The Labyrinths

When Livia awoke, the room was pitch black. Rolling over, she murmured in confusion. Why was the room so dark? Why was the house so quiet?

She sat up, finally coming awake enough to look out the window and understand. She had meant to sleep for only an hour or two. It appeared that she'd slept away most of the day. Hells. I was going to go to the baths, and I think it's too late now.

Rubbing her eyes, she stumbled out of bed. Her side was feeling markedly better, though it still hurt, and she still moved a bit stiffly. She splashed water from the washing-bowl on her face, rinsing the sleep from her eyes. She wondered what time it was.

She was still wearing the dusty clothes she'd come home in, and exchanged them for a sleep-shift and a robe. I'll go downstairs, she decided. Maybe do a little work, see if anyone's up, until I feel sleepy again. It wouldn't take long, she figured. She was still tired, though she didn't feel the bone-grinding exhaustion that she'd felt earlier in the day.

She opened the door of her chamber and slipped out. She paused as she saw light spilling out in the corridor from Darius's room. She padded with her bare feet over to the threshold and peeked in. "Darius? she said quietly. "Are you awake?"

Darius looked up. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, reading a thick scroll-style book, shirtless. The livid weals that were the marks of the wounds he'd taken yesterday stood out dark against his tanned skin. "I am. I slept for a while, but I woke and thought I'd read for a bit. I take it you didn't go out this afternoon?"

Livia shook her head. "I think I slept straight through. I'll be better rested tomorrow. How are you feeling?" She took a step into the room and closed the door behind her.

"I've been worse, but I've definitely been better." He gave a rueful chuckle. "Sleep helps. You? Diya told me you went haring off across the desert with an arrow in your side. That can't have been comfortable."

She gave him a wry smile and sat down next to him. "I compare all pain to childbirth. It wasn't quite as bad as that, but it still hurts. I was just glad Linaeus got to you in time." She caught her breath as she remembered the things the priest had said in the wake of his healing, and glanced away from Darius.

"The man may be a puzzle, but he knows his work." He leaned over and put the book on the table by the bed. "I'm not certain there are many priests who could have dealt with some of those arrows."

"We talked a bit, while we were burying the bodies. He's been involved with Thalea off and on for years. She's not involved in what he's doing, and she doesn't know a whole lot about his past."

"He must like the quiet ones. I'm not sure she's spoken more than five words strung together to anyone, ever."

"He also said that it seemed more serious this time." Livia shifted and winced as her side throbbed. "Wonder if they're starting to talk marriage? And what sort of husband would he make her, involved in what he is?"

Darius glanced over at her. "Well, Sextus seemed to have managed it just fine," he said, his voice laden with meaning.

Livia shrugged. "He did. And Linaeus might be able to keep his secrets from her. Things seem to be coming to a head, one way or another. And us stuck in the middle." She turned her head and met his eyes with her own, holding his gaze. "I'm making plans to run if this begins to go sour. Get Optata out, and go east out of the Empire. I'd rather run sooner than to leave it too late. Will you come with me, Darius? I can't promise how comfortable life will be for us, but we might well be safer out there than here."

"Just try to leave me behind," he said, his tone intense, his eyes still on hers. "Just try, Livia. And what about Linaeus?"

"The fact that getting my daughter out may mean his cover will be blown? I was thinking I'd offer to bring him with us. It might be good for him to be away from Geras, to live like a normal person for a while at least. If you don't mind."

Darius nodded. "He's a useful fellow in a corner, despite all of the complications. And Diya?"

"Of course I'll bring her. Something Linaeus said--" She stopped and shuddered. "Geras, if he gets his hands on me, isn't going to kill me. He'll use me for years, keeping me alive, using my daughter to make me stay. I can imagine what he'd do with me, and it's not pretty. I'd much rather die in an escape attempt that might see my daughters safe than resign myself to the hells he'll condemn me to." She scooted closer to him and leaned against his shoulder, sliding her arm around his waist. He returned her embrace, draping one arm around her.

"Your next move?" he asked.

"Tomorrow I need to go dance attendance on Constantius for a little bit at least, and see Optata. I also need to see if Sextus had any hiding places in this house that I haven't found yet. If I can manage it, I'd like to go see Julia, and I need to go to the baths like I was going to this afternoon. I'm going to see what I can dig up on a few people. Nothing too strenuous."

Darius was frowning. "I don't think I'll be up for guarding you tomorrow."

"No need," she said. "I don't think Geras will try anything with things as unsettled as they are. If you want, I'll leave the mirror with you, and you can watch over me from the comfort of your own bed. You should sleep and rest as much as you can." She shifted, realizing that Darius had bathed recently, probably whenever he'd woken from sleep this evening. "You smell good," she murmured, turning her head against his shoulder.

She raised her face to his and kissed him, a bit wistfully. Even as sore and aching as her body was, desire was beginning to build in her, a sweet and subtle heat. "I should let you go back to what you were doing," she said, bracing herself to get up and leave the room.

He kissed her again. After they parted, he said, "You could stay for a while, if you liked. Neither of us are expected anywhere for a bit." There was heat in his voice, as well, and she could feel his body shift and tense against hers where she leaned against him.

Livia laughed. "I don't think what I have in mind qualifies as rest, Darius. There will be other chances."

He pulled her close, holding her tightly with one arm. "Will there be?" he asked quietly. "It seems to me that, last night, there almost wasn't."

Livia's breath caught in her throat. "There will be. There have to be." She kissed him, trying to erase the sudden vision she had of his body lying still with death, his eyes forever closed and his voice forever stilled.

"Besides," he said huskily when they parted, "I believe you're attempting to get with child, Livia. You never know which will be the time that will do it. Best to take every chance that comes our way, isn't it?"

"You said yourself that you hurt," she protested weakly.

Darius chuckled. "It seems to me that I could manage just fine, especially if you do the lion's share of the work. I can't be as--energetic--as I was the other night, but we can work something out..." He trailed off, seemingly seeing something shift in her eyes, Livia feeling a slow, predatory smile curving her lips. The desire that was flaring to life in her gave her courage.

"That," she purred, "I can do."

Her aching side completely forgotten for the moment, she encouraged him to lie down on the bed, exploring his body with fingers and tongue. She teased and tormented him until they were both groaning, laughing delightedly as her body remembered things she loved doing, riding the thin sweet edge of the place that was right between pleasure and pain.

When at last she took him into herself, her movements were achingly slow as she took her time with him, savoring this place, this moment.

For once, the guilt and her grief were very far away.

After they were both satiated, she kissed him one last time and slipped from the bed. "I'm sorry I can't stay," she murmured, "but--"

"I know," he replied. "I'll see you in the morning, Livia."

The way he said her name made her shiver with pleasure. She padded back to her own bed, to sprawl alone beneath the blankets. Her side was hurting now, more than it had been, but she didn't mind. It had been worth it, worth it to release some of her sorrow, worth it to share this pleasure with someone she cared for.

Her body slid into sleep once more, and she if she had dreams, she did not remember them.

The next morning, she woke relatively early. Darius and Diya were both still asleep when she left the house around midmorning for the baths with an escort of her house guards. Her side ached but she was moving much more freely than she had been yesterday. The livid mark where the arrow wound had been was still tender, but she rather thought she could hide it if she was careful.

