But I'm still having a blast, and I'm not quite ready for Anthea's tales to be over. I hope you enjoy this next chapter.
----------
Thankfully, my wardens and I had plenty of time before the Reverend Mother’s evening meal to take long baths and soak the fish odor and sea salt out of our pores. As much as I loathed letting anyone at the home Temple touch our belongings, I had Long Feather take our clothing down to the launderer. After the three weeks between O’ahu and Issura with limited fresh water to clean ourselves, the leather, silks, and cottons were as ripe as our bodies.
While Long Feather took his bath, Jonata braided my hair and pinned it up. I rather missed simply tying my locks back with a leather thong as I had during the last leg of our trip. But as she pointed out, we were in Issura’s capital, serving the queen directly, and certain standards and decorum needed to be adhered to.
No one from the staff came to fetch us despite protocol. Therefore, the three of us headed to the first floor at a quarter of a candlemark before First Evening. The Temple’s public areas were strangely quiet this close to sunset. Even though Balance was the creator of the World, Her order did not worship her the way the other Temples honored their deities. But there was music, games, and intellectual debates to entertain the residents in the evenings. The three of us didn’t even run into staff or wardens in the hallways. Odder still, no wardens stood outside of the Reverend Mother’s private dining room, so I knocked.
No answer came. I pushed the lever and opened the door.
“It’s dark,” Long Feather muttered.
He was right from his perspective. No oil lamps were lit, and no Light balls glowed in their alabaster globes. There wasn’t even any heat signatures on the table or chairs to indicate anyone had been in the room recently. I knew Blade’s nose was firmly planted in the Reverend Mother’s arsehole, but this was the first time she had out-and-out lied to me.
I resisted the urge to make an improper comment. The Twelve only knew if Alara had someone hidden nearby to repeat whatever I said.
So, the games had begun.
“Let’s check the senior staff dining room.” I closed the door and headed for the residential area for the in-house justices at a brisk stride, my wardens on my heels.
I hated political one-upmanship, and I suspected maybe Blade had been ordered to lie to me about the location of the dinner. Or Alara had deliberately lied to her chief of staff in the hopes I would berate the poor woman.
On the other hand, I doubted the Reverend Mother realized how much she’d taught me in playing psychological games. Ironically, I needed to thank her for my education.
But it wouldn’t be tonight.
We heard the voices and laughter coming from the senior staff’s dining room long before we reached the wardens guarding the entrance. They both inclined their heads to me and pushed open the double doors.
When I entered, the sudden silence was deafening. None of the justices moved, but their wardens turned their heads as one and stared at me. No doubt my colleagues watched me through their guards’ eyes.
Even odder, two of the senior staff were missing. I’d learned about Justice Melanippe’s disappearance before we left for Jing last winter. So, where was Justice Phthia?
“Nice of you to join us this evening, Anthea,” Reverend Mother Alara said from the head of the table, poisoned honey dripping from her lips.
“I beg forgiveness for my tardiness, Reverend Mother,” I said politely. “After three weeks at sea, I’d forgotten how good a bath felt. Luckily, my wardens kept me from accidentally drowning when I fell asleep.”
“Take a seat, Little Death Wish.” She gestured at the empty seat immediately to her right. “You’ve already missed the first course.”
“I shall apologize to your chef.” I strode toward my assigned seat. “I meant no insult to them. I am sure the cuisine is excellent.” I wasn’t going to apologize to the old biddy in front of me again. I’d learned through bitter experience the gesture was not appreciated.
Her second Chief Justice Callisto wore a sour look from where she sat at the opposite end of the rectangular wood table. She’d made it clear she thought Alara had gone too easy on me during my hearing after I gave myself sight.
Once I was seated, one of the stewards stepped forward and poured wine into the silver goblet at my place. Jonata immediately seized the cup and took a drink.
“The ’42, m’lady.” She set the cup back down. The rest of the Balance wardens stared at her, appalled at her presumption.
“Thank you, Warden,” I replied before I took my own sip.
“Don’t trust anyone in your own Temple, Anthea?” Chief Justice Hera mocked across the table from me. The head of novice training could be acerbic, but she was gentler with the children forced into Temple life than her predecessor had been with me and the other girls close to my age.
“My chief warden trusts no one but the people he has personally trained.” I chuckled. “Wardens Long Feather and Jonata have taken his orders to return me back to Orrin alive quite literally.”
My jocularity seemed to ease the tension in the dining room.
Until the Reverend Mother spoke again.
“And your reason for attending the queen before extending proper courtesies to the head of your home Temple?”
“Prince White Eagle didn’t brook any discretion in the matter, Reverend Mother,” I said lightly. “When given a choice between lashed for insubordination by the leader of Balance and beheaded for disobeying the queen, I took the option that wouldn’t leave my wardens open for discipline.”
Alara cackled. “Well said, Little Death Wish. How was your journey to Jing?”
