Yerin’s smile finally popped back out from its hiding place. She hadn’t wanted Little Blue to think she was laughing at her, because she wasn’t. She was just glad the Riverseed finally trusted her.
It was about time, in her estimation. Yerin had known Blue just as long as Lindon, after all. Ought to be some trust by this point.
Yerin stood and loosened up her shoulders to await the arrival of the Sage and the Archlady. Technically, by allowing them to join her down here, she was cornering herself.
But she’d already tested it out, and her Moonlight Bridge still worked from inside these scripts. The Sage hadn’t snuck anything nasty in there to keep her trapped. Even if he had, she still had her gatestone and a few other surprises.
Plus Little Blue, if it came to that. The spirit couldn’t fight a Sage, but she shared a lot of the power from Lindon’s pure core. And Blue would fight, even against Red Faith, if she had to. She counted as a hidden card.
Just not one Yerin wanted to play.
The Sage of Red Faith and Kahn Mala—the Archlady with her Shadow in the shape of a cobra—fell to the floor of the shaft. Kahn Mala’s lips twisted in distaste when she saw the dirt floor, but she glanced at the Sage and didn’t say anything. Even the snake wrapped around her neck gave Red Faith a wary glance.
“Bright-and-warm welcome to my dirt circle,” Yerin said. “You can help yourself to some dirt.”
Kahn Mala dipped her head to Yerin, then a doorway-sized rift opened next to her. She manipulated force aura so a chair leaped out from her void key and into her hand. “Would you like a seat?”
Yerin plopped herself back down onto the dirt, leaning her back against the stone wall of the shaft.
“…of course,” the Archlady muttered. She sat on the chair.
The Sage was talking to himself as he ran fingers along the scripts he himself had carved. When he was finally satisfied, he activated them.
Some were passive defensive scripts that would only light up when somebody tried to push their way in, but the other rings all up and down the side of the shaft lit red. Yerin felt warm power against her back, power that sang to the blood aspects in her spirit, but it wasn’t uncomfortable, so she didn’t move.
“How many of our people remain loyal to the work?” Red Faith demanded, once the scripts were lit. “How many of them were weak enough to be swayed by shallow deceptions?”
Kahn Mala nodded seriously, as though he’d asked a wise question, and Yerin imagined the woman was used to humoring the Sage. “There is great distress in the Hall over your absence. Most know how much weaker we are without you, and they do not trust Redmoon to rule alone. However…enough were disturbed by your comments about the Phoenix. Those who are not believers are uncertain about your stance, so they are going along with the Herald for now.”
“So we do not have enough support to stage an uprising from within,” Red Faith said. His eyes narrowed. “As has always been our destiny, it must come down to a duel between myself and my Shadow. Are you capable of luring him outside? The circumstances of fighting aboard the Hall do not suit me.”
Which meant he knew he would get stabbed in the back by his own cult members. That was more self-awareness than Yerin had expected from him.
Yerin looked from one to another of them, wishing she had some food. She supposed she could open her own void key and grab some, but the mood didn’t seem right.
The Archlady visibly considered her words before speaking. “The most I can do is weaken the script to allow you inside the Hall’s defenses, but I am…concerned…that a battle between the two of you will result in the destruction of the sect.”
The Sage of Red Faith chewed on his thumb and stared into the distance, but Kahn Mala shifted uncomfortably. She started to speak several times, and eventually couldn’t hold back anymore.
“I’m sorry, Sage, but we don’t have much time. I’m afraid Redmoon has already been in contact with the Bleeding Phoenix.”
“He has,” Red Faith said absently. “The transport of the Hall will begin in less than a day, when Redmoon has gathered enough power to supplement the Dreadgod’s transportation. The Phoenix will summon you to its side, where you will be its drones. No better than those who bow before the Silent King.”
Something in the Archlady crumpled. She sank back into her chair. “Then we are doomed.”
“Your faith in me is shallow.” The Sage cast her a disapproving glance. “Spread the word among those loyal to my cause. Place your lives into my hands, and I will spend them well. We will put our spear through Redmoon’s heart, even if it is with our dying breath, and we will drag him down into defeat and the eternal suffering that he—”