Saints Cathedral was like a smaller Cathedral of the Gods in Arnor City. It had the same basic shape with four towers and three sets of entrance doors at the front. Zandrue did have to admit, though, that it was made with a darker stone, and it didn’t seem to have quite as many gargoyles. No doubt the stained glass windows were quite a bit different, too. She had never really paid a whole lot of attention to the specific details of either cathedral, so beyond the basic “church shape” there was every possibility they weren’t actually all that similar.

Not that she cared much. In all her years living in Quorge, she had always avoided Saints Cathedral. Even in her mischievous days, she had never dragged Felitïa and Drummor here for a prank or any other reason. It wasn’t out of any sense of reverence, nor out of any kind of dislike. Churches just seemed like places to avoid unless there was a reason to be there. Being forced as a child to venerate Nyx—Night in the Universal Religion—could do that to a person.

Standing down the street from the cathedral with a group of six City Watchmen, rubbing his hands in the cold, was a familiar person. Zandrue paused. He hadn’t seen her yet, so she decided to let him suffer in the cold a little longer. Of course, that meant she had to suffer too, but a little discomfort so that Almais also had discomfort was worth it.

There was a limit to how much it was worth, though, and he would likely notice her eventually, so she only dragged it out for a couple of minutes. Then she approached, straightening her back as she did so. They were both the same height, but he was slouching a little, so if she stretched herself, she could look taller.

“Almais! Just the man I never wanted to see again!”

He only raised his eyes a little to look at her, so she couldn’t see his whole face, but she could be pretty certain he was scowling. He was always scowling.

She stopped about an inch in front of him. “What? No joyous words of welcome? No screams of delight? Come on, the least you could do is offer me a hug.” She spread her arms.

He spat in her face.

With a smirk, she wiped her face with her arm. She hated having his vile scent on her, but she effected her broadest smile anyway. “I’m gonna ignore that one, but that’s the only one you get. Obviously, you got the message from Lady Belone, or you wouldn’t be here. You will place yourself and your men under my command.”

“You’re a bloody Eloorin! My men and I—”

“What? Really? I’m an Eloorin?” She made a show of looking down at herself, her arms, and her legs. “Thank you for telling me. Wait here a minute while I rush off to Arnor City to tell the King to take away my noble title. Oh wait, the King already knows, yet he gave me a title anyway. Fancy that.”

“You’re no noble. You’re a street urchin I should’ve thrown in jail years ago. And thrown away the key!”

She effected her broadest smile again. “You did get Lady Belone’s message, yes? You read the whole thing? Maybe you didn’t, but that’s okay.” She shoved the papers she was carrying at his chest. “I brought a second copy of your orders just in case. You will put yourself and your men under my command or you will be rounded up and tried for desertion. I do believe the punishment is hanging.”

He snatched the papers from her, but didn’t look at them. “We will follow your orders.” He made no attempt to conceal the contempt in his voice. He turned and walked into the midst of the City Watchmen.

Zandrue waited for him to get several feet away and for him to be about to say something, before calling out, “Oh, Almais?” When he looked back at her, she crooked a finger at him and waited for him to return to her.

“Yes?”

She grabbed his tabard and pretended to straighten it. “Don’t think the fact you’re back in Belone green means I don’t know about or will forget that you recently donned red.” She pulled him closer to her. “I want you to know I consider anyone who willingly joins the Red Knights scum. No, worse than scum. Got that? You are worse than shit in my eyes, and if you step out of line—even a little—I will gut you. I swear it. And don’t think I’ll suffer any repercussions for it either. Even if you don’t believe I have Lady Belone’s ear, you know I have Princess Felitïa’s, and she’s in residence at the Belone Palace. I’m pretty sure she’ll cheer if she learns I’ve slit your rotten throat. Clear?”

His upper lip twitched, but he made no sound other than a couple dull grunts. For a brief moment, it looked like he might spit at her again, but then he nodded and a bit of saliva dribbled down his grey beard.

She shoved him away from her. “Glad we understand each other.” Before he could say anything to his men, she called out, “You lot! Into formation! I’ve got someone to introduce.”

