The Frostwoven Crown (Book 4) (35 page)

“No, thank you,” Banden said, lifting one hand in refusal as he laid the staff across his knees.

“I promised your sister…” Serepheni said, her voice catching a little, “Don’t make a liar of me.”

Banden relented and accepted the coin pouch, pocketing it. He looked down at his green doublet and the white worm of Mauravant upon it. “Please tell Matron Brix that I am sorry,” he said.

“Where will you go?” Serepheni asked.

“You can stay with me if you’d like,” Garrett offered.

“No,” Banden said, “I have to get out of the city… If any of my order survives, they may have gone south… I’ll look for them there.”

“
Your
order?” Serepheni asked, “You have felt a calling?”

Banden gave her a bemused look. “I don’t know,” he said, “I just know that I can’t stay here… I have to find out what it means… to carry this.” He hefted his sister’s staff and thumped its tip against the floor, using it for support as he slid down off the table.

“Can I convince you stay another day or two?” Serepheni said, “You can stay with Garrett, or I can arrange for something else… outside the temple. I don’t like the idea of you traveling with your leg like that.”

Banden shook his head. “No, I have to go. It’ll be fine.” He placed his weight again on the wounded leg, showing only a slight discomfort on his face.

Serepheni sighed and rummaged through the drawers again, packing a small kit for him to carry, stuffing it full of bandages and jars. He had to stop her before she could slip a large onyx mortar and pestle inside.

“I wouldn’t even know what to do with that,” he laughed.

“You’d better learn some herbalism if you’re going to be traveling alone,” she said.

A cold twisting in Garrett’s gut called to mind the memory of how he had found the boy, at the mercy of a band of faceless devils. “I wish you’d let me show you some fairy magic before you go,” he said.

Banden smiled and shook his head again. “Thank you… thank you both,” he said, “but I’m not afraid anymore… I remember what my sister said once… she said you had to listen for the
guiding voice
, and that was all you really needed.”

“You’ve heard this voice?” Serepheni asked.

“I don’t know,” Banden laughed, “I think it’s too noisy here for me to really hear anything… Does that make any sense?”

The priestess smiled at him, her eyes still filled with concern.

Banden pulled off his doublet and passed it to Serepheni. He gave her one final formal bow then. “My thanks, Matron, for all that you did for me… and for my sister.”

Serepheni bowed to him in return, something that no other Matron would do for the sake of an initiate Templar. “Go in peace, Peacebringer,” she said, and then she caught him in a tight hug and held him for a long time.

When she released him at last, Banden turned and hugged Garrett as well.

“Can I show you the way out of the city?” Garrett asked, “Maybe the ghouls could take you to a town down south. They know secret ways to go places. It might be safer.”

“No,” Banden laughed, “I think what I need is some time on the road again, alone. Just a good, long walk.”

“If you need anything, ever…” Garrett said.

“I know,” Banden said, “I… hope we meet again someday, but… well, thanks for being my friend, Garrett.”

“You too,” Garrett said.

Banden smiled and inhaled a deep breath. His fingers went to his chest where the sigil of Mauravant no longer covered his heart. He looked down at his plain white undershirt and chuckled.

“Feeling underdressed now?” Serepheni asked with a faint smile.

Banden shook his head. “I feel…
free
.”

“Good luck, Banden,” she said.

“You too, both of you,” Banden said, and then he turned and walked out into the shadowy corridor and was gone.

Serepheni hung her head in silence for a moment, and then she sighed and turned to Garrett. “What now?” she asked, “You discovered the secret you were sent to find, and now you’re leaving too?”

Garrett was rubbing absently at his sleeve. He didn’t really know what to do next. He looked at Serepheni and shrugged. “Shelbie tried to kill us last night,” he said, “If I stay, she’ll just try again.”

“What happened?” Serepheni asked, looking more concerned than surprised by Garrett’s revelation.

“We snuck into the temple while all of you were at your big meeting,” Garrett said, “One of the new priestesses was going to show me how skeletons were made, but she was working for Shelbie, and we almost got made into skeletons ourselves.”

“How do you know the Matron was behind it?” Serepheni asked.

Garrett gave her a grim smile. “I can’t think of anyone else here who would want me dead bad enough to try to kill off her own helper just to get me.”

“Frae was part of it?” Serepheni asked, looking a bit sick.

“Yeah.”

“Poor Banden,” Serepheni sighed, “He told me about her… I think he was in love.” She looked at Garrett again. “Are you all right?” she asked.

Garrett blinked, thinking it over. “Yeah,” he said, “Actually, I feel great… I don’t know why, really.”

“Let me check you for wounds,” she said, “Were you bitten?”

Garrett made a quick mental survey of his extremities. “No,” he said, “I got a little scratched up, but I think I’m fine… Oh, I did lose a flask of essence somewhere along the way… You might want to check out the dead guy pit when you get a chance.”

Serepheni frowned at him. “We call it the
Womb
, not the
dead guy pit!
” she hissed under her breath.

Garrett shrugged. “Well, whatever you call it, I don’t think I should go back there looking for the flask.”

“I’ll go look,” Serepheni sighed, running her fingers through her hair.

“Thanks,” Garrett said, scratching at his arm.

She patted her disheveled hair back into place, trying to regain something of her usual regal bearing. “Will you tell Max?” she asked.

“Do you want me to?” he asked.

“No,” she said, “It’s better that he doesn’t know… about any of it.”

“Yeah,” Garrett said, “He was hoping it would be something he could use to make his own skeletons. I guess a giant pit full of worms isn’t really all that portable.”

“No,” she said.

“Where did they come from anyway?” Garrett asked, “I mean, where do you find worms like that?”

