The Palace Job (30 page)

Tern led the Archvoyant back to the Chamber of Conferral about an hour later and found Silestin's secretary and Desidora both still there.

"As you return to the world, the gods return the privacy of your mortal soul," Desidora intoned, rising smoothly to her feet. "Recover your vestments."

She turned her back on the Archvoyant, and Tern did the same, thus allowing him to swap the actual robe back in.

Tern raised an eyebrow. Desidora winced and withdrew
two
glowing crystals from the folds of her robe. Tern's eyes widened, and Desidora gave her a helpless shrug.

Risking a quick glance back, Tern saw that the Archvoyant and his secretary were still occupied. She held a hand out, and Desidora, after seeing Tern's insistent nod, slipped the crystal to her.

"Which pocket?" Tern breathed. Desidora touched a finger to her heart, and Tern nodded.

"You can turn around now, ladies," the Archvoyant said cheerfully, and Tern jumped, then turned. Silestin was back in his dashing military uniform.

"You are free to return to the world of men," Desidora proclaimed, "but remember that your soul has been bared for all to see."

"Noted," the Archvoyant murmured, and turned to go.

"Archvoyant?" Tern asked, stepping forward boldly and blushing just a little. "I just wanted to tell you that your speech was
wonderful.
I think it will be a, a, a life-changing thing, and one day I'll be able to tell my children that I saw it. Thank you
so much!"
And with her eyes, she put out just a little desperation, a little wide-eyed reminder that he'd made her an offer.

"Good people like you," the Archvoyant said, smiling fondly, "are the reason that what I said today is so important. I think that good things are coming for everybody," he said, and he  nodded and gave her a knowing smile. "You take care of yourself, young lady," he added, and gave her that same companionable pat on the shoulder.

Then he and the secretary left, and as soon as they were gone, both Tern and Desidora sagged against the wall.

"Slipped it into his jacket pocket during the shoulder-pat?" Desidora asked.

"Yep. You got the encryption crystal mapped?"

"Indeed." Desidora let out a long breath. "I do
not
have smoldering eyes. Or intentions regarding your illusionist wizard."

"Who says he's my illusionist wizard?"

"I'm a former love priestess, Tern. I can read auras."

"They do smolder a bit. Is there any chance you could tone it down?"

"I 1 work on it."

"Thanks. Desidora?"

"Yes?"

"Left jacket pocket or right jacket pocket?"

The death priestess pursed her lips. "Right."

"Oh. We should probably be going, then."

Fourteen

"What in the hell kind of temple are you running, Kuoric?"

Yesterday's speech had gotten rave reviews, and even without the Prime there to turn his back and let Silestin make his special preparations, things had gone well.

None of which apparently mattered.

The Prime of Ael-meseth, highest representative of the ruler of the gods, shrank back. "You have little cause to complain—"

The Archvoyant cut him off with a gesture. "We had a
deal.
You didn't carry through on it. Even more, someone tampered with my belongings. Now either you're
incompetent
enough to let this happen, or you were
in on it."
Silestin narrowed his eyes. "For your sake, Kuoric, you'd better hope that it was incompetence."

"I will not be threatened!" The Prime rose and glowered down at Silestin. "You presume much, Archvoyant."

"Do you know what happened yesterday, you little twit?" Silestin snarled. "The
Lapitemperum
was broken into by someone who copied information about the security wards for my palace. And while I left my personal items, including an encryption crystal, in the care of your
priestess,
they were touched, possibly altered! I
presume
that you're either an idiot or part of a plan to stab me in the back, and I'd like to know which."

The Prime stiffened. "You mistake yourself,
Silestin.
Guards?" Several acolytes stepped into the room. "Show the Archvoyant out. Then summon the senior priests."

"Fifteen minutes," Silestin murmured, and shook his head. Then he looked up at the Prime. "Goodbye, Kuoric."

Then he turned and left with his fussy little secretary in tow.

They were were back in Cevirt's lounge. Loch was swirling another glass of red wine, watching the trails it left around the glass. "So... talk to me," she said, and drank. It was good wine, and she was drinking it now just in case she heard anything that was going to disappoint her later.

"The party is in five days," Cevirt began. "It's a Victory Ball, to celebrate the treaty with the Empire. There will be hundreds of people in the palace."

"And among such foliage, our natural colors shall serve to conceal?" asked Ululenia, who was in human form tonight, her horn shining brightly. Dairy sat on an ottoman next to her, flushing as she wove flowers into his hair.

"If you mean are you invited," Cevirt said, turning to Loch with a raised eyebrow, "the answer is yes. As Voyant, I can procure enough invitations to get you inside."

"Good enough." Loch raised her glass in a silent toast, then took a sip. It was
still
damn good wine. She was afraid she was getting used to the good stuff again. "Tern?"

