The cellar was cramped, but cool most of the time. It had proven liveable, if not comfortable. Some days were harder than others, and perhaps the worst was when the mind-numbing boredom threatened to consume Jorvanultumn. Months of doing nothing, not being able to assist the others, only able to leave the cellar for brief periods at night to stretch his legs—these things all gnawed at his resolve, and he sometimes had to remind himself why he was there and that he would endure years of this discomfort if necessary. Nonetheless, he also could not deny he was looking forward to the end of his time here. Especially now that day looked as though it might be close.

Still, it had been nice to have company from time to time in the past month. Ses-Ihuicatl had spent her first few days and nights at Fra-Mecatl and Fra-Tepeu’s ranch living in the cellar with Jorvanultumn. Once Rudiger left, she no longer needed to spend all her time there, but she still needed to return to it whenever Fra-Mecatl or Fra-Tepeu had visitors. The young priestess and wizard-in-training had provided a pleasant distraction, someone to talk to and pass the long days with, and useful for practising the local language. Rudiger had made a point of visiting when he had still been around, but Rudiger had been kept busy enough that those visits had been short.

Jorvanultumn still disliked not having been able to tell Rudiger about Zandrue, but Fra-Mecatl and Ses-Ihuicatl had made him swear not to. Zandrue had insisted no one know. The only reason Fra-Mecatl even told Jorvanultumn was because the cellar was the only place they had to hide Ses-Ihuicatl. It was just like Zandrue to take off and insist on doing things her way, and her way only. But Ses-Ihuicatl believed her only hope for survival was to follow Zandrue’s and Fra-Mecatl’s instructions as precisely as possible, so Jorvanultumn had agreed not to tell Rudiger.

The young priest had remained at Fra-Mecatl’s a lot longer than planned, though. Fra-Mecatl had told Ses-Izel that she had someone she needed smuggled out of Ninifin, and they were going to make arrangements as soon as Ses-Izel got back from the Palace after delivering Borisin. But then the Ninifin Queen had decided to keep Ses-Izel there, and Ses-Ihuicatl was stuck for the time being.

But perhaps that would not be for much longer. Neither of them would have to continue hiding.

Three days ago, the most extraordinary thing had happened.

Jorvanultumn had been meditating in the cellar—something he had taken to doing a lot during his time here—when the trap door opened and someone came down the stairs. Several people from the sound of it. He assumed it was Ses-Ihuicatl and his hosts. They were always good about waiting for him to finish and he repaid the gesture by switching to his closing prayers as soon as he heard them.

“Hey, what’s the hold up?” an unfamiliar, gruff voice said.

“Garet, shh!” another voice said. This voice was familiar as was the name mentioned.

“What? I just want to know why everyone stopped all of a sudden.”

Jorvanultumn hurried through the closing prayers faster than was proper, but he doubted the gods would fault him much. He opened his eyes. Meleng stood at the bottom of the stairs. Behind him, still on the stairs, stood a young human woman with a sun tattoo on her cheek and snake tattoos on her arms. Behind her, a bit farther up the stairs was Quilla, someone Jorvanultumn had only met briefly in Arnor City. She had gone with Meleng and Felitïa to Scovese—as had Prince Garet, who was bending over and glaring through the trap door from the upper floor.

“Meleng!” Jorvanultumn stood up.

Meleng gave a small wave.

“How are you here?”

“I kind of wanted to ask you the same question,” Meleng said, coming forward. He and Jorvanultumn embraced.

“I did not expect to see you again for many months, if ever,” Jorvanultumn said.

“You’re speaking the language well,” Meleng said.

“Yes, I am finding it easier than Arnorgue. I am not sure why.”

“Hey!” Garet called. “Are you going to let the rest of us in or just stand there gaping all day?”

“Garet!” Quilla hissed.

Jorvanultumn looked away from Meleng. The young Ninifin woman had not moved from her place near the bottom of the stairs.

She blinked. “Sorry.” She jumped down the last couple of steps and moved out of the way to let Quilla and Garet down.

“That’s better.” Garet came down the stairs, pushed past Meleng, and clasped Jorvanultumn’s shoulders. “Jorvan, right? Good to see you again.” He let go of Jorvanultumn and began examining the rest of the cellar.

The Ninifin woman was still standing by the stairs, staring at Jorvanultumn.

“I will not harm you,” Jorvanultumn said. “Despite my people’s reputation, you are safe.”

“I apologise,” she blurted. “I’ve seen Isyar before—on Scovese—but it was always from farther away. The closest I ever got was in the Nabrinja at the start of the meeting, but even there... I’m sorry.”