Livia went through her usual bathing ritual. First was a thorough oiling and strigiling, where a pretty slave used a curved metal rod called a strigil to remove the oil, and with it dirt and sweat, from her skin. Then was a long soak in one of the several well-heated caldariums, rooms with large pools of water heated until they were almost, but not quite, uncomfortable. Then it was time for a quick dip into the frigidarium, and she dressed again in a loose dress made of undyed linen. She'd seen several people she knew in the baths, and knew that they'd soon be out to join her in the gardens.

The baths were mostly filled with women, and mostly noble women at that, this time of day. These were the women that Livia had been raised among, her friends and rivals, and she knew most of them very well indeed. Several came by to pay their respects as she relaxed in a chair with a glass of honeyed wine. Livia gave them all soft smiles and softer words, and soon more came by, one after another. Eventually, she got up to join the circulation, listening for an opening.

One of the women, an older woman named Dracia who was a very distant relative of Livia's birth family, had a grown son who was a mage at Hagia Sophia. "He's been hanging out with that Attius fellow again, after everything I tried to do to make him stop. I'm worried he's been indulging his habit again," she said, her light green eyes grave.

"Habit?" Livia asked.

"Attius deals in opium. Has a den in the Sassenid quarter. Cleophus likes to visit him there, regularly." Dracia sighed. "Faydren used to be his partner. He made his money and got out. Attius smokes his profits, and always has. I worry about Cleophus and him, but there's not much I can do to make him listen to his old mother."

Livia tool the older woman's hand. "I'm sorry, Dracia. What's this Attius like, anyway?"

She snorted, her thin nose wrinkling. "He's short, losing his hair, and he never married. Likes his women, the bigger the better. Disgusting man."

"Sounds like it." Livia spent a while commiserating over children who wouldn't listen to the wisdom of their elders for a little while with Dracia before she moved on. She joined a group of women, all of whom were well known to her; she'd grown up with Volusensilla and Prima, and the four others were a bit older. Each of them kissed her and expressed regret over her husband's death, and then Livia settled in for a good session of gossip mongering.

After finding out who several highly-placed nobles were sleeping with this week and who was vying for the hand of the thirteen-year-old daughter of Constantine's first advisor, Livia directed the conversation gently to Hagia Sophia, and from there to Thalea. "Oh, her," Prima sniffed. "Her mother's a friend of my father. She was given to the Tower when she was small because she kept on breaking things without touching them when she had tantrums. She's very strange."

Livia raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"She lives alone. And I mean alone--she doesn't have any guards, or anyone to cook or clean for her. She's very sweet, but she just doesn't employ anyone. She has this strange arrangement with the baths here--she pays them to be open for just her an hour after closing most nights."

There was a murmur rising from the group. "Why would anyone do that?" wondered one of the older women.

"Maybe she likes being alone?" suggested Volusensilla.

"She lives in her own world, that's for sure," sniffed Prima. "Always answers your questions with things that don't actually answer the question. I don't know why Faydren chose her for the council, despite her ties to Julia."

"Julia?" asked Livia. "The mage? What's Thalea got to do with her?"

"Thalea was her apprentice, is all. She never attends any social events, I've barely seen her since I got married. I think she's maybe one of those women." At questioning looks from around the circle, Prima said in a salacious tone, "You know, those women. The ones who like other women like normal women like men." There were gasps and giggles around the circle, and the group fell to speculating about that for a while. When that died down, Prima offhandedly said, "She does see other people some. She attends council meetings, I know, and she sometimes teaches in the noble school, or in private houses."

"Magic?" asked Livia.

"No, regular things mostly. History, politics, natural history, that sort of thing."

"I heard she was the private tutor to Constans' son Esayis for five years," volunteered Volusensilla.

"Of course," said Prima, in her best I can do you one better voice. "He was her apprentice, my father said. He was very proud of her, the silly thing. He always wanted me to be a mage. Thank God I never showed the talent!"

There was much laughter about that, and the conversation moved on to something else. Livia spent the next hour or so planting fragments of the rumor she wanted to start about Faydren. These women would repeat it to their husbands, and those husbands would put their heads together and discuss it amongst themselves and come up with their own conclusions, and from there it would start running into the Senate. She hoped, at least. Whispering campaigns occasionally backfired, or mutated into something unrecognizable, but she had high hopes for this one.

Afterwards, she returned home. An idea occurred to her as she entered the house, and she smiled. She pulled the key she wore around her neck off of the chain and held it in her hand. Down the corridor she went, her hand outstretched.

She went first to the bedroom that she and Sextus had shared. She was braced for a wave of sorrow to drag her down, and she was not disappointed. She swallowed her grief and dashed away the tears that had gathered in her eyes, and began to search.

A minute or two later, as she inspected the still-empty bedframe, she felt the key in her hand twitch and change. She bent down, looking at the place where she remembered that the demon summoning symbol had been drawn, and ran her hand over the smooth floorboards.

Her fingernail snagged on an indentation in the floor. The key in her hand had shifted to something that looked rather like a star, and it matched the indentation she'd just found in the center of a knot in the wood. Fitting the key into the indentation, she heard a click and a small section of floor sprang upwards.

Beneath was a shallow depression, about half a foot by half a foot, and inside the hole was a vial made of dark blue glass. Carefully, she reached in and lifted it out. Tilting it back and forth, she sighed in frustration as she realize it wasn't labeled. "Evidently, it would kill mages to label their stuff," she muttered. As she held it, she realized that the contents were moving on their own, more restlessly the longer she held it.

She shuddered and found a piece of cloth to wrap it in. In most of the rest of the rooms, she found a similar depression with an identical blue vial. She also noticed that, when she passed by a certain place in the hall that was quite near to Darius's room, the key reacted, attempting to change shape, but became still soon afterwards.

Livia took a closer look at the wall facing her. Was it her imagination, or was one of the marble tiles slightly differently colored than the rest? Experimentally, she felt at the edges, then ran her fingers over the surface. It gave a little, and she pressed against it harder.

When she released the pressure, the long piece of marble sprang out from the wall, and behind it was a drawer that slid out easily and silently. The drawer was shallow but wide and deep, and held an assortment of weaponry. They were mostly daggers, with some short swords and other blades mixed in. Some were clearly Roman, others Sassenid, others of unclear provenance. A few of them were rusty and bent, and a few still had traces of blood on the sheaths and handles.

Livia looked down at the drawer, her heart beating loud and fast. This was a tangible sign of Sextus's secret life, hidden in their home. She reached out and picked up the first one that came to hand--one of the daggers that was made in a style that she didn't recognize. She pulled it halfway from the sheath, feeling the solidity of the metal in her hand.

She laid the knife back into the drawer and pushed it closed. She had a few more places she wants to check, and the first one was somewhere she hadn't been in a few years--the wine cellar.

She carried a lamp with her, and in the other hand the key. Again, the key reacted to something hidden. A disused wine rack swung open to reveal a small room on the other side. At first, looking at it, Livia thought that she had stumbled on a closet. Another look proved that she was not in fact very far mistaken.

There was male clothing of all sorts in here, rich and poor, Sassenid and Roman, noble and slave. Wigs, cosmetics, pieces of armor, gloves, all of it in Sextus's size. There was a large mirror and a pair of hand mirrors in here, as well.

She breathed out. Weapons upstairs. Clothing down here. She could almost feel his hands on her shoulders, guiding her through a visualization of nights when he slipped from their bed, picked up a few weapons, and then dressed in one of the many disguises down here. From here, he would--

"Go out," she murmured. "Go out! But where?" She turned around raising the lamp, looking at the walls and floor. A few steps away from her, there was a pull ring in the floor, in a place where very few except the cook or the master of the house would ever go. Livia pulled on the ring, and saw a ladder leading down into darkness.

