Seth checked a couple of cells before he found the right one, unlocked it, and helped Nines out. She gazed blearily around, unsteady on her feet. Her white hair was a tangled mess, her grey robes filthy, but in the physical sense, she appeared whole.
“We owe you,” Seth told her. “I got your message. Akkani wanted to do this quietly, but by the time she sent her inquisitors, Ged and Saraida had already mobilized the Guard.”
Nines picked at a spot on her robe. “What’s going on?”
Seth sighed heavily. “Where to begin? Ged launched coordinated attacks on the docks, Guard headquarters, and a few other key strong-holds. But . . . well, it’s a bit hard to explain until you see it. It’s not good.”
“Any word from Ysira?” Jacen asked.
“No.” Seth knelt to take a dagger from a guard’s belt, flipped it around in his grip, and handed it hilt-first to Jacen. “There are a few places she might have brought Neri—Ogden, to start. They burned his clinic to the ground and took him into custody, and since he’s not here, he’s probably being held at the palace. I know my father wanted to question him personally.”
Jacen slipped the dagger into his robes and dragged his thoughts back to more pressing matters. “I have to get out of the city. I don’t expect you to follow—either of you.”
“I just broke you out of that cell,” said Seth. “No one made me do it.” “I’m so sorry,” Jacen said anyway. “I never meant for it to come to this. And everything I said, at the clinic?—”
“You didn’t mean it,” Seth said shortly. “I know. But you weren’t wrong about everything.” He motioned toward the labyrinth beyond the pit. “There are secret passageways all over the Citadel. I know of one that leads from the Cathedral to the palace, and another from the palace to the deepriver. We’ll find a boat there.”
“If I were Akkani,” Jacen said, “I’d have sealed those off at the first sign of trouble.”
“Oh, she did. But she doesn’t know I have a key. Stole it when I was eight. How do you think I got in here?” Seth offered Nines an extra dagger of his own. “Most of the action is in the city proper, but we may have to fight. Ever done this before?”
Nines stared at the dagger as though it might bite her. She put it away with the same haste she might use to pick an insect off her food. Seth seemed to understand. “I’ll go first; you stay close. Jacen remembers enough to be useful. Don’t you, Jace?”
In truth, Jacen had been an abysmal swordsman and a worse marksman. He was a passable sprinter. His telepathic abilities were another matter, but it had been years since he used them in combat.
He cleared his throat and nodded.
Seth scrutinized him. “If I cover you physically, how many can you handle?”
“One.” Jacen grimaced. “Maybe two, as long as the rest are distracted. I’m not at my best; I’m sor?—”
“If you apologize to me one more time, I really am going to leave you here.” Seth let out a nervous chuckle. “At least this won’t be boring.”
Jacen pointed out the dead guards. “You handed those three well enough.”
“No, you didn’t see; that was a mess. I’ve been losing my edge. I was worried I wouldn’t fit into my armor.” But Seth squared his shoulders, drew his sword, and opened the door to scope out the corridor beyond.
Jacen reached out with his mind to aid Seth’s efforts—though only far enough to detect anyone in their immediate vicinity. If a fellow telepath sensed him searching with too much advance warning, this could end very badly.
They reached the funicular and found it absent. From far above, the cage creaked toward them, swathed in darkness as it descended from the depths of the White Cathedral.
“Someone’s on it,” Nines said urgently.
“Can you tell who?” Jacen concentrated, trying to sense what she could. He couldn’t find a blasted thing. “I think your range is quite a bit better than mine.”
It was an understatement, but once again, Nines seemed embarrassed. “It’s a telepath.” She swallowed hard. “I can’t tell. They’re masking their presence.”
They hid in an alcove to ambush the new arrival. Jacen concealed their presence to the best of his ability. He braced for a different sort of battle, in which Seth would be worse than useless. Was he equipped for this—fighting his own Brother or Sister of the Church? In his weakened state, would he be strong enough? Did he have the resolve?
First, he glimpsed black robes. Then, a white sash. Brother Lev—still in his Chief Exorcist’s robes, albeit more unkempt than usual—disembarked the funicular. A sick, insidious fear seeped off Nines like fog.
From Lev . . . Jacen sensed a vicious rage. Lev had come to hurt someone and hurt them badly.
Jacen put a hand in front of Seth—a silent command for him to stand back.
When he laid eyes on Jacen, Lev betrayed no surprise. “Akkani was worried you’d do something stupid.” He appeared almost pleased. “You humiliated me in the Archives. Before they execute you, I’m going to make you suffer for it.”
“Go ahead,” Jacen said to Seth and Nines. “I’ll handle this.” Seth said, “Are you insane?”