“Jorvan, this is Ses-Inhuan, a friend we made on Scovese,” Meleng said. “Ses-Inhuan, this is Jorvanultumn, Jorvan for short.”

“I am pleased to meet you, Ses-Inhuan,” Jorvanultumn said.

The Ninifin took a couple steps closer. “I am pleased to meet you also.”

Jorvanultumn looked around at the four newcomers. “Where is Felitïa?”

“Off hogging all the glory to herself,” Garet said.

Ses-Inhuan’s stance stiffened and she glared at Garet. “This is not about glory, Garet, and you know it, so quit your complaining for once. I grow tired of it.”

“Yeah, well, tough, kid. You can be in charge, but you don’t get to dictate what I do or don’t say.”

Quilla cleared her throat. “Let’s not go through this again. Felitïa went to the Palace, Jorvan. She didn’t know you were here. None of us did until we got here. We came at Ses-Inhuan’s suggestion.”

“Maybe we should fill you in,” Meleng suggested.

Fra-Tepeu arrived early in their discussion with some refreshments. Fra-Mecatl also introduced everyone to Ses-Ihuicatl. “No one is to learn of her presence here. She is on the run from the priests and her life is on the line. I’m only telling you now because with you all here, it would be impossible to keep her hidden anyway. For that matter, it is also going to be hard to hide the presence of so many more foreigners here for long. Tepeu and I are discussing options.”

Over the next couple days, the five of them spent a lot of time talking about their experiences and making plans for when they heard from Felitïa. The others were surprised to learn Rudiger was in the Palace, but they all agreed that he and Felitïa would likely make contact with each other soon enough.

When Meleng asked about Zandrue, Jorvanultumn was unsure how to respond. Fra-Mecatl and Ses-Ihuicatl had said nothing about Zandrue, so it seemed that was still secret.

“She left,” he told them. “She would not say what she was doing. Fra-Mecatl and Rudiger have told people that she meditates in the wilderness, but it has been a long time now. That explanation is no longer believable.” It was the truth, and Jorvanultumn really did not know much more than that. However, he hated keeping secrets from people who deserved to know, even small ones.

Although Quilla and Garet were often present, Jorvanultumn spent most of the time with Meleng. They talked late into the night the first night and the following night about not just their recent experiences, but everything else they could think of as well. Ses-Inhuan was always present. She did not say much, but she rarely let Meleng out of her sight; she took her duties as bodyguard seriously. She did tend to doze off during Meleng and Jorvanultumn’s late-night conversations, however.

Yesterday, a letter had arrived from Rudiger. It was not the agreed-upon method of communication, which still had a couple more days before the next correspondence. The most unusual thing was that it was addressed to Zandrue. Did he think she had returned?

Fra-Mecatl and Fra-Tepeu, however, felt that this was a clear indication that they should open it.

“It is a letter expressing how much Rudiger misses his dear sister,” Fra-Tepeu told Jorvanultumn and the others. “His spelling is not very good, but I am glad he is finally learning how to write the language. It is otherwise a very sweet and heartfelt letter. He has many kind things to say, particularly of the Queen, whom he seems rather smitten by.”

“But Zandrue isn’t his sister,” Meleng said. “Does Rudiger even have a sister?”

Fra-Mecatl hobbled past and snatched the letter. “My brother is playing with you. It does indeed say the things he says it does, but that is just the decoy in case the letter was intercepted. Rudiger must have told the Queen and others that Zandrue is his sister, though why he did that, I have no idea. I warned him that lies work best when wrapped in truth. If there’s no reason to lie, he should tell the truth. There is no reason to lie about his relationship to Zandrue.”

“That we know of,” Fra-Tepeu said. “Things could have happened there that required the lie.”

Fra-Mecatl harrumphed.

“You said that’s just a decoy, though,” Quilla said.

Fra-Mecatl nodded. “The ink is highly smudged and contains a coded message from Ses-Izel. The code can only express basic concepts, but it says...” She held the paper closer to her eyes. “Arrival of Youth. She must mean the Youth Guard, which we knew about that, of course. Arrival of important outsider. Must be your friend. We know of that, too, although Ses-Izel would not be aware we know. Trouble between Queen and Council. Interesting. Someone expelled. Unfortunately, there is no way to indicate a specific name, but I’m sure we’ll hear who soon. Finally, she says, call for action.” Fra-Mecatl folded up the paper and sighed. “She believes it’s time for us to act.”

“Do you agree with her?” Fra-Tepeu asked.