"We got the encryption crystal," Tern said, holding it up behind the fruity pink stuff in her glass so that the scintillating colors played through it. "I'll tinker to see if I can pull anything about Silestin's personal code out of it, but at the very least, this makes it
possible
for me to crack the vault." She glanced over at Desidora, looked like she was about to say something snide, and then actually stopped herself.

"Good. Desidora, the
Lapitemperum
crystal. Was it worth me going in to save Kail?"

"I wouldn't go that far," the death priestess said, tossing her auburn hair with a little smile at Kail, who flushed and spilled his beer, "but I believe that with it, Magister Hessler and I can find the source of the Voyancy Aura ward and shut it down."

"Good. If you can find out where it's likely to be in Silestin's palace, we can come up with a plan to get into it. Since," Loch added dryly, looking at Hessler, "there's some small chance that there'll be guards. Ululenia, how about Silestin himself?"

"His mind is as a stone in a grassy field, silent and unmoving," said Ululenia, frowning. One of the flowers in Dairy's hair sprouted a few new buds.

"So... no, then." Loch turned to Desidora. "How about the mausoleum?"

"Difficult but possible." The priestess paled slightly and looked at Tern. "I'll need help breaking the security."

Tern gulped her drink. "Sure. Happy to help. I just don't wanna see the zombie, okay? That's where I draw the line." "Good. Now... exit strategy?"

"If nothing goes wrong, you can simply leave with me," Cevirt offered.

"Something always goes wrong," Loch said dryly.

Cevirt nodded. "In that case... if you're already getting into the vault, you could use the escape rune. There's one in the vault room of every palace. Activate it, and it magically transports everyone in the room to the airship hangar."

"Perfect. Show Desidora and Hessler how to activate it." Loch turned to everyone else. "The parry is in five days." She grinned. "We know what we need to do. Hit the research, ask quietly for whatever additional information we need. The clock is running."

"Study the old books," the Prime ordered. "If she wields Ghylspwr, then she is chosen by prophecy, and if she could mask her own magic to falsify our aura..." He shuddered, and the senior priests of Ael-meseth fell back in fear. "She may be of Byn-kodar."

"How could a servant of the death-daemon be chosen by the gods?" one of the priests asked.

"That is none of your concern!" the Prime snapped. "Investigate the Archvoyant as well. What has he done to attract the attention of prophecy? We must know, so that we may act as the gods decree."

"He has been seen with one of the Glimmering Folk," one of the priests, an Urujar, suggested. "There are old Urujar folk tales—"

"This is not the time for silly superstitions!" Massaging his temples, the Prime paused for a moment. "But we must try all avenues. Yes, investigate the stories of the Glimmering Folk. And find out everything known about the warhammer." He shook his head. "She is the instrument of the gods themselves, and she wants something relating to the Archvoyant. Find out what it is. This is your holy charge."

They left. They were wise men and women, efficient and strong in their command of the resources of the temple. They would carry out the Prime's will, so that he might carry out Aelmeseth's will in turn. It might come about that the Prime had been wrong, and if that were the case, he would make amends, then exile himself to a monastery for his retirement. He was a proud man, more than a little accustomed to the politics of the Spire, but if that was necessary, he would do it.

"Whatever we must do, my lord," he whispered, clutching his amulet in an old gesture of faith. "If the Archvoyant is your foe, then—"

"Fifteen minutes," came a quiet voice beside him, and the blade slashed across his throat.

Orris walked to the Twilight Park. The park always faced the sunset, and as it was set right at the edge of the city, there was always a gorgeous and unobstructed view.

It was also the park where Loch and her gang had landed, where Orris's life had been ruined by her conniving ways. The gardeners had cleaned up the torn grass, but there were burn marks on some of the nearby buildings that still attested to her passage.

Orris's wife had left him when he'd lost his position. Orris leaned on a railing overlooking the great drop and stared down at the world below, trying to find his place in it.

"You cannot jump," came a voice from behind him, and Orris turned, startled, to see the rainbow-flickering form of Ambassador Bi'ul standing behind him. "I can sense the protective wards beneath the ground." He gestured. "If you jumped, you would bounce back inside."

"I wasn't planning to jump," Orris retorted.

"The justicar makes progress on tracking down the woman," Bi'ul said. "I believe he will locate her soon."

"So you've come to rub it in, have you?" Orris said bitterly, turning back to glare at the Glimmering Man.

Bi'ul blinked. "I would have to care about your opinion to, as you say,
rub it in."
He chuckled at the thought. "No, Orris, I am here to offer you my assistance."

The air before him rippled, and he reached into that ripple and pulled out the most magnificent suit of armor Orris had ever seen.

It was an old-fashioned set of plate armor, with chain at the throat and the joints for flexibility. It was black, shimmering like dark vinegar in candlelight. Curved spikes jutted out from the joints. The helmet had a horrific daemon-faceplate, and red lenses set into the eyeholes glowed with a smoky radiance.