"What's going on, Jamar?"
"You've grown quite close to the young lady."
I stared at his back. What did that have to do with anything? "You disapprove?"
"It's not my place to approve or disapprove of anything you do, savir. But I am concerned you trust her too easily."
That comment fanned the embers of an old anger. How dare a mere bodyguard judge who I could or could not trust? Then I remembered that Jamar's actions, even provocative, were always motivated by duty."And you assert that I shouldn't?"
Jamar drew back the last bolt. "As it happens, savir, I quite like the Lady Arianwyn. Constans not so much. But of her, for whatever it's worth, I approve." He swung open the leftmost door. "You have to concede she's not told you everything."
As I peered through into the lantern-lit space beyond, I couldn't help but agree.
Before us, a steep stairway led down into an enormous chamber. There was neither scrap of timber nor drape in sight, just cold white stone walls around a grey-tiled floor. Yet if the room itself were unremarkable, the contents were anything but. Lined up across the room, in neat parade-ground rows, stood an unmoving army of sentinels.
That they were anything other than an army, I didn't believe for a moment. All had female form, clad in plate armour, chainmail and white surcoats. A sword was scabbarded at every side, a shield slung on every back. At twenty sentinels to a rank, and nearly double that to a file, there were at least seven hundred present. If what I had seen of Zorya was anything to go by, I was looking at a force that could conquer or destroy any realm in existence.
"I found this room last night, shortly before you returned," Jamar whispered. "I think it bears some explanation."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I wanted you to see it first."
His point made, Jamar swung the door closed. "You recall that comment of Zorya's about allegiance and enmity? Well, what if the motives we've been given aren't as pure we've been led to believe? If that portalstone can indeed grant access to Otherworld, that army in there would be unstoppable. Can you imagine that? It may well be that there is no 'right' side when it comes to such power."
"I can imagine," I said. "In fact, it's not that different from the objective Arianwyn ascribes to Solomon."
"That's very convenient."
"The truth often is." But I had the uneasy feeling I was deceiving myself. Worse, I knew why I was deceiving myself: I didn't want to believe Arianwyn capable of that kind of deception.
"Can you afford to take that chance, savir?"
I thought for a moment, then came to a decision. "No, but then I'm not going to. Come on."
My mind wandering in dark places, I headed up the stairs. As I'd expected, Arianwyn was still in the library, leaning on the table and poring over a series of books. Zorya stood a little to one side of her mistress, a weighty pile of tomes in her upturned hands.
"Edric?" Arianwyn looked up. "I thought you'd have gone."
"Not yet," I said, my voice taut. "Tell me about the army of sentinels."
She hesitated. "You've seen them."
"Just now."
Arianwyn glanced over my shoulder at Jamar. "Constans counselled against letting you roam the tower. Perhaps he was right." She sank back into her chair. "This isn't how it looks."
"Good." My temper was slipping. I wasn't quite shouting, but I wasn't far off from it either. "Because, at best, you've lied to me again. How could Solomon possibly prove a threat to you if there's an army like that at your disposal? How could anyone?"
"Because they're dormant!" Arianwyn didn't quite shout back, but it was a close call. "They're not my army. They're just part of the tower, like the portraits, the books and the furniture. And they're just as lifeless."
I pointed at Zorya. "That one isn't."
Constans sauntered into the room. "There you are. I thought we were going to see Avanov..." He took in my scowl and Arianwyn's icy expression. "Ah... What have I walked into?"
"They found the sentinels," Arianwyn explained frostily. "Edric thinks we're going to conquer the world with them, or something equally ridiculous."
"Actually, that's not an unreasonable theory, given..." Constans tailed off when Arianwyn glared at him. "...but it's still absolutely reprehensible for him to even imagine you capable of such a thing." He looked at me. "Edric, that's quite marvellous. Somehow I'm in trouble with my cousin because you've upset her. I suppose she's told you they're dormant?"
"She has," Arianwyn bit out.