“You heard her,” Almais growled.

As the Watch snapped to attention, and took their positions, Zandrue grinned. Gods, she was loving this!

She raised her hand and waved to Jorvan, who was waiting back some distance. He started forward.

Once he got closer, she turned to the Watch. “Everyone, this is Jorvanultumn. He’s our back-up. Just a reminder, the brief banning of non-humans from Belone by Danel Belone has been rescinded by her Ladyship. He is here legally, so no arresting him. You’d really regret it if you tried, believe me.” She lowered her voice to speak directly to Jorvan. “Thanks for waiting and letting me deal with this lot on my own.”

“You are welcome,” Jorvan replied.

“Why do we need an Isyar for back-up?” Almais asked.

“It’s just a precaution,” Zandrue said.

“A precaution against what?”

“Just a precaution.”

He stepped closer to her, his usual scowl deepening. “Look, you don’t like me, I don’t like you. That’s fine. That’s the way it always is. I’ll still do my job, but if you want me to do it well, you need to tell me what the hell is going on. We’re going to a fucking church. What do you need the mini army for?”

Zandrue sighed. Keeping Almais in the dark would be pleasing, and bullying him a little was ever so fun. It wasn’t just the payback for years of him bullying her; it also helped keep her mind off Rudiger. Gods, even momentarily thinking of not making fun of Almais had brought back thoughts of Rudiger. Was he even still alive?

But damn it, Almais was right. He needed to know. “Hopefully nothing at all. You and your men are here mainly to provide an intimidation factor. However...well, how much do you know about what happened last week?”

“The Red Knights attacked the Hall of Knowledge and lost, and the late Lord Belone’s Isyar advisor went mad. That’s the gist of it. I’ve heard bits and pieces of other details, but mostly just unsubstantiated rumour. During it all, the new Lord Belone died and now we have yet another ruler. Barely more than a child, but I suppose that’s what we’re stuck with. She doesn’t favour the Red Knights, so they’ve been escorted out of the province. Should I know more?”

“Plavistalorik was a Darkness Worshipper, and she ran what was potentially a fairly extensive network of Darkers in both the palace and the city, maybe even across the province or farther.” Zandrue paused for a moment to watch his reaction.

Surprisingly, he showed very little reaction, only a slight twitch. “Darkers?”

“Yes, potentially a lot of them.”

“But why are we going into the cathedral? Are you suggesting…?”

Zandrue shrugged. “Honestly don’t know. But this isn’t limited to just Quorge. There was a network of them at the Palace in Arnor City as well. We got a bunch of them, but… Look, there has been stuff going on in Arnor City for months now, news of which should have reached here, but it hasn’t. I’m here to try to find out why. The mini army is in case things go badly. Got it?”

With a grunt, he nodded.

“Great, let’s go. While we walk, tell me what you know about the head priest, Victrin Bandren.”

As they started towards the cathedral, Almais made a quick hand motion, and the other Watchmen fell into line behind him, Zandrue, and Jorvan. “Not a lot. He’s been there for a decade now, and is generally liked by his congregation. I don’t worship there, though, so I’ve never met him personally. The church rarely calls for assistance from the Watch, and when they do, it’s usually just to pick up a thief they’ve already apprehended. I’ve never seen anything to indicated Bandren might be a Darker though.”

“Well, like you said, it’s not much,” Zandrue said. “Still, I’m not suggesting he is a Darker. All the Darkers need is someone with access to whatever method the church uses to receive and pass on messages. That might not need to be the head priest.”

As they reached the steps leading to the entrances to the cathedral, Jorvan moved a little to the side. “I will wait here.”

“I have no idea how long we’ll be,” Zandrue said.

“I will be fine.”

With a quick smile at Jorvan, Zandrue continued up the steps.

“He’s not coming with us?” Almais asked. “I suppose there’s a certain tactical sense to have him waiting outside, but a couple of my men could do that. Wouldn’t he be useful as intimidation? The threat of what an Isyar could do…”

Zandrue pulled the central doors open. “It’s a religious thing. Isyar are forbidden from entering a place of worship that is not one of their own. Besides, Jorvan works best with lots of open space. Anybody runs, they’re not getting away. I want one man on the inside of each of the entry doors.”

