Bloodfire (The Sojourns of Rebirth) by Matthew Medina Page B

herself what could possibly be worth
keeping secret from the Emperor himself. What would cause these
two men to quarrel so, to risk death or worse to protect such a
secret?
As Catelyn thought of the possibilities, she reached out for
the lucky ring she wore on one toe and twirled it idly with the
fingers of her left hand. Spinning it back and forth, it helped her to
concentrate, and she focused inwardly and came to a conclusion. If
the prior Pater and Dane Eyrris, both citizens of station who stood
wholly within the shadow of the Emperor himself, would risk
everything for something so valuable, yet small enough to carry
around on Dane Eyrris’ person, then there really was only one
choice for her.
Catelyn smiled, and easily made the decision to relieve
both men of their burden.
    She shadowed Dane Eyrris back to his home after his
argument with the prior and stationed herself on the rooftop
across from his building, expanding her bubble to cover as much of
the area as possible. She heard him trudge up two flights of stairs,
to the top of a three story complex. She listened as he fumbled with
keys, something nearly unheard of in most places in the Seat, and
unlocked his apartment door.
    She listened as he walked across the room, heard the
clinking of glass as he poured himself a drink, and then walk over
to one side of the room. She heard him put the glass down, and
then stand silently for several breaths.
    Then he swore.
Catelyn was taken aback by the outburst, as he appeared
to be alone. Catelyn’s heart jumped into her throat and she ducked
down as low as she could.
Oh Divines, did he see me? she thought in a panic.
She thought about how careless she might have been, and
what shortcuts she might have taken that she shouldn’t have
following someone so prominent in the Empire. For all she knew
he rated high enough to have his own Imperial detachment of
soldiers. The prize he was supposedly carrying had been quite a
temptation, and she wondered if the thought of its value had
gotten the best of her, but when she ran it over in her mind she
realized that no, she had in fact been as careful as ever, and she
didn’t see how he could have known that she was there.
But her question was answered by the Dane himself when
she heard the unmistakable sound of a belt being unbuckled and
dropping to the floor, and the subtle rustle of clothing as it fell
from his body. Then more silence, followed by a shifting
mechanism in the wall and a clicking noise, and finally a sliding
noise. At this distance her hearing was the most acute sense she
had but it was almost impossible to do much more than guess that
Dane Eyrris had somehow just activated a sliding panel in the wall
he was standing next to.
She heard him move toward it, heard a solid thunk as he
put something down, and then heard the panel sliding shut.
She was intensely focused on the mechanism, so when
Dane Eyrris muttered something under his breath, Catelyn almost
missed it, but it sounded to her as if he said:
“I’ve been enjoying myself too much.”
This comment seemed strange to Catelyn, and she was
even more confused when he then went on to say:
“Speaking of enjoying myself.”
The next sounds she heard made her face red with
embarrassment.
    Days later, Catelyn padded quietly above the din of the
crowd below, stepping lightly from roof tile to roof tile, careful not
to disturb the dirt and moss that clung to the slate, lest one of the
tiles come loose and go clattering over the edge and into the
throngs of celebrants beneath her. She did enjoy the soft texture of
moss under her toes, and so she lingered ever so slightly at each
step, as she scanned the numerous packs of citizens on the street
for the distinct sounds and smells of her next target.
    She was hunting.
It was the Eve of Regret, the anniversary of the
proclamation by Uriel III to wall off his Empire from the outside
world, for better or worse. The Regret mentioned in the name of
the holiday did not betoken