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Chapter Forty-Seven

Rae explained what he had seen in the tower as quickly as he could, then continued on to his theories about his father’s involvement and the true power of the icebound spiritblade. He had to keep going back to answer questions. To Caeris, the key details seemed to be that Estev had betrayed them all, that she should have thrown him in the darkest prison in Fulcrum, but had failed in that duty. On the other hand, Predi was focused on Yveth’s apparent murder, the implications that surrounded the current High Justicar’s possession by a demon, and the revelation that Rassek had known they were coming on that fateful day ten years ago. La and Mahk listened quietly, while the two justicars grew increasingly tense. When he was done talking, Rae looked back and forth between Caeris and Predi. The lanky justicar’s face was sour, but Caeris looked like she could chew a hole through a brick wall.

“It has to be a trap,” Predi said. “A false memory. I have known Yveth Maelys for decades. Ever since the Heresy. If he’s possessed . . .” His voice trailed off, his eyes distant. “What have we been working toward?”

“Would Rassek have just walked into the trap still? If he had uncovered the justicars’ secret agent in his midst, why wouldn’t he have performed his ritual early? Fed the Iron College false information, and proceeded with his plan?” Caeris asked.

“Having a plant in charge of the Iron College might be worth more than Hadroy’s little plan,” Predi said. “Still, it boggles my mind that Rassek would have sacrificed himself.”

“Unless he knew that he was safe, that even if he died, his soul would remain intact,” Caeris said. “That was the first of his many strange resurrections, was it not?” When Predi didn’t answer, she continued. “College records claim that Rassek’s plan was to open a breach into Chaos, all while preserving Hadroy’s estate. That’s what he told the baron, at least. But what if he was planning something else?”

“And how is Estev involved?” Rae asked. “He’s a lifebinder. How can all this death serve his realm?”

“You must remember that masters of all eight realms were invested in Rassek’s cabal. Each of them believed they were acting in their best interests,” Caeris said. “There are branches of Elysium that trek dangerously close to Chaos. Nature spirits that would see all Order dissolved, so they can be free to run rampage across the earth. Perhaps Estev was loyal to them.”

“Estev Cohn did not strike me as a man who enjoyed nature,” La noted. “But I still don’t understand why he would betray us. He has saved us from that demon time and time again, all the way from the wilds of Hammerwall to our travels on the Pearl, into the Heretic’s Eye. He could have turned his coat at any time. Why now?”

“Because he knew what was waiting for me in the tower,” Rae said. “He knew his role was about to be revealed. He didn’t have a choice. He had to act. But, as you say, why not earlier? What’s his gambit?”

“Running does look a little suspicious,” La said. “Stealing the sword makes it worse.”

“I never trusted him,” Mahk said. “Too fancy for my tastes. Never trust a man in that much silk.”

“This is all nonsense,” Predi said sharply. “Yveth Maelys is a hero of the Iron College. He sacrificed years of his life to infiltrate the cabal. The justicar-regent thought he was a fool, but if Yveth hadn’t warned us, half the Ordered World would have been lost to Rassek’s breach. And those eight masters who died, who are still trapped in that tower? They were certainly not in on the plan.”

“Six masters,” Rae said. “Estev and Drust both escaped. They were part of whatever happened to Yveth. Whatever it might have been.”

“They could have bound his soul,” Predi said quietly, “using the icebound sword as a spiritblade. If, as you say, your father was able to scry his soul without Yveth knowing, it’s possible that Rassek could have used that.”

“A mortal can bind another mortal soul?” Rae asked.

“No. But the denizens of the four arcane realms can—the fae, wraiths, angels . . . and demons.” Caeris gave Predi an uncomfortable look. “It has been theorized, but never observed. That’s the entire point of the spiritblades: they are supposed to prevent the bindings from reversing. But if a demon were to take a spiritblade and use it to enslave a human soul . . .”

The implication hung in the room. Predi shook his head.

“All we have is your word, child, and the memories of a dead man claiming to be someone who is very much still alive!” Predi shouted. His words echoed off the hollow shell of the manor house. Caeris put a hand on his wrist, but he thundered on. “For all we know, you are in league with Estev Cohn, working to take advantage of Rassek’s failed heresy.”

“Until we know what’s going on, we must entertain all possibilities,” Caeris said. She rounded on Rae. “Including the thought that you, your sister, your brutish friend, and Estev were working together to fulfill some diabolist plan. It would explain why Estev did not betray you before now. He might even be manipulating you into something beyond your understanding. However”—and here she turned to Predi—“we must also consider the possibility that the boy’s vision is true, and the High Justicar has been compromised.”

“He sent us here, lawbinder! He ordered us to kill Rassek! Why would he do that if he were in the fiendbinder’s thrall?” Predi asked. Caeris held up a hand to silence him.

“There are a lot of questions we won’t be able to answer right now,” she said. “Let’s focus on the things we know, and the things we can do.”

