by Phil Tucker
Kethe frowned. "A sample? I've only seen them once. When I was dying." She felt almost guilty. "I was fading when Auds – ah – your consort, I mean." She coughed into her hand to cover her confusion.
The Red Rowan smiled benignly. "Fear not, esteemed Virtue. I've already realized that the two of you know each other. It only raises my esteem of my consort further, while also deepening his mystery."
"Ah," said Kethe. "Yes. But, as I was saying, a potion was given to me when I was dying. And it healed me, for a time." She bit her lower lip and stared at Audsley. "All right, I'll bring you a sample. If I can get one."
"Thank you," said the Red Rowan. "We seek only to learn the truth. If you help us, Makaria, then I know we will succeed."
"Yes, well, I'll do what I can." But Kethe's mind was spinning. How, by the White Gate, was she going to pull that off?
The Red Rowan then began to speak the phrases that signaled the end of their conversation. Kethe was too distracted to get her responses correct, but nobody seemed to mind. A few minutes later, she stepped out onto the veranda, overwhelmed and upset.
"Kethe."
The whisper came from a shadow at the side of the house. Kethe startled, surprised at hearing her own name, and felt the foulness pollute the air even before she saw Audsley beckoning. She gave Kade a firm nod, then hurried over.
"Audsley! What's going on? Consort? What?"
Audsley gave her a wry smile. "A sacrifice I have to make for the good of the Empire, and not, I will admit, a terribly onerous one. The Red Rowan is... well. But we don't have much time. I need your help."
"I've already agreed to help," said Kethe, lowering her voice and stepping in closer. "You realize we're being watched?"
"Yes, but the Rowan's household is now quite taken with me. We're safe here. But even my special status only allows me to bend protocol so far. You need to save Iarenna."
"Yes, but how? Theletos has told me I need to present him with a good reason before he'll agree to let her go – and the fact that she's already socially ruined means I can't come up with one."
"Don't go to Theletos. Take her out yourself. The guards won't stop you. Bring her to me, and I'll get her to your mother. She'll be safe there." Audsley took her hand and squeezed it tightly. "You have to help her, Kethe. Nobody else can."
Kethe hesitated. Could she? What would it do to her standing as a Virtue? Then she scowled. What did she care? She wasn't Makaria! She was Kethe, and Iarenna was family. If she could simply escort Iarenna out, then she would do so. "All right. Where should I bring her?"
"Good. To the Sixth Level. There's a statue of an acorn on a pedestal right in the middle of the Circum. I'll meet you both there."
"Audsley, wait." Kethe suddenly felt panicked. "How is my mother? I heard about Roddick! Is it true? Is he –?"
Audsley nodded. "I'm sorry, Kethe. It's true. Wyland did it. Your mother – well. She visited justice on them all. Your uncle is dead, as is the Grace."
"Yes, I heard." Kethe shivered. "I heard it was terrible. A massacre. My mother did that?"
Audsley's face paled. "She had help. But, yes."
Kethe hugged herself. "Are you going to see her?"
"Not any time soon. We're operating along parallel lines. We no longer seek to remove the Ascendant, but rather seek compromises. To that end, we have to get rid of the Fujiwaras so he can speak directly with us and agree to change. You have to get us that formula, Kethe. I'm going to continue to investigate, but having a sample would be invaluable."
"All right, I will." Kethe hesitated. "Everything has grown so strange, so horrible. I don't even know who I am sometimes." She bit her lip. "How is Asho?"
"I haven't heard from our young Bythian friend in some time. He's been charged with stirring up rebellion in Bythos. As far as I know, he's there now, preparing his revolution."
"Oh." She tried to repress a twinge of disappointment, a sudden hope that he might have sent a message. "All right. I'm going to Iarenna tonight. I'll go to the acorn immediately thereafter."
Audsley nodded. "Thank you. Please do what you can for her."
"I will." Kethe turned to leave, then forced herself to ask, "Audsley. What's happened to you? You feel wrong. You feel... awful."
Audsley's blinked rapidly and took off his spectacles. "I, ah, well, perhaps it's not me who's changed, but you. You're a Virtue now. You can sense... well. Demonic possession."
