Page 142 of Grave Situation

“Talon? Has something happened? I only spoke to you this afternoon.”

Was it only a few hours ago? Eons have passed since then.

“We’re all okay,”I begin, and his mental concern ratchets up to alarm.“There was another zombie attack. More of them, this time.”

His vicious expletive gives me an odd sense of satisfaction.“How do they keep finding you? If there was anywhere I’d have thought you safe, it would have been Caimae.”

I pause. I hadn’t thought about that, but howdidthey know to come here? If they’d been following us through the fields before we reached the hills, we would have noticed—it’s not like there were a lot of places to hide. There’s nobody here who could have sent word of where we are; and anyway, we only just arrived. Even coming upriver in a good boat, they would have needed to be close already.

There’s really only one way.

“I think I might know,”I say slowly.“Let me tell you the rest first.”I quickly explain how Peiris saved me and Arimen and that the stone confirmed they’re coming with us, then launch into a rundown of what they’ve told us.

I’m barely finished when Master says,“Someone with a copy of the Baswich prophecies is in league with the necromancer behind this all.”

“It seems that way,”I agree.“Perhaps even the necromancer themselves. But I heard a line or two, and even if their prophecies have more information than ours, they’re still not a simple list of instructions. This is someone educated who’shad time to study and interpret the documents. Or it’s someone in the Baswich Empire—but the zombies have been finding us almost from the beginning, and from what Peiris has said, I don’t think anyone could have traveled here faster than them.”

“There is the possibility that we have a leak here,”Master concedes grimly.“We already know someone leaked news of the stone to the temples. It’s possible they were more highly placed than we thought.”

“A councilor?”I wish the idea was more shocking to me, but it’s really not.“Let’s not borrow trouble. But… maybe don’t share everything I’ve told you tonight. Wait and see who already seems to know we’re looking for a godsborn.”

There’s a sharp little pause as we both ponder how fantastical that is.“A godsborn,”Master echoes.“I thought them children’s stories.”

“So did I. It’s concerning, since apparently they’re accepted reality in the Empire. Has there been an effort to prevent us from knowing the truth? Or do our gods just not spend much time with us here?”I’m not sure which option is worse.

“I’ll do some research and see what I can find out—quietly. What are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know,”I admit.“I’m hesitant to leave here without knowing what direction to go—and truthfully, I think we could all use a break before we tackle the hills again. But we’ve had very low supplies for a while now, and the stone said we’d be able to resupply soon, which we obviously can’t here. Leicht suggested I ride him to a town and bring back what we need. That might be the best idea—it would give the others a day or so to rest and let us stock up again before we face whatever’s next.”

“Hm, that does sound wise. It also gives me time to find something that might help you. The stone wants you to succeed, so I imagine there are clues for us somewhere.”

“Let’s just hope we find them before it’s too late.”

CHAPTER FORTY

I wakewith a start and thrash against the hand clamped over my mouth. Leicht surges to wakefulness, but then relaxes, and I let my eyes focus in the dim starlight filtering through the skylights.

Jaimin crouches over me, a finger held to his lips, and my muscles untense. He must feel it, because he removes his hand and gestures for me to follow him.

Only the promise of some private personal time with Jaimin could get me out of my warm blankets on a cold night, and even then I take a second to wish we had a cozy bed to snuggle in together instead of having to go find a poky, chilly stone room.

But I follow him anyway. A man has to prioritize.

As soon as the door closes behind me, I reach for him in the darkness. “Next time you want to be spontaneous, can you plan to have a nice, comfortable inn nearby?”

He kisses me, then steps back. “I don’t think you know what spontaneous means. We’re not doing that. I need to talk to Master Samoine.”

What? My brain isn’t awake enough to process this. I create a dim magelight, just bright enough for me to see his face. “Huh?”

“I couldn’t sleep, and I thought of something. I need to talk to him now.”

Rubbing my eyes, I say, “Wait. You woke me because you want me to wake my master in the middle of the night?”

“Yes.” There’s an edge of impatience in his voice now.

“Why?”

“Because I need to talk to him. Now.”

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