Page 28 of House of Dusk

SEPHRE

S ephre released her breath as the heavy wooden doors of Stara Bron thudded closed behind her. It had been a long, tiring two days traveling back from Kessely, made heavier by the burden of everything Nilos had thrust on her.

The world needs the Serpent. The same way it needs the moon, and the sun, and the sea.

She did not want to believe it. She had no reason to believe it.

Nilos himself had told her not to trust him.

Fates, she’d come to Stara Bron to make things simpler.

To remove herself from having to make decisions with fatal consequences.

To grow old, pulling weeds and brewing tonics.

A sulky outrage simmered in Sephre’s chest. Damn that man, for dumping this tangle on her.

She needed to speak to Halimede. The agia would know what to do.

She would take Nilos’s searing accusations and render them into fancies, dust to be swept away from the clear path of the truth.

Or, if it was true, if Sephre truly did carry some fragment of the Serpent’s power within her, then Halimede would deal with it.

She’d have no excuse not to grant her the Embrace.

To burn away that impurity and prevent Nilos from claiming it and restoring the Serpent to power.

Pausing only to set down her travel pack, Sephre led Timeus from the courtyard, through the cloister, then up the steps that led to the heights. Halimede should be in her office, preparing for the evening prayers.

Sephre gave herself no time to rest, ignoring the stitch in her side as she propelled herself up the stairs, Timeus hastening to follow. She barely even paused to rap at the door. Halimede would forgive her, when she’d heard their tale.

She thrust herself into the room. “Agia, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have to tell you what—”

Sephre stopped so abruptly that Timeus, hard on her heels, slammed into her. Thankfully she still had some of her old instincts, and managed to catch herself against the doorway. All the air seemed suddenly gone from her lungs. She stared at the woman behind the desk.

“Beroe?” Sephre found a thimbleful of breath, rallying herself. The woman must be visiting Halimede on temple business. But then why was she sitting at the agia’s desk? Why did she make Sephre think suddenly of a spider, crouched in the center of her web?

“Where’s the agia?” Sephre demanded. “I must speak with her.”

“I’m afraid that’s impossible at the moment,” said Beroe. “Agia Halimede is unwell.”

Unwell . It could mean so many things. Sephre clenched trembling fists. “Where is she?”

“The infirmary. She—wait, sister! She isn’t to be disturbed. We’ve given her poppy syrup.”

Sephre whirled back from the door. “ You gave her poppy syrup? How much? Why? What’s wrong with her?” Accusation turned the words sharp.

Beroe’s eyes narrowed. “Sibling Abas suggested it. The agia fell ill shortly after you left. Pains in her chest, and shortness of breath. You know as well as I that her health has been fragile, and no doubt the stress of recent events weighs heavily on a woman of her years.”

“She was fine last time I last saw her.” A bit of breathless on the stairs, that was all. Even Sephre had felt that climb.

“Which was five days ago,” replied Beroe, coolly. “What kept you away so long? Did you discover more about the attacks?”

“Yes,” began Timeus, helpfully, “There was another—”

“We’ll report everything to the agia,” interrupted Sephre.

“ I am acting agia,” said Beroe, chin lifting. “As senior yellow, it’s my duty to ensure that Stara Bron does not suffer in Halimede’s absence. And the others agree. It was decided yesterday, at summations.”

Sephre’s teeth were going to crack if she ground them any more tightly.

“I can see that the news of the agia’s illness has distressed you,” offered Beroe. “Very well, then. Go. See for yourself that she’s in no danger. Minister to her as you see fit. I’m sure that Brother Timeus can provide me a full report of your activities in the meantime. Won’t you, brother?”

Timeus gulped, glancing to Sephre.

Furies’ tits. “That won’t be necessary. Settle your things in the dortoir, Timeus. Then go and see that the mint hasn’t taken over our garden. I’ll meet you there once I’ve given Sister Beroe my report.”

She waited until the boy had scuttled off, keeping her gaze fixed on the map table.

“I understand Agia Halimede sent you to Potedia to investigate another death,” prompted Beroe. “Did the dead man have the same mark as the girl from Tylos?”

“Yes,” Sephre answered grudgingly. “But his family had never seen it. I believe it was placed there by someone.”

“Who?”

Her tongue felt heavy. Why? She owed Nilos nothing. And no doubt Beroe would ask Timeus to confirm her story. There was no point to lying. But what would Beroe do with the information? Would she send word to the king, telling him of the attacks?

Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. Sephre might despise Hierax for an arrogant, self-aggrandizing fool, but he had far more power at his disposal than the temple. If the goal was to hunt down Nilos, the king was likely their best option.

She plunged onward. “We heard tell of a stranger who was in Potedia at the same time the shepherd was killed. We tracked him to Kessely. He kidnapped a newborn from the village. We confronted him and recovered the child. The baby’s fine now, back home safe.”

“And the man?”

“He gave his name as Nilos. He’s trying to restore the Serpent.”

Beroe’s eyes narrowed. The sparks of yellow in their depths flared. “How do you know?”

“He told me. He seemed proud of it.”

“Where is he now?” Beroe glanced past her, as if she expected to see the man bound in chains.

Sephre hesitated, wishing she had a better answer. “He got away.”

“You let a minion of the Serpent escape you?”

“He was holding a child!” Sephre couldn’t quite keep the ire from her tone. “Or do you think I should have incinerated the baby, too?” Collateral damage, Captain. Unfortunate, but the victory is ours.

Beroe drew in a long breath. “Of course not. But he could be anywhere now, murdering some other innocent.”

“He claims the deaths aren’t his work.” Sephre spoke steadily.

Her words were soldiers, a shield wall braced for assault, betraying nothing.

“He says that the Ember King didn’t truly destroy the Serpent, only shattered its power into fragments.

And now all those pieces are here in this world, bound to mortals.

Those are the people with the marks. The baby had one too, but it vanished when Nilos touched it. ”

“Then how does he explain the deaths?”

“He says someone else took over in the Serpent’s absence, and is trying to stay in power. They’re sending skotoi to kill anyone who carries the mark, to send the fragments to oblivion before Nilos can claim them. In the corpses of snakes, to cast the blame on the Serpent.”

Beroe frowned. “Did you see anything to support such a notion?”

“Yes,” Sephre admitted. “Skotoi. One of them tried to attack the baby. Brother Timeus slew it. He was a credit to the temple,” she added, with a rush of pride for the lad.

“And the other?”

“The other?”

“You said skotoi . Plural.”

A stupid slip. She’d no wish to tell Beroe what had happened in the barn. Any of it. But no doubt the woman would wheedle it from Timeus. Better to make the story her own, while she could.

“Oh. Yes. One of the serpent-skotoi attacked us while we sheltered during the rain. Nilos killed it.”

“Why would it attack you , if it was seeking those with the mark?”

A chill rippled up Sephre’s spine as Beroe’s yellow-lit eyes skimmed over her. Lingering on her arm? No, she was being paranoid. Letting her own baseless fears rule her.

“I assume it was trying to kill Nilos,” she said, briskly. “But they’ll have to get in line.”

“Indeed,” said Beroe, smiling. “The king’s soldiers will see to that.”

“Soldiers?” Sephre repeated. “What soldiers?”

“The ones on their way to Stara Bron as we speak, accompanying King Hierax’s royal emissary.”

“You told the king about the attacks?” Sephre sputtered. “Halimede said—”

“I know what the agia said.” Beroe’s lips flattened.

“I didn’t countermand her decision. I didn’t need to.

Much has happened in your absence, sister.

Brother Itonus sent a firespeaking from Helissa City four days ago, reporting an attack by risen skotoi near the necropolis.

There were dozens of witnesses. It confirms what we all have long feared: the Serpent seeks to return, and the Ember King must make ready to stop him.

The Sibyl of Tears has prophesied that Stara Bron holds the key to his victory, and now King Hierax sends his son here to claim it. ”

Heavy tramping steps, shaking the quiet earth. The rough clatter of bronze. Soldiers, marching through the broken gates to claim their prize from a silent city. Sephre shook away the memory . That won’t happen here. This is a temple. We aren’t Hierax’s enemies .

But they could be. Sephre would have bet her entire stock of medicinal wine that this “key to victory” was the same mysterious something that Halimede’s oath bound her to keep hidden.

And then what? Soldiers tramping through Sister Obelia’s scrupulously organized kitchen?

Panicking the novices, smashing the ancient tiled walls of the cloister in search of their prize?

No. Not on her watch. These were her people.

She had prayed with them, laughed with them, tended their wounds and coughs and cramps. And she would not see them brutalized.

Sephre licked her dry lips. “What key?”

“I’m sure the prince will make that clear when he arrives,” said Beroe. “It should be any day now.”

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