"Possession?" She stared at him in incomprehension, and then it suddenly made sense. "Oh – oh! Your powers. You're – they're from –?"
Audsley nodded sadly. "Yes. There's not much to be said. I'd doing the best I can, but I'm not – well." His eyes filled with tears, and he took off his spectacles again. "I'm trying to hold up, to not think about some of the things I've done, but –"
"Oh, Audsley." Sadness and pity welled up within her, and she pulled him into a tight hug.
Audsley let out a cry and squirmed free, hissing in pain. Where her skin had touched his, his flesh had turned red as if he'd been burned. "Ah! That stung. Quite – quite terribly." He stared at his hand, then touched his cheek. "The touch of a Virtue. I shouldn't be surprised."
Kethe wanted to apologize, but the glassy look in Audsley's eyes made her hold her tongue. She watched, helpless, as he gave her a broken smile, bobbed a quick bow, then turned and rushed away into the shadows.
Reluctantly, she returned to her escort. They left the Red Rowan's estate, Kethe blind now to its beauty, and strode back toward the Third Level's Circum.
There was traffic in the Circum even at this time of the evening: scores of messengers bearing scented missives rushed back and forth, while mysterious palanquins bearing hopeful suitors glided past.
"Kade." Kethe spoke quietly, so that only her captain could hear. "Where are the Temple's prisoners kept?"
"They have their own wing, Virtue." Kade's voice was crisp.
"Heavily guarded?"
"Not at all. The men and women kept there are small in number and bound by a guilt more potent than any chain. And who would assault the Temple of the Virtues?"
"Very well. When we arrive, take me there."
"As you command."
They rose to the Second Level, where the nocturnal activity dwindled, and emerged once more into the night as they followed the road to the Temple's outpost. Though she was steely-eyed, even Kethe was touched by the moonlit beauty of the Temple's grounds, the way the stone seemed almost luminous when bathed by a moon so large and near she felt she could reach out and touch it.
Kade guided her without hesitation. He ordered that a palanquin be prepared to await them outside the gate, then led Kethe through the entrance, along broad hallways, and down three separate flights of stairs, their footsteps echoing loudly as they proceeded. They passed the Consecrateds' quarters, circled around the training ground, and reached an area that Kethe noticed seemed even quieter, more remote and still. The halls were diminished in size, and the ornate tapestries and intricate metallic patterns in the walls disappeared. A stark simplicity defined this area, and when they reached the entrance to the wing in question, Kade slowed, allowing Kethe to take the lead.
Two Temple Guards were standing at the entrance to a hallway off of which were numerous doors. Torches were burning in plain iron sconces, and it looked less like a jail than servants' quarters.
The two guards had been leaning close together against the wall, engaged in soft, whispered conversation, but they almost leaped to attention at the sight of Kethe, the second guard blushing profusely as he stumbled back to his side of the hallway entrance.
"Virtue," said the first, unabashed.
Kethe stopped, trying for a disapproving expression but not really caring. "Guards, which is Iarenna's cell?"
"Third on the left," said the first guard.
"Thank you," said Kethe, and, deciding that boldness would carry the day, she walked between them and down the hall. Neither guard objected. Kade followed her, but the other four
Honor Guards remained at the hallway's mouth.
The door was slender and had no keyhole. Kethe tried the handle and found that the door opened easily enough, giving her admittance to a simple room with a tall, narrow window that gazed out into the night. She took note of smooth walls, a plain, white-sheeted bed, and a chair set by the window from which a woman arose, turning to face Kethe.
Kethe saw the ghost of her mother in this woman's face and knew her immediately to be her aunt. Iarenna looked unhurt; no bruises or lacerations were visible on her skin.
"Kethe?" Iarenna's voice betrayed her confusion. "I mean – my pardon. Makaria?"
"Aunt." And with that one word, Kethe affirmed her identity, her mission, her intent. "Come. Audsley's waiting for you."
"But – but I can't. I mean, now?" Iarenna wrung her hands, and Kethe saw that something had indeed been badly wounded within her aunt. Fear shone in her eyes, and she shrank back.
"Yes. Now." Kethe wanted to reassure her aunt, give her time, but there was none to be had. She spoke forcefully. "We have to go."
