"I am still here," Anastasia said, softly. "My own thoughts are weary and far too familiar. What troubles you?"
"The prince." The redheaded woman's face tightened unconsciously. Her shoulders stiffened and she sat up straighter in the saddle. "I have sent my dead to the blessing fields with great sacrifice-twenty men, or more, I offered up to the hungry spirits on the arena floor. Red blood was spilt, ghostly bellies filled and their way lighted in the darkness. That sacred duty is discharged-but he still lives, in all his monstrous power, still young and hale. I must kill him, I think. But I cannot see how…"
Anastasia brushed a curl from her face. She seemed relieved, her mood lightened. "Do not trouble yourself with the prince. More urgent matters press us-he has sworn himself anew to the Empire, to serve his brother. We will need his strength against Persia."
Thyatis' eyebrows rose in surprise and she turned in her saddle, staring at the Duchess. "Do not trouble? He is monstrous, foul, a necromancer-the murderer of tens of thousands of citizens! We ride in devastation of his making! These things you declared yourself-when you set me upon him, a hound upon his fox, with strict orders to murder him by any means at hand." Thyatis stopped, unable to continue. The enormity of the prince's crimes rendered her speechless.
"I know what I did." Anastasia looked away, out into the night. "It was very foolish. I acted rashly, without consideration. Fear drove me, and you see this"-she lifted a hand-"is the result."
Thyatis reached over and took the reins of the mare. Obediently, the horse stopped, shaking its head in question. The redheaded woman leaned close, her face stricken. "Are you mad? This is the prince's doing-he was on Vesuvius for a reason-he is a monster." Thyatis stopped, a suddenly clear, terrible thought forcing its way into her consciousness. "No…"
Anastasia's eyes were still in shadow, but Thyatis felt the pressure of their gaze. "Yes, daughter. You have read the reports from the East; you have listened to the tales of those who escaped. A thing has risen up-something inhuman, insatiable, so far beyond the prince's blundering crimes as a man is above the worm. By the gods, child, the entire Eastern Empire has been shattered like a clay cup! The West is still weak, our numbers depleted by plague. Already, we have lost two Legions at Constantinople-"
"Oh, this is foul!" Thyatis ripped the cloak away from her shoulders, suddenly flushed with sweat. Her stallion started to buck, then danced sideways, disturbed by the violent motion. "Now the fair, pretty prince is an ally, a tool, a weapon against the Persians? What of all the Roman dead? Does all this"-her finger stabbed out into the dark-"mean nothing to you? Prince Maxian is a murderer-where is Roman justice now? Are you the judge of the twelve tablets?"
"You will be silent!" Anastasia's voice was sharp in the darkness. Thyatis recoiled, and the Duchess rose up in her saddle, face fully visible now, eyes flashing. "I am not a judge, but I have a duty to the Empire, as do you. Emperor Galen accepted his brother's return-in full knowledge of what occurred on Vesuvius-and he, and I, find no pleasure in the act. Maxian is terribly dangerous, but he is still a human being. He loves his brother, he loves Rome, and-look at me! — we need him desperately. He fought the dark spirit to a standstill, far from home, without any aid or support. Persia will press us-I know this-and we will need the prince and all his power."
Thyatis made to speak, but the grim look on the Duchess' face stopped her cold. "Very well." Thyatis nudged the stallion into motion again. "Very well."
Anastasia's breath escaped in a hiss and the mare began trotting to catch up. "Daughter, listen to me. You saw the wheel of fire, in the Emperor's library? The portal opened upon Constantinople?"
Thyatis nodded, though she did not look at Anastasia. The Duchess sighed, quietly. "There are things I must tell you-here, far from Rome and all its spies-there is work for you, if you will take it up."
"What kind of work?" Thyatis glanced over her shoulder, frowning. At the same time there was a tickling sensation in her stomach, a quickening pulse, the bright spark of interest. "I think I've had enough of the Emperor's business."
"This is not for the Emperor," Anastasia said quietly, her tone somber. "This is for the Archer."
"The Archer?" Thyatis was nonplussed. Who is the Archer-oh! "For the goddess?"
"This is Thiran business." Anastasia reined her horse in and motioned for the little light to be doused. Thyatis slid the pole back, then blew gently on the wick. The candle fluttered out, settled to a glowing stub and then died. There was no moon and the desolation was utterly dark. Only the stars glimmered down between silent, rushing clouds.
Anastasia waited, listening, until the night felt still and empty.
"The Daughters of the Archer have a sacred purpose." Her voice was soft in the gloom and Thyatis bent closer, straining to hear. "One part of our task is to ensure certain ancient secrets are not allowed to trouble the world of men. The thing you saw, the wheel of fire, is part of one of those secrets. That device, a telecast, is very old. Until I looked upon it for myself, I would not have believed the Emperors of Rome had come into possession of such a… weapon."
"A-" Thyatis felt a finger press against her lips and fell silent.
"I have learned there is-there was-a second telecast in Constantinople. The mechanism allows an adept to look upon faraway places, to see and to hear what transpires there. If two of the telecasts are conjoined, as the prince effected, a man can move swiftly, instantly, from one device to another. Of itself, this is a powerful tool. But there are more than just two of these devices."
The Duchess sighed again, and shook her head, cursing herself for letting such a critical matter escape her attention. I knew Galen and Heraclius were carrying on secret correspondence! I should have marked its speed, and efficacy, and wormed out this secret… then there might have been time to do something. Before the Prince learned of the thing… before he stepped through the burning door!
"I do not know how many telecasts existed before the Drowning, but there is at least one more, hidden within Thira itself. That telecast has not been used in centuries and I pray it will escape detection. But I fear… I fear the prince and the Emperor will see the great use and advantage in war of these devices and they will seek to find more. If they do, then they may stumble upon Thira itself."
Thyatis laughed, an humorless acid sound. "You will wield one weapon-the prince-but not another? Isn't Rome worth it? What about your duty to the Empire?"
"You are insolent." Anastasia's voice turned cold. "I am a Daughter of the Archer, first, and a servant of Rome second. At the moment, I balance a precarious burden. Listen to me and think upon my words-what is the first edict of the Order? That no man ever be allowed to set foot on holy Thira itself. There is a reason, and the telecast held safe there is a great part of it.
"Possession of the telecasts will neither win nor lose this war for Rome, but their use might destroy Thira and the Order. The prince, if he were aware of the Thiran device, could call upon its power and step through, leaping across the leagues in a thought's instant. He would stand inside the depths of the mountain, within a chamber where no man has ever set foot. My sworn duty-your sworn duty as a Daughter of the Archer-is to prevent just such an event."
"Why? What will happen?"
Anastasia felt a sinking feeling, hearing the simple curiosity in her adopted daughter's voice. "I will not say," the Duchess said. "It is enough for you to know we must contrive a way to destroy the telecast now in the Emperor's possession and prevent any other such device from ever falling into his hands."