“The journey itself was fraught,” I replied. “The captain of Emperor Po’s personal guard was sorely afflicted with seasickness. During the two winter storms the ship encountered, we resorted to dosing him with soma tears so he wouldn’t starve, and the rest of us could sleep.”
The rest of the justices tittered uncomfortably at my mention of the poppy drug.
“The queen told you of the latest problem to plague Issura,” Alara stated.
“Yes, she did.” I took another sip of wine despite the urge to gulp down the entire cup. I couldn’t become intoxicated. Not while I was in the capital. “She also asked me to remain in Standora to assist in the investigation.”
“There’s no investigation,” Alara scoffed. “Some idiot at Vintner mixed up batches of soma tears with pain powder during the drying process. Brigid is trying to deflect blame from her own people by alleging a conspiracy to sabotage their stores.”
“However, this wouldn’t be the first time Vintner’s stores to the Healers Guild houses have been subverted to cause harm. The Orrin healers had to destroy their entire stock of base oil the winter before last.” I swallowed my revulsion, but even I wasn’t sure if it were Alara’s asinine attitude toward a peer, my own near death due to the poisoned oil, or the clam stew placed before me that caused the twisting in my gut.
I had no doubt Alara had her chef prepare clam stew because she knew I hated it.
This time, Long Feather took the bowl and tasted the soup. The stewards gave us both offended looks, but they said nothing and continued to serve the justices.
“Who is heading this investigation if it is not us?” Chief Justice Oriana asked.
“The prince consort is leading the investigation personally,” I said. “The queen ordered the Mars Tranquilus home shortly after we docked at Kou.” I forced a disappointed sigh. “Duke Marco will not be pleased with the lack of time Captain Titus had to trade in O’ahu, but the message delivered by King Keanu’s courier was very explicit.”
My attempt to change the subject had no effect.
“But why recruit you unless the intent was to undermine the Reverend Mother?” Callisto snarled. Of course, Alara would sic her pet dog on me. I didn’t realize until I gained my sight how much Callisto resembled one of the Briton hunting breeds. She was too volatile to succeed Alara as Reverend Mother, but she was as loyal as the canine she resembled.
“You would have to ask the queen as to her reasoning, sister, I said. “I am not privy to her thought process.”
“So, you rushed back because of a foul-up by Vintner, not because Queen Teodora passed?” Chief Justice Iphigenia asked.
“The message delivered to me said our late queen had been collected in Death’s arms and High Brother Luc and I were required to return with all due haste.” I took another sip of wine. “I didn’t learn about the issue with the medications until a cutpurse robbed and stabbed a woman as she left the market right in front of us shortly after the prince consort and his guards escorted my party from the dock. At which point, the prince consort admitted that was the true reason for our immediate recall.”
“The child should have consulted me.” Alara bit out.
“I agree the queen should have,” I said smoothly. “Is there a particular reason why she didn’t, Reverend Mother?”
“What are you insinuating?” she snapped.
The other justices’ expressions held various degrees of unease, except Callisto who looked almost joyful. But then, she was the one of the justices who advocated for me to lose my head when I gave myself sight.
“I’ve been gone from Issura for the last six months, Reverend Mother,” I said coolly. “I’ve had no contact with the home Temple during that time. Only Balance knows what happened here while I’ve been gone.”
“You couldn’t talk the emperor of Jing into allowing you the use of his concubine?” Callisto sneered.
I swallowed a few choice obscenities. How had the Reverend Mother found out about Shi Hua’s distance speaking talent?
“I am confused, sister.” Keeping my expression neutral, I rather enjoyed pretending ignorance despite my misgivings. “How would lying with another woman enable me to communicate with the Reverend Mother?”
The other three justices snickered. However, it was interesting Alara also kept a neutral face.
“Is the new emperor that selfish, Anthea?” she quietly asked.
I recognized the potential danger and emitted an exaggerated sigh. “Prior to becoming emperor, Quan Po made no secret he wished to bed me. If I asked to borrow his lady wife—” I emphasized the last two words. “—to communicate with someone here, he would learn of the subject and what was said, not to mention the price would be too steep. And for our own sovereign’s sake, I hope any word of the empress’s talents have not spread beyond this Temple.”
“So, why did you hide this information from me?” Alara’s tone could have sliced through ice in a mountain lake during deep winter.
“The same reason I do not ask who your distance speaker is, Reverend Mother. With the spate of distance speakers being murdered, I do not share such information lightly.” I dipped my spoon in the stew and consumed a small amount of broth. Just enough to be polite.
“Come now, Anthea,” Hera teased “With the new edict to procreate, aren’t you the least bit curious of what the emperor would be like in bed?”
“Not enough to risk my reputation as Issura’s ambassador or as an impartial justice,” I said mildly. “Nor do I want to create an enemy of the new empress. Not to mention, the Jing emperor has no significant talent, which is why he petitioned his nation’s Temples for permission to marry a priestess.”