Iarenna gave a trembling nod. "All right. I'll come."
Kethe stepped forward and took her hand. "That's good, because you don't have any choice. Now, hurry!"
Kethe pulled Iarenna out into the hall and down toward the Temple guards, who were watching her in confusion. Kethe avoided making eye contact, ignored the half-voiced protest on the first guard's face, and brushed right past them with a forbidding expression.
Kade and her other guards fell in behind her, and Kethe linked her arm with Iarenna's and hustled her down the hall. Iarenna felt impossibly light, as if her bones were hollow and her flesh made of mist.
"Audsley's going to take you to Iskra. You're leaving Aletheia. Do you understand?"
"Iskra? Leaving?"
"Yes," snapped Kethe. "This is a rescue mission. You do want to be rescued, don't you?" Unfair, she thought, but something about Iarenna's timidity was causing her anger to spike.
"I – yes, I suppose so." Iarenna lowered her gaze.
They hurried up a flight of steps, retracing their passage to the front of the Temple.
"What happened to you?" Kethe kept her voice quiet, though her anger made her words curt. "What did they do?"
"Do?" Tears glittered in Iarenna's eyes, and she wiped them away with her sleeve. "They took me to the White Gate and asked me to consider my damnation. That's all. After that, I told them everything they wanted to know." More tears spilled and ran down her cheeks. "Everything. I betrayed my friends and family for fear of my soul."
Kethe didn't know what to say. Her throat knotted closed. Could she judge her aunt for this? If she'd been asked a question while she was bathed in the Gate's radiance, would she have had the presence of mind to dissemble?
They hurried up the second flight of stairs, down a short corridor, made a turn, then continued up the third flight. They were almost out, and Kethe fought the urge to run. Moments later, they reached the great entrance hall, stepped out into the moonlight, then hurried down the wide steps to the courtyard. Clouds were drifting across the sky, momentarily blotting out the field of brilliant stars. When they cleared, Kethe saw a single figure leaning against one of the ceremonial front gate's pillars.
Her heart sank.
"Impossible," she whispered, and slowed to a stop.
Iarenna gripped her arm with surprising strength. "I knew it," she whispered. She sounded almost relieved. "I knew it."
"Virtue?" Kade stepped up beside Kethe. "Your orders?"
Kethe bit her lower lip, then shook her head. "Stay behind me. Don't do anything. Now, come." Holding fast to Iarenna, she walked forward, crossing the last of the open expanse before reaching the gate.
The lithe figure had been waiting with one foot hiked up and propped against the pillar and his arms crossed. Now, he pushed away and stepped into the moonlight, his pale golden hair appearing almost pewter, his skin as luminous as the marble.
"Makaria." He glanced over to her aunt. "Iarenna."
"Hello, Theletos." Kethe felt a wave of acceptance pass through her, felt her tension bleed away. If there was to be a fight, she would simply accept it.
"I asked the guards to tell me when you returned to the Temple." Theletos didn't sound upset. His eyes were almost feline in their mysterious opaqueness. "When they reported that you had ordered a palanquin and which direction you had taken, I thought it expedient to await you here."
Kethe disengaged her arm from Iarenna and gently pushed her back. "Very well. You've found me. Now what?"
"Where are you taking Iarenna?" His voice was almost casual, but she couldn't miss the intensity of his gaze.
"Out. I have my own reasons, and I won't share them." Kethe felt tremulous, her heart pounding within her. Was she about to die? Would she even see him draw his blade? He wasn't wearing one, she realized. Could he kill her with his hands?
"No?" Theletos rocked onto his heels, mulling that over. "All right."
"All right?" Kethe couldn't disguise the shock in her voice. "You mean you're not going to stop me?"
Theletos frowned. "I grow tired of repeating myself, Makaria. Your every action serves the Ascendant's will. If you decide you must free Iarenna, then she must be freed."
Kethe didn't know what to say. He really believed it. Really, truly believed that she was an instrument of good and justice.
"I – well. Good." She sounded churlish even to herself.
"Do you plan to return to the Temple?" His voice was deceptively mild. "Or were you going to escort Iarenna personally to your mother and stay there?"