For a moment, she hesitated, thought about waking Darius and bringing him along. But the sense of her husband was so close, so overwhelming, that she dismissed the thought immediately and climbed down the ladder.

It was a narrow passageway that led east for a fair way. Livia counted her steps, keeping track of the hundreds with her fingers. Nine hundred and fifty-three steps later, another ladder led up. She climbed until she came to another door above her head. Listening for a moment and hearing nothing, she pushed at the door.

It didn't budge, and the key around her neck twitched. She swiftly found the indentation that was the keyhole and slipped the key into it, then pushed again. This time, the door swung upwards and away silently.

It was an empty store, only dust and a few shards of broken crockery littering the floors. Heavy curtains were hung on the windows, blocking out most of the daylight and leaving the store in a strange cavernous dim. Livia's breathing sounded loud in her ears as she looked around. He would have gone to the back door--she lowered her lamp to reveal disturbances in the thick dust on the floor leading that direction--and he would have locked the door behind him and gone out on whatever job he had to do that night.

Livia sat with her legs dangling into the hole she'd just emerged from, wrapped her arms around herself, and cried. For a few moments, she let her loss catch up with her, in the building that held nothing and yet was full of the secret man her husband had been.

Grieve the Sextus you knew and loved. Find the Sextus you never knew. Keep his daughters safe, and if you can, keep the Empire intact. And perhaps, at last, find some measure of peace for yourself.

Those seemed like such large tasks right now.

Finally, she blew her nose and wiped her eyes. She rose to her feet and spent some time nosing around the empty building. There was nothing there, unsurprisingly. She thought about how far she'd come and came to the conclusion that this was a store about three blocks away from her house that had been empty for years despite its excellent location. And she had no doubt that if she dug, she'd find that Sextus owned it, probably in a roundabout fashion.

She went back down the ladder and locked the trapdoor behind her. Back in the house, she couldn't help but grin a little. Wait till Darius sees what I found! She went through the pockets of the costumes in the hidden room, but found nothing but old meeting dates with names she was already familiar with. She dusted herself off and ran up the stairs, startling the cook when she emerged from the stairway leading to the wine cellar.

Fortunately, Darius was awake when Livia bounded into his room. She pulled the vial from the pocket she'd stashed it in and unwrapped it for him. "I found this. Any ideas what it is?" she asked.

He took it from her and held it to the light. He was dressed today not in his usual warrior's kilt but a plain toga she hadn't seen before, a scholar's dress. He tilted it back and forth. "No, I am afraid not but Julia can probably tell you. For that matter I can too, but it takes a long time if it's magic. Which it looks like."

Livia chuckled. "It starts to move around on its own more the longer I hold it. I'd say definitely magic. I have a theory as to what it is, actually."

"Looks like. Think it's a cure?"

She nodded. "That or something that stops the kind of seeing we were doing with the mirror."

Darius gave the blue vial one last considering glance and handed it back to her. "Might be that, too."

"There's one in almost every room. Well, I need to talk to Julia soon, anyway." She tucked the vial away again. "I found some other interesting things, but this and the secret way in and out of the house are the most interesting."

His eyebrows went up. "That could be useful. Sextus was full of surprises."

She nodded, thinking about the overwhelming sense of his presence she'd had before. "Yes, he was. There's a place in the wall just outside your room that has quite the assortment of weaponry in it. You can look at what in there might be useful for you, if you like, I'll show you where it is."

"I would like a look, yes. Might have had some interesting things." He took a long breath. "This is a hard question for you, Livia, but it's best just to ask. Do you think he is still alive?"

She met his eyes briefly and looked away again. All of her doubts from a couple of nights ago came back to her. "I don't know," she said, her voice suddenly trembling a little. "I think he might be. Other than the fact that I saw him die in front of me, it seems like there are so many things that point to the possibility that he faked his death and disappeared. At this moment, I'm acting as if he's dead, because there's no good way to tell if he's alive. And if he's alive, well..." Livia swallowed. "If he's alive, he abandoned me to this. Knowingly. I'd like to say he'd never have done that, but at this point I don't know."

When she looked at him again, she knew that the hurt and anger, the betrayal, that thought caused her was plain on her face. He said quietly, "It has been weighing on my mind as well. Too many things don't add up. But still add up to him being alive."

"It makes it almost harder to deal with." She sighed, glad that it was not judgment or anger she saw in him now, just sympathy.

"It does." He nodded, and she stepped over to him, sliding an arm around his waist, silently asking for comfort. They stood there for a moment, Livia taking comfort from the solidity of this man.

She looked up at him. "If he's alive, and if I ever see him again, he and I are going to have words." Her voice was more angry than she'd meant it to be.

He gave her a half-smile. "Very sharp and pointed ones, I expect."

"Very. Leaving me and Optata here, knowing what Geras was going to try to do to us."

He kissed the top of her head then and turned her loose, sinking into one of the chairs with a sigh. He was still moving quite stiffly, she saw. "Speaking of, what's your plan for today?"

"Constantius first, to see Optata and make a token appearance. Julia hasn't gotten back to me about meeting her this evening, but we'll see. I did find out some interesting things about Attius and Thalea this morning, by the way, I'll tell you about them later."

"Good. Want me along?"

Livia shook her head. "No, you need to rest. I'll be fine by myself, I think. If you want, you can keep an eye on me with the mirror."

Darius eyed her as if he were trying to decide exactly how much of a fight he wanted to put up. "Are you sure? Constantius by yourself could be dangerous."

"It could be, true. I think I can handle it, and you know where I am if I suddenly disappear."

He nodded, evidently having decided not to fight too hard. Livia guessed he hurt a lot more than he was saying at the moment. "Yes, it's not that far. But be very careful."

"I will be, I promise."

"All right, then."

She leaned over and kissed him again, lingeringly. "Please remember to eat something, and try to get Diya to eat? She's still asleep. Must be nice to be fifteen and able to sleep the clock round."

"I'll wake her. I think she's trying to escape the grief in sleep. Somewhat the opposite of what you did."

"I wouldn't wish the sleepless nights on anyone, Darius. I'll be back this afternoon, then." She took her leave and went to change her clothes, leaving her hair loose, falling in curls to the middle of her back. She looked at herself in the mirror and thought that the hairstyle was unexpectedly becoming, though very different from her usual elaborately braided styles.

She presented herself at Constantius's doorstep and was escorted inside by his house guard without question. The house was unexpectedly quiet; few people were out and about, even though it was almost noon. At her questioning glace, one of the guards escorting her said, "My lord has ordered most everyone away for the week. He wants to be alone, he says. He did leave orders that he would see you whenever you came, though."

Livia nodded and concentrated on her mask. She was shown into Constantius's apartments, into the study that only a very few guests were ever received in. "Good day, my lord." She bowed.

Constantius looked up. He was doing a good job of looking like a man bereaved; if it were not for her knowledge and for the fact that his expression was somehow a bit more empty than it should have been, Livia might have been fooled. "Livia, good to see you again. Come to visit your daughter?"

She nodded. "I have, and to see how you were doing. Fausta's death must have been a terrible blow."

The regent shrugged. "It has been, but I have buried myself in my work for now. It will catch up to me eventually."

"I know. Outdistancing the grief only works for so long, I've been told."

