Page 98 of The Oracle of Dusk

“Did you plan to use these few days until the gates open sifting through the ancient relics?”

A blush crept up her neck.

“Maybe.”

He might have laughed if the fate of Trisia didn’t depend on slaying her beast. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. There wasn’t anywhere else in Boreas he knew to hide. Perhaps his spies had a safe house or two, but that would mean potentially outing his spy network in Viridis. Damn, he shouldn’t have been so shaken by the beast she’d shown him. He should have stopped to think.

Out of options and with daylight wasting, he nodded his head and gestured for her to lead the way.

“Once we get to the temple district, go to the back of the temple of Knowledge. I’ll get the rations and join you there.” She handed him her small pack. “For safekeeping,” she added.

They trekked through the city and he was struck by the eerie quiet. Stray dogs fought over scraps from rubbish heaps while the stench of death and smoke clogged the air. Moaning and weeping could be heard coming out of the odd window or rickety door, but most of the city waited with bated breath, fearful of drawing the attention of angry spirits with even a single whimper.

They only saw the odd person, giving each other wide berths as they passed, or simply turning away to go down a different street. But soon they would come across some of the temple clerics. Passion’s acolytes and initiates were responsible for finding the dead, recording their passing, and transporting their bodies to designated pyres to be consecrated and burned. Death, Passion’s sinister twin, might not be openly worshipped, but Passion had taken over Her rites since dualism had gone underground.

The closer they got to the temple district, the more of Passion’s people were in the streets, going into homes and apartments and bringing out the decaying dead. With the plague winding down, they’d begun clearing the city of corpses. It would take them days to sweep the city. Three days, if Aurora’s vision were true. He held Aurora back as one group of acolytes entered the nearest building, waiting until they were ensconced before he ushered her to walk quickly passed. They dodged four more groups before they came into the heart of the temple district. Here, there were a great many more people, either begging at the temple of Passion, or wailing at the temple of Knowledge. Justice’s people were there to keep the peace, to resolve disputes among the bereaved and starving.

“Are you certain you’ll be alright alone?” he asked.

“Yes. Go slip behind the temple of Knowledge and make sure no one notices you. Do you remember how to get into the basement there?”

“I do, mostly.”

He’d informed his people of the basement, but none had managed to open it yet. Finding one brick among thousands was no easy task. He remembered its general vicinity, but that was all.

“Good enough. I’ll be there shortly.”

She went to join the messy queue of Boreas’ hungry citizens. He kept his eyes on her as long as he could, but with her short stature, she was quickly swallowed by the crowd. It seemed there were perks to being so small.

But just as he turned to find his way behind the temple of Knowledge, a contingent of royal guards spilled into the plaza. It was then that he knew their bid for freedom had been doomed by his absence from the vivarium. The guards would not have bothered with Aurora, as she’d managed to stay hidden for days without arousing their suspicion. He shouldn’t have let his fear overrule his better judgment. He should have let his spies secret her away in the dead of night. If he gave himself up now, would that be the end of it? Would they consider their quarry caught? He had to hope so.

Theron marched into the centre of the plaza and was immediately surrounded. It drew the attention of the people gathered outside the temples so that most of the eyes were trained on him. He could only pray that Aurora could see it and would know to stay away. They pulled and pushed him to the ground, binding his hands behind his back. Another pulled her satchel from him and searched it.

“He has a dress in here,” the guard remarked, puzzled.

Another guard pushed his way into the group surrounding him—one missing an ear. He ripped the dress from his fellow’s hand, glaring at it and Theron in turn as his mind turned slowly.

“A dre—the temple’s prisoner has escaped! Find her!” the earless guard shouted.

Shit.

“Couldn’t leave your whore behind, could you, dog?” the guard sneered at him. “Well if she’s good enough to tempt a king, perhaps we should have some fun with her when we get back to the vivarium.”

“I didn’t realise you were so eager to lose another ear.” Theron grinned.

If she were a prisoner of the temple in truth, then there would be little he could do to protect her within the bounds of the law. If the temple saw fit to toss her into the vivarium, then they’d resigned her to a fate like those who had been left to rot there—with all the attendant predations. But if she were tied to him in some way, he could reasonably interfere on her behalf, in a legal sense, at least. But there was no priestess here to consecrate a royal concubinage. Outside of that, all he had were threats and violence, which would land him in deeper trouble with Flora and her disgusting daughter. Theron was once again left praying that Aurora would escape their search or that his threats would be enough to prevent violence against her.

Theron watched from the corner of his eye as the guards pushed through the crowds of the hungry and desperate, ruthlessly shoving aside any who were too slow to comply with their orders. Clerics of both Passion and Justice took umbrage, pushing back and defending the crowds. Perhaps Aurora could use the distraction to slip away.

“There!” shouted one of the guards.

Those who could disengage from the clerics pursued a small figure through the startled crowds.

“Got her! I have her!” one of the guards shouted.

Aurora was hauled into the circle of guards, now very much on the defensive with the riled-up clerics. The guard gripped her by her hair and her forearm, which he’d twisted behind her back as he shoved her forward.

“Let go of me! Let go!” Aurora screamed.

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