“Estev stole the sword. The sword was somehow used in a ritual on Yveth,” Rae said.

“Agree on the first. The second is speculative,” Predi said with a sniff.

“For now, we must concede the possibility,” Caeris said. “And Estev’s actions, along with those of Rassek Brant, have brought us, and the sword, to the Heretic’s Eye.”

“We were meant to be here,” La said quietly. “Estev suggested it, at first. In the end it was Rae’s decision, but my brother has always been a gullible fool . . .”

“Hey!” Rae said.

“A gullible fool who makes simple mistakes,” La continued. “He bound the wraith in the first place because he fancied himself clever enough to teach himself magic out of a book, so he could be a third-rate criminal with dreams of escaping to the big city.”

“She has you there,” Mahk said.

“And what does that make you? A third-rate criminal’s assistant?” Rae asked. Mahk shrugged with a smile. “Anyway, I’ll concede the mistake. But why would Rassek or Estev or whoever the hell is behind all this bring us here?”

“I don’t know, but it explains why a full division of the houseguard was waiting for us, and also why they’re armed with lifelocked blades,” Caeris said. “Not only did they know we were coming, they knew which spirit you had bound to your soul, and how to counter it.”

“But we got here early, because of Rassek’s attack on the Pearl. He, at least, was trying to keep us away from the Eye,” La said.

“Let’s leave aside the question of whether or not Estev and Rassek are working together,” Caeris said. “For now, it’s clear that they’re working against us, and that’s all that matters. We can sort out the why of Estev’s betrayal later on, when he’s safely in chains. Can we agree that the sword is somehow related to the Hadroy Heresy, and might even be the key to Rassek’s immortality?”

“If so, we must make its retrieval our top priority,” Predi said. “We should be hunting the lifebinder, rather than standing around prattling.”

“Agreed. And we know that Rassek Brant has arrived, and appears to be working with the houseguard,” Caeris said. “The question is, where would Estev have gone?”

“The huntsman’s tower?” La suggested. “Perhaps the houseguard was meant to draw us away, so Estev could perform some ritual. Maybe finish the job Rassek started.”

“The cabals of Hell are always backstabbing one another,” Predi said. “That makes more sense to me. If Estev really was part of the original cabal, he did so for his own reasons. Maybe now he sees an opportunity to overthrow his old master and assume Rassek’s power as his own.”

“I still think we need to secure the pattern from the shadowlands. It’s hidden in our childhood home,” Rae said. “La, you and Mahk and I can do that while the justicars—”

“Hells, no!” Predi said. “I’m still not convinced that you’re not in on this with the lifebinder. I’m keeping my eyes on you until this is all cleared up, boy!”

“Peace, Predi,” Caeris said. “Rae may have the right idea. Whatever the origin of that sword, if the pattern still exists, we should try to reclaim it. Why don’t you go to the tower? Take the girl and her friend with you. If you’re right and Estev has circled back, La can come fetch us while you try to delay them.” She turned and looked at Rae appraisingly. “The feral and I will go to his former home and see what we can find.”

“Why am I taking two of the orphans?” Predi said distastefully. “I am not exactly a babysitter.”

“Because if Estev and the houseguard are there, and possibly Rassek, you will need our help. Mahk seems useful in a fight, and the girl is the fastest among us.” Caeris smiled and rubbed La’s head. “If you can tear her away from the fighting, that is.”

“I don’t like it. But if you insist on trusting the feral—”

“Please stop calling me ‘boy,’ and ‘feral,’ and—”

“If you trust the wraithbinder and want to follow this rabbit trail wherever it leads, then we best be about it. For all we know, Estev is already summoning Hell itself.” Predi checked the powder in his pistol, then jerked his head toward La and Mahk. “Try to keep up, dearies. I’m not coming back for you if you fall behind.”

He swept out of the manor house, with Mahk close behind. La gave her brother a final look.

“Be careful, brother. I’m not sure what to think of Estev, but I hate to think he has crossed us, even now.”

“You too, sis. And if Rassek shows up, you just run. Let someone else handle him.”

“You know I won’t do that,” she said with a smile. They embraced briefly, then La hurried after Mahk and the lanky justicar.

“I had a sister once,” Caeris said quietly. “You’re a better sibling than I ever was.”

“I wish that were true,” Rae said. “Do you think Predi’s right? That it was a false memory, and we’re walking into a trap?”

“There’s only one way to know,” Caeris said. “Are you ready?”

Rae nodded stiffly. He was still watching the door, where his sister had disappeared a heartbeat earlier. All that remained of his family. He’d tried for so long to get away from his parents, his sister, and their miserable life in Hammerwall. Now he’d give anything to have it back. He turned to Caeris and nodded stiffly.

“Then let’s be about this,” she said. “Which way home?”

“It’s been awhile, but my instinct says this way,” Rae said. Then he turned and led the lawbinder out the opposite door.


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