"Well, I will try my best to keep it a bay for a time longer. Security is nearly finished. Zaran was called away and I have been saddled with a new person from Hagia Sophia. She is quite diligent and odd. Care to meet her?"

Livia blinked, and wondered who this was, now. "Certainly, lord."

Without a word, he rose and led her out, towards the women's wing and the nursery. Near the nursery, there was a woman in the hallway, staring intently at something she held in her hands.

Constantius said, "Collita, this is Livia, Optata's mother."

The woman looked up and turned towards them. She was taller than Livia, but altogether more delicately built, giving an impression of fragility and translucency, wearing the gold symbol that Livia recognized as the emblem of the council of Hagia Sophia. She had straight dark hair that fell unbound to the middle of her back, and her skin was a deep olive tone, unmarred by any freckle. She was wearing gloves on her fine-fingered hands, Livia noticed, and she'd closed her hand over what she'd been staring at.

She was perhaps fifty years old, but without a trace of white spangling her dark hair. Dark eyes focused on Livia and then at something beyond her. "I know," she said simply.

The hairs on the back of Livia's neck stood on end. Collita looked at Constantius. "You will excuse Livia and I, Lord Regent. We have some things to talk about."

Constantius's eyes narrowed, and he scowled. "You know who you are talking to?"

Collita tilted her head, seeming to look straight through Constantius. "Yes, but I don't care. Good day, regent." Her tone was clearly one of dismissal.

Amazingly, it worked. Constantius growled inarticulately and stomped off, leaving Livia alone with the mage. The mage turned to her, and this time her smile was genuinely pleasant. "Livia, good to meet you."

"Collita, likewise. Pardon, have we met before?" She would have remembered this woman, she was sure of it, but perhaps...

"No." The word was without inflection. Collita turned and began walking away, as if she intended Livia to follow.

Helplessly Livia did as she was intended to do. "You were assigned by the Tower to finish the security on Optata's room?" she asked as she caught up with the other woman.

Collita snorted quietly. "Yes. Zaran was a fool about security. But as a spy for Faydren he was very effective."

She raised her eyebrows. "Where was Zaran sent?"

"Zaran was sent on a wild goose chase to find Esayis. He won't and he won't come back either."

Interesting. "May I ask how you know that?" she asked mildly, as if merely making conversation.

The mage shrugged. "His line ended in that desert. I don't know how or who but it did. He died out there."

"His line?"

"I see lives as lines and when they die the line or the life ended. It was getting short, that I could see." They turned a corner. "Too many enemies over the years, someone had to kill him eventually. But this was different, something new and quick. Like the pull of a knife across a throat."

Casually, Livia suggested, "I've heard a number of things about him. It seemed like half of the city had a reason to want him dead, sooner or later."

"Yes, they did. But this was one he didn't see coming. For the rest, he was prepared." She shrugged again. "No matter. He was nothing more than a hit man."

"Faydren's not going to be happy." I wonder where we're going? she thought as she walked beside the mage.

Collita answered her thought, "Outside, Constantius can't spy as well there."

The hairs on the back of Livia's neck stood at attention again, and she suddenly felt very, very nervous. "Reasonable," she replied shortly, and then held her tongue until they were outside, deep into the expansive gardens of Constantius's house.

Without looking at her, Collita said, "Sextus is dead, just so you know. Killed by the demon. He is not coming back."

Shock washed down Livia's spine. She felt a deep relief, and hard on the heels of the relief was guilt for feeling relieved. "Ah," she finally managed, after swallowing hard. "He left behind some things that left some doubt as to that." She looked hard at the mage. "Is my entire mind an open book to you?"

"No, just what you are thinking now, so if you don't want me to see it, don't think about it. Besides, that thing you are wearing is blocking most of your thoughts."

Livia nodded. So she can't see everything. "So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"No, not really," Collita said, evidently in response to her thought. "Your daughter is what I wanted to talk about. She isn't safe here, not really. For the time being yes, but Constantius is up to something large and it involves you and Optata. He is going to use her against you."

Livia spread her hands. "I know. But I don't have a way of getting her out, not yet. He'll never let her go willingly as long as he has a chance of using her against me. I think she's safe as long as he has a use for her."

The other woman gave her a dubious look. "Maybe for now. In either case, I had this made for you. Its a security device. It will shut down all the spells on the doors in case you are ever locked out." She handed Livia the thing she'd been carrying in her gloved hand. It was a locket, an oval-shaped pendant. "It works as long as you wear it. The spells won't harm you in any way. The same can't be said for anything you are not touching."

"What will the spells on the room do to the things I'm not touching?" she asked, suddenly horrified.

"Kill you, mostly." Collita gave her a shrewd look.

"I take it they won't harm Optata, either?"

She smiled. "I am having one made for her too. It's not ready yet, but soon will be. This was actually the one for her, but Constantius showed his hand to me and I didn't like it." Her dark eyes had gone even darker as she spoke.

"What did he tell you?" Livia asked.

The woman's delicate features had gone sharp with rage. "Can't prove a thing, but he killed Fausta."

Livia took a long breath. "I wish I could say I was surprised."

"Wouldn't put it past him to kill your daughter if the mood suited him. This might give you a way in before he does."

"It very well might. Thank you. You've given me a bit of hope that I didn't have before." how much do I dare warn her? she thought. "There are very deadly games going on here, Collita. I'd stay out of them as much as you could."

One side of Collita's mouth lifted in an almost-snarl. "You play that noble crap well. Don't bother with it for me. I hate these games, it's so much better when people say what they think."

She spread her hands. "The noble act is a disguise, a mask. Like everything."

"I really hate it when innocents could get killed in the process. So good luck Livia. You are going to need it." Collita looked at her, her eyes shifted from rage to some secret amusement. "I am around if you have more questions."

"Everyone keeps telling me that. I'm just afraid my luck's not going to last me much longer."

Collita gave Livia a long, considering look. "Maybe, your line is still strong and long but you have enemies closing in. Stay alive, your three daughters are going to need you."

Livia blinked. "Three?"

The mage smiled sharply. "Optata, the step child, and the one you carry."

Gods. It worked. It truly worked! She felt a surge of elation. "I didn't know about the third, not yet," she finally managed, her voice unsteady.

"You would have soon." Collita gave her a grin of real amusement. "You are going to have some very rough mornings soon. Enjoy your breakfasts while you can, because soon you will be seeing them twice."

Livia gave a silent groan. She had almost forgotten about the morning sickness that had afflicted her with every pregnancy. I certainly hope Darius genuinely enjoys my company, because I'm not going to be very pleasant in the mornings for a while. "I'm sure. I remember my first two months carrying Optata."

"Two lines from you. One from your belly, a sure giveaway."

She nodded. "Thank you. It's good to know for certain. Even if it's only so I can be prepared for the mornings."

Collita was looking at her speculatively. "Well, unless you take the item off that you are wearing that's blocking me, that's all I can tell you. But if you are ever daring enough to try, let me know."

Livia tilted her head. "What else could you tell me, if I did?"

"Depends on what you want to know. I can sometimes see glimpses of the future, and sometimes it's the past. People who wear such things to block me have things to hide that they don't want seen. That you, Livia?"

She shrugged. "Of course it is. Don't we all have secrets?"

"You must have some huge ones, then." There was a sly amusement in her voice.

Livia gave a heavy sigh. "I inherited many things when my husband died, Collita. The bracelet was among them. "

The mage's eyebrows shot up. "Ah that's it, is it? Couldn't tell where that was coming from. Annoying though, must be pricy. Looks likes Julia's work, is it?"

