Crisis of Faith by Benjamin Medrano (z-lib.org)

by Unknown

To be honest, Wenris was somewhat impressed by the defenses that Beacon had in place, as it was only the power she could put into her shapeshifting that kept the guards from being able to see through her disguise since they had spectacles that helped them see through illusions and shapeshifting. She did rather approve of the precautions, even if it made her life more difficult.

  The succubus paused once she was clear of the gates, looking around in interest at the bustling city around her, which was so different than the last time she’d visited. Previously, Beacon had been a cross between a refugee camp and a military outpost, with very few people who she would consider normal city folk around. Beyond that, there had been so few people in the city that much of it had seemed deserted.

  Now the city felt much more lived in, and she could see far more people in decent clothing about, more open shops, and fewer soldiers around. There were still adventurers near the dungeon, along with the odd sign she’d seen giving the rules of the dungeon at its entrance. Vendors were hawking their wares, common folk looked more relaxed, and it was… well, perfect for a succubus stalking their prey.

  Sadly, that wasn’t something on the menu, not if Wenris wanted to stay in the city, so she let out a soft sigh and started down the street, heading toward the nearest set of stairs that led toward the palace.

  As Wenris moved, she did have to wonder why she felt so much mana flowing below the surface of the mountainside. It felt odd, but she didn’t dare touch it, not with Emonael’s warning still ringing in her mind.

  Sistina paused and frowned as she felt a powerful presence within the city. Her domain no longer encompassed the city proper, but even so she could sense when sufficiently powerful individuals moved across the surface, and every footstep of the intruder sent a ripple through the aether that she could sense. Perhaps most beings wouldn’t sense the presence, as subtle as it was, but she’d worked hard to make the aether as calm as possible throughout her domain, which made disruptions readily apparent.

  The presence was making its way toward the palace, Sistina noted, frowning thoughtfully, but at least it didn’t appear to be using its power for anything. It also wasn’t as powerful as Tyria, though it was closer than Sistina was entirely comfortable with. Even so, it would take the presence at least another hour to reach the palace gates at its current rate, so Sistina decided to leave it be for the moment, instead turning her attention back to positioning the rails in her new tunnels.

  Overall her project was coming along well, which made Sistina much happier on the whole. She’d installed the steam engines that would power the lifts the previous day, and had spent most of the day testing them, which meant all that was left was putting in the rails and building the lift carriages, though that would take a good deal longer than she preferred, especially with testing the brakes as well, and then she’d need to build the doors… but either way, it was taking time and patience. At least she had both in abundance, considering how long she’d spent growing as a tree.

  The dryad spent about half an hour carefully adjusting the rails according to the designs she’d made with Albert, then examined them critically for a few minutes before deciding to leave them be. After that she opened her eyes and let out a faint sigh as she realized that she’d been sitting still for too long again, and her body had grown stiff.

  “Frustrating,” Sistina murmured to herself, wincing as she moved, getting the flesh and blood body working properly again. It was taking a lot more time than she liked to get used to having a body that could grow sore.

  No one was in the room, she noted idly, which wasn’t unusual. The others had grown used to her sitting in a room seemingly unaware for hours at a time, so the study was empty. She allowed her attention to shift back to her domain briefly to check where the presence was and nodded, standing up slowly and internally reshaping her domain slightly to encase herself in a bubble of warm air, then headed out of the room and toward the front of the palace, considering as she moved. It didn’t seem likely that a deity had come to visit, though such was possible. If they were hostile, they’d get a very rude surprise, since Sistina had spent a good part of the summer working on better defenses in the case of another demon lord invasion.

  Either way, she wasn’t that worried, as the presence didn’t seem to be causing problems. Far more important were the negotiations between the churches, as Sistina knew that Tyria was concerned about them, and what the results might be.

  “Sistina? Where are you going?” Amethyst interrupted, and Sistina paused, looking over at the door to the library.

  “Palace gates,” Sistina replied succinctly, smiling at her wife as she shrugged. Amethyst looked like she was tired, though that wasn’t too surprising, since she’d been up late the night before, combing through the records of how old Everium had dealt with inheritance.

