Page 123 of Forged in Flame and Shadow

We reach the outer wall in good time, fanning out along it. Then we take a moment for the four of us—me and the fae—to don our disguises. It feels wrong wearing the red of the Temple—all on its own, the color makes me vaguely nauseous—but I pull on the robes anyway, hoping I won’t have to wear them for long.

One of the rebels sits down in the grass and concentrates. About three minutes later, a flash of movement in the grass catches my eye, and a small, brown rabbit hops right into the woman’s waiting hands. She stares into its black eyes for a moment, then releases it, and we watch the rabbit bound around the corner in the direction of Bastion’s gates.

“Well, that’s the cutest lookout I’ve ever seen,” I whisper, and Alastor chuckles quietly. We wait, and every minute we standexposed against the stone, I picture the clerics on the other side, preparing to attack us. An excruciating amount of time later, we hear the chiming of a bell from inside the walls and the rumbling of hundreds of feet heading in the same direction.

“Prayer time,” Mal mouths to us.

A few minutes more, and the noise of acolytes piling into the sanctuary has died down enough for me to make out some raised voices. The rabbit comes bounding back into view, its nose twitching excitedly.

“Time to go,” the woman says, and the rebels gather around me, Leon, Alastor, and Eryx.

We’ve practiced this at the base, but I still look to Leon for reassurance as thick vines start to wind their way up the wall thanks to a geostri rebel. Another, an aesteri, crouches by my feet, producing hazy patches in the air to serve as steps.

Eryx and Leon take the vines, climbing them with so much grace and ease I feel like a stumbling toddler trying to navigate my route up the wall.

“Don’t overthink,” Alastor reminds me as I step onto the first hazy spot, letting it take my weight, then hauling my foot up to the next. That’s this aesteri’s gift: she can pressurize the air so that it’s almost a solid surface, but only for a few seconds. I move from point to point until I can hook my arms onto the top of the wall and pull myself up onto it.

The roof of a laundry house sits just below the wall, and I quickly roll down onto it before anyone can spot me. That’s why we had to come over at this point—it has the best cover.

Leon’s already waiting on the ground with Eryx. I scooch down to the edge of the roof and allow him to lift me down the rest of the way. Alastor follows close behind me.

“Right,” Eryx gives me a rare grin. “Let’s go cleric hunting.”

We’re counting on at least one of the senior clerics considering themselves exempt from the ritual of the daily prayers. I keep my eyes peeled as we move through the buildings for the telltale glimpse of red robes other than ours.

I can hear the chanting from the sanctuary, a low drone that echoes through the complex. Mal’s right, it is extremely creepy. A door closes nearby, and Leon sprints around the corner toward the noise. There’s a muffled cry, and we hurry around to find him with his hand over a senior cleric’s mouth, a blade against the man’s throat.

“There’s a codex Caledon’s been using here in Bastion,” he growls into the cleric’s ear. “And you’re going to tell us where to find it.”

“OrIcould just ask him,” Alastor suggests. “Might be quicker.”

Leon frowns at him. “I thought you said you weren’t at full strength.”

Alastor shrugs. “I think I can manage this.”

He steps up to the wide-eyed cleric, letting his magic fizz around him.

“Where will we findThe Codex of Atolus?” Alastor asks.

Leon removes his hand from the cleric’s mouth, allowing him to answer.

“It’s in the proctor’s study,” he says, looking at Alastor like the blond fae is his best friend.

“And where is that?” Alastor asks.

“In the sanctuary, on the left off the main hall.”

“Shit,” I say. Most of Bastion is crowded into the one place we need to go.

“Thank you,” Alastor says to the cleric. The man smiles, glad to have pleased his friend. Then Leon slides his blade across the cleric’s throat.

I look away as they hide the body in a gap between the buildings. It’s not like I’m surprised at what Leon did. It was the simplest, safest way to ensure this cleric wouldn’t be a problem for us. I still wish the death wasn’t necessary, even the death of a child-stealing, brainwashing cleric like him.

We get as close as we dare to the sanctuary for now, staring at its thick wooden doors. Now that we’re closer, I can make out some of the words of the chant:

“…to serve and obey the messenger of Ethira on earth.

As the gods will it.

---