I had to hold back a smile; if either of these two knew just how intimate my knowledge of Isu’s human form was, they’d probably never speak to me again. Or, who knows? They might be talked into having a fourway with Isu. A man can only dream. And they seemed to be more than thirsty for what I was packing, so if the occasion arose, they might just take it.
“Just keep it on you when you fight,” I said, still struggling to keep a straight face. “That way, when you make a kill, your victim’s souls get sucked into my dagger, which will give Isu more power, which, in turn, will enhance my powers.”
“You got your powers of necromancy from the Goddess of Death?” gasped Elyse. “By the Lord himself, what else haven’t you told me about your magical powers?”
“Look,” I said, “when I first picked up this dagger, I had no idea what I was getting into. I never set out to serve Isu—oh, and on that subject, I don’t actually serve her, I work with her. It’s a partnership, okay? It’s nothing like you and your Lord of Light. There’s no worship, no praying, none of that bullshit. No offense.”
“None taken,” she said sourly. “But I find it hard to believe that you wound up serving—excuse me, getting into a ‘partnership’ with—the Goddess of Death by accident.”
“Look, just believe me; I never planned to serve Isu, or to become a necromancer for that matter. I’m glad it happened, though, because it’s worked out pretty damn well.”
I folded my arms defiantly and playfully across my chest after this little tirade and cocked my head to the side with a slight grin, inviting her—daring her—to respond. Weirdly enough, instead of getting all worked up or getting into a huff, Elyse smiled.
“You may think of us Church of Light followers as intolerant bigots, Vance,” she said, “but not all of us are like that. Especially not me. I won’t lie; I don’t like the thought of being allied with an ancient death goddess or you getting your powers from her. But I can respect your reasons for doing what you’re doing. As long as you can respect my wish not to serve Isu.”
I should have expected the unexpected from Elyse by now. I was disappointed that she wouldn’t be using Isu’s coin, but then again, I should have known she’d be unwilling to use it. She might warm to the idea at a later stage, though. I’d just have to do a whole lot of convincing.
“That’s fine,” I said, “of course.”
Elyse sighed. “It’s a gift from you, so I suppose I’ll keep it. But I won’t allow it to win souls for Isu.” She reached into a pocket of her robe and took out a small purse woven of golden thread. It shimmered strangely in the light and seemed to have a glow of its own.
“Powerful magical wards are woven into this purse,” she said as she opened the strings and dropped Isu’s coin into it. “Normally, we clergywomen use these to transport items of great evil, for the purposes of either studying or destroying them. Once the item is sealed in here, its magic is rendered useless. I’m not saying that this coin is evil, by the way; the purse works irrespective of that dimension. If I put a powerful holy relic in here, its powers are also neutralized.”
I nodded. “Let’s get back to more pressing matters. We now know that Nabu is guarded by Resplendent Crusaders. But what about the bishop himself? I’ve seen your powers, so it makes me wonder what Nabu is capable of. I know he’s a fat, wine-glugging piece of trash, but what I’ve learned from many years of fighting is that it’s a very, very bad idea to underestimate your opponent, no matter how they look and act.”
“You’re right not to underestimate him,” she said. “He’s a foul, ugly fool, but he’s also powerful. He has the same kinds of powers I have—”
“Like that holy rope thing?”
“That, and many others. In fact, as much as it pains me to say this, I think his abilities are greater than mine. And I‘ve heard rumors that he’s gained additional powers in the last few months. There are all sorts of strange rumors about what happens late at night in Nabu’s cathedral. Whisperings of evil deeds, blood sacrifices.”
I chuckled darkly and spun Grave Oath in my hand. “I fear no man, Elyse. Especially not some fat slug of a bishop, no matter what dark powers he’s been meddling with.”
We talked for a while longer about weapons, fighting strategies, and a possible plan of attack for when we arrived at the cathedral. The fact that Elyse had once had her headquarters there was extremely useful; she knew the place like the back of her hand. Once we got inside the inner sanctum, it would probably be easy enough to find Nabu and his Resplendent Crusaders. The problem was getting to that point, especially with the hundreds of guards and soldiers milling around. Hopefully, Grast was right, and they’d let him drive the wagon to the cathedral steps without inspecting the contents.
It was close to midnight when we saw the town of Erst appear on the horizon, the massive spires of its magnificent cathedral soaring over the sprawled-out settlement. What struck me immediately, though, was that the whole skyline around the town and the cathedral was glowing in tones of red and orange, and towers of black smoke rose up all over town.
“Fucking hells,” I exclaimed, “it looks like Erst has just been visited by a dragon or two! Is the town burning down?”
“Oh no!” gasped Elyse. “I can’t believe I forgot!”
“Forgot what? That there’s an angry dragon with a grudge against Erst?”
“No, no,” she muttered, shaking her head. “The town’s not on fire. Those are bonfires, huge bonfires burning all over town and in the cathedral grounds. It’s Saint Jorl’s