"I believe it might be. She and my husband were friends." She cursed her slip, under the mage's stattaco speech. Even if it were only curiosity, she didn't know if she wanted this mage knowing any of her secrets.

"She does good work. I have to have her tell me how she did it so I can get around it. Thanks." Collita grinned.

Livia gave her a small smile in return. "I suppose it's fair payment for the locket you gave me."

Collita's eyes were dancing with what appeared to be delight. "No payment needed for anything. I just like to know how things work so I can get around them." At Livia's dubious look, she said, "Knowing how, doesn't mean I will. Well good day, good life, Livia. My door is open, especially if it hurts our regent bastard up there." She turned away, then looked back over her shoulder. "Oh and the big guy, he's a keeper."

Livia almost blushed. "Yes, I believe he is," she murmured as Collita walked away. She remembered that Darius was watching, and then she did blush.

She smiled and went back indoors to fetch her daughter. They went out into the garden together, and spent some time braiding the stems of flowers into chains. Livia longed to tell her the news, tell her that she would have a little sister soon. She didn't dare. She did, however, ask Optata if she'd met Collita. Her daughter nodded gravely.

"She's going to give you something soon, a locket like this one." Livia leaned forward, showing the necklace to her daughter. Optata reached out and touched it, sending it spinning. "You must always wear it, sweetling. Even in the bath, even when you're sleeping. Can you do that for me?"

"Why?" Optata wanted to know.

"It will protect you. Like it protects me. All right?"

Optata nodded. "All right, Mama," she said in her grown-ups are so silly voice. She smiled, then. "It feels like it's purring. Is it magic?"

Startled, Livia blinked at her daughter. "It is. Do you often feel things that are magic?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "The walls here are spiky sometimes. The lady mage made my walls all smooth and happy again."

"Well, that's good." Livia swiftly changed the subject. There had to be mage blood in Sextus's family, if not one but both of his daughters were mage-gifted. Perhaps the talent will go quiet again. It does sometimes. She kept playing with her daughter for a time, then handed her reluctantly back to her nurse and left for home.

She stepped into the house, nodding to her escort and dismissing them. Darius met her in the in the upstairs corridor, and the look on his face told her everything that she needed to know. He opened his arms and she almost ran into them, wrapping her arms around him as he picked her up and swung her around. "We did it," she whispered as he set her down. "A child, Darius!"

"A daughter," he said, his voice warm.

"Even if how I came by the knowledge was unusual." She loosed herself from his arms and led him into her chambers, dropping into one of the chairs. "Have you ever met Collita before? Is she always like that?"

Darius chuckled. "Always. She doesn't care what she says or who she says it to. She's not a very popular person in some circles."

"I can imagine. But she gave me two very precious things. The knowledge that I'm pregnant, and the locket. I might be able to get Optata out without Linaeus, now."

"And you might be able to kill Geras while you're at it."

Livia smiled. "The thought had occurred to me. It occurred to Collita too, I bet. I have a half-baked thought I want to run past you. It benefits us if Geras is kept off-balance, correct?"

He nodded, having seated himself next to her. "Correct."

"I was thinking about the fact that I've been having my suspicions about Sextus still being alive. What if we gave Geras a reason to have those same suspicions? It's not like he has a conscience, but an enemy you thought was dead might well be anywhere." She smiled sharply.

The corner of his mouth twitched. "That could be unnerving to him."

"Make him doubt what he thinks he knows. Especially if it's just hints, flashes out of the corner of his eye."

"And how do you propose to do this?" Darius asked.

"I was thinking of recruiting Collita. She might be willing to spin an illusion or two for me. It would have to start slow--a face in a crowd, maybe someone who moves like him going around a corner in front of him. Tangible things might come later, but in the beginning I just want a little doubt."

"Can we trust Collita?"

She spread her hands helplessly. "That, I'm not sure of yet. That's my real hesitation here. I think she was perfectly honest about her dislike of Constantius. But in order to reproduce Sextus's image, I'm probably going to need to let her get the images from my mind." She shuddered a bit at the idea.

He saw her shudder, she knew, but he ignored it. "But how do we know that she doesn't report to Faydren? She did replace Zaran."

Livia raised an eyebrow. "Would you use Collita as a spy? I certainly wouldn't."

Darius chuckled. "Probably true. Too blunt for much else. She tells you what she thinks."

"Even if it's unflattering. Or secret." She sighed. "Which is my other worry about using her."

"Let's hold off for a few days and see what we can learn about her. Then decide if we can trust her or not." He shifted, and she saw that he was moving a bit better than he had been in this morning. "Are you going to use the harpist again? And what about Thalea?"

She smiled. "I was trying to decide if I've the brass balls to ask Faydren to loan me Neera again. I think I might. And Thalea...I'd like to speak to her, but not quite yet. I don't have anything I need from her, and according to Linaeus she's in a bit of denial as to what he's up to. A potential ally, but for the moment at least neutral."

"True," he replied. "I think that the benefit of Neera outweighs your discomfort. Neera let you see things you normally couldn't, and it could be very helpful in the long run."

She nodded. "I think so. I need to remember to give her some money to go towards her debt to Faydren. I'll send a message, and see if she's free tonight or tomorrow night."

"The quicker she is out of his control, the better."

"I'll have to ask her how much her outstanding debt is." Her voice dropped low. "Not only would it be good to have her away from him, if Faydren ends up going down, so does his household. It would be a shame to have a musician of her caliber come to that end."

"And give her enough money to leave the country. If she pays up and doesn't leave the city, he may just kill her so no one else can exploit her talents." He shifted and then rose from his seat, grimacing. He rubbed the place on his chest where one of the arrows had hit him two days ago. "Unless you are going to protect her from him."

Livia took a breath. "I think I may have borrowed quite enough trouble already, honestly."

"True. Let's see if the latest comes back to haunt us."

There was a knock on the door, and Livia jumped. Darius stepped back as she answered it. Orla was at the door with a tray in her hands. "I brought you a bit to eat," she said. "I suppose you're going out again this afternoon. There's a message for you, as well."

Livia looked at the tray. "This is enough for two people," she said mildly.

Orla favored her with a I'm not stupid look. "Take it, girl," she said. "Diya's awake, by the way, and down in the workroom." Livia took the tray from her, and Orla turned and whisked away. Livia brought the tray into the room, closing the door behind her with her foot.

She set the tray down on the low table. "Pray that our luck holds," she said to Darius. "If it doesn't, we may be making our way east quite a bit sooner than I'd planned." She picked up a dish that turned out to be eggs in fish sauce, and served herself a bit, offering the bowl to Darius.

He took the dish from her. "I would like to see them go down before we have to go, but sometimes you can't beat them."

"Me, too. But, honestly, I'm not certain in whose hands I'd really want to leave the Empire." She sighed and ate, and the conversation turned to less worrisome things, both of them eating their fill before Livia opened the message she'd been sent. "Julia says she'll meet me in the baths in the late afternoon. I'll send a message to Neera before I go, and see if she'll come by tonight."

An hour and a half later found Livia riding in her litter towards the noble baths. Once inside the baths, she found their usual meeting place and settled in to wait.

Julia arrived a few minutes later. As the mage settled down across from her, Livia said, "Congratulations, I heard your news."

Julia inclined her head, smiling tightly. "Thank you, what can I do for you Livia?"

"I had a few questions, but mostly I wanted to ask you if you knew what this was." She unwrapped the blue vial she had with her and handed it to Julia.