"And you don't believe her?"
Again, Arianwyn spoke before I could. "He doesn't."
Constans sighed. "Jamar, you and I will wait by the main gate. I think these two have things to straighten out."
Jamar looked for my assent and I waved at him to leave. I watched Constans escort him from the library and close the door, then turned back to Arianwyn and Zorya.
Except Arianwyn wasn't there. She'd ducked out another exit whilst my attention had been on Jamar.
[[I do not believe she wants to talk to you at the moment, Master Edric.]]
"So it would seem." I pinched the bridge of my nose. My anger had faded. I felt tired and ridiculous.
[[She spoke the truth about the sentinels.]]
"Then how is it that they're asleep and you're not?"
[[I do not know. If I knew, I would probably tell you.]]
Probably, I noted, not definitely. "When will they wake up?"
[[When the proper time comes.]]
"And when will that be?"
[[When the war comes.]]
I caught my breath. That was an answer so unexpected and so ominous that I almost wished I hadn't asked the question, but it was too late now. "What war?"
Zorya didn't answer. That was apparently all I'd get out of her on that subject. Not that it really mattered now. Then I remembered a question I'd been meaning to ask her for a while.
"Zorya, can you leave the tower?"
[[I have never tried, Master Edric. I have no cause to do so.]]
"That's not what I asked."
[[I know, Master Edric.]]
I considered pressing the matter further, but decided I'd only waste precious time. I turned to go, but found I couldn't bring myself to leave. I took a deep breath and faced Zorya once more.
"Please tell Arianwyn that I'm sorry."
The sentinel inclined her head slightly. [[Of course, Master Edric. Mistress Arianwyn also regrets her actions. Or she will upon proper reflection.]]
Stated so calmly, that sounded ominous. "What do you mean?"
[[She was not only angry at your distrust, but at hers. Had she told you of the others, this confrontation would not have happened. She knows this, and knows it is as much her fault as yours.]]
"And she told you all this before she left?"
[[No. She will when you have gone. She has not realised yet.]]
"Why are you telling me?"
[[Why should I not? It is the truth, and harms no one that you know of it.]]
I reflected briefly that if Zorya applied that test to all my questions, I'd know a lot more about her than I did.
[[In any case, you have other tasks to occupy your attention. Arianwyn would not want you distracted. Especially if that distraction were to lead to error, and that error in turn led to injury or death. That would cause further upset, and I do not wish that.]]
Was she expressing concern? "I suppose I can't take issue with that logic."
[[No, you cannot, Master Edric.]]
And with that, it seemed there was nothing else to be said. I left the library, tried unsuccessfully to put Arianwyn out of my mind, and went downstairs to join Constans and Jamar.
Twenty Two
We'd left the Tower of Stars and were moving through the early-morning crowds, when I told Constans and Jamar I wanted to detour via the cathedral.
Constans didn't approve. "What could you possibly want there?"
"Whatever's going on in Otherworld,
it's tied to the cathedral," I said. "I want to ask the archimandrite a few questions."
"I don't know what you expect to get out of Olvas except pious drivel. How do you know he'll not run for the constables as soon as he sees you?"
Constans had a point. We were all hooded and cloaked to shield us from enquiring eyes, but I could hardly have a proper conversation with Olvas without him recognising me. Nevertheless, I needed to try, and told Constans as much.
"Very well," he said. "From the moment I saw you I had you noted down as crazed." He kicked a loose cobble, sending it skittering across the street. "I do so hate it when I'm right."
I turned to Jamar. He'd volunteered no opinion, but his bearing suggested he'd something to say. "Come on, out with it."
"You've clearly made up your mind, savir," he said. "But you suggested matters were coming to a head. Can we really spare the time?"
"I don't know, but I've a feeling this might be important." A thought struck me. "And speaking of detours..." I fished in my pocket for the pouch containing Romark and Haril's remembrance rings. "...I retrieved these yesterday."