  “Oh? Why are you doing that?” Amethyst asked, her expression brightening as she took a couple of steps toward Sistina. “Are you testing your… lift, was it?”

  “No. More work left,” Sistina replied, considering, then shrugged. “Felt… presence. Approaching palace, want to check.”

  “Oh. That doesn’t sound good… do you want me to get the others together? I know we’re not as powerful as Tyria, but if we have time we could help a bit,” Amethyst said, frowning deeply. “I also haven’t heard the alarm go up.”

  “No, is fine. Presence is… subtle. Not problematic,” Sistina replied, then tilted her head. “Company? I built defenses.”

  “You built defenses. More of them, without telling us?” Amethyst asked, arching her eyebrows again.

  “Yes,” the dryad replied unrepentantly. If she told them about everything she did, she’d never get anything done.

  Amethyst stared at her for a moment, then laughed, shaking her head as she grinned, murmuring, “I suppose I should’ve expected that. Well, if you’re sure it’ll be safe, I’ll come with you. Just let me grab a cloak when we reach the doors, alright?”

  “Yes,” Sistina agreed, offering her arm, and Amethyst took it and started walking alongside her.

  They moved in companionable silence, passing several servants on the way, most of whom paused to curtsey or bow, though Sistina only inclined her head to each of them marginally. They didn’t expect anything more from her, which was a relief, considering how a lot of people treated Sistina. The worst incident for Sistina so far was when a woman asked if Sistina would bless her child when they were born, and Sistina had been forced to firmly say no. She wasn’t a goddess, and she hated the idea of being roped into giving out blessings for centuries on end. Even if elves weren’t as numerous as humans, the amount of time it would take would be horrifying.

  “What do you think of Elissa?” Amethyst asked suddenly, and Sistina looked at her curiously. The elf blushed and cleared her throat, continuing. “I… well, the others were saying that she’s hard to read, and I just wondered what your opinion of her was. I trust your opinion, and I know they do, too.”

  Sistina nodded, considering the question for a moment, then took a bit longer to formulate a proper response, even if she wasn’t going to be giving an answer that Amethyst liked. When she spoke, she did so in the more fluid manner that her wives preferred, even if Sistina didn’t like using it most of the time. It simply took so much concentration she couldn’t do much else, though it grew easier over time. “Elissa is an odd woman, very controlled and focused on letting others see what she wants them to see. However, at the same time she is also tied to Tyria deeply. I do not doubt her claim of loyalty to Tyria, and as such I believe you can rely on her to do what is best for her goddess. Whether that is beneficial to the conference or not is an entirely different question, and one I have no answer for.”

  “Drat,” Amethyst said, letting out a faint sigh of annoyance, but she patted Sistina’s arm and smiled as she added, “Thank you for humoring me, though. I might wish that you had all the answers, but that would be boring, I suppose.”

  “Tree, not seer,” Sistina
muttered under her breath, prompting laughter from Amethyst.

  The elf detached as they reached the front doors, and Sistina paused while she darted into the cloakroom, giving the guards a polite nod, and the man and woman smiled in return. Sistina did appreciate that most of the people in the palace weren’t afraid of her or overly formal, though she suspected that wouldn’t last. She waited patiently for Amethyst, keeping track of the presence with occasional shifts of focus back to her domain. Soon enough Amethyst emerged with a cloak, though, one that would easily ward off the chill, from Sistina’s point of view.

  “You don’t need warmer clothing?” Amethyst said questioningly, glancing down at Sistina’s relatively thin dress. “It’s fairly cold out there.”

  “Is fine. Magic,” Sistina replied with a shrug, offering her arm again, and Amethyst laughed.

  “Of course, why did I even ask? Well, let’s go,” Amethyst said, her eyes glittering with mirth as they stepped through the doors, which the guards had opened for them.

