Ash and Quill(73)

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"Because it's important that Zara be seen as a loyal High Garda commander. Misdirection. Confusion. If we can't take the company with us, we have to protect them from suspicion. That means creating false reports and trails." Wolfe watched the two of them silently for a few seconds, and Jess had the feeling that he, too, was uncomfortable with the closeness between Santi and his lieutenant. Not quite jealousy, Jess thought, but there was a wariness to the way Wolfe held himself. Still, his voice sounded confident. "Zara is meticulously documenting everything that she should, including the receipt of sealed secret orders from the Artifex."

"Are there sealed secret orders from the Artifex?"

"No. But if we can sow a little distrust between the Archivist and his chief lackey, all the better. The other two commanders who've pledged to us will also be recording receipt of the same orders, and noting that they've been instructed to burn them on receipt, so there'll be no copies or records to disprove it. That's bound to cause conflict and confusion." Wolfe glanced at him. "What would you give to see that another city never dies like that again?"

It was the question he'd been asking himself so relentlessly. And he had his answer ready. "Everything."

"Your life?"

"Yes."

Wolfe sighed. "So say we all, then. Are you with us? To fight?"

"Of course I am," Jess said. "Did you really doubt it?"

"I didn't," Santi said from the table. "Dario's decision rather surprised me, though."

Dario made a mock bow. "Happy to fail that test, Captain. But I've never really been afraid to die for a good cause."

Santi brushed that aside. "Dying is the easy part," he said. "Fanatics do it every day. I need to know-we need to know-if you'll be ready to fight without the rest of us. You have to be ready to win. Not just die in a blaze of glory. Sometimes, what you have to do might not be glorious. Just dirty, and necessary."

One by one, they nodded. But of all of them, Jess thought, he was the only one who clearly, fully understood what that might really mean.





EPHEMERA


Text of a letter from High Garda Captain Wellington, found on his body in the field near Philadelphia, sent to the attention of the Archivist Magister by Acting Captain Zara Cole. Burned upon receipt.


It is with great sadness and loathing that I report to you the total victory of High Garda forces at Philadelphia. 

Hardly a stone remains fixed to another, and in walking that wretched hell, I have seen not one living thing . . . not bird, dog, blade of grass, or human. What I have seen are carpets of bones, mounds of them from victims huddled together for protection that never came.

Damn you. Damn you for forcing us to be your murderers. May the gods curse you forever.


Text of a report from High Garda Acting Captain Zara Cole, in the field near Philadelphia, sent to the attention of the Commander of the High Garda. Available on the Codex.


It is with deep regret that I inform you of the death of High Garda Captain Wellington, who served the Great Library with selfless devotion for more than thirty years. His death came at his own hand, out of despair and overwhelming grief for what has been done in the name of the power we all serve so faithfully. May the gods have mercy on us all.





CHAPTER EIGHT





Morgan lay perfectly still. Her color was like porcelain, drained of all the warmth and vitality Jess loved in her.

She looked like a dead girl waiting for her coffin.

Dr. Askuwheteau was busy checking a supply of Medica vials and compounds in a brand-new case, but when he saw Jess standing in the tent doorway, frozen, he said, "Come in, close the flap. We need to keep her warm."

It was, Jess thought, suffocatingly hot in the tent already, and they'd layered blankets on Morgan's motionless body as well. "Has she been awake?" he asked. Askuwheteau shook his head silently. "Not at all?"

"I don't want her awake just now," he said. "This is necessary. An Obscurist who uses power too wildly . . . Well, you saw the fields in Philadelphia. She couldn't control the scope of what she did. She had to stop before it was too late. She was coming to pieces when she came out of that hell. She'll hurt herself, or someone else, if she doesn't allow herself to heal."

There was something in the phrasing of that, and Jess put the pieces together almost instantly. "You did this. You've drugged her."

The doctor shrugged. "For her protection. And ours. She would say the same."