Page 63 of Blood Sanctuary, Part Two

Kassandra fastened the door on both lanterns and gave Lio a knowing smile. “The Vigil of the Gift is not only a time for giving your Ritual parents presents. This night is also dedicated to seeking their advice.”

“I have a matter of great import to discuss with you. Perhaps the most important question I have ever asked you.”

She waited and listened, as always. If she already knew what he was about to say, she gave no indication. Lio had learned long ago she would let him tell her. She often said speaking with one another was more important than anything they had to say.

Lio rested his hands on his knees. “I cannot sit idle while the envoys search for the hostages. I will do everything in my power to help them from here. I know the Queens have bade me pursue the Summit’s original purpose, but bringing our people home may prove the key to rescuing the Summit as well. If I can secure the hostages’ release through negotiation, it will not only save them, but might also restore Orthros and Tenebra’s faith in the Summit.”

“You intend to bargain with the Dexion for the release of our Hesperines errant.”

“Yes. If I can diffuse the situation he is using to ruin the Summit, there will still be a chance for peace with the Tenebrans—and a hope of halting the Departure. To accomplish that, however, I need bargaining power.” Lio gentled his tone, wary of causing her pain. “The one thing the Order might be willing to trade for is the Akron’s Torch.”

Kassandra smiled. “Now that is a bold idea.”

“One worthy of a bloodborn, I hope.”

“Tell me more.”

“The mages are only using the hostage crisis to incite conflict. They will construe any response as hostile. They do not care whether we meet their demands or not. But if we meet their demands with the Akron’s Torch, we will make them care. The Torch not only holds great power, but it is asymbolof the Order’s power.”

“And their humiliation.”

“To be sure. To gain such a real advantage over us, but especially to restore face, they might be willing to sacrifice the opportunity to justify war that the hostage crisis presents. Of course, they will try to start the war some other way, and they will have the Torch to wield against us.”

“But our hostages will be home.”

Lio nodded and pushed away all the doubts it was too late to consider. “I have often asked Rudhira and Father what became of the Torch, but Methu only told them he put it somewhere safe. So I wanted to ask you, although I know it is difficult to think back on that time, if Methu mentioned anything to you that might give us a clue as to the Torch’s whereabouts.”

“I would do much more for the hostages’ sake than face a few painful memories. I’m glad you’ve asked.”

“Thank you, Ritual Mother. If Methu said anything, or if your sight has revealed a hint about the Torch, it is our best hope. I realize the odds are slim that we will be able to discover an artifact that’s been missing for over a hundred years. Even if we can, who knows how difficult it may be to retrieve it from its hiding place, or if it’s even possible to reach it in time. But we must try.”

Kassandra tapped her chin. “Let me think. Hmm.”

“Any detail, however insignificant, might prove relevant.”

She poured herself another cup of coffee, then reached for the silk storage box she always kept under her loom. She flipped back the lid and pulled out a skein of yarn. She always said she could see more clearly with silk in her hands. She took hold of the loose end that had escaped the skein and began to wind it round and round.

Then she tucked the end in, set the skein aside, and began to methodically remove each skein of yarn and spool of thread from the silk box.

When light began to shine out from between the skeins and spools, a chill went down Lio’s spine. He watched his Ritual mother lift away the silk that was so potent with her magic to reveal what she had hidden underneath.

She grinned. “I am a very safe place.”

Lio let out a breath of wonder and bent over the box with her.

The Akron’s Torch was a pillar of solid gold inlaid with precious gems and engraved with tiny, detailed scenes from Anthrian myth. Inside a filigreed cage at the top, a mass of spell light flared and ebbed. Lio looked into it, but it did not make his skin crawl or fill his mouth with the taste of destruction. How strange. It reminded him of how sun had felt on Cassia’s back in her memory of gardening.

“It looks the part of a fabled treasure, doesn’t it?” she asked.

“The Order of Anthros would come up with such an opulent symbol of their might. You’ve had it right here all this time?”

“If you want to keep up with something, entrust it to your mother.”

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

“Only if you fear it.” A tiny bauble of light floated out of the cage and into her hand.

Lio looked from that bauble to the dozens of stained glass lanterns gleaming around her weaving room, on the coffee table, from the rafters, atop her scroll racks and over her loom. “It’s been right here in front of me all these years.”

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