Jamar stopped and tipped the contents of the pouch out into his hand. "Where did you find them?" He stared dumbfounded at the rings. Constans and I came to a halt, not wanting to lose him in the crowds.
"The guard house. It felt like the least I could do."
Jamar's eyes rose to meet mine. "There is nothing small about this deed, my prince." His voice slurred with emotion. "I'd given up any hope of bringing these back to their families. Thank you."
"I was there as well, you know," Constans said, in a hurt voice.
Jamar pocketed the rings before replying. "Ah, but would you have been there had he not asked you to go?"
Constans grinned. "Probably not."
"I thank you anyway. But now it is I costing us precious time. Let us be on our way."
We made it to the cathedral square without incident, though not without noticing something unusual. As we passed the Highvale cemetery, just around the corner from where all this had begun for me, Constans tapped me on the shoulder. "Does anything about that strike you as odd?"
I followed his gaze to where no less than four constables stood guard at a barred and sealed lychgate. "You forget, it's not my city."
"Well it's definitely mine. I've never seen the cemetery sealed before. Perhaps the dead are getting antsy."
"If they are, it's probably because their interments aren't to the standard they'd expected."
Highvale cemetery was the site of final repose for the richer families, unlike the mass graves of Claygate, where the common citizenry could expect to end up. Both sites had been in use, on and off, for hundreds of years, but they had little else in common. Indeed, I knew Claygate didn't even have a lychgate, let alone the tall iron fence that ran around the perimeter of this place.
A little while later, we arrived at the cathedral. I asked the others to remain outside, to which they agreed with considerably less argument than I'd expected. Constans indicated he might head back to Highvale and satisfy his curiosity rather than wait. Jamar propped himself against one of the boundary walls around the Shaddra – near enough to the Cathedral to keep an eye on who came and who went, but far enough distant so that the Sidarists preaching at the foot of its steps wouldn't bother him.
I finally found the archimandrite fussing over the central altar – a slab of polished black marble bearing the Sidarist emblem of two hands cupped around a rose. An army of altar boys swarmed, attending to candles, censers and other silvered paraphernalia of worship. It all looked a little ridiculous, but who was I to judge? The midnight rituals my people held to Ashana probably looked every bit as ridiculous and at least the Tressians held observances inside.
Olvas looked up with surprise. "I didn't expect to see you here again so soon, ambassador. In fact, I'd heard a rumour that you'd been marked by guilt."
I'd expected a challenge of this sort, and had an answer prepared. "The rumours are partially correct, your eminence. One of my bodyguards has committed some terrible crimes – unknown to me, you understand – but I assure you Quintus is satisfied that no such guilt extends to me."
Olvas tutted sympathetically. I added 'Lied to a priest' to my list of recent achievements.
"In fact," I went on awkwardly, "that's the reason I'm here. My eyes have been opened by recent events. I wanted to talk to you about... Well, about Sidara."
As I'd hoped, all doubts Olvas had about my legal status were swept away at the prospect of welcoming a heathen – a royal heathen, no less – into the worship of his Lady of Light.
"That is wonderful news, ambassador." He shooed away the altar boys to give us some measure of privacy. "Can I ask why?"
"I've experienced many inexplicable things in the past few days, eminence. Things for which there could be no earthly explanation." I didn't like lying about something like this, if only because I'd met and annoyed at least two great powers in the last few days. The last thing I needed to do was upset another – even if Constans and Arianwyn assured me that Sidara was no such thing. "But, through it all, I'm sure I've felt Sidara walking with me."
That, at best, was a half-truth, and one which would get me in trouble with Arianwyn if she ever found out I'd put it in those terms, but it seemed to please Olvas.
He beamed with obvious satisfaction, "I must confess I'd thought you a lost cause when I saw you in the company of Master Reveque. I'm overjoyed to learn that I was wrong. That man has been a thorn in my side for years. It's bitterness, pure bitterness."
