Page 51 of The Lost Reliquary

Nolan doesn’t speak again for a long minute. “It wasn’t only his eyes. They had him on a chain. He was… there was something wrong with him.”

“There are two more like him in the cells. This stuff must give them the ability to see or sense what we are in the same way the Arbiters’ Judge’s Sight lets them see within a person. But just like what happened with Emmaus, there must be side effects eventually.” I twirl the vial between my fingers. “How many more do you think are out there? Renderers and their hounds, blending in with normal folks, who can take our measure in an instant?”

“Where exactly are you going with this, Lys?”

Here it is. The shitty part.

I place the vial on the table. “Tempestra-Innara wanted us to work together to find the reliquary. I can still do that, on my own, same as you were planning. But if the last couple of days have proved anything, it’s that there are way too many things we don’t know that we don’t know. We can’t even trust the clergy anymore. ‘Alone’ isn’t the smartest option right now.” I pause, letting him consider my words. “Divinely blessed or not, we still need sleep, food, all that human nonsense. We get tired. Sometimes we have to pull our pants down and take a shit.And when it comes to those things, it’s better to have someone watching your back than not.”

Silence. Then: “Why in the world would you trust me after I tried to kill you? And, more importantly, why should I trustyou?”

“Oh, I don’t trust you in the least. But betrayal aside, if either of us had been somehow secretly in league with the heretics, we wouldn’t be surrounded by this lovely mess.” I cross my arms. “So, I propose this: We go back to our original agreement.”

“And,” Nolan says carefully, “after that…”

“After that… well, who knows if we will even get that far.” I take a deep breath. “Listen, I get it. You want to be the Executrix. The truth? I don’t. Too much responsibility, too much trouble.” Nolan’s eyes narrow ever so slightly. He thinks I’m full of shit. Good. Let him believe I’m lying, instead of egregiously omitting. “I’m perfectly happy to find the reliquary and use that goodwill currency to request a nice, posh posting somewhere that I can grow old without anyone trying to outdo me, kill me, or turn me into divine drugs. I’m not like you, I’m not like Caius. I simply want to serve… simply. But since you don’t believe that, I’ll offer this deal instead: If we get our hands on the reliquary, then we renegotiate. How does that sound?”

It sounds like a challenge. And in a way, it is. I’ve all but said we can fight to the death as soon as we have the reliquary in hand, but the fact is that there will be a lot of dangerous, unpredictable shit between now and then.

Nolan understands that too. “I can’t express enough how much I dislike that I think you’re right. This situation… I’ll admit it’s more than a little embarrassing.”

“I won’t tell if you won’t. And you don’t have to like it. Only agree to it.”

“Fine.” His tone is resigned, if not enthusiastic. “We find the reliquary, together. And after that…”

“After that,” I say by way of agreement.

In an instant, our truce is struck. Like Nolan, I don’t like the situation. But also like him, I know what I want, and I’m willing to get it any way I can.

And that means the Dawn and Dusk team-up is back on.

Nolan gives me a pointed look. “Unchain me now?”

I let him stew a little longer. Then I pick up the dead cook’s cleaver. A couple of good whacks takes care of the chains and Nolan is free. He moves a cautious number of steps away from me, massaging his stiff arms and hands, moving less confidently than normal. Whatever drugs they gave him on his trip to Sethane are probably still lingering, not that he’d ever admit it. Able to finally observe his surroundings properly, he goes over to one of the jars lining the shelves, which is filled with alcohol or some other preservation fluid and several human fingers.

“This… this is…” The words stumble. “This was one of our brethren.”

“Yup.” I start picking through the various papers piled around. “Say hello to what I am assuming are the remains of Prior Fedic, the most recent Chosen stationed in Sethane.”

Nolan’s features go stony, an icy darkness filling his gaze. “It’s unconscionable. Horrific.”

“Sure is.”

“This doesn’t bother you?”

“Of course it does.” Would Nolan care to know about the letters in Fedic’s office? The ones that made it clear the Prior was all but forgotten? I could tell him; instead I nudge the nearby body of the Cook with one toe. “I already did what I could about the situation.”

“Lumeris needs to be informed about this—”

“Thisis not our assignment. The reliquary is.”

“If you’d followed the heretic to Carsaire, you might have actually found it.”

“And you’d be dead.”

“But the Goddess would be safe!”

The sincere, almost desperate worry in his voice makes me pause in my rifling.