Almais snapped his fingers at three of the men. “You, you, and you.”

One stopped at the doors they were at, while the other two split off to go the doors on either side.

As she, Almais, and the three remaining Watchmen approached the doors to the nave, a young man in clerical robes approached from the side. “Can I help you…?” He peered closely at Almais’s rank insignia. “Captain, is it?”

Almais gave a brisk nod and motioned for the Watchmen to stop. “Captain Benito Almais, and this is…” He motioned to Zandrue, his lips curling momentarily and practically sneering the next word, “Lady Zandromeda Armida. We need to speak to Father Bandren.”

The young...priest?...nodded. His robes were a plain grey, but Zandrue had no idea if that meant he was a full priest, or some sort of non-ordained assistant. “Of course. I will summon him immediately. I hope this isn’t serious.”

“It may be a bit delicate,” Zandrue said, leaning in close to the priest and sniffing, “so if you could also arrange for us to speak somewhere we could have relative privacy, that would also be good.”

Recoiling slightly, the young priest nodded again. “I will tell him your request. Please, wait here a moment. I’ll return shortly.” He slipped past them and through the doors to the nave.

Once he was gone, and the doors were closed again, Zandrue said, “You know, I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard your first name. I suppose you wouldn’t appreciate me calling you Benny, would you?” She grinned.

Almais frowned, and Zandrue stifled a laugh.

“You know,” Almais said, “the presence of so many Watchmen is going to put any…” He paused a moment and glanced around before continuing in a quieter voice, “Any Darkers here on alert. It might have made more sense to come here and talk to Bandren on your own or with a much smaller group.”

“I know, but I’m almost certainly going to have to be blunt with Bandren, and if he turns out to be a Darker himself…”

“Fair point. You said Belone’s Isyar was running the Darker network. Now she’s dead…” He paused. “She is dead, isn’t she? That’s not just the story told to make people feel safer?”

“She’s dead,” Zandrue said. “Felitïa made certain of it. Trust me. I saw the body.”

He nodded. “Very well. She’s dead, so who’s in charge now?”

“No idea. I’m hoping they’re in disarray.”

“Of course, if this network is widespread, aren’t you risking me or one of my men being a Darker?”

Zandrue looked him in the eyes and gave a slow nod. “Yes, I am, but I’ve got to trust someone. You, Benny...you’re a bigoted asshole. You might listen to the bullshit rhetoric of the Bloods, but I don’t think you’re a Darker.”

“I suppose I should be thankful for that,” he said.

“Don’t prove me wrong.”

He just grunted.

The inner doors opened, revealing the young man from earlier. “Father Bandren says he will see you in his office. This way.”

It was a short trip, just through the nave and down a short hall at the other side. Zandrue had one of the Watch stay by the nave doors and the other two just outside Bandren’s office.

Victrin Bandren was a middle-aged Folith whose remaining grey hair was bunched around his ears and ran seamlessly into his short, but bushy beard. He motioned with a slightly pudgy hand to the chairs by his desk. “My Lady, Captain, please sit. Caylum tells me you have half a dozen men with you. That sounds serious. Is there anything I can help you with?”

Zandrue took a seat, but Almais remained standing. She leaned forward, but unfortunately, his scent was masked by perfumes. “I hope so, Father. I’m here in regards to Lady Belone’s repeated attempts to contact Arnor City this past week.”

He had a look of concern on his face, which vanished almost immediately. “Oh, is that all? As I have informed her Ladyship, we have not received a reply yet.”

“It’s been a week,” Zandrue said.

“Most people would not consider that a long time to transport a message across the continent.”

“Come on Father, all of us here are aware the church can get messages across the continent in a day or two at most.”

He held up his hands. “Yes, but sometimes there can be delays.”

“And that’s what you’re saying this is? A delay?”

He raised his hands again. “I see no reason to think otherwise. Her messages are relatively low priority. I’m sure we will get a response soon. You can assure her Ladyship, I will inform her as soon as we hear anything.”