Fra-Mecatl thought for a moment. “I agree that we should call a full meeting. Tomorrow night. Get everyone here. Absolutely everyone. We will discuss our options then.”

The coolness of the cellar—the main thing that had made it bearable for Jorvanultumn’s time here—had been absent for most of this last day as they waited for the meeting to start. Fra-Mecatl and Fra-Tepeu had a lot of visitors during the day—messengers, deliveries, and more—so everyone had to crowd into the cellar to remain unseen. Six bodies in the small space caused it to warm up fast.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Quilla asked him.

He nodded. “I will be fine. I am used to it now.”

“How will you handle it if you have to leave here to go to the City?” she said.

“I managed before. I will manage now.”

“If you need anything.”

He just nodded.

“Same here,” Ses-Inhuan said. “If you need anything at all, just ask.”

Jorvanultumn smiled. “Thank you.”

“Meleng trusts you,” Ses-Inhuan said, “and I have learned to trust Meleng. I therefore trust you.”

The others went up to the meeting before him. There were still many in the Resistance who did not know about him, and Fra-Tepeu had asked for time to get everyone ready.

He could hear the sounds of discussion above, though most of the time he couldn’t hear specific words. Every now and then, the discussion got a little more heated or excited, and he could make out individual speakers, but it never lasted for long.

After close to two hours, the trap door at the top of the stairs creaked open. One of the Resistance members he’d met last month just before Rudiger left, Ses-Patli was standing at the top with Fra-Tepeu. “Jorvanultumn, would you please join us?” Fra-Tepeu said.

Jorvanultumn took a moment to prepare himself mentally. He knew several of them might react negatively to him and he wanted to be sure he did not react in kind. He reminded himself that they had been brainwashed since birth to believe that Isyar were evil, and he did not want to hold that against them. A short prayer helped ready him. “I am coming.”

Fra-Tepeu and Ses-Patli led him down the short hall to the common room. He could already see a large number of people there and once he reached it, he could see that it was even more packed than he had thought. Nothing Rudiger or Zandrue had said about previous meetings had led him to believe there were so many people present. Perhaps previous ones were just less well-attended?

Tonight, there was barely any room to move. People were pressed up against one another, in front, behind, and to each side. It took him awhile to see Meleng, but he found him near the far side of the room, Ses-Inhuan standing behind him. Garet and Quilla stood a few people away from Meleng, Garet behind Quilla with his arms around her.

Ses-Patli helped usher people out of the way so Fra-Tepeu could lead Jorvanultumn to Fra-Mecatl, who sat in a chair in the centre of the room. She was the only person seated.

Everyone was staring at Jorvanultumn.

It was a calmer reaction than he had expected, though. Throughout his time in Arnor, Jorvanultumn had found that humans tended to react with exaggerated emotion, particularly in times of anxiety or fear. When the warriors had discovered him in those days before he, Rudiger, and Zandrue had reached Fra-Mecatl’s home, they had reacted with immediate hostility. In many of the cities before Ninifin, the humans there had swarmed around him, wanting blessings or just to gawk.

But these humans just watched him. There was fear in some of their eyes, but they remained calm. Perhaps the time Fra-Tepeu had wanted to prepare them had paid off.

Fra-Mecatl nudged his foot with her own. He looked down at her and she mouthed, “Speak.”

Jorvanultumn had no idea what he should say.

“Hello. My name is Jorvanultumn. I am an Isyar, but I am not what you think. I am here to help.”

Then the questions started. So many questions.

* * * * *

Felitïa stepped out of the cover of the trees and into the latest downpour. She had her cloak on and the hood up. It might not have been a very Ninifin-style garment, but it kept the rain off. Besides, it was so dark, people wouldn’t be able to see there was anyone there, let alone what she was wearing.

She had spent last night and today by the banks of the Jaguar, not far from the top of the falls. It was isolated and only a short walk away from a good view of the City. She’d taken a couple looks at the City during the day to see if she could see anything noteworthy. Alas, while the view itself was gorgeous, it wasn’t possible to make out what individual people were doing, though she did see someone riding a horse in the field behind the Palace. Borisin maybe? The Queen or Rudiger?

She struck out now along the north road back towards the city. Her stomach grumbled. Although she had managed to forage a bit of food in the woods, it had not amounted to much, and she was getting hungry again. Still, a little hunger wouldn’t harm. Once she’d made contact with Nin-Akna or Rudiger, she could get more food. That was the plan, at any rate.

She had considered going after Meleng and Quilla. She was on the right side of the City for that. However, she wanted to wait until she had more to tell them. At the very least, she wanted an idea where Zandrue and Jorvan were first. That way, she could send Meleng and Quilla to find them.