Callisto choked on her soup, spraying the table in the process.
“Who did he marry?” Iphigenia asked with true curiosity.
“Former Sister Shi Hua of Light,” I said. “Reverend Father Jin of Light granted her disposition to leave the order to marry Quan Po. They wed prior to arriving in Jing.”
“Wh-what?” Callisto blurted. “His concubine was a Light priestess? That is illegal!”
“How?” I asked.
“Laying with him before the edict—” she started.
“Didn’t happen,” I cut her off. “He had plenty of other bedmates to choose from. And when the edict came down last year, his respect for her true position is part of the reason she agreed to marry him prior to arriving in Jing.”
“How does acting High Brother Jeremy feel about her marriage to another man?” Alara asked.
“Is an edict to allow marriage for us clergy about to come as well?” I asked.
“No,” she admitted reluctantly.
“Then why do his feelings matter?” I said gently. “We all learn duty as novices. He knows his, and when we left last winter, he was enjoying the chaos any newborn brings to a household, even a Temple’s.”
Oriana chuckled. “Speaking of which, may I be excused, Reverend Mother? It is time for Theodore’s last feeding.”
“Go.” Alara wore a faintly disgusted expression. “I don’t need to hear a hungry babe wailing all night.”
“Congratulations, Chief Justice!” I said brightly. The odd thing was I actually meant the compliment. “I pray the Twelve have given you a strong, healthy babe.”
She blushed and nodded. “Thank you, Anthea. He is.” She rose, and her warden led her from the dining room. “I’ll return shortly, Reverend Mother,” she called over her shoulder.
Once she left, I said, “And that’s another reason I wouldn’t bed Emperor Po, Hera. I cannot have children, and the emperor has little talent compared to his parents’ abilities. It would be a pointless exercise, whereas his lady wife has already proven she is fertile and will most likely give him a child with Light talent.”
“That doesn’t mean he is fertile,” Alara said slyly.
“No, it doesn’t.” I wasn’t about to discuss Shi Hua already being with child. Besides, if Alara knew about Shi Hua’s distance speaking talent, then she probably already knew the empress was pregnant. The imperial couple had formally announced their joyous news at the end of the Spring Rituals. “However, I am more concerned about the recent demon attacks. It hasn’t been just the battle last winter in the Jing capital. We encountered Skandza langskips manned by skinwalkers on our way to the Old Continent. Not to mention, there are entire villages missing in the Kingdom of Ryukyu and the United Dulohans. From my discussion with the Reverend Mother of Balance in O’ahu, these aren’t isolated incidents along the Peaceful Sea. Has any other nations been harassed or had a major offensive launched against them?”
“Yes,” Iphigenia blurted. “Nearly every nation has reported some kind of harassment since the demons’ Jing offensive. Nothing like what happened to Tandor and Rambla, but—”
“But how many are internal affairs like in Ryukyu that were blown out of proportion?” Alara snapped. “And really, Anthea? How could you interfere with another nation’s Temple of Balance?”
I laughed, which only served to irritate her further from her scowl. “I didn’t interfere. I was merely a convenient accident Ogusuku used to undermine Reverend Mother Fumiko’s authority.”
“Did you really fall into a demon hole during the Battle of Naha?” Hera’s barely hidden trepidation dripped from her words.
“The demon opened the hole right under our feet, so yes, I fell.” I sighed. “Except something went wrong. We didn’t land in the demons’ domain. It was someplace much worse. With creatures that caught and ate demons as easily as they do with us.” I shuddered at the memory of the screams of the demon that tried to evade me.
Alara harrumphed loudly. “I read your alleged report Fumiko forwarded. I don’t believe for one instant a human can fly.”
“Why not?” I asked dryly. “There are movers who can move their own bodies as well as objects.”
“Or that you met any of the Twelve.” Her voice rose. Maybe I could get some answers if she truly lost her temper.
“They never claimed to be the entities we think of when we worship,” I said. “They extended their assistance to get me home, for which I was grateful.”
“Do you think you are so special a deity would do favors for you?” she shouted.
“They treated me better than a dried-up ancient hag who told me I had a foreordained destiny!”
“I should have never told you, you conniving little twat!”
“Why? Because you withheld the actual truth?” Sarcasm filled my tone. “That I was one of the three women prophesized to ensure Bao Quan Po sits on the Jing throne?”
Blood drained from Alara’s head until her skin was a pale greenish-yellow. “The rest of you need to leave,” she ground out.
“No, they need to stay.” It was all I could do to keep my voice level. “We all should have been told about the Skoloti Balance novice’s prophecies. They knew the demons would return long before the damned things showed themselves. The Skoloti sent the news to every single Balance Temple. Why did you hide this information from your own sisterhood?”
Waves of fury flowed from Alara, and she rose to her feet. “This dinner is done.” She stomped toward the door.
Apparently, I’d pushed her harder than I realized since she left without the chief warden to guide her.