“And when was the last time you heard from Arnor City?”

“We received a routine message at the beginning of the month.”

“What did it say?”

“I’m not sure that’s any of your or Lady Belone’s business; however, I can tell you that it indicated everything was normal. There were certainly no issues to be concerned with despite Lady Belone’s anxieties.”

“Except things haven’t been right in Arnor City for months. You never received word of Princess Sinitïa’s disappearance over two months ago?”

He shook his head. “No, and I would say anyone claiming there was a disappearance is mistaken. My people have reliably informed me Princess Sinitïa is here in Quorge, so there clearly has not been a disappearance.”

“Okay, what about Prince Garet?”

“What about him? I suppose you’re referring to rumours that he died? Yes, I’ve heard those, but if they were true, we’d have heard about it by now. I can assure you his Highness—”

“I was fucking there.”

His eyes widened and he moved back as she leaned in towards him. Gods, this asshole was dense. Rudiger could be in danger and this man wasn’t even willing to accept something as simple as Garet’s death. It made her want to wring his neck.

However, she caught herself and sat back. “I’m sorry, excuse my language. But I can assure you, Father, Prince Garet is dead. I saw his dead body myself. I know for a fact Patriarch Ardon sent messages to every province inviting nobility to the funeral. Most provinces responded, and some even made the trek to attend. But you didn’t receive anything?”

“Most assuredly not.”

“Then you admit something must be wrong.”

He shook his head. “Not at all.”

“With respect, Father,” Almais said, “if Prince Garet is dead, they would have sent a message.”

“I agree,” Bandren said, “which is why I know he isn’t dead. Lady Armida here is obviously mistaken.”

“I’m not mistaken. I happen—”

“How exactly do you know for a fact Patriarch Ardon sent messages out? Been to Arnor City recently enough to get back here ahead of his messages? Know him personally, do you?”

“Yes to both.”

That was a mistake. She knew it as soon as she said it.

Bandren simply looked over at Almais and raised his eyebrows. “Really.”

Zandrue glanced at Almais to try to see his reaction, but he seemed unmoved. She turned back and smiled broadly at Bandren. “Let’s take another angle. Surely you’ve informed Arnor City of all the events here in the last month.”

“Of course.”

“And you don’t find it strange they haven’t responded? The lordship has changed twice, we’ve had Bloods fighting in the streets, and the late Lord Belone’s Isyar went mad. I’d say that stuff would be kind of high priority.”

“I have no control over what his Grace and others in Arnor City deem high priority or when they decide to respond to messages.”

“And what about other places?” Zandrue asked. “Dorg. Or Tyl. Or Collogia, Anywhere else in Arnor. Do you hear from them or send them messages?”

“On occasion.”

“Can you send them a message now?”

“For what reason?”

“To confirm whether they’ve heard from Arnor City and what they’ve heard.”

“Why would I waste their time with something so trivial?”

Zandrue groaned. “Fine. So just how long needs to pass before you’ll find anything unusual in not hearing from Arnor City or anywhere else?”

He stroked his beard. “We get routine messages from Arnor City on the second or third of every month. If one of those were more than a few days late, I would see reason to be concerned.”

Zandrue groaned. “So, a week and half until the second, then a few more days after that. Two weeks, basically?”

Bandren shrugged.

“Two weeks doesn’t seem too terrible a time to wait,” Almais said.

“It is when there are Darkers involved.” She’d hoped to bring up Darkers a little more delicately, but she was starting to get angry. She needed to control herself better.

Bandren leaned forward. “Darkers? Seriously?”

“In just the last few few weeks, we rounded up a Darker conspiracy at the Royal Palace. There was also one here in Quorge, run by Plavistalorik, the late Lord Belone’s Isyar advisor. She’s dead now, but we need to act before her organisation can pull itself back together and someone else takes control.”

Bandren stared at her for a moment before bursting into laughter. He stood up and circled round his desk, approaching Almais, still laughing. After a moment, he got his laughter under control and looked over at Zandrue. “Captain, I think, not only is Lady Armida mistaken, she’s also quite delusional. Never mind the absurdity of Darker conspiracies, she’s talking like she’s been in two places at the same time. I think we’re done here. I’d appreciate it if you removed your men from the building.” He patted Almais on the shoulder, then motioned to the door.