She raised it up to the light and rolled it around for a bit, watching how the liquid inside moved. A small line had appeared between her brows as she appeared to take silent notes about it. "No idea currently," she said at last. "A potion of some sort, possibly a poison antidote."

"Hm. You'd think people would label these things. I found it in my house, when I searched it."

The mage pursed her lips. "Do you have more, and can I take this one?"

"Yes, and yes." Livia gave her the cloth that the vial had been wrapped in. "I suspect it might have something to do with the rat people, if it helps."

She nodded. "That will. We are coming to a crossroads here, Livia. The investigation into the death of Fausta has to wrap soon."

"I know. Do you have anyone you favor to pin it on?" Livia gave Julia a small, hard smile. "Zaran met with an accident, it seems, by the by."

"Does Faydren know that yet?"

"Not that I know of. He will soon, though, I imagine. He knew where Zaran was off to. I'm trying to arrange it so that he thinks Magentius was responsible, but I'm not certain if I'm going to be able to."

Julia raised one finely arched eyebrow. "How are you arranging that, if I may ask?"

"I had something that belonged to him that I dropped at the site. It'll be enough to link it to him, I imagine, though it's nothing even slightly like hard evidence. The rest I was going to try to arrange through rumor, but I don't have access to the right ears at the moment."

The other woman smiled. "I do. Trying to get Faydren to get rid of Magentius?"

"That was the thought. Magentius is sitting on top of enough poison to kill everyone in the city at the moment. I fear that with Zaran gone, he'll do something stupid. And gods know that I don't want to go up against Magentius directly if I can help it. Let someone else take the brunt of Constans' rage."

"That's a good plan. Magentius is not that worthy of an opponent but Constans can be very dangerous. I will do my best to pin the death of Fausta on Zaran, then, and close the case. I will wait, though, until Zaran is discovered dead." Julia was regarding Livia calmly, but Livia could feel her weighing her every word.

Livia nodded slowly. "Sounds good to me. If you could drop a word or two about Magentius in the right ears, I'd be appreciative. Do you have any idea who Faydren will want to replace Zaran?"

The mage smiled tightly. "Currently he doesn't know he's dead. I wouldn't bet on a replacement soon. He is running out of strong mage allies."

"He's going to have a number of people probably trying to convince him that the position should be theirs. well, it might distract him, at least. I had another question, speaking of. I know Sextus did some spying for the Tower, at least a little--was Hagia Sophia paying him, do you know?"

"He worked for me mostly. I do know that he did some work for Attius at some point as well as Pollius, and Statilla." She shrugged slightly. "What, I don't know. He was very tight lipped in life."

She chuckled ruefully. "I've been discovering that as I've gone along. I have an unexplained money trail, and no idea where to even begin looking for the person who was paying him."

Julia's eyebrows went up. "What do you know?"

"I have records of regular deposits made about every six months over the years, about a hundred gold each. The amount of money coming in increased markedly in the last six months. The man who holds it said that Sextus once mentioned something about mage gold."

"That is odd. I gave him money for expenses and things but not so regularly and not in larger amounts like that." She pursed her lips. "If it's Hagia Sophia money and he was doing something for the council, it will have a paper trail back to it."

Her suspicions confirmed, Livia said, "It had been coming in over eight years. I have my suspicions about where it was coming from, if it wasn't Hagia Sophia."

"Who do you think might have been doing it?"

She shrugged. "Linaeus, at a guess."

Julia shook her head. "Linaeus barely has enough money to rub together, let alone that kind of money."

"I thought he might have been, ah, redistributing some of what Geras has. I can't imagine Geras doesn't have quite a bit of money of his own."

I imagine that he does. And I suppose that is possible. But these clerics--" was that just the slightest bit of anger in her voice? "--tend to give their money away to the needy rather than spending it. I think I would look higher than Linaeus. The amounts sound more like a regent's money."

That had been one of her thoughts, as well. "Might be. Which regent, is the trouble. could have been any one of the three--though I actually think it might not have been Constantius. Unless however the money was being transferred was set up to run without the interference of the regent himself. The last few transfers were after Constantius was replaced, I believe."

"I would doubt Constantius myself. Sextus was already on the payroll. It would have to be above and beyond the normal call of duty for that amount."

Livia nodded and shifted, running her fingers absently along the arms of her chair. "I don't doubt that Sextus was doing some things under the table for him. But I think you're right. That leaves Constantine and Constans. He was meeting with Constans before he died, I know, but I thought that was about Esayis and Diya."

"It may well have been and if that's the case, that leaves Constantine. Have you had any contact with Constantine?"

She lifted one shoulder and dropped it again. "Briefly. He's on my list of potential allies. He saved me from a bad spot I was in a little while ago, after Faydren's party."

Julia's eyebrows raised again. "Why would he do that?"

"I was bringing him some news that he believed over what Faydren was telling him, about his son. He and I have had some contact over the years, just social things really." Livia smiled, a little self-consciously. "I rather thought he did what he did because he liked me more than he likes Faydren."

The other woman smiled, and in that smile was something very sharp. "Constantine is not a person that I would say liked anyone. But he may have done that because I do know he dislikes Faydren with a passion. I would look there for the money. Or at least a start."

Livia nodded. "Which leads me to another question. I was talking to Iraeus the other day, and he mentioned that recently, Sextus took a cloaked someone, probably a woman, down to the beachhead with him. I don't suppose that was you, was it?"

Julia shook her head. "No, I don't go out of the city much. Last time I was out of the city it was a good three months ago."

Surprised, Livia said, "This was less than a month ago. Not you, not Merouk, and whoever it was came back almost too exhausted to walk. Interesting."

"Spell casting can do that to you, but it would have to be a powerful spell."

"The only clue I have is a mirror, one that can see and communicate with people far away."

Julia leaned forward a bit, curiosity lighting her eyes. "If they were creating such an item, then I can see it."

Livia raised her hand and shrugged a bit. "They weren't creating it--Sextus got it from someone else, I think. Perhaps she was modifying it."

"If she was making it untraceable, that is one of the most draining spells."

"That certainly could be it. I left it with Darius, but if you'd like to see it sometime, I can arrange that."

"Yes, I can determine if it's meant to be untraceable." Julia sat back and they exchanged a few more words, arranging when Julia would send a message about the vial. Livia finally took her leave and returned to her home, where she discovered that Neera had replied to her message.

Zaran was gone for the evening and would not be back any time soon, so Neera was free to come by. Livia looked at the water-clock and decided she had enough time to talk over her meeting with Julia with Darius. She briefed him on what Julia had said, especially about Constantine.

Soon enough, their talk returned to Linaeus and Geras. "If the locket Collita gave me works, I may be able to trap Geras if I have to get Optata out. So at least that loose end would be tied." She took a long breath, thinking. "I wonder if Linaeus will know what to do with himself, if Geras dies? He told me why he's still with him, but I'm certain it was a half-truth."

"What did he say?"

"He said it was originally to try and talk him out of his anger, and now to watch him." Livia shrugged. "Might be true, as far as it goes."

Darius nodded. "He does seem to try and buffer him a bit."

"It doesn't explain why anyone with a bit of humanity in him would stay around Geras. He seems to try and protect people from him--or, at least, me." She picked up a pastry from the tray, and bit into it savagely.

Darius was frowning, and he had that abstracted look in his eyes that Livia was coming to know very well as a sign that he was putting something together in his mind. "Geras can be used as a means to an end. Geras can make changes and be blamed for them all the while Linaeus manipulates from behind the scenes."