Of course, seeking out Nin-Akna or Rudiger meant going back into the City, which she’d barely got out of yesterday. Going in at night under cover of darkness made things easier though. The overcast sky and rain made it even better. She could save energy and maybe even recuperate from yesterday.

The City itself wasn’t pitch dark like the road leading to it. Flickering lights came from the windows of homes and especially the Palace itself. But it was still dark enough to make movement through it unseen simple, especially considering there weren’t many people outside anyway.

Felitïa made her way along the northwest edge of the City, towards the Grand Temple and the Palace on the other side. In the darkness, the Grand Temple was only noticeable as a roughly triangular shadow blocking lights from the palace. As she got closer and it blotted out more and more of the Palace lights, it took on a more ominous feel. In the daylight, from the top of the falls, it looked beautiful. Now, it looked like a gaping maw of darkness waiting to swallow her whole.

Silly thought. It was no different just because there was no light.

Her path took her past the northeast corner of the Temple, where the Palace’s flickering lights were visible again. As she passed the steps leading to the Temple’s entrance, a chill passed through her.

Felitïa.

She stopped and listened. The patter of the rain on the stones of the pyramid and the dull roar of the Jaguar Falls in the distance were the only sounds.

Had she really heard something?

Felitïa.

It was barely audible in her head. She couldn’t even say for sure that it was using her name. It could be something different. Maybe just her imagination spurred on by the darkness.

She turned and looked up at the foreboding Temple beside her. Once again, she felt a chill in her bones. The plants and statues on its tiers were like dark shadows swaying with the breeze and rain against the much larger shadow of the Temple itself.

But only the plants should be swaying, not the statues too. It was hard to tell the difference between the two, but all appeared to be swaying.

Anxiety spread through her and her heart started to beat faster. She walked back to the steps and stood at the bottom, staring up. They were steep and narrow, and likely slippery from the rain.

Was this wise? Her ankle was mostly healed now, but it still gave her a bit of pain and stiffness from time to time.

She put her right foot onto the first step, then her left onto the second.

FELITÏA!

Her foot slipped. She fell back and landed on her butt. The intensity of the mental contact had startled her, but so had the familiarity of it.

The wet ground was starting to soak through her skirt, but she let it and didn’t get back up. Instead, she unfolded the Room and brought forward the line of people. The image of Nin-Akna loomed at her, the jaguar tattoos swiping. Felitïa gasped and almost lost control of the Room.

She took a deep breath and focused. The line was again as it always was, everyone up to Nin-Akna clear and the remainder, still an unknown number, blurred. But she wasn’t interested in the line this time. She was interested in the voice calling out the names.

Felitïa.

Zandrue. Rudiger. Borisin. Meleng. Corvinian. Jorvanultumn. Quilla. Kindanog. Nin-Akna...

Ever repeating.

It was the same voice.

Except not exactly a voice this time. More an impression. It hadn’t so much said her name as it had felt her name.

But somehow the source was the same. She was sure of it.

She folded the Room away and stood up, wiping dirt and water droplets off her skirt.

No, climbing those stairs right now was not a good idea. That was a task for later. There had to be answers there. First though, she needed to find Nin-Akna or Rudiger. Besides, she’d want others with her when she finally did enter the Temple.

Felitïa.

She paid it no mind and hurried towards the Palace.

Despite the late hour and the rain, there were guards on duty in the lowest courtyard. Just a couple. Covered torches spaced around the courtyard provided some dim light, so she would need a bit of magic to get by, but it would still be an easy task. The torches also created a lot of shadow, which she could use to her advantage.

She encountered similar situations at the middle and top courtyards. The top one had more warriors on duty, but it was still near effortless to avoid them. She’d discovered recently that turning her head a tiny bit to the right before tilting it made the invisibility spell use a mere fraction of the energy it had before.

Now, where would Nin-Akna or Rudiger be? Rudiger was working in the stables, so perhaps finding the stables was the way to go. At this time of night, he was probably somewhere else sleeping, but she could wait in the stables until he showed up in the morning. If anyone else showed up in the meantime, it would be easy to hide from them. It would mean staying awake all night, though.

Nin-Akna was probably in the barracks with the other two Youth Guards. There would be a lot of other warriors there as well, so it wasn’t the best choice.

The stables it was then.

She couldn’t be sure where the stables were, but close to the field she’d seen someone riding in made sense. That meant the back of the Palace.