“We have a warrant, Father,” Almais said. “While Lady Armida may be delusional, her Ladyship, Lady Anita Belone believes what she says.” He held up the warrant.

Bandren’s grin dropped into a scowl, and he snatched the paper. “A warrant for what?”

Zandrue stood and went up beside Bandren. “To search the premises. We’re to look for any signs of conspiracy to hide or change messages received, or failure to send requested messages, or perhaps tampering of the methods you use to send and receive said messages. Basically, evidence of Darkers or other malfeasance.” She patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll be discreet.”

He turned to face her directly and shoved the warrant against her chest. “This has no authority here.” He looked over at Almais. “You can take it with you when you leave.”

“It is signed by her Ladyship,” Almais said, “and cosigned by her Highness, Princess Felitïa.”

“It doesn’t matter. It could be signed by the King himself, and it would make no difference. The Treaty of Elooria.”

Bandren continued to press the warrant against Zandrue’s chest, clearly waiting for her to take it from him, but she wasn’t about to give him that satisfaction.

“The Treaty of Elooria?” Almais said. “I’m sorry, Father. I’m not sure I understand.”

“The Treaty of Elooria, Captain. Signed by the Universal Religion and King Martan after the execution of the Dragon in twenty-one fifteen, it was the core document which unified Arnor as a single country. In return for the Church’s support of Folith rule, it granted unique rights to the Church and gave us the right to self-governance of our own property. In effect, whenever you are in a church, you are effectively no longer on Arnorin soil, but in a sovereign nation. Folith nobility has no authority here.”

Bandren attempted to shove Zandrue harder, presumably to push her away, but she held firm. He wasn’t that strong, and while it was uncomfortable, she could resist him. After a moment, he gave up, dropped the warrant and returned to his seat. “Now, please leave. Both of you. And all your men.”

“I don’t think so,” Zandrue said.

Bandren placed his elbows on his desk and clasped his hands. “I’m sure you could force the issue, but do so and you create a national incident. You will threaten the very stability of the entire country. Without the Church’s support, Arnor will collapse in a matter of months.”

“It may be on the verge of doing that anyway,” Zandrue growled.

“My Lady,” Almais said, “at the risk of you fulfilling your promise and gutting me, I should say I think Father Bandren might be right. I know we have always been instructed to be careful in our dealings with the Church. It’s one of the reasons we rarely go on Church grounds and never without being invited first.”

Zandrue clenched her fists, and held back the desire to scream that she didn’t fucking care, that she was going to search this place no matter what, that lives were on the line—Rudiger’s life! But they were right. She’d seen Ardon use the same threat with the King and Queen.

With a sigh, she placed her palms down on Bandren’s desk and leaned over him. “Fine. We’ll go. But I want you to know, Father, that there is someone very dear to me in Arnor City. No, more than very dear. He’s the love of my life. If he dies because of your stupidity, no treaty, no anything, will stand between you and me slitting your fucking throat. Got it?”

Bandren stared into her eyes, unmoving. “Captain, get this lunatic out of here.”

Before Almais could do anything, Zandrue turned around and headed for the door. “Don’t worry. I’ll show myself out.”

“And Captain, tell her Ladyship and her Highness that this woman is forbidden from Church property, effective immediately. If she ever returns…”

Zandrue didn’t pause to hear the rest of what he said. She just retraced her steps back to the entrance, barely acknowledging the Watchmen as she passed them.

Once she was outside, she stormed over to one of the pillars by the steps and began kicking it. Gods damn it! She’d fucked that up. She hadn’t been thinking straight. Too many thoughts about Rudiger. She’d let those influence her words and actions, also let them get to her temper. Gods damn it, her temper could be a liability at times.

“I am guessing it did not go well.”

Zandrue stopped kicking the pillar and turned to face Jorvan, who had approached her. “You are guessing right.” She took a couple deep breaths. “Sorry for bringing you out here for nothing.”

“That is all right,” Jorvan said. “I am pleased that I was not needed. May I ask what happened?”

