing her against the wall. I blocked her knife, and twisted her arm. She fell onto her knees, and my knee hit her jaw.

  “Come with me,” I said to Olmia, and lifted her to her feet.

  “They said that I would be judged,” she whispered. “I don’t know what for. They arrested me two days ago while I was leaving for Peyris. My guard was arrested too.”

  “They have played you and me,” I growled. “I will make Drusila pay.”

  “Untie me. I am ashamed to be seen like this.”

  “No. All the Wanderers should see what Drusila had done to you. Please, Olmia.”

  “This is unbelievable,” Sybille muttered.

  “Take the guards who attacked Olmia to the Common Hall too.”

  “Drusila!” I shouted, and pushed Olmia forward. “Olmia was tied up and jailed two days ago when she was meant to be riding to Peyris. She is a Light. When was her punishment passed through the Inner Council? She was tied and beaten.” I took my knife and cut the rope around Olmia’s hands. “This is not the Wanderers’ way.” I raised the rope for all in the hall to see it.

  “There must be a misunderstanding.” Drusila bit her upper lip, and glanced around, trying to evaluate the groups in the hall. She was in minority now.

  “There is no misunderstanding. Your guards arrested her.” I pointed to the two women Sybille pushed through the door. “They brought her here to replace the woman who threw the knife and be punished in her place. You tried to frame me, and save your skin.”

  “My dear, please don’t imagine things.”

  “Derena, was Olmia judged by the Inner Council?”

  “Olmia was sent with an embassy to Peyris two days ago. There was no Judgment on her. This is outrageous. Drusila, why did your guards arrest her?”

  “That is something we should clarify,” Drusila said coldly, her face pale. “Put the guards who did this in jail. We will judge them later.”

  “They stay here,” I ordered. “We must unravel this charade now. Does anyone know this woman?” I pointed to the knife thrower, and only silence answered me. “Who brought this woman here?”

  “Two days ago, I was the Gate Keeper,” one sister said. “Splendra came with an unknown guest. She
was hooded, and I was not allowed to see her face. Two other sisters witnessed it. That was the only unknown person who entered the Hive in the last month, and she there is no other stranger in the Hive, right now.”

  “Did you record the entry?” I asked.

  “Yes. The name Mared was given to me. It is written in the Gate’s records.”

  “Who are you?” I asked the unknown woman.

  “Mared,” she smiled, unperturbed. “The Eighth Light of Litvonia.”

  “Why did you try to kill... Why did you throw that knife?” I pointed to the knife, which was now on the table.

  “What knife?” Her hand went for the tool faster than the guards could react. She swiped her thumb over it and the knife broke easily. “Light wood.”

  “What game are you playing?” Sybille growled.

  “It amused me,” Mared laughed. “You were ready to fight. You seem much calmer now.”

  “We need to speak,” Drusila took me aside. “I give you my word that I knew nothing about this. The plot is deeper than you think. We need to work together. Tell me more about the Serpentists. I just had a vision that they are here.”

  “Later. Search Mared,” I told Sybille and Mira.

  Mared just smiled again while Sybille took one object after another from the many pockets of Mared’s clothes, and laid them on the table. The last one was a Maletera stone. Splendra frowned, or so I thought; my eyes were on Drusila. She did not pay any attention to the stone, but she was well trained.

  Serpentists... Did Drusila anticipate we would find the stone? If she is compromised...

  “What’s that?” I asked Mared.

  “A beautiful stone. It warms you on cold days. Try it,” she smiled.

  Such an ingenuous smile... She was a beautiful woman and certainly aware of her physical effect on people. “What cold days? It’s almost Summer.” Should I risk another talk with Meriaduk? We might learn more.

  “That is the stone I told you about,” I whispered to Sybille, and Mira heard me too. “I need to use it again. Mared is a Serpentist.”

  “No!” Mira grabbed my hand. “You almost died last time.”

  “Let’s hope that I am more prepared this time. I need to know if Drusila and Splendra were converted too. If something bad happens to me, kill Mared, then jail both Drusila and Splendra.” I returned to the table, glancing at Mared’s objects.

  “You want to try it?” Mared laughed.

  “Why not?” I shrugged, and took the Maletera in my hand. Its warmth took me back in Silvania. Just a brief moment; the bond with Meriaduk, the Serpentist Great Priest, was forged some moments later. Like before, the sphere was now cold, and numbness filled me, then gray fog half covered the room and its nervous inhabitants. It stayed for a while, until a blue silhouette manifested inside my vision, walking toward me.

  “You are not Mared,” he whispered in my mind. “Dochia. I thought you dead. What happened?”

  “I was wounded, Master, and they thought me dead. That’s the only reason I escaped. I lay in bed for almost one month, hidden in the mountains. Last time, this Talant artifact numbed me. That’s why I could not fight well. Will it happen again? We may be in danger here. I am in the Alba Hive of Frankis. I just arrived.”

  “I know where you are,” he boasted. “The Maletera does no harm. Why do you think it is a Talant thing?” His blue hand massaged his chin, and I supposed that his real actions were being transferred to the silhouette in my vision. I forced myself to stay still.

  “I’ve read something about them. I don’t know what happened to the one in Silvania.”

  “It was destroyed. Do you speak Talant?”

  “Speak, no, but I am able to read some words.”

  “Tell me,” he ordered.

  “Once I found some papers in an old tomb: twenty pages. It was a small dictionary and grammar.”

  “Where it was printed?”

  “It was handwritten.”

  “Send the papers with Mared.”

  “I will make her a copy.”

  “We have no time. Send her now.”

  “I can’t...”

