Haern felt as if ice flowed in his blood, but at the same time, he felt so tired, so drained, that he could not muster the anger he thought the man deserved.
“Tell me,” he said instead. “Do you sleep well at night?”
Nole was breathing heavily through his nose, and he glanced around as if unsure whether or not the question was a trick.
“No,” he admitted. “Not since…you know.”
“You betrayed us?”
Nole swallowed.
“Yes.”
Haern stared at him, as if trying to see through the robes, the fear, and his own anger, to the man underneath it all.
“Why?” he asked. “We trusted you.”
“Logan told me of the bounty,” Nole said, sighing. “I thought if I sold those acres, I could rebuild this temple into something magnificent. Something people would feel proud to enter. And there you were, supposed criminals; all I had to do was turn you in.”
“You’d rebuild your temple with blood money?”
“Don’t you understand? Look around. This place is empty, broken. Every day I pray to Ashhur, yet all I feel is failure. The weight of a whole city lay upon me, and for once, just once, it seemed like I saw a way through. I did it for the souls of thousands, Haern! What does one little whispered word to a guard matter when compared to eternity?”
Haern’s fists clenched.
“You’d break your trust, and profane Ashhur’s ideals, all to serve him?”
“Are you any better? I’ve learned of you, heard the stories spoken since you came down. You keep the thieves in line in Veldaren. You kill to prevent killing. Whose blood is on my hands? Whose lives did I end? Yet I see it in your eyes, you are ready to draw that blade and cut my throat.”
Haern did feel that urge, but instead he shook his head.
“This city deserves better than you.”
Nole chuckled.
“In that, we are in agreement.”
As Haern headed for the door he stopped, and turned back to the priest.
“Did Ingram give you your acres of land?”
Nole shook his head as he slowly rose to his feet.
“Have you brought Veldaren any peace? Or does death and killing still plague its nights?”
Haern wished he had a better answer, but instead thought of his dead, nameless victim he’d given to the gravekeeper.
“No.”
“We’re not men meant to sleep well through the night,” Nole said. “For whatever it is worth, I wish I could take it back, and that you’d forgive my moment of pride. Even if I could haul in the rarest marble, and hang the finest silks from the ceiling, it’d still be just me, preaching to a small few in my weakness.”
“Then why continue, if you have failed so poorly?”
“Because maybe I’ll at least save one life,” Nole said. “That makes this all matter, right? Besides…there’s no one else who will.”
Haern put his hand on the door, and the weight of the temple’s silence was heavy on his shoulders.
“At least in that, I understand,” he said, and then he left, feeling no better than when he’d arrived.
When Graeven returned, Alyssa’s heart immediately dropped at the sight of him. The elf looked flustered, and in a great hurry.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, sitting up on the bed so her back rested against the wall.
“It is nothing,” Graeven said, but it was an obvious lie.
“Then what ‘nothing’ bothers you?” asked Zusa, who had begun doing various training stretches to keep herself from going stir crazy in the room. Meanwhile, the elf was rifling through one of the few shelves, removing a few personal objects Alyssa didn’t recognize.
“The merchants have…done something interesting, and I must try to deal with it accordingly. They launched all their boats from the harbor, burning what few belonged to the Keenans.”
“They’re planning something,” Alyssa said. “But what?”
“I need to find out. Please, stay here tonight. I have a feeling it will not be safe for anyone.”
He glanced around.
“Where’s the Watcher?”
Zusa shrugged.
“Out.”
Graeven went to Alyssa, and he grabbed her hands in his.
“Please,” he insisted. “Promise me you will stay. Your safety is now my responsibility, and I do not want the shame of something happening to you, especially with all I have gone through.”
Alyssa tried to decide how to respond, especially given her precarious situation.
“I will,” she said. “Only because you have been so kind. Good luck, Graeven.”
The elf smiled.
“I won’t need your luck, Alyssa.”
He bowed and then left. Zusa came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her as they stared out the window.
“It isn’t safe,” the faceless woman whispered.
“Here, or leaving?”
“Both.”
Alyssa sighed.
“I know. But what else can I do? No wonder Laurie had such trouble keeping things in line here in Angelport. I have done no better. I never should have made my coming here a secret. I should have marched down with a thousand men and killed anyone who moved against us. It seems everyone here has their guards, their mercenaries, and their fighting men. What do I have?”
Behind her, Zusa laughed.
“You have me and the Watcher. Are we so terrible?”
Alyssa put her hand on Zusa’s.
“No, but I’d rather lose a thousand fighting men than you.”
The door opened, and Haern stepped inside, his face locked in a scowl.
“Something wrong?” Alyssa asked, stepping away from Zusa.
“The docks,” he said. “I saw them on my way back. Every boat’s fled, except a few that were burned.”
“We know,” Zusa said. “Graeven told us.”
“Did he tell you
Alyssa shook her head.
“I can only assume they’re planning…”
“They’re planning nothing,” Haern interrupted. He drew a saber, showing them the blood on it. “I managed to find one of their paid men, who’d been left behind to start the fires. They have no attack planned. Instead, they’re getting out of the way.”
Alyssa knew what that meant, but she had to ask, had to hear it out loud.
“Out of whose way?”
Haern’s scowl deepened.
“The elves. Tonight, they’ll make their move.”
The room they hid in suddenly seemed so small, the area of the city far less safe than it once was. Alyssa wrapped her arms about her, and she thought of the chaos that would follow.
“What do we do?” she asked.
Zusa gestured to her daggers, lying sheathed upon the floor.