She looked at him with a sudden realization. “You don’t know what they are do you?” she asked.

Garrett shrugged.

“Garrett, those are the worms that arose from the earth to devour the body of the Goddess herself after she fell,” Serepheni said, “They ate her flesh and
became
her… Garrett, those worms
are
Mauravant!”

Garrett felt suddenly a bit lightheaded.

“Sit down,” Serepheni said, guiding him over to a chair and lowering him into it.

Garrett ran his hand over his face, trying to wrap his mind around the absurdity of it.

“Did she touch you?” Serepheni asked.

“Yeah,” Garrett said, “She tried to eat me.”

“Then you are truly blessed, Garrett,” Serepheni laughed, “Not many living men can say they’ve been touched by the Goddess!”

Garrett scowled at her.

“Is Banden gonna be all right?” Garrett asked, “I mean since he actually got bitten by… the Goddess of Death.”

“He’ll be fine,” Serepheni chuckled, “I’ve seen such wounds before, many times. Each of the Matrons bears the scar of one… the
Mother’s Kiss
. As far as I know, he is the only male to ever bear one.”

“Oh,” Garrett said, glumly.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Well, now I wish
I
had one,” Garrett said.

Serepheni slapped him playfully on the shoulder. “You’re as bad as Max,” she sighed.

Garrett smiled and got to his feet again.

“Are you going to be all right?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Garrett said, “I don’t know why, but I really do feel fine.”

“Should I tell the others that you’ll be leaving as well?” she asked. Garrett saw a little touch of fear in her eyes, as though she were afraid of losing her last ally.

Garrett shook his head. “I haven’t decided yet,” he said, “I think I want to talk to Matron Brix first.”

“Brix?”

“Yeah, I want to tell her about Banden,” he said, “and I need to figure out what to do about Shelbie. I think she can help.”

“Garrett,” Serepheni said, “you have to stay away from Shelbie! She’s a Matron. You can’t just go accusing her of this… even if she
was
behind it.”

“Yeah,” Garrett said, absently, “No, I won’t try to get her in trouble for this. Nobody would take my word for it anyway… I just need to think about it a little, that’s all.”

“Be careful,” Serepheni said.

“You too,” Garrett said, rubbing his arm again.

“What’s wrong with your arm?” Serepheni asked.

“I dunno, it hurts a little. Maybe I got one of those worm kisses after all,” Garrett said, tugging his sleeve up.

“Garrett!” Serepheni gasped.

Garrett stared down at the bloody runes scratched into the skin of his arm with an expression of utter astonishment. He whispered the message aloud, “
Ask Anna her name.
”

“Did you do that to yourself?” Serepheni asked.

“I… I don’t think so,” Garrett said, “I don’t know where it came from.”

“What does it mean?” Serepheni asked.

Garrett looked at her with a half smile. “I have no idea,” he admitted.

*******

Garrett tried to put the mysterious message out of his mind as he headed down toward the training yard. He found Matron Brix walking her dog in the narrow green between two of the barracks houses.

“Good morning, Matron,” Garrett called out as he approached. “Good morning, Shiv,” he added for the benefit of the little rat-hunting dog beside her.

Shiv growled in response.

“You’re up early this morning, Garrett,” Brix mused, giving his rumpled clothes a hard look, “Or is it up late?”

“A little of both, Matron,” he answered, “We had a kinda bad night.”

“We?”

“Me and Banden,” Garrett said, “That’s part of what I wanted to talk to you about. Banden’s left the temple.”

“What?” she demanded.

Garrett looked around suspiciously. “Is there someplace we could talk, Matron?”

Matron Brix glanced toward the slit windows of the barracks standing to either side and sighed. “Follow me,” she said.

She led Garrett toward a grim, iron-bound door in the outer temple wall. She pulled a dagger-sized key from her belt pouch and shoved it into the rusty lock. It turned with a dull grinding noise, and she yanked the swollen door open with a little difficulty and several tries.

The pale light of morning fell across two very surprised-looking rats in the center of the dusty floor beyond, and Shiv sprang into action without a bark, trailing the freed leash behind him as he disappeared beneath a weapons rack in pursuit of the rodents.

Garrett stood in the doorway, marveling at the rows upon rows of swords, spears, and shields stretching away into the gloom of the enormous storeroom.

“Come on in,” Brix said as she touched a stone rune engraved upon the wall beside the door, and a hundred witchfire sconces flared to life, illuminating the vast armory.

Garrett followed her inside, speechless as he tried to guess how many men could be armed by this stockpile.

Brix closed the door behind him and breathed in a deep breath of the musty tang of oiled steel.

“I like this place,” she said, “It clears the head.”

“Yeah,” Garrett said, examining a long row of archaic shields, each of them nearly as tall as a man. Many of them bore deep battle scars, but seemed ready to serve again at a moment’s notice, and all of them bore the sigil of a twisting rose vine, embossed in silver metal upon their faces of polished wood. Something about the sight of that rose filled him with a strange melancholy.

The death screeches of a rat echoed through the armory, and Brix smiled.

“Now tell me what this is about,” she said.

Garrett considered his answer for a moment, resisting the urge to spill the whole story to the Matron. Were the whole truth to be known, he would not come off well in the telling of it. At last he decided to simplify things a bit. “Banden found out that one of the young priestess had been pretending to like him in order to spy on him… and me… for one of the other Matrons.”

Brix’s face reddened with anger, but she controlled it well enough to answer with a flat, “Go on.”

“Things got a bit… ugly,” Garrett said, “but nobody got really hurt… we could have though, if things had gone differently. After that, Banden thought it would be best if he left.”