From the north, Sen Jerome’s crenelated form appeared to huddle over the Brad like a fisherman waiting with a net, although, with winter’s approach emptying the river, there was very little to catch. Still, the fortress crawled with cenobites, more than enough to secure a certain kidnapped Ri mage. Overseeing the north riverbank gate were two guards armed with simple spears. One was alert, the other bored, both bowed upon seeing River’s bronze trim.

  “Mater!”

  “Blessings upon you.” Dana’s return bow gave luz an opportunity to take note of how the alert guard’s hand trembled on her spear, a symptom of too many stimulants. “I’m only passing through. It shouldn’t be long.”

  The bored guard made the cup sign. “Well met, Mater.”

  “Yes, well met.” The alert guard’s hand curled into the same sign then closed into a three fingered grip. “We must ever be preparing.”

  A secret hand sign. Dana pretended not to see it. “Then I’m on my way. Stay vigilant, my sisters.”

  Hand signs like that implied SHROUD members didn’t know each other on sight, and while that made it easier to slip into the organization, it also implied SHROUD’s membership was extensive. Not good.

  At the base of the ramp leading up to Sen Jerome’s main gate, Dana limped up to two more guards, one an “I had a good night’s sleep” kind of awake, the other trembling with an “I’m on my tenth cup of koti” kind of awake.

  “Mater.”

  “Mater!”

  No signal this time, but Dana angled luz body so that only the first cenobite could see luz make the secret hand signal.

  He didn’t notice. “Was there anything you needed, Mater?”

  “No, nothing.” Dana pushed past them. “Stay vigilant.”

  “We will!”

  Beneath the main gate’s raised portcullis, twelve cenobites stood shoulder to shoulder in a display of force ruined by the trembling of half of them, including the heirobite in charge.

  The hierobite blinked. “River? What are you doing here?”

  One more test to confirm Dana’s suspicions. Lu put on a scowl, said, “I’m here to make my report,” then carefully made the secret sign where only the other hierobite could see it.

  The other hierobite’s eyes widened. “Right, your report. You should stop by Prior Knoll’s office first then. He’ll be interested to hear it.”

  Prior Knoll must be SHROUD. “I’ll do that.” Dana tried to walk past the other hierobite, but he caught luz arm.

  “I’m glad you’ve joined us, Sister,” he whispered. “Burn the rot.”

  Dana nodded. “Burn the rot.”

  Entering the fortress proved the natural corollary to Dana’s theory; despite all the guards visible from the outside, the inside of Sen Jerome’s was nearly empty. In an attempt to create the impression that Sen Jerome’s was fully manned, SHROUD members were pulling multiple shifts and drinking koti to maintain alertness. Current Circle estimates put Sen Jerome’s membership at between four to five hundred; even with a quarter of that number in Pollum protecting the Archbishop, and the hundred Dana had left behind in the camp, the fortress should not be this empty. Certainly, it hadn’t been when lu and Mei had stormed the place.

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  Dana grit luz teeth. As lu had searched for Dwayne, lu had also tried to find out what happened to Mei. Between what Cenobite Elm had said under interrogation and what Dana and Magdala had found in the Latia Arena underground, it was clear that Mei had fought her brother, wounding him and losing her favored weapon in the process. While Mei drawing blood was significant, apparently even rage wasn’t enough to get her to secure the kill. If only Dana had been there; Huan would have been put down like the feral beast he was.

  As for whether or not Dwayne was here in the fortress, that was unlikely. Despite its larger than expected membership, keeping a prisoner like Dwayne secret from the other cenobites would be too difficult for SHROUD, especially when other cenobites, like the late Hierobite Rivers, were trying to expose it.

  So where was he?

  To find out, Dana would have to follow Mei’s lead. A determined halting stroll took lu from the main gate to the block of arrow slits and boltholes that housed Sen Jerome’s Administration. When lu entered it, lu left austerity, stone, and surcotes behind and entered a world of tapestries, rugs, and sweaters. Here there was no attempt to hide the unmanned desks and the empty chairs, but there were still a few clerks around, including a plump one at the front desk who smiled as Dana approached.

  “Hierobite River!”

  Oh, no. “Morning.” Hopefully, River wasn’t friends with this person. “Is Prior Knoll in? I’ve just come in from camp, and I need to report to him.”

  “No…” The clerk’s tone betrayed his confusion. “I don’t think so, not yet.”

  Dana had gotten some small thing wrong. Best to end this quickly. “Will he be back today?”

  The clerk’s eyes narrowed in annoyance. “He’s gone inspecting. I have no idea when he’ll be back.”

  “I see. Thank you.” Now, Dana could walk away, but the clerk’s feelings had to have a cause, and it was bad practice to leave both a trail of suspicious people when you already had a trail of dead bodies. Was there something River had said? Or did? Or had?

  Dana smiled. “I got us those tickets.”

  The clerk’s face brightened. “You did? So we’re still on for tomorrow?”

  Dana’s smile almost slipped. “Of course.” Don’t think about how the now dead Hierobite River had had plans for a romantic interlude. “I’ll have to meet you there.” It was too bad Circle training said nothing about how to deal with guilt. Dana rubbed luz knee. “I only have my feet.”

  “Of course.” The clerk beamed. “See you there.”

  Dana made some noises of farewell, then entered the Administration office block. After a quick check of Dean Bruce’s office, which was empty, lu moved on to searching for Knoll’s office. In the Sen Jerome Order, priors like him were ranked higher than hierobites but below the premera minister, and as such their offices were a level up from Bruce’s. That made it a little harder to get to but not more secure. After picking the lock, Dana was in.

  The office’s shelves betrayed its owner’s priorities. They had books, but only in a small corner while artifacts like old fingerbones, locks of hair, bits of scroll, rusted weapons, dominated the rest. Ignoring these “holy” relics, Dana started with the Prior’s desk. As luz Circle-trained hands rifled through its drawers one by one, luz Circle-trained mind memorized relevant details. There was nothing SHROUD specific here, but there were copies of transfer orders and accepted leave requests, both in large enough numbers to confirm Dana’s suspicion that Sen Jerome’s was being deliberately undermanned.

  That would have been the end of it, but Circle training, and experience, demanded Dana check the relics too. Going through each one and checking them for marks or secret pockets was disgusting, and so Dana was relieved when luz attempt to pick up a rusty stiletto made something click. A shelf popped open and revealed a tiny shrine alcove with a hoard of SHROUD correspondence, some of which was even in Dean Bruce’s cramped cursive. It was too much to go through all at once, but a quick skimming revealed repeats of the words “Day of Cleansing,” which didn’t sound good. Unfortunately, time was up. Dana did not want to be caught here.

  After restoring everything as it was, lu left.