Two: The Long Path

The catacombs under Kiel's house temple had always been a comfort. They were quiet and serene, the only company the dead and those who cared for them, and Deladrina saw the winding, echoing tunnels as her home.

"There are three new charges today," Cleric Maniel said. Dela and two other acolytes followed the end of the priestess's gold-hemmed black robe down the main branch of the catacombs, past door after door of sealed burial chambers. "One has paid for a chamber here, and the other two will be interred at smaller temples."

People with money, then, Dela thought. Only people with lots of money could afford a vault in any temple, let alone the main House temple. Most were buried on the city outskirts. There wasn't room in Shadow's Reach for graveyards, not even when Kiel was the only House who didn't burn their dead. The only exception was Nict, but Nict was tiny, and no one seemed entirely clear on what their practices were.

"You will observe today," Maniel continued. Her crisp voice rebounded off the arched ceilings. Despite the bare stone surrounding them, it wasn't cold. Braziers burned along the passages, and the thick tunnel walls helped keep the warmth in. "And then you will join in the sermon upstairs."

Dela felt a jolt of excitement. All the girls had been whispering that Lady Kerrin was leading the sermon today, and Kerrin was the best at sermons. Dela had sneaked out of penance to watch them before. She dreamed of being like Kerrin one day, though she knew as an acolyte of the Long Path she would never be considered for High Priestess. She had a chance to get onto Kerrin's council when she joined the priesthood, though. It was a compromise she would be happy to make.

She focused on what Cleric Maniel was saying before she caught herself a flogging for inattention. If she tripped on the priestess's robe and landed herself in a Contemplation cell there would be no sneaking out to see Kerrin's service.

"You know the protocols," Maniel said, "no touching, no speaking, only observation. Your time will come."

The arched hallway split into two branches, and Maniel led them to the left, which continued on as far as Dela could see. By the time she gained her robe, she would know these catacombs like the back of her hand, but even after a year of training she found their endless stretches dizzying. After growing up on the plains, the tunnels had at first seemed claustrophobic and her first few weeks had been riddled with panic.

Maniel led them through an open doorway, into a room that was pungent with herbs. The light burned low and centred over the priests, to keep the soul close. Maniel ushered them into a line in a patch of shadow at the back of the room and then closed the door behind her. The walls were so thick that Dela didn't hear her walk away.

The priests didn't acknowledge their presence, having eyes only for their charge. Lin's arm brushed Dela's, and the fellow acolyte's fingers wriggled into hers. Lin never liked the observations, and Dela had never understood why she had been assigned to the Long Path when she was so squeamish about death. Still, Dela was grateful for her company.

The other priests in the room also wore black edged with gold, though their garb was more practical than Maniel's, hemmed in tight so that it didn't get in the way. There were two of them. They both wore Kiel's supplicating hands stitched onto their breast pockets, and black masks covered their lower faces. Between them, below the lantern, was a stone slab, and on the stone slab was a dead man.

Dela wasn't squeamish, but she was starting to wonder if she would ever observe the dead with the same ease that ordained priests of her order did. They worked with reverence, but also with ruthless efficiency, washing the body and perfuming it with herbed oils as smoothly as if it was rehearsed. The organs were removed quickly and precisely and placed into clay burial jars, which were pieces of art in themselves.

Dela had seen more than one of these preparations, but still she watched with her eyes glued to the priests' hands while they worked with needle and thread, delicate metal tools, brushes and small pots of pigment. They brushed out his hair, cleaned him, dressed him, and slipped in the eye-caps, all without hesitating.

There was a certain calm to the whole process, and Dela slipped into the rhythm. In her third year she would be trained to do this herself, but until then it was scripture, discipline and observation. She had resigned herself to that, but at times it chafed her. Back home, before she had come to Shadow's Reach, children learned their trade at their mother's knee or from the back of their father's mount, and the price of getting it wrong was injury and disapproval; but then you tried again, and tried and tried until you got it right. Dela had felt much more useful that way, but she had quickly learned that city life was very different to the plains. If she wanted to be of extra use she could volunteer to clean the latrines, and no matter how restless she felt that was not something she was prepared to do.

The hanging lantern above the priests flickered, and for the first time one of them looked up from their work. Dela's heart sped up. The air in the chamber was still. There was no draught to catch the flame, and up until that moment it had burned steadily. Perhaps the man's soul was abroad. Dela had never seen one before, and wasn't even certain you could, only the demons ate something so she knew they were real.

The flame shimmered again, harder this time, and then went out like something had blown it. Dela froze as the darkness closed around them, thick as a blanket.

Lin's fingers squeezed Dela's until it hurt, but she was grateful for the contact in the dark. It was absolute, no lines of light even under the door. She strained her hearing. Quiet footsteps crossed the room, and then a scratch and hiss revealed one of the masked priests in the weak light of a match. Dela breathed out again. She was used to darkness, but it never meant anything good if you hadn't expected it to be dark. The priest led them to the door, and Dela grabbed Taria's hand behind her. The three of them shuffled in a single-file line, following the match. No matter how much she strained, she couldn't see the body or what the other priest was doing, and as soon as the door was open they had been bundled roughly through and shut out.