"I don't understand."
"He's not a direct descendant." Olvas spoke as if that explained everything. When I stubbornly remained unenlightened, he sighed and sought to make further clarification. "Sidara may have been born a Reveque, but her descendants all bore her married name of Trelan. Master Reveque can't abide the fact that his lineage is so close to divine, yet at the same time so very far away. Still, he was probably soured by his upbringing."
"I'm sorry, I don't follow you."
"His name. What sort of parent does that to a child? I'm not so foolish that I believe that names shape our destinies – only our actions and the wishes of Our Lady do that – but being named for one of the greatest traitors in history must be a terrible burden. He could at least try to rise above it, though."
I still had no idea what Olvas was talking about, and I was acutely aware that I didn't have time to indulge his meanderings, so I tried to think of a way of steering the conversation in a more useful direction. Happily, I didn't have to – he'd tired of sullying his lips with Constans' name, and moved on to other matters.
"As far as welcoming you into Our Lady's family is concerned, I think things should be done properly." Which meant 'at great cost', I expected. "There'll be a certain amount of expenditure required for such a ceremony," he warned. "But you're an important man, and such things must be done properly, wouldn't you agree?"
"Absolutely," I said, regretting starting this conversation in the first place. "This ceremony would be performed here?"
"Why yes, of course."
"You flatter me."
"Well, perhaps a little," Olvas said with refreshing honesty. "Would that I could induct you now, but I'm afraid it must wait until after the cathedral is consecrated. We can more fully discuss the matter then."
"I don't understand why you've chosen to build this cathedral here. It's hardly the most salubrious part of the city."
Olvas shot me a reproving look. "That blasted husk out in the square practically begs to be opposed by something wholesome."
"You're talking about the Shaddra?" Arianwyn had said Olvas' cathedral was being raised in part to overcome that twisted symbol of the old traditions, and it seemed she was correct.
"Horrible, blighted monstrosity. Besides, Sidara's blessings are not solely for the rich and fortunate – far from it. As the teachings say, 'Eth luma edrelia lor benevo'."
"'Her light enters all souls?'"<
br />
Olvas was delighted. "Indeed, ambassador. I had no idea you were so conversant with our formal language."
I smiled my reply, not bothering to point out that it was one of a handful of phrases Stefan had taught me.
Nevertheless, Olvas was clearly impressed. He leaned in close. "But neither of those is the real reason I chose this site."
"Really?"
"Oh yes." He glanced around to reassure himself no one could overhear. "Sidara told me to build it here."
"Sidara told you...?" I repeated, too surprised to manage a more intelligent response. Constans had already suggested as much the last time I'd been here, but the idea was still no less ridiculous.
Olvas flapped his hands at me. "Keep your voice down. I don't want everyone to know."
I could sympathise with that. If I were secretly as mad as a box of frogs I'd not want everyone to know. Then again, it wasn't impossible Sidara had been talking to him, but I rather thought she'd have better taste. Maybe she'd had no other choice. It's not like the godly visitations I'd had over the last few days had been spurred by anything other than need. "Then why confide in me?"
Olvas looked at me slyly. "It's not like anyone will believe a heathen, should you accuse me of heresy. Certainly other Sidarists won't. I have to tell someone! It's not an easy thing to carry a secret of this magnitude. You see..."
He started wittering about prophesies and signs. I confess my attention wandered at that point, and I just nodded at what I hoped were the appropriate intervals. Talking to Olvas was looking more and more like a waste of time, particularly given I had other places to be. I hoped Arianwyn was having more luck with her investigations, and hoped even more profoundly that she'd have forgiven me enough to speak to me when I saw her next. Then I half-heard Olvas say something that sent a shiver down my spine. "Your pardon, but would you repeat that last part?"
Olvas stared at me suspiciously, worried I hadn't been paying proper attention. "I said she appeared to me in clothes of mourning."
Shadow of the Raven (The Reckoning Book 1) Page 26