  The courtyard of the palace looked cold, Sistina noticed instantly, with a few bits of snow here and there where the servants hadn’t cleared it away, while a thin layer had adhered to some of the roofs. Most of the snow had been carried off by the wind, though she knew that just meant it was likely building up on the sides of buildings. A couple of carriages were nearby, and from the look of them Sistina suspected that Phynis was entertaining guests. The thought caused her to pause and turn her attention to her domain so she could look in the throne room, and when she did Sistina internally winced, returning to her body again.

  “Is something wrong? You did that thing where you were distant again,” Amethyst said in concern, pulling closer to Sistina as she added, “That usually means you were checking your domain.”

  “Lord Nocris,” Sistina said, a hint of distaste to her voice, though internally she was much less pleased.

  Lord Allen Nocris was the second prince of Idris, a human nation to Sifaren’s north. The prince had been officially sent to Everium as an ambassador along with his sister, Lady Ryn Nocris, but Sistina had noticed that Idris had never interfered when Kelvanis was at war with Sifaren, nor had they done anything to help quell the chaos after Irethiel’s defeat. No, the handsome, arrogant man and his sister had been doing everything they could to seduce Phynis, which was the main reason that Sistina disliked them. Besides, he’d also tried to order around Lily and other servants, which made her impression of him even worse.

  “Ah, yes.” Amethyst’s expression could have curdled milk, and she looked at the carriage in distaste as she added, “Sapphire is backing Phynis up in the audience, but I doubt that will stop him from making any advances, unfortunately. I wish he’d take the hint that the marriage isn’t for show.”

  “Think he knows. Does not care,” Sistina replied, sniffing disdainfully. She considered for a moment, then sighed, muttering, “Politics. Never liked them.”

  “Never? Does that mean that you have a few more memories of your previous lives?” Amethyst asked, practically pouncing on the word, much of her unhappiness vanishing.

  “Some,” Sistina replied, waffling a little, then shrugged as she answered. “Not trying to remember. Original was… apolitical.”

  “Oh, well… I wish you’d try to remember. I really would love to hear about what it was like when you were young,” Amethyst murmured, looking disappointed. On the other hand, Sistina noticed that the woman was trying to keep close to Sistina in order to stay inside the bubble of warm air.

  “First, was seed. Then tree. Took decades to grow,” Sistina replied, her tone deadpan, then squeaked as Amethyst pinched her.

  “You know what I meant, so none of that!” Amethyst scolded.

  Sistina sniffed slightly, heading over to the gates, and one of the guards there blinked, looking at her partner. When Sistina stopped there, looking out at the road expectantly, the other guard shifted. It took a minute for them to build up the nerve to say anything, and Sistina waited patiently.

  “Ah, Lady Amethyst, Lady Sistina… is there something we can do for you?” one of the guards asked nervously, the woman looking uncomfortable.

  “Sistina sensed someone approaching, and wanted to come out to meet them,” Amethyst explained, smiling warmly at them as she shrugged. “She didn’t think it was too dangerous, since she let me come with her, so it shouldn’t be anything that concerns you.”

  Sistina internally sighed at Amethyst’s explanation, since that wasn’t what she’d said at all. The thought of correcting her briefly crossed Sistina’s mind, but after a moment she decided that it wasn’t worth the effort. Instead she looked at the city and thought about it, particularly about how the roads circled the city going downward, as well as sensing the people on the streets.

  There were certainly more people at the bottom or top of the city, Sistina admitted, mostly at the bottom, but there was a fair amount of activity around the temple district and the academy. The in-between areas, though… those didn’t have nearly as many people on the roads, which was evidence of the need for easier transport through the city. It was just as well she’d decided to work on the lifts, but a tiny part of Sistina was irritated that she’d never thought about the problems building a mountain city would create. Of course, it did help with defending the city, but it didn’t make it any less of a mistake.

  Sistina’s attention snapped to the side as a woman turned the corner, though. The woman was a dawn elf with golden hair and had bright blue eyes, and she was markedly beautiful, drawing many gazes to her as she climbed the streets at a steady pace. The woman wore attractive, warm clothing in deep blue, something that Sistina normally would associate with wealth, but it was the hidden power around her that drew Sistina’s attention. The sight of that power was something she’d seen before, and she instantly identified the woman, regardless of her current shape.