Slowly, Livia said, "That is a very, very ugly thought. But it makes a lot of sense."

"One has to wonder, if this line is taken farther, that Linaeus may be controlling Geras and even darker along those lines whose pulling Linaeus around. Thalea? His mother Julia? She did just get back on the council with our help, you know."

"Yes, yes she did. Back from the place she got pushed into when she was dropped from the council for heresy."

"And with each passing council member, her allies get to take over those positions." Darius's voice held no amusement.

"which brings me back to why, if that's what's happening. What's their end goal?"

He spread his hands. "Julia takes control of Hagia Sophia. A puppet Geras holds the regency."

"And Julia and Linaeus rule the Empire, eventually." The thought took Livia's breath away.

Darius nodded. "Yes, they do. All speculation, but all could be true."

She bit her lip. "It could be. And they'd have used us to get there--and if we run, eventually, they have to worry about us coming back and causing trouble."

"Which means they won't let us run. They will kill us. Now is that what Sextus uncovered or was it the Geras thing in the first place?" He shifted, frowning. "Either story makes sense until we have more evidence."

"There are days I wish my husband had been in the habit of writing these things down." She gave Darius a wry smile.

"But you can see the need not to."

"Oh, yes, I certainly can. All he could do was leave me a trail and hope I followed. Julia will let us know tomorrow morning about the vials, by the way. I'm starting to wonder if taking it to her was the right thing to do, but it's done now."

Darius gave her one of his gentle, reassuring smiles, one of the ones he used when she was getting nervous and he wanted to keep her calm. He's very good at managing me, she thought. Almost as good as Sextus was, and he's getting better very quickly. That probably ought to worry me. But if it keeps me centered and calm, I can't really object.

"Can't second guess yourself in this game, you would be paralyzed," he said, his voice calm.

"No, I have to make my decisions and deal with the consequences as they arise. I just have to remember that I need to beware of Linaeus no longer having a use for me, is all."

He nodded. "He may keep you around as an asset of sorts if he is playing that game or he may just have no reason to kill you as your goals are the same. It's a tricky game that makes my head hurt."

"Well, at least I've no desire to rule the Empire. We don't conflict on that one, anyway."

Darius made a sound that was half chuckle, half snort. "Might be better if you did."

Livia laughed. "What would I do with it? I've never wanted that kind of power, or that kind of responsibility. If you think this is bad, it's about a hundred times worse when you're officially in charge--lots and lots of people want you dead, rather than a handful and a half."

"At least you would know that everyone is your enemy at that point."

She gave him a smile that she knew held more than a little exhaustion in it. "I suppose it's a more clear-cut position than this one, isn't it?"

They continued talking for some time, mulling things over, and then Livia rose. "Neera should be arriving soon. I'll let Orla know that I'm probably going to sleep late tomorrow." He nodded as she left.

Neera arrived precisely on time, and was escorted up to Livia's chamber. She set up and they talked for a while about the weather and other harmless topics. Finally, when the musician was nearly set up, Livia asked, "Neera, I was actually wondering how much was left on your debt to Faydren. How long do you think it'll take you to complete it?"

"Far too long, lady," she replied in a soft voice. "It's just under a thousand gold. If it were just the education, I would have been free by now. But the harp is what keeps me bound to him. It was expensive to find the right materials, which I couldn't afford."

Livia nodded and drew her legs up under herself. She was sitting in her sleep-shift on her bed, watching the harpist set up. "Ah. If I were to pay your remaining debt, and give you enough extra to get as far away from here as you could manage, would you?"

Neera's hands had been stroking the stings lightly. At her words they stopped cold, and Neera looked up with hope--and fear--flaring into life on her face. "Quickly, lady, but Faydren has a far reach, I fear."

"He may well be distracted for a few days. I may be able to come up with something that will at least hide you from his sight, given a day or so."

The harpist's voice was very soft, but there was a wild joy behind it. "Thank you, lady, for the offer. I would gladly accept if you would do me that kindness, but I couldn't repay you either."

Livia gave the other woman a soft smile. "Don't take this the wrong way, but your absence would be repayment enough for me. I don't like the power Faydren has with you in his household. Besides. A Lady occasionally rewards those who've brought her heart ease richly."

She bowed her head over the strings, and her hands began to move on the harp once more. "It does give him an unfair advantage, lady. Are you ready?"

Livia nodded and lay down, pulling the blanket up over her shoulders. Once again, the music of the harp followed her down into sleep, and this time a few of the pleasant memories that she saw as she descended deeply were more recent. A kiss stolen when she was still mazed from sleep, a voice telling her that her three daughters were going to need her. Darius saying her name as if it were a prayer.

She dove deep, and once more the dreams began.

Faydren was standing in the desert, in the place where she and Linaeus had buried Magentius. He looked at the soil before him, and closed his eyes. Then he raised his hands and slammed them together. In response, the dirt lifted out of the grave, and with it Zaran's body.

Faydren opened his dark eyes, his thin face thunderously angry. He pulled something from one of the pouches at his side, a dark cloth with something in it that glittered in the setting sun. Shards of glass, covered with a fine whit powder.

Magentius's vial.

He threw the cloth and the contents away from him, the shards of glass taking on the sun's fire and then their own fire as Faydren spoke a sharp word and the cloth and the glass both burned, flared, and left nothing but ash behind.

The mage's voice was quite and murderous. ""Not yet Magentius, not yet. But Zaran, you will be avenged." He gestured, and Zaran's dirt-covered body floated to the ground, to stare with dull, open eyes at the sky one last time.

He turned and walked towards the stunted trees where Darius had lain after the battle. Livia tensed with nervousness, but he did not stop to look for the blood that had spilled onto the dirt. He pressed on a rock formation very close to the small boulder that she'd spent much of the night sitting on. It swung away, inward.

He walked forward into a small cave, entering a passage downward into a small mage laboratory. Torches flared as he approached. There were large cages lining the walls, full of people--Sassenid men and women, silent and watchful. Faydren walked up to one cage that held five men, gestured, and began a low chant.

The men screamed. Their bodies began to twist, their heads lengthening, their limbs shortening. They were becoming rat creatures.

Livia closed her eyes. When they opened again, the scene had changed. It was Lukas and Julia, Julia looking a bit younger then she did today, Lukas looking about Livia's age. Age had not changed the stubborn set of Lukas's chin or the fire in his eyes, but Livia was surprised to see much the same stubbornness on Julia's face. She was holding a child, no more than an infant, wrapped in a blanket and squirming in that way children did when someone was holding them too tightly.

Julia's voice was sharp and angry. "I will not have a disabled child for a son!"

Lukas looked at Julia, and Livia was surprised to see not only anger but a deep sorrow in his eyes. "He is what he is," he said, his voice calm.

"I an change that," she replied, her eyes narrowing.

The scene dissolved and shifted, to the same place but a while later. Julia was sitting, a child on her lap, this time about three years old. Livia recognized Linaeus, and when the child looked up at his mother, she saw those yellow cat-slit eyes.

Julia looked up as Lukas walked into the room. She kissed Linaeus on the forehead and murmured at him to run and play. The boy was out of the room like a shot, brushing past his father. Julia smiled. "His eyes work now. He can see things no one else can, no human eye could ever see."

There was that same sorrow in Lukas's eyes that there had been before. "But at what cost, Julia? Those eyes have a spirit all their own. What damage might they do to his mind?"