The three acolytes stood blinking in the sudden light of the corridor. They couldn't leave without Maniel, but the priests inside clearly weren't going tell them what had just happened or what to do now.

"The lantern's not supposed to go out," Taria whispered, glancing again at the door and bunching her fists under her chin. "It means the soul escaped."

"You made that up," Lin accused, though she also looked uncertain. "No one ever mentioned that in class."

They both turned to Dela, as if she was the deciding vote, but Dela didn't know what to think. The lantern wasn't supposed to go out, but if it had been a sign that the soul was loose, the priests wouldn't have opened the door at all. They must have finished the rituals before the lantern went out, which meant...what?

She opened her mouth to speak, but at that moment footsteps echoed through the halls and Maniel came into view from the opposite direction. She startled at seeing them there, and then her expression turned stormy, presumably thinking they had misbehaved. Dela stepped forward to intercept a swift disciplinary.

"The lantern went out," she said. Cleric Maniel paused, temper doused. She looked at the closed door and her jaw set, and for a horrible moment Dela thought that they were still in trouble.

But the Cleric only sighed shortly through her nose. "You may go to the sermon hall early. Come."

Taria scurried up to the priestess's elbow. "Does it mean the soul escaped?"

"I am not answering questions," Maniel replied, in a tone that brooked no argument. Taria took the hint and fell back, and the three of them exchanged suspicious looks.

Maniel didn't say another word to them, but after ushering them onto the acolyte benches at the side of the sermon hall, she left in a hurry, back in the direction of the catacombs. Dela watched her go with narrowed eyes; Lin caught her gaze and shrugged, worry twisting the side of her mouth.

No one else in the hall had noticed the Cleric acting strangely. Though it was early for the sermon, the benches were mostly full already. All through the dark season the temple had been quiet, but now that the season was coming to an end and the demons had fallen back into somewhat normal patterns, people were returning. The temple could justify lighting all the tapers and using the big bronze pulpit, instead of just illuminating the acolyte benches with the priest standing on a box. The sermon hall was Dela's favourite part of the temple, a cavernous space of cream and bronze, artfully carved pillars, lightly scented candles. The pews were upholstered in cream with gold borders, and two large banners with Kiel's Prayer printed on them hung either side of the arched temple entrance. The vast doors were open, and people were still drifting in.

Dela's second favourite part of the temple was its visitors.

Kiel was worshipped by all manner of people, from every part of society. It was the biggest religious house in the Reach, and for good reason – no other house was so accepting of everybody, rich or poor, regardless of race. Dela would not have been able to serve in the temple of any other house with her Varthian heritage. The Varthians did not believe in temples, and their holy men and women were put through brutal trials, belonging to no tribe and every tribe at the same time. Something had never quite sat right with Dela about the Wild God.

Of course, House Nict took anyone willing – but there weren't many willing.

She watched merchant families file in wearing well-kept but modest clothing; rich fops with coats in beautiful colours, and ladies in beautiful gowns. Beggars and beggar children, stonemasons still covered in dust, serving maids and mothers with babies, schoolchildren, factory workers – a whole cross-section of society filed into the pews together. In prayer, everyone was equal.

"Sap," Lin muttered, grinning. Dela schooled the smile off her face and, after a quick glance around for any watching priests, pinched Lin's elbow.

"Look," Taria hissed from her other side. At first, Dela couldn't see what she was pointing at, as a group of burly builders had just shuffled into a back pew nearby, but then she saw – Lady Kerrin, heading for the pulpit.

The Lady Kerrin had been the head of the House long before Dela had arrived, but the woman must have come to the post young, or was exceptionally good at carrying her age. Straight-backed, with long silvery hair currently clasped with gold, she wore a pale yellow gown and a white cloak for the service. Jewellery glittered at her throat and in her ears. She could have entered the room with a glowing halo and Dela wouldn't have been surprised. All the acolytes adored her; it was impossible not to. It added some credence to the rumour – which had even reached Dela's tribe on the plains – that the High Lord Harkenn had tried to court her once.

The hall settled to quiet. Two priests heaved the doors closed, and despite the vastness of the temple hall, the buttery warm glow of candles and shifting presence of hundreds of bodies made it seem cosy.

Acolytes had filed into the benches behind them in the meantime, and Dela thanked Kiel that she had arrived early. She had the best view of the pulpit from where she stood.

"Announcements," Kerrin said. She didn't speak loudly, but the silence that had fallen when she reached the top of the steps was so absolute that it carried easily. She smiled around at everyone, and Dela realised that the Lady looked tired. "All our triage centres have been converted into soup kitchens, with the exception of the centre on Old Church road. All kitchens will be able to provide rudimentary medical care, but if the case is severe, please take yourself to the Medica or a community shelter." She paused. "Our Clerics have also set up a community drive in three city quarters to trade or donate goods, skills and food with neighbours."

