Page 106 of Sanctifier

I need to see, Ru thought. At last, shadows began to form in her vision, dark shapes moving against a murky field.

“Well done, Aharis.” Lady Bellenet’s voice was cold. “She shows great promise. She was stronger than I had expected. The guard was unable to subdue her, as you can see. But I am gratified by the progress we’ve made today.”

“Are you indeed,” Taryel said, anger lacing his words. “Fascinating. Tell me, what did you do to her? What pushed her over the edge?”

“The academics,” said Lady Bellenet. “They were irritants. Delara defied me. She needed to be controlled.”

“Do you forget,” Taryel said, and Ru could tell that he was holding back, could hear his anger threatening to burst through clenched teeth, “that they’re her closest friends? Do you think she’ll do anything you ask of her now? You played your hand too soon.”

The woman hesitated, then said, “There was no other way.”

“No otherway?” Taryel demanded.

As the two of them argued, one of the shadows in Ru’s vision edged closer to the far wall. The shape’s height, its movements — it was Taryel. And the other form must be Lady Bellenet, retreating in the face of him.

“I’ve been obedient,” Taryel growled, “despite your threats against her, the fact that you held her friends as hostages… and now you hover on the cusp of asking too much.”

Lady Bellenet scoffed. “Too much of you, the avatar of a god? Surely, you jest. Ru is a tool. Aconduit. There are greater things at stake. I thought you understood me, Aharis. None of this matters. Her friends are notdead.” She paused. “Or is it that you never embraced the concept of eternity? That you’ve played along like a good boy, only to lose your faith at the end?”

“I’m not agood boy—”

The argument turned from heated words to traded insults. Ru’s attention turned to a sudden movement at the edge of her clouded vision. Squinting, as colors slowly resolved, she realized that it was Hugon. He approached her slowly, with careless movements, perhaps to check that Ru was still there, still breathing.

He crouched at her side, and she jerked away.

“Be still,” he muttered. In her half-blindness, the hollows of his eyes seemed to swallow his face, as if a skull were watching her.

Ru spat, an attempt at derision, but the wad of blood and spit fell only inches from her face. She coughed, spluttering.

“Charming,” said Hugon.

The voices on the other side of the room grew louder, sharper. They were speaking over one other, the argument reaching a head.

“What do you want?” Ru croaked. Her throat still stung as if she had swallowed nails.

“Listen,” said Hugon, his voice just above a whisper, “if I’m right, Taryel is about to reach his breaking point. No doubt he’ll brandish one of the many knives he keeps hidden on his person. If my lady had known he was so armed, she would have confiscated them, of course, but… I never told her.”

Ru blinked hard. “What…”

But Hugon pressed a finger to her blood-encrusted lips, glancing over one shoulder.

Why was Hugon doing this? Ru couldn’t wrap her head around it. He was a coward. Too afraid to save himself, let alone Ru.

“Now,” he hissed, hooking his hands under her arms, lifting her roughly to her feet. “Go. Now.”

Ru stood frozen, her mind trying to catch up to reality. She could hardly see, and the stairway was nothing but a hollow black blur.

“What?” she pleaded. “Where?”

“I don’tcare.” Hugon let go of her and moved between her and the others, blocking her from sight. Ru’s senses seemed to heighten then — she could feel the taut tremble of Hugon’s muscles, his labored breathing. He was putting himself in danger, taking a risk, at long last, for her.

There was an unmistakable sing of steel, a drawn blade. Lady Bellenet must be armed as well. Taryel made some sarcastic, laughing remark.

Ru took one hesitant step toward the stairs, then stopped. He had spoken of sparing her from pain, shielding her from Lady Bellenet’s punishment. But to defy his lady right in front of her… “Why are you doing this?”

The shadow of Hugon, ghostly and dim, was impossible to read. “It ought to be obvious by now, Delara.” Pain laced his words. “For love.”

She heard in his voice that he spoke the truth.

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