Page 119 of The Lost Reliquary
The bridge empties me into a plaza. Here the fog lies thicker, but in a comforting sort of way. A soothing blanket of anonymity.
Except.
Halfway across the plaza, a figure appears, planted with deliberate stillness. Waiting. I freeze, skin tingling as the silhouette calmly, damn near casually, strolls to where I stand.
Caius.
The Arbiter’s eyes blaze with a stormy blend of fury and triumph. “Good morning, Lys.”
Boots hit stone, and suddenly the plaza is littered with Thorn Guard. Reflexively, I reach for my sickles, then stop. I don’t know what this is. What it means. What I do know is that these are elite soldiers, not Caerula. And that I’m already injured. If I start a fight, I’m going to lose.
“You… you’re back.”
He doesn’t reply, only glares, and I understand suddenly: Caius never left.
The Arbiter takes a few steps closer. “I always thought there was something off about you. Something wrong. But not until now did I truly understand how deep the rot ran.”
I straighten, doing my best to seem annoyed. “It’s too early for mind games, Caius.”
His mouth twitches up. “We both know who is playing games here. I know you didn’t want to believe me, but here we are, aren’t we?”
It takes a moment to realize that he’s not talking to me. Suddenly, the blood ripping through my veins seems to stop entirely.
All because of the look on Nolan’s face as he steps out of the fog.
Not the one that Caius, and the rest of the world, sees. No, Nolan is as expressionless as he was on that morning at the Cathedral, as we were preparing for the funeral procession. Calm. Considering. A mask that doesn’t fool me anymore, now that I’ve seen what’s underneath. And the bewildered disappointment I perceive pierces my chest like a blade.
“Boys”—somehow, I keep my voice steady—“I’m not sure what’s going on here, but—”
“Shut up.” Caius’s words crack like ice. “Nolan didn’t want to believe. I didn’t want to either. But it appears there’s a good reason you’ve yet to root out the heretics—because you’ve been working alongside them.”
I laugh, despite being the least amused I have ever been in my whole cursed life. I turn to Nolan. “And just when you thought you were the one whose brain was getting the most scrambled by being away from the Goddess. Caius here—”
“Knows where you go at night.” The Arbiter takes another step closer, hands folding behind him, the dark circles under his eyes even deeper than before. “And who you meet with, just now in a place where you should be on your traitor knees, praying for mercy.”
Oh.Oh,godsdamn it. In a heartbeat, I am back in the library, startled into attention by Caius. By the only person who has been able to sneak up on me in as long as I can remember.We all have our little talents.
“Do you think I believed either of you would tell me the full truth?” says Caius. “That I wouldn’t keep an eye on you?”
The air goes out of my lungs. I did it again. For the second time I didn’t question my own perceptions about one of my blood brethren, or the story being sold to me by them. Caius may be a spoiled, arrogant bastard, but he’s also Cloister trained. And when Nolan and I both thought he was indulging his Belspire-pampered backside at the fancy guesthouse he’d shacked up in, he was doing the exact opposite. And I revealed myself almost right away.
A pleased-as-punch expression spreads on Caius’s face as he watches me figure out how well and truly I’ve fucked up. “I gave you time. Then I watched you use that time to sneak out, go into the Salt cliffs; watched you emerge with the heretic. I thought you’d merely found some way to manipulate them, outside of Nolan’s knowledge, wanting the rewards for success all to yourself. Honestly, I even respected that. I’ve never had the forces to really sift through this city’s filth, in that maze or otherwise. But I didn’t need to. All I needed to do was wait for you to finish your treachery, and then intercept.” He scowls. “That idiot Ramiro almost ruined everything, of course. It’s very lucky that you’re at least competent. And then, when you put out your obvious little signal—well, I knew it was time. And given how, hmm, aligned the two of you seemed to be, I decided to rouse Nolan, so he could witness your betrayal with his own eyes.” The scowl recedes, replaced by something much worse. Much… darker. “But even I didn’t suspect your true intention.”
As much as I want to curse, or yell, or lob some clever quip at Caius, I say nothing. I have nothingtosay.
“Is it true?” When Nolan speaks for the first time, I hate it. The searing accusation in his voice makes Caius’s sound gentle. He’s not asking because he wants to know. He knows. He’s just working on the acceptance part.
I keep quiet.
“Search her,” orders Caius. “Let’s see this weapon. This… reliquary.”
The number of Thorn Guard who descend on me makes fighting back both pointless and foolish. Caius isn’t Ramiro—he knows our limits, our skills, and has prepared his soldiers for any resistance I might put up. So, I don’t bother. They push me to my knees, rip away my sickles, and rifle through my coat. They find the box. Give it to Caius, who opens it.
His eyes brighten with uneasy reverence as he touches the reliquary… within. It glows faintly in response. “This is it, what you were after.”
“Yes.” Nolan just looks tired. “A power unlike any other in the world.”
I grasp, desperate. “A prize. You’re right. I didn’t feel like sharing the glory with anyone else. Sorry, Nolan, but you should understandthe lengths any of us would go to in order to be chosen Executrix. Even playing the heretics for the chumps they are.”