A murmur went around the sermon hall. It was difficult to tell what the consensus was on the announcement, but Dela was sure she sensed some unease. As guiding hands in the community, reading people's intentions with as much accuracy as possible was a good skill for priests to have, and the acolytes were trained in close observation early. There was definitely some ill feeling gathered in the hall, but it was hard to tell whether it was because of Lady Kerrin's words or something else.

"There will also be a drive to help those in need cover warding costs if their property or livelihood has been severely impacted by this season's events." Kerrin paused, swallowed. A collective shiver ran through the room. The demons had been a terror this season, and Harkenn's wall had fallen for the first time since it was built. "I have spoken to representatives of the Unspoken guild about implementing this scheme."

"They should do it for free," someone muttered. The hall had been so silent, however, that it would have been hard not to hear it. There were a few mutterings of agreement, but for the most part the audience seemed to be waiting for what Kerrin would say.

"I should impress upon you all," Kerrin said, face tightening - it was the only sign the words had affected her, "that we have all suffered this season. Many of us are grieving. And all of us need to eat."

"Eat what exactly?" whispered a woman in the pew nearest Dela. "Cobwebs?"

A quiet susurration grew in volume as Kerrin shuffled her papers and handed them off to one of the Clerics, leaving Kiel's holy book open on the stand in front of her. She continued the service as if she didn't notice the continued disquiet in her gathering as neighbours turned to each other to discuss recent events. Dela caught snatches of talk about food stores and mutilated livestock, dead Unspoken and the High Lord Harkenn, whom no one had seen in the city for days. She tried to concentrate on Kerrin's words, but even she was drawn into the anxiety of the atmosphere. She knew things were bad, but she hadn't known they were this bad. The Kelian temple always ensured that their acolytes were looked after, though the fact that Dela had not seen the senior priests eat at midday meals for the last week took on a sinister hue.

Movement caught her eye at the back of the hall; Maniel had returned, standing with clasped hands behind the gathering with a peculiar look on her face. Dela nudged Lin and inclined her head towards the Cleric.

"She looks like something bad happened," Lin whispered. "Do you think it's to do with that escaped soul?"

"We don't know that's what it was," Dela said, somewhat doubtfully. There was a pause in the sermon, and in that interval Maniel hurried forward, picking up her skirts to edge down the side of the pews. Dela stared. Kelian Clerics were the definition of calm – though she had always thought Maniel stretched the definition a little, Dela would never have expected to see her almost running. And in front of a congregation, too.

Kerrin frowned, a delicate downturn of her mouth, and leaned down from the pulpit as the Cleric reached her. Maniel whispered something in her ear, and her face changed in an instant.

"I will hand you over to my colleague for the remainder of the sermon while I deal with some internal affairs," Kerrin said. Maniel waited at her elbow, face pinched. "Blessed be your journeys."

Kerrin didn't lose her composure like the Cleric had, but her exit was rushed. Dela watched her go with the same slack-jawed surprise on many faces in the crowd, including some of the priests. Another Cleric stepped up to take Kerrin's place, but she was quickly drowned out by rising voices, full of speculation as to what kind of internal affairs would have the head of the House rushing out in the middle of a service.

The Cleric quickly gave up on bringing order, and it wasn't long before the great temple doors were opened again, spilling gossiping civilians into the street beyond. Dela and Lin exchanged a look as the acolytes filed off the benches and started wending their way back to the dormitories. Their procession was no quieter.

"Want to see if it was our mystery lantern?" Taria hissed behind them. Her brown eyes were bright with excitement when Dela looked back. "I remember the way."

"I'm not getting flogged for that," Lin remarked, then caught the look on Dela's face. "Oh, no. Looks like I am."

With Lin still grumbling behind her, Dela followed Taria down a branching corridor and a flight of steps to reach the central chamber of the catacombs. They'd barely taken two steps inside when they heard voices. Dela pulled Lin behind a pillar just in time for Maniel to enter with the Lady Kerrin. Dela caught her breath. She had only been this close to Kerrin once before in her life.

"...don't understand how it happened," Maniel was saying. "It was a sealed room. There's nowhere for a thief to go!"

"Calm," Kerrin said, though the Lady also sounded rattled. "They can't have gone far. Did you notice anything strange before the report?"

"One of the soul lamps went out," Maniel said doubtfully. The three acolytes clutched each other's hands. "Some of the students were observing a preparation at the time. They were removed after the incident, just in case."

"And in this interval, the bodies went missing?"

Dela's breath caught.

"Yes, my lady. We've searched the whole catacomb system."

Lin stared at Dela, mouth swinging open. For the dead to go missing when entrusted in the temple's care – it was a disaster. Every class dedicated to their order stressed the importance of care and vigilance.

Maniel was still speaking. "For all intents and purposes, we've just mislaid three corpses in one night because they simply vanished."

"Lock the temple down," Kerrin said softly, after a pause. "And toll the bell. We're going to need assistance."