  “Wenris,” Sistina murmured, and beside her Amethyst stiffened.

  “What?” the elven priestess demanded.

  Chapter 16

  “What are you doing here?” Amethyst demanded, and Wenris resisted the urge to sigh. She’d hoped that she might be able to get through this without a whole lot of indignant rage, but obviously Sistina had seen through Wenris’s disguise. That was disappointing, but not particularly surprising.

  The guards on either side of the gate were keeping an eye on Wenris, but obviously they didn’t realize her true nature or they wouldn’t be standing in the open like that. On the other hand, Sistina was just looking at Wenris calmly, without even the faintest flicker of fear in her eyes, unlike Amethyst… and that sent a shiver down Wenris’s spine.

  She was a demon queen, one of the most powerful beings in existence short of the greater gods, so nothing mortal should have been that fearless on sensing her new nature, yet Sistina didn’t fear her. Certainly, the dungeon had destroyed Irethiel, but the information Wenris had gathered indicated that had been an exceptional circumstance, not something she could do easily.

  Still, it wouldn’t do to be impolite, and Wenris let out a soft sigh, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Amethyst, speaking warmly. “Really, must you be so unwelcoming, in the middle of the street? Is that appropriate for the dignity of one of Her Majesty’s consorts?”

  Amethyst flushed at that, opening her mouth to retort, but Wenris wasn’t quite done yet, as she continued speaking simply, trying not to upset her further. “That said, I’m here to inform Sistina of my presence, and ask her to allow me to visit. See, Diane and I are tied together on a fundamental level, and that allows me to visit her whenever I like. I’ve chosen to let her life stabilize until now, rather than disrupting it, but there’s only so long I can allow that to continue.”

  “Then you should release her from the bargain,” Amethyst shot back, and Wenris couldn’t help another sigh.

  “That’s impossible, like I told you last time,” Wenris replied patiently, shaking her head. “What I did was create a bargain that entwined our sou
ls. I’ll be perfectly honest with you, I did it to give myself ready access to the mortal world, but it’s something that cannot be undone by any method which I’m aware of. If I perish, so too will Diane. The reverse is not true, of course… but that was the nature of the bond I created.”

  “Unfortunate,” Sistina murmured, her tone filled with multiple meanings that Wenris couldn’t quite decipher. The dungeon fascinated Wenris, since she’d started finding records of Avendrial in the libraries she’d inherited from Irethiel, and those told her a great deal about who the woman had once been. Sistina’s brilliant green eyes were fixed on Wenris for a long moment, as the dryad considered, ignoring the cold air around her despite wearing a simple dress. Finally, Sistina asked, “Your intentions here?”

  “I intend to visit with Diane on the designated dates I set for her, starting the day after tomorrow, and to explore the mortal world a bit. I’ve been dealing with rebellions and getting my realm in order, so I thought a vacation might be enjoyable,” Wenris replied, shrugging lazily as she smiled at the two of them. “Don’t worry, I have no intention of causing trouble for your little kingdom. I’m afraid that Sistina’s… friend already made sufficient threats, thank you very much.”

  “Friend?” Amethyst asked, a hint of trepidation starting to appear on her face.

  “Yes, friend. You know, my former mistress? She of the mirrors?” Wenris said pointedly, shivering. “She is very protective of Sistina, even if she prefers to act indirectly.”

  “Mm,” Sistina murmured, letting out a faint sigh as she shook her head. “She is… persistent.”

  Amethyst stared at Sistina for a moment, then at Wenris. It was obvious that she was debating what to do, and Wenris crossed her arms in front of her, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

  “What? It isn’t like I’m going to be trying to seduce you and the others, is it? I’m not even trying to control all of Diane’s life,” Wenris told the priestess pointedly. “I’m asking politely to come into the city rather than trying to hide it.”