She followed a path that led around the north side of the main building. Along the way, she passed a few more warriors and servants hurrying through the rain, but she kept herself hidden from them all. There were several buildings along this path, so she glanced at each of them as she passed, but none of them looked much like stables. None of them had doors big enough for horses for a start.

The path led to the west side of the main building, behind which was the field she had seen earlier in the day. A short distance away, near the back of the main building but not right against it, was a large wooden building with wide doors like a barn. That seemed promising, and she hurried over to it.

Sounds came from inside. A thud followed by a grunt. Then a moan, an excited... Oh.

Then the emotions hit her. Lust. So much lust flooded through her, and she found herself thinking of Maneshka, remembering... No. Now was not the time. These were not her feelings. They were...

Wait. Was one of them Rudiger? Yes, that was Rudiger. Oh gods, that was embarrassing.

The woman wasn’t Zandrue, though. The two of them hadn’t been sexually active when she’d last seen them, but she’d always assumed they would end up that way.

“What?” Rudiger said, speaking Ninifin. “She is? Shit.” The sexual thoughts faded in an instant.

“What’s the problem?” the woman said.

“Borisin said he smells—”

“Never mind, he just told me too.” The woman laughed.

“Just give me those,” Rudiger said.

A moment later, one of the doors creaked open a crack and Rudiger peered out. “Felitïa! How wonderful to see you again!”

She just looked at him, her cheeks getting warmer. Hopefully, in the darkness, he couldn’t see.

“Come in.” He stepped back and opened the door wider. Felitïa stepped inside, and he closed the door behind her. Then he came round in front of her. “So, uh...” He looked away from her. He was topless, and his breeches were hastily tied. One hand was bandaged.

Felitïa looked around. Borisin was sticking his head out of one of the stalls, and a Ninifin woman was standing up from a haystack. She was still mostly naked.

“We were just, um,” Rudiger began. “I mean...we...this isn’t...”

The woman rolled her eyes.

“I know what you were doing, Rudiger,” Felitïa said. “And it’s all right. I’m the one who came here unannounced in the middle of the night.”

“Going to introduce me?” the woman said.

“Oh right!” Rudiger responded. “Felitïa, this is Ses-Izel. Izel, this is Felitïa.”

The woman came up to Felitïa and held out her hand. Felitïa shook it, but then looked away to hide her own embarrassment.

“Oh good grief,” Ses-Izel said. “You’re as bad as he is.” She began picking up pieces of clothing from the floor. “It’s just human bodies, just sex. In Ninifin, only the rich get bedrooms to themselves. Everyone else shares with the people they live with, usually their family. You get dressed in front of each other. You have sex in front of each other. Believe me, growing up watching your mother having sex, your uncles having sex, your older siblings too, permanently drives away any embarrassment.” She pulled a blouse over her head.

“I’m sorry,” Felitïa said.

“It’s fine. I’m not offended. Just amused. Anyway, I’m impressed to see you here. The entire Palace is on high alert. Everyone is looking for you since you killed your jailer and escaped.”

“What? I didn’t kill the jailer.” Felitïa’s heart sank. “I just put her to sleep.”

“I told you she wouldn’t have done it,” Rudiger said. “Not if there was another way.”

“And I told you, it doesn’t matter,” Ses-Izel said, tying her skirt. “She knows what I mean.”

Felitïa sighed. “They killed her so they could blame it on me.”

“And as a punishment for letting you get away,” Ses-Izel said. “But basically yeah.” She slipped on a jerkin and began lacing it up.

“Glad you made it here, though,” Rudiger said. “We were a little worried. Well, I was. It is good to see you.” He spread his arms.

“You, too,” Felitïa said. She took up his offer and hugged him. He was sweaty, but it was good to see him again. “Has Nin-Akna contacted you yet?”

He nodded. “Spoke to her yesterday before you escaped. Probably while you were escaping now I think of it. Guess you haven’t spoken to her since, which means I need to fill you in on everything.”

“That would be good,” Felitïa said. “First, where’s Zandrue and Jorvan?”

“Ah, see...” He turned aside and looked along the ground, picked up his clothes. “That’s, uh...”

Ses-Izel poked him on the shoulder. He straightened up a bit. “Stop being so embarrassed. You don’t know where she is. Just tell her that.” She kissed him. “I’ll let you two get caught up. See you in the morning.” She headed for the door, but paused beside Felitïa. “It was good meeting you.”

“Same,” Felitïa said.

Ses-Izel continued out of the stables.

“So, you don’t know where Zandrue is,” Felitïa said.

He shrugged.

Why didn’t that surprise her?