Julia shook her head, her golden curls bouncing. "It doesn't matter, he can see better than you or I can."

Lukas's voice was deep and grave. "It may just drive him mad or, worse, the demon you got those eyes from may overtake his mind."

The scene slipped away from Livia, shifted until she could hear a voice screaming, a familiar voice. Constantius was writhing on the floor of his own basement, his body shifting and changing in a sickeningly familiar way. Geras stood nearby, watching.

Geras smiled, his demon eyes glittering. "Must hurt a lot. That is good. By tomorrow he will have killed Sextus and I will become him."

Willfully, she shoved that dream away from her, only to fall directly into another. This time, it was Faydren again, perhaps yesterday, speaking to Collita as she stood before him. "Zaran is gone for a few days. You will secure Constantius's rooms for him. Please finish by the end of the week and make sure you do as we talked about. I want a way into those rooms and make sure Constantius's locket doesn't work at all. If I have need to kill him quickly, this will be the fastest way without the greatest suspicion."

Collita's face did not shift expression, did not change in any way. Faydren continued, "I expect Livia to show up at some point to check on Optata. Find out how she blocks Neera and what it is that does it." Collita nodded silently, and Faydren turned and left.

Only then did Collita's delicate face change. Her eyes went hard and her chin raised slightly, and she muttered, "Maybe if I feel like it, you pain in the ass."

Livia fell again. This time she landed in a smoky, dimly lit room. A man in mage's dress lay on a low couch, the end of a pipe dangling from his slack lips. The light shifted and she could see the symbol he wore openly on his chest. He was Hagia Sophia council. It had to be Attius.

The light changed again, this time a shadow passing over Attius. Livia looked up and saw someone huge looming over him. Whoever they were, they were nearly as big as Iraeus. It might be Iraeus, for all she could tell.

The big man held a sword that descended on Attius, who didn't even twitch as the blade went through his neck, his head falling cleanly to the floor. The man cleaned off the blade and quickly divested Attius of his garments, including the Hagia Sophia symbol. The body he left where it lay, naked and forlorn.

Pulling on the dead man's clothing over his own as best he could, the big man's body shrank and changed, becoming identical to Attius. The man who had just taken Attius's form then turned and smiled. "Two can play at this game, Geras."

A web wrapped around Livia as she fell, landing this time in what must be Julia's office. Julia was standing there, looking at Thalea. Thalea's mouth was set, and she appeared somewhat annoyed. Julia said, "I know Linaeus is around again, Thalea. I know about your past relationships. I would like to know what my son is doing if he contacts you again."

The other woman made a visible effort to control her annoyance. "As you wish, lady," she said in a soft voice. She turned and left, walking out of Hagia Sophia, towards the older noble section of town.

Thalea's path took her down twisting and turning streets, down alleys and, once, through someone's yard, ducking under laundry hung to dry. In a part of town that Livia had never seen, Thalea gave a small cry and ran forward, Linaeus rising from the stoop on which he had been sitting to meet her. They kissed passionately, murmuring to one another, both of them nearly incandescent with happiness. Livia thought to herself, surprised, Linaeus is truly handsome when he's happy. I can see what she sees in him.

A brief glow surrounded the two of them, Linaeus seeming to not notice at all. They parted and Linaeus began to walk away, beckoning Thalea to follow. His footsteps were light, almost skipping.

Livia watched as Thalea began to follow, an odd look in her eyes. She murmured as she passed where Livia was watching, "It's best, my love. And it's the only way I know."

From around the corner, just after Linaeus and Thalea left, stepped Julia. She was scowling, almost snarling, as she watched them disappear.

The scene dissolved and reformed. A woman that Livia had never seen before stood in front of a window overlooking a garden. The room behind her was crowded with plants, more plants than Livia had ever imagined could have been put into one room.

The woman was perhaps in the middle of her fourth decade, grey streaking her unkempt hair. She was dressed not as a Roman woman but as a mage, her dark eyes looking a bit lost. She was tall, perhaps a bit heavy, and she leaned on the windowsill as if it were the only thing real in the world. She spoke in a low voice, tears threatening in her eyes. "Sextus, why did you have to leave me like this so soon? You didn't have to sacrifice your life. You could have gotten away."

Cold broke like icewater over Livia and her dream shifted again, this time to a richly appointed room that she recognized as Constantine's study. He was sitting and Sextus was across from him, both men with glasses of wine in their hands. Constantine set his down. "Sextus, this job is dangerous and could get you killed. Your old friend Geras is back and he is working on killing me and my brothers. I have no idea how, but I need you to find out. No matter what. If it comes to your death, I will take care that Livia will be looked after."

Sextus looked up at him, and Livia saw a familiar look on his face, a fierce protectiveness that she'd sometimes seen in him when something--illness, another child--had threatened their daughter. His voice was soft. "Livia will not rest if I die doing this."

Constantine's blue eyes were cold as ice. "I am counting on it."

The dream faded and Livia fell once more, this time into darkness.

Livia was awakened by a solid body curled up around her and a warm breath on the back of her neck. She muttered and shifted, pressing herself against the presence behind her. Her first thought was Sextus, but then she woke a little more, and remembered. "Darius," she murmured. "What time is it?"

"Still morning," he said, his deep voice amused. "You're not expected up for some time." She felt his lips on the back of her neck, kissing her. "How were your dreams?"

"Enlightening--mmmmm." She arched her neck, shamelessly asking for more of what he was doing. "You're distracting, you know."

He chuckled. "I've been told this before." He proceeded to prove exactly how distracting he could be. Evidently, he was feeling much better than he had yesterday. Afterwards, they fell to talking, Livia telling him everything that she'd seen.

When she described the woman who had been in a plant-filled room, he said, "That sounds like Statilla, the one on the council. No idea what she was doing with Sextus, though."

"I don't think it was the obvious," Livia said, shoving away the jealousy that was threatening.

Darius shook his head. "She's not his type, Livia. There's something going on there, but it's impossible to tell what."

"Speaking of, you do have any idea what was going on with Thalea and Linaeus? What kind of spell was that? A love spell, do you think?"

"No. Deeper than that, I think. Remember what Lukas said about the demon."

"Something to counteract the spirit that came with his eyes." It made sense. "Something to make him into the kind of person Thalea wants to love."

"He went downhill quickly when he and Geras left."

"And he seems calmer and happier after he's with her. Like when he came to heal us. We had an actual pleasant conversation, that day."

Darius had one arm around her shoulders, and he tightened that arm around her. "He'd offering to do things that are going to get him killed, and he's down in the Sassenid quarter every night. Geras is going to find out, sooner or later, and Linaeus is going to be in serious trouble."

"I'm sort of hoping that we'll get to Geras before that happens," said Livia. She sighed and turned in his arms, and they continued talking until the lateness of the hour--and the familiar footsteps of Orla, who kept passing by, pausing at Livia's door, and moving on--spurred them to get out of bed. Darius slipped back to his own room while Livia shrugged on a robe and then called for wash water to be brought and a meal to be prepared. Diya passed by her door, looking in, her impish eyes telling Livia that she knew exactly where Darius had been that morning.

Livia gave her a warning look and pointed downwards, towards the workroom. Diya grinned and vanished. Livia rolled her eyes and then chuckled. Her stepdaughter had one toe over the line, as usual, but she was finding it difficult to be even a little angry with her.

She's going to be an incredible woman when she grows up, she thought. Grey-eyed Athena, help me protect her, because I think she's going to need it.

Help me protect them all...