Kethe blushed furiously. "I – what? I mean, pardon? My mother? What – how, I mean, of course not –"
Theletos did nothing, but his irritation suddenly seemed to sear the air, and his slender frame radiated menace.
By the White Gate, this is Theletos the Longed For, the prime Virtue, the most dangerous man in the Empire. Had I thought to bluff him so easily?
"I ask that you return," he said. "You're needed in what's to come."
"What's to come?" She felt as if she were floundering, several steps behind in this conversation. "The Agerastians? Have they revealed themselves?"
"No." Theletos shook his head dismissively. "Put them aside for now. A new danger has appeared, a threat that dwarfs the heretics and their Sin Casting. I've sent messengers to recall Mixis, Akinetos, and Henosis from Ennoia. We are marshalling our forces as rapidly as we can. The kragh have risen under a new warlord."
Kethe's blood ran cold. "A new warlord? You mean, like Ogri the Destroyer?"
Theletos nodded. "Traders have brought word to Abythos. The kragh are gathering in the Orlokor city of Gold. The old leadership has been killed, and now dozens of tribes are united under one leader. He seems a figure from legend, and is described as fifteen feet tall and descended from dragons. Whatever the truth may be, it's clear he's coming for the Empire. That he means to attack Abythos within a matter of weeks."
Kethe gulped. Ogri the Destroyer was a childhood tale, a bogeyman used to frighten children, and was frequently cast as a foolish monster in puppet shows at the fairs. She used to love watching him get bopped on the head by each of the Virtues before being cast off the stage. But an unease has always lurked beneath the laughter and ridicule, an unease born of the knowledge that those same kragh who now served the Empire could rise again, could unleash ruin upon the world of humans, and that all it would take was a new warlord to lead them in an unstoppable wave.
Theletos was watching her calmly. "Will you join us, Makaria? Will you lead your Consecrated in battle?"
"My Consecrated..."
Her voice trailed off. She thought of how much they still had to learn, to grow, to master themselves and their power. Akkara in actual battle? Dalitha? The thought made her stomach churn with fear.
"Every Consecrated and Virtue is being moved to the walls of Abythos." Theletos' voice was uncompromising. "We have to stop the kragh, prevent them from
gaining access to the Empire's Solar Gates in Bythos. That is the line that must be held, and we need you there. So, I ask you one more time. Will you stand with us?"
Kethe felt her soul being torn in twain. Audsley had said that her mother would be attacking soon. Should she tell Theletos? Did the rise of a new Ogri supersede the importance of revolutionizing the Ascendant Empire?
She would tell Audsley. He'd communicate this news to her mother and the Agerastians. Then, what they decided would be up to them.
Which was how Kethe realized that she'd already made her decision. She wouldn't be there to explain the situation to her mother, wouldn't have the chance to hold her, to mourn Roddick, to grieve and pay her respects.
"Yes," she whispered. "I'll lead my Consecrated to Abythos."
Theletos didn't seem surprised or relieved. It was almost as if he'd known all along what she would say. "Good. You march tomorrow morning at dawn, so as to pass into Bythos as soon as the Solar Gates open. I'll look for you then."
"You're not coming?"
Theletos' smile was wry. "Of course not. My place is and always shall be by the side of the Ascendant." He stepped aside. "Good evening, Makaria. May the Ascendant be with you."
Kethe nodded numbly and moved forward, Iarenna and Kade just behind her. A palanquin was awaiting them just outside the gate as instructed, large enough for Iarenna and Kethe to ride in. This time Kethe made no complaints and climbed almost eagerly on board. She sat back and stared out the window, not wanting to talk, lost in her thoughts. Iarenna also seemed glad for silence.
When the palanquin was finally set down alongside a plinth bearing a marble acorn at its apex, Kethe stirred and opened the door herself. She'd found no peace during the ride down, and several times had almost changed her mind and decided to accompany Iarenna home.
Audsley stepped out from a shadowed recess in the wall, a gray cloak cast over his round shoulders. At the sight of Iarenna, he let out a gasp of relief and stepped forward to bow deeply to her. Iarenna hesitated, then seemed to regain some of her poise and sank into a deep curtsy.
"A thousand pardons will never suffice," Audsley whispered, his voice husky with emotion. "I'll never forgive myself for what's happened to you."