  “Dochia,” he growled. “You don’t dispute my orders.”

  “It’s not that, Master. Without the Maletera, Mared would have been dead now, but I saw it too late, and we have a kind of situation. Mared tried to frame me in front of the Hive, and I am working now to save her. I can give the stone to her to...”

  “Take her hand.”

  I blinked, and the room came back in my vision. Both Sybille and Mira were worried, and I nodded to reassure them. “Give me your hand, Mared.” It worked the same as with the stone; we were bonded together with Meriaduk.

  “What happened?” Meriaduk asked her.

  “I did not know that Dochia is a convert too, and she was a threat to Splendra.”

  “Send Splendra with the papers,” Marvel ordered.

  “That’s not possible either,” I said. “Who else was converted to the right cause?”

  “Splendra’s guards and two of Drusila’s guards. Those who brought Olmia to the hall.” Inside my vision, Mared’s blue figure stared at me, her eyes having no irises.

  “I can use one of Splendra’s guards in a day or two. Where should we send her with the papers?”

  “Can we trust the guard?” Meriaduk asked, and Mared nodded. “Send her to Salvina, in Litvonia. Dochia, if need be, sacrifice Splendra, but keep Mared alive. You will take over the Frankis Hive as High Priestess of the Serpent. After you convert Drusila and the other Lights, come to me in Nerval. I have better use of you here, in the Great Temple Doom.”

  “Yes, Master. I suppose that I will need the Maletera for the converts.”

  “Keep it. I will send another one to Salvina.”

  “Anything else?” I asked.

  “No. May the Serpent guide you.”

  The vision vanished abruptly, and my mind returned to the room. How many Maleteras does Meriaduk have? I winked at Sybille and Mira, and their hands relaxed on their knives. Taking Drusila’s arm, I walked away with her. You’ve escaped, Drusila... We have more pressing things than discussing your behavior. “Splendra and her guards are Serpentists; so is Mared and so are two of your guards; the ones who captured Olmia. Let me handle this,” I whispered, and she nodded.

  “Take Mared to her room, and keep her there, in solitary confinement. Without,” I gestured at her knives on the table.

  Mared nodded curtly at Splendra, who acknowledged it and calmed herself. Then Mared walked away, followed by Mira and one of Sybille’s guards.

  “Jail those guards.” I pointed at those who had attacked Olmia, and moved to face Splendra, showing her the Maletera. “Splendra and her guards are confined to their rooms too.”

  Splendra stared at me and swallowed hard. She was my superior in the Wanderers’ hierarchy and the High Serpentist Priestess in Frankis.

  “What are you waiting for?” Drusila asked, and Splendra left the room. “The High Council will meet in the council room. Now.”

  I nodded slightly, and Splendra nodded back, before leaving, her breath calmer. Then all the Lights left the Common Hall too.

  There were only five Lights gathered in the council room; Splendra was not convoked and the Seventh Light was leading an embassy to Tolosa.

  “Back in the common Hall, I had a brief vision: Serpentists had infiltrated our Hive,” Drusila said, massaging her chin. “There are some rumors about a Serpent God rising in the eastern steppes. Dochia discovered five Serpentists in our Hive, plus Mared.” She stared at me, thoughtfully and cold at the same time “Though I am still wondering how that she found that out.”

  “We fought them in Silvania, except the Serpentists who were there were Assassins. Meriaduk, the Great Priest of the Serpent, converted some of them, and it seems, some of us too. The Silvanian First Light was killed, and of all the Lights in the Conclave only Ada escaped.”

  “Melissa, poor thing.” Derena shook her head. “I stayed one
year in Silvania when she was just the Seventh Light. She was my host.”

  “How could the Serpentists convert Splendra?” Sybille shook her head. “She has flaws, but she is a High Wanderer.”

  “With this,” I took the Maletera from my pocket, holding it with only two fingers to avoid opening the bond with Meriaduk. “It’s a Maletera, a Talant artifact able to transfer thoughts at distance. It also helps to subdue people’s minds. The Serpentists are offering them to potential converts, baiting them with its strange warmth. Feel it,” I touched Drusila’s hand with the stone.

  She jumped from chair. “Keep that away from me,” she snapped.

  “You have to squeeze it in your hand to open the bond.”

  “This is not the first time you saw one,” Drusila said.

  “No, I barely escaped conversion in Silvania. I was unconscious for a week after I was bonded by the Maletera to Meriaduk, but I escaped. Don’t ask me how. I don’t really know. However, Meriaduk is convinced that I am a Serpentist.”

  “How do we know that you are not a Serpentist?” Drusila asked.

  “Ada’s letter will explain everything to you,” I set the paper on the table, and all of them took time to read it.

  “How do we know that Ada was not converted too and all this is just another play?”

  “Drusila, Splendra was converted under your nose, and you felt nothing. She is now the Great Serpent Priestess of Frankis. Mared is here for you. Meriaduk sent her with the Maletera to convert you. He asked me the same, and of course I promised him that,” I grinned.

  “What should we do now?” Derena asked.

  “All our sisters have to be warned about the stone, but I have to keep it for a while to play against Meriaduk. Then we destroy it, as we did with the one we captured on Silvania. Meriaduk gave me some more tasks, other than converting Drusila and other Frankis Lights. He will not charge anybody else if I keep him entertained. The good thing is that this is the only Maletera in Frankis, Litvonia and Silvania, at the moment. Meriaduk will send a new one to Salvina, the Fourth Light of the Litvonian Wanderers. If you ask me what to do with Splendra and the converts, I don’t know what to say. They did not betray us; they were subdued, but we know no way to win their minds back.”