Page 32 of Requiem of Silence

“And She’s entrusted you with all of that?”

She nodded; Varten grinned, impressed. “Well you must be very special then.” She dipped her head, embarrassed. Varten got closer. “So what’s the book about?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t read it. The Goddess found it and it… It made Her uncomfortable.”

Varten picked up on her distress and shared her worry. “Whatkind of thing could do that?” She looked up wide-eyed. That was answer enough.

He peered closer at the leather-bound book. “She didn’t say what was in it?”

“No, She barely wanted to touch it. Though She said it wasn’t magical. Just words on paper.”

“Words on paper can be magic enough,” he mused. “Maybe we should have a look.” Zeli’s eyes were in danger of bursting from her face and running away entirely. “I mean, aren’t you curious?” He could tell she was by the indignant look she wasn’t quite pulling off. “What’s the harm of taking a quick peek?”

She wavered, then tightened her arms and shook her head. “No, it isn’t our business.”

But Varten had seen the chink in her armor. “I suppose you’re right. The Goddess Awoken always has our best interests at heart. She never tricks or manipulates things in order to get Her way.”

Zeli appeared surprised at the bitterness in his voice.

“Not like She let my sister die or anything.” Varten hadn’t been there for Kyara’s execution, but he’d seen the newspapers and heard the radiophonic newsreaders. Jasminda had collapsed, poisoned, something the Goddess should have been able to prevent easily, but hadn’t, all to test Kyara’s power or some such.

“I’m betting thesituationthis morning isn’t the only secret She’s keeping.”

Zeli stopped walking entirely, her jaw dropping. After a long moment she spoke, voice wobbly. “Maybe She gave me this task to test me?”

“She’s been known to do that before. She tested my father—that’s how he came to this country in the first place.” It was also why they’d ended up in prison, but he restrained himself from mentioning it.

Zeli swallowed. They continued walking until they arrived at an intersection. Down the hall was a small door, nondescript but guarded by two Royal Guardsmen. The vault must be somewhere through there. But instead of approaching, she made a turn and dipped into the side hallway; this one looked to be for servants. She stopped in an alcove.

“I don’t know. She told me to put this in the vault with the—” She cut herself off.

“With the what?”

“Something else powerful and dangerous that needs to be kept away from everyone.” She shook her head. “I should just do what She said.”

Varten tapped his lips in thought. Zeli’s stance was relaxed, not as rigid as before. “You’re right. You’ll want plausible deniability in this type of situation.”

“Plausible what?”

“My brother and I believe that one should ask for forgiveness instead of permission.”

Her confused expression lasted a moment longer until Varten plucked the book from her hands. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened into anO.Varten danced around her, fleeing down the hall, not knowing where he was going but hearing her feet race behind him.

He tried a few doors, all locked, then finally one at the very end of the hall opened. He found himself in a sitting room, one that hadn’t been in use in quite some time. White sheets covered the furniture, making it seem that the place was full of lounging ghosts.

The smell of dust hung thick in the air. There was no switch on the wall for electric lighting, but a bookshelf held two oil lamps. He pulled out the pack of matches he always kept in his pocket and lit the lanterns, while Zeli watched from near the door.

“You can honestly say you had nothing to do with my actions,” he said. “That’splausible deniability.”

She shook her head as he uncovered some of the furniture, then sneezed as the dust caught up to him. He revealed two armchairs and a side table. The fabric smelled musty, but he tested one of the chairs, which was still springy.

“You don’t even have to look. I’ll just take a quick peek and you can stay right over there. Afterward, we’ll make sure it gets into the vault.” He settled into the chair with one of the lamps on the table next to him and carefully unwrapped the book. It fell open to a place in the middle, well-worn pages covered in neat handwriting.

It was a journal, written in dark, fading ink. The pages were thick and hearty, handmade, and very old. He flipped to the front, seeking a name or identifier of the journal’s author. Grinning, he read the inscription. “‘A gift from the heart to my beloved.’” It was only signed “O.” Hmm, the mystery increased.

He looked up to find Zeli’s eyes on him. She’d inched closer. He bet if he read far enough she might make her way over here as curiosity gripped her.

The first few pages contained sketches of simple machines and bodies. He scanned a few more pages until Zeli was seated beside him, craning her neck. He shouldn’t tease her too badly; how could they resist taking a peek? So far he’d seen nothing he imagined would make the Goddess uncomfortable.

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