Page 78 of The Sundered Realms

A better showing for her training than their last outing.

Maybe she didn’t need to catch up on spellcraft as fast as all that to matter.

“Why is Jadrhun working with demon servants?” Vhannor asked.

Shry was there in an instant, hissing, “We need to know what the demons have to do with this, not the servants.”

Vhannor shook his head. “Jadrhun’s our enemy now, much as I hate it. I know what demons want—I don’t know what Jadrhun is doing, which means I’m always going to be a step behind him.”

“But you know what he wants,” Shry said. “You don’t know what the demons are doing.”

“Short of infiltrating black flame chapters and taking them apart, I don’t have another way to learn that, and neither do you.”

Liris cleared her throat.

Shry scowled.

“It’s their organizational infrastructure,” Neroth answered as if Shry hadn’t interrupted the brief moment of civility. “Jadrhun’s not making any friends there, nor is he interested in doing so. But it gives him resources who will do what he says.”

Which meant the demons were backing him.

Not what Liris would have asked—Vhannor really was good at this, figuring out the right questions, now that the edge of his anger had burned off.

“If Jadrhun’s not interested in making alliances, why the sudden interest in politics?” Vhannor asked. “What’s he up to?”

“He isn’t,” Neroth answered. “He despises having to deal with people and politics, same as ever. All I know is he’s been making deals and doing questionable favors for different realms and groups within them to get himself free access to Gates. So as for ‘what’s he up to’, which I’ll take as rhetorical since that’s a third question and I can only guess anyway: he’s getting ready for something big, Vhannor. And since Jadrhun’s a caster, he tries to solve every problem with—“

“A spell,” Vhannor finished.

“What kind of spell could be that big?” Liris asked. What was the worst a person could do with spells? “Could he... I don’t know, make a spell to defeat a neighboring realm in one shot? Sic demons on realms his allies don’t like without it coming back to them like a mercenary would?”

“He could promise them anything—it doesn’t mean he can deliver,” Vhannor said. “But since Jadrhun was notorious for his interest in studying Gate magic, I’d guess he’s convinced them he can do something more like sundering a neighboring realm.”

Liris stared.

That was way, way worse.

“Are we done with the priest then?” Shry demanded.

Neroth grinned at her. “Perish the thought.”

It was like everything he said was specifically designed to piss Shry off.

“Yes, we’ll head back,” Vhannor said. “You want to scout ahead?”

Gently done, but a dismissal nonetheless. By the flash of fury on Shry’s face she knew it, but then again—

“Leave this place? With pleasure,” she said. “As long as you remember to care about the people actually on your side.”

Vhannor glared at her. Shry’s long white hair whipped behind her as she turned on her heel and then vanished, the doors banging closed behind her.

“Well,” Neroth said, taking his sword back to the altar, because apparently with Shry gone he no longer felt he needed it. “She’s a delight.”

Vhannor sighed. “She did have a point. I was unfair to you.”

“I am confident that is not at all what she meant,” the priest drawled.

Liris glanced away.

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