Zandrue scrunched her eyes and held back tears. “I fucked up. I…”

Before she could say any more, the Cathedral doors opened and Almais stormed out, followed by the rest of the Watchmen. He came straight over to Zandrue.

“Look, Almais,” she started to say, but he held a finger up in her face.

“You can threaten me all you want, but threatening Bandren like that? That was stupid! Complain that I’m not following your orders. Gut me if you must, but that was beyond stupid! Until then, the situation was salvageable. If we had just left, you could have gone back at a later time and talked more calmly without the intimidation factor. Now, you’re banned from going back. If you do and they catch you, they will execute you and apparently there’s nothing any of the rest of us can do about it. And if there were Darkers in there? Guess what, they just got the edge on you.”

Zandrue stared at him for a few moments. Part of her wanted to lash out back at him, tell him off, scream at him. It would probably make her feel better. Unfortunately, he was right—again—so she just nodded and spoke quietly. “I know.”

He looked as if he was about to say more, but then turned away. “I need to report to the palace and let her Ladyship know what happened. Coming?”

Zandrue shook her head. “No, it’s probably best I don’t. Then you can give her the unfettered truth. Complain about me all you want. Don’t hold back.”

He gave her a confused look, but then shook his head. “Fine. I’m sure we’ll speak later. Good day.” After a pause, he added, “My Lady.” Then he motioned to the Watch, and they all marched away.

Zandrue looked to Jorvan. “Any criticisms you want to add?”

Jorvan shook his head. “I was not there. Perhaps your threats were justified. I do not know.”

“Trust me, they weren’t.”

His head tilted and he stared up at her. “Zandrue, I know I have disapproved of your methods in the past, and we have had...disagreements. However, I do consider you a friend. Do not be too hard on yourself. We all make mistakes. And I know you are worried about Rudiger. That must weigh on you heavily.”

“The worst thing is, Felitïa can’t even give me an update on his condition anymore. I know he was alive a week ago, though with a broken leg. With that dragon there, anything could have happened. He could be dead. He could…” She sniffled and rubbed her nose. “I’m just...I’m so scared.” Gods, she was amazed she was admitting this to Jorvan and not Felitïa. Yet somehow, she’d had a hard time admitting her fears to Felitïa, but Felitïa had been through so much recently. She didn’t need more problems weighing her down. Hell, Felitïa usually had all those sorts of feelings barging into her head uninvited all the time. For now, Felitïa was actually free of that. It wouldn’t be fair for Zandrue to force them on her.

“I understand,” Jorvan said. “I went through similar things in Isyaria when Meleng was kidnapped. It is not easy. Despair threatens to overwhelm you, but you have friends. Do not be afraid to turn to them, and do not lose hope. We will solve this.”

She forced a smile. “Thanks. Come on. We better go before they get mad at me for standing so close.”

Jorvan bowed his head, and they started down the steps. Once they were a little ways down the street, he said, “When will you go back?”

Zandrue allowed herself a short laugh. “You know me pretty well.”

“I know there is clearly something strange going on in that church, and you will not let a simple banishment stop you from finding out. It is too important.”

“You got that right. I figure I’ll go back tonight, sneak in, have a little look around. See what I can find out.”

“Then I will be your back-up again.”

“I appreciate it, but if I’m caught, there won’t be anybody running outside for you to stop. They’ll just kill me.”

“Do not think that I am unwilling to do what is necessary. While I hope it does not become necessary, I am more than willing to break the prohibitions against entering the church if it is necessary. As I said, it is too important. If you need me, call for me, and I will come. The gods will forgive me the transgression.”

Zandrue smiled. “Thanks. In that case, meet me at the back of the cathedral at midnight.”

Jorvan bowed his head. “I will be there.”

Zandrue wiped her eyes. This wasn’t so bad. Indeed, she should have probably done this from the start. Doing it second had certainly put any Darkers on alert, making it a lot harder, but that was okay. She could handle that. Everything would be fine.

Gods, she’d said that in the past and gotten herself into some terrible scrapes, but this time would be different.

Everything would be just fine.