The Commander of the Righteous tried to encompass the possibility that nature itself could be enlisted in the Enterprise of Peace and Faith.
Hourli said, “Everything we do for you will profit us twofold.”
He did not see that. He did not understand how his fortunes could shape those of the divinities. He still had trouble seeing the Shining Ones as more than revenant demons.
Hourli told him, “Our rescue simply released us into the larger prison of the middle world. In that we now live under sentence of death, as mortal as you are, though over a longer span. Dear Eavijne has done her best. She found an auspicious place to plant her seeds. The rest of us brought our brightest magic to bear. But the seedlings in this orchard will be shadows of those of the Great Sky Fortress. Their fruit will help, we hope, till we can open a way into Eucereme. The trees will grow strong and true there.”
Had the Aelen Kofer sealed the doorways between all the worlds, or just those to the Realm of the Gods? Evidently the former, at least for now.
Hecht considered Hourli’s remark about nothing happening in a vacuum. Did that apply to the gods as well?
He intuited that the gods in Eucereme were aware of the situation in the middle world. They would want to open doorways, too. They would want to enjoy Eavijne’s apples, too.
Hourli said, “We need not share details but we have discovered ways that we can prosper here, despite the weakening wells of power. Moving with you to your Holy Lands will be part of that. In time, we could return to being major gods again.”
“But for that you need healthy apples.”
“We do, yes, to make it last.”
“And my God, or any of our gods today, don’t concern you?”
“They do not. Their very nature makes them no threat.”
“But!..”
“Your God is everywhere. He sees everything. For those things to be true he gave up the ability to be all-powerful wherever that suited. Once we left the world, and others like us did the same, he needed only be a god who listened and comforted and meddled in small ways, locally. He spread himself out so he could be in touch with every worshipper all the time. Now it would take him an age just to understand that he needed to pull himself back together, then another age to do it. So we’re free to do as we like. All of our divine jeopardy comes from those great primal things that were here before our own advent. With your sister as an ally we destroyed the worst of those. But another, that we do not know, is stirring in a far place called Andesqueluz; Asher, the Mountain, who was the god in that land before the appearance of any of the gods of today. And those, it seems, are all aspects of a son of Asher once connected with wind, thunder, and storms, who was unpredictable and frequently unpleasant.”
“None too smart, either.”
“Yes. The son of Asher shared many of Red Hammer’s less endearing traits. Less so, these days, diffused, of course.” She went on, “Spring will come early and remain cool. You will have an extra ten days to get started. Snow melts will not be catastrophic, despite the heavy falls this winter. They will proceed slowly and steadily. The rivers you need to use or cross will never run too swiftly or too high.”
A flicker where nothing changed made Hecht glance to his left.
Aldi had come straight from her day job as every lad’s fantasy. He felt a stirring himself. He wondered if different men saw different Aldis.
Aldi had nothing to say. She just nodded to Hourli. Hourli told Hecht, “Things are in motion. Our endgames begin.”
Which meant what?
No matter what the Shining Ones contributed, Piper Hecht was not prepared to trust them fully.
Hourli did something with her hands. Her fingers became ropes of smoke. In a moment she was holding a fat candle a foot long that appeared to be purest beeswax. “A gift for you and your Empress. Light it and time will stop for you as it has for us here. Those whose attentions you fear will not realize how long you have been missing. Employ it carefully. You will still age while it burns. It will last a long time but not forever. There won’t be another.” She placed the candle in his hands. It was massive. It had to weigh more than ten pounds.
Hourli smiled a small smile. Hecht thought it might be the very smile the Adversary wore when he presented an irresistible temptation.
“Enjoy, Commander of the Righteous.”
* * *
Hecht wakened in his own bed. He did not remember his transition to the chapel, nor his return. He had a headache. It was dark out still but breakfast smells came from the next room. He heard Carava de Bos talking to somebody who sounded like Titus Consent. Hecht clambered out of bed, hunger driving him.
Consent and de Bos, yes, making free with breakfast foods as they chattered. Their conversation was animated but did not register. Hecht settled into a chair where the steward was already filling a platter.
“And why are you two here? Especially you, Titus. I sent you to command a line company at Hochwasser but here you are, underfoot again.”
“One of your odd female friends woke me up last night. She gave me this.” He tapped a stack of papers half a foot thick. “I read a few pages, decided they were crazy to bring the stuff to me, had a horse readied, and got my ass down here in time to catch Carava going on shift.”
De Bos said, “Carava read a few pages and decided we should be here to share your breakfast.”
“What have we got?”
De Bos said, “Based on the pages I skimmed, transcripts of meetings between people involved in plots against you, the Empress, one another, and the Enterprise. Lots and lots of plots. The third sheet down got me all wet. It tells us where to find Race Buchels and Willem Schimel.”
“Really?” Even the Ninth Unknown had been unable to find those would-be Hecht killers. Schimel had masterminded the attack that had seen Hecht die and be resurrected. “I’d like to sit down with those two.”
Hecht chose a random page. He held it in his left hand while he ate.
He had drawn the record of a conversation between Helspeth’s uncles. Clearly, they meant their pledge to give Helspeth the support they had failed to provide Katrin. They were scheming to rid their Empress of an Elector she and the Commander believed reliable.
“Good stuff,” Hecht muttered, never questioning the facts. He did not doubt the Shining Ones in that.
“Earthshaking stuff,” de Bos said.
“Who else knows?”
Titus pointed. “But only that it’s really important.”
Hecht stared at the steward, who had come with the Still-Patter house. The man froze.
The Commander said, “I think we can control this potential leak.”
De Bos nodded. “I’ll make sure.” At which point the steward began to protest.
“Of course it’s unreasonable,” Hecht told him. “But something is going on and I don’t want you talking about it to your wife, your brother, your best friend, your confessor, or anybody else.”
The steward protested that he would do no such thing, that he knew better, that he never talked about work when he left the house.
“I don’t believe you. You talk to somebody about things you shouldn’t. You all do.”
Titus presented a couple of sheets from high in the pile, chapter and verse about the household staff, including the steward. None of the staffers were spies. But they all had talked to somebody about something, never thinking of that as a violation of security.
Hecht read briefly, aloud. The steward’s eyes widened. “Now, who do you suppose she told?” He did not have that information. His point had gone home. “Titus. Send word to your number one to take over your company. I need you here. Start by talking to all these people who don’t think they’re doing anything wrong. Convince them of the error of their ways.” After scanning only a random few pages he knew that he and Helspeth had some serious housework to do. “Carava, you and Vircondelet drop everything else and focus on this stack. Identify and number each page. Make a separate synopsis. Tell me about anything that needs immediate action. Buhle Smolens hasn’t had enough to do lately. Pile your current work on him. Sedlakova, too. And Brokke, when he gets back. Have we heard from him lately?”