The Angel in the House

Lukas was a hard sell, initially.

They'd met Attius, or Hadrius, on their way out of the city near sunset, walked mostly in silence to Lukas's camp, and as usual met Lukas near the edge of it. Hadrius dropped his disguise, becoming once more the hulking man that Livia had seen in her dream, and they went to Lukas's tent to talk.

The two men largely let Livia talk to him, as if she had any better chance than they did of convincing the priest to come into the city and work on the potion for the rat people with Hadrius. He put up a fuss about the disguise, but Livia managed, through basically telling him that it was either this or hundreds of people who did not otherwise need to die dead. He finally relented. She mentioned Aranis, and he agreed to do what he could to help her.

He would come in with them in the morning. Darius and Livia left Hadrius and him to wrangle about disguises, and went to the tent that had been set up for the two of them.

Morning came, and this time the morning sickness was quite a bit better than it had been for the few days prior. She sighed in relief. It would follow this pattern, giving her trouble for a few days and then being all right for a few days, for the next few months.

They walked back to the gates. Lukas was a now young man of indeterminate racial heritage, possibly of mixed blood, with a neatly trimmed mustache and a general air of competence. In the end, he'd agreed to pose as a physician. It was a disguise that would get him into the places he needed to go with a minimum of fuss.

Hadrius accompanied them back to the regent's house. They would let Lukas see what he could do for Aranis, and then he and Hadrius would make their way back to Attius's house and start work on creating large quantities of the transformation potion.

The house was quiet. Orla would have slept here, but Diya had likely gone back to Livia's house for the night. Livia reminded herself that she needed to speak to Iraeus about some guards for her, preferably sooner rather than later.

The place in the house that was not quiet was the corridor near where Aranis was kept. Muffled grunts and groans came from the door, and Lukas's eyes became very worried indeed. The guard on the door bowed to Livia and allowed them to pass.

Aranis was thrashing and moaning inarticulately. Lukas said to Darius, "Hold her flat. This shouldn't take long." Darius nodded and crossed the room to hold down Aranis's shoulders. Lukas followed him, and when the woman was still for a moment he placed his hands on either side of her head, looking down at her intently. A glow came from his hands, haloing her head and her unkempt, tangled hair.

Lukas straightened and nodded to Darius, who released Aranis. The priest came over to Livia as the woman began to thrash again, and said, "There is a lot of damage in there."

"Can it be fixed?"

He nodded. "Maybe. She will probably get better but she may never fully recover. There is a small chance I could kill her but I consider that remote. One thing though, that damage is magic in nature. She was made this way."

Livia nodded. "I thought it might have been. She's been kept like this for twenty years or so."

"If someone did this, and it would have to be someone good at this sort of thing, they may have left problems behind."

"What kinds of problems?"

"There is greater chance that this may backfire and it will kill the caster that's trying to heal them."

Nothing's ever easy, is it? "Would that have been intentionally left?"

Lukas grimaced. "Oh yes, a trap Constantine the first laid a great many times through Hagia Sophia to thin the pagan god clerics, as he called them."

She sighed, "The person who did this may well have left something like that behind, then. In fact, I'd almost bet on it. Is there anything that can be done do disarm that particular trap?"

"Maybe, but once I start, I won't know until I get there." He shook his head. "By then it's too late, and I may be able to get rid of it but it may kill me at the same time. It's chancy. There is a third option. I may be able to do what Pollius was doing, mask the spell some and instead of calming her, make her coherent for a time. It will last a few hours, but it will have to be done daily."

"Is there anyone but you who could cast that?" she asked.

"Of course, but only Linaeus is in the city that could do it. Everyone else who could is banned."

"I don't have a good reason to have him over here on a daily basis publicly, but I may be able to think of something. I don't really want you keep you in the city any longer than you need to be here. I think the masking option's a good one, for the moment." Livia glanced at the closed door of Aranis's room. "You know, there was something I forgot to ask Pollius. She kept on trying to escape. I wonder if she was just trying to get out, or if she had somewhere she was trying to get to."

Lukas said, "You will get some questions out of her if that will help." Livia nodded, and he said, "Then I will proceed."

They went back into Aranis's room, and at Lukas's approach the woman quieted. He pulled a chair up by her bed and sat down, reached over, and laid his hands on Aranis's head. He began to chant, his pleasant voice rising and falling, his entire attention on the woman under his hands.

Livia stepped back, next to Darius, and her hand sought his, slipping her fingers between his. Hadrius glanced over at the two of them, then kept watching Lukas as he worked.

His chant came to a close, and then he got up. Livia asked quietly, "Thank you. You said it would last a few hours?"

He shook his head, "A few hours at best. Whoever did that was an expert. I not even sure that can be removed safely."

Livia drew a breath. "He's the best, I'm afraid." She moved to where the woman could see her if she opened her eyes. "Aranis? Can you hear me?" she said in a quiet voice.

Aranis's eyelids fluttered open, and she blinked. Her eyes were pale blue, looking almost faded. "Who are you?" she asked in a voice rusty with disuse.

"My name is Livia Neria," she said to the woman. "My stepdaughter is heir to this household, and I'm caring for things for her until her majority."

"Where's Constans?"

"I'm afraid he died recently, Aranis. I'm sorry."

Aranis made a face and tried to sit up, making a face as she found her wrists still secured to the bed. Livia made a soft sound and reached over to unstrap her. The woman sat up, and Darius handed Livia a blanket, which she draped over Aranis's shoulder. Aranis shook her head. "That's all right, he was a bastard. What day is it, and what year?"

"Eleventh day to the Kalends of October, three-thirty-seven." [ed. note: the twenty-first of September.]

She took a breath, and rubbed her eyes. "Really, that long." Her hand froze. "Faydren, what about Faydren?"

Livia nodded. "He's alive and well, and still leader of Hagia Sophia."

"Still?" Her eyes widened.

Darius leaned over and murmured into her ear. "After her time, about eighteen years for Faydren."

Livia nodded. "He became leader about eighteen years ago. I didn't know if you remembered that, or not."

"No," she said softly. "Please, can I see him?"

"I think it can be arranged." Livia smiled. "I'm certain he'll want to see you. He never married, you know."

Aranis muttered, "I wish I hadn't."

"It seems to have brought you nothing but grief. Do you remember anything of the last twenty years?" Livia asked.

"Bits and pieces. A man's face, aging over time."

"Pollius. He's been--caring for you for the entire time."

Aranis blinked. "He's the one with the slitted eyes?"

Livia nearly choked. Geras. Or Linaeus. Oh, hell. "No, not that I know of. what did this man look like, can you describe him?"

"Slitted eyes, dark hair, bad attitude. Big guy, maybe not as big as the bruiser behind you, but he has sword calluses on his hands."

Definitely Geras. "Do you remember what he did when he came to see you?" she asked.

"He touched my head and spoke."

Livia kept her eyes on Aranis's face. "Nothing else?"

She shook her head. "No, but I remember screams from the other room." She thrust her chin in the direction of Magentius's room.

Livia let out a soft breath. "Ah. There was another here, evidently in somewhat the same condition as you were."

Aranis pulled the blanket closer around her shoulders. "That's sad, that two were tortured."

"The other got his revenge. it was his sword that killed Constans."

The woman's eyes widened, and Livia saw that her expression was beginning to clear a little bit. "Magentius, no. He wouldn't have. He was a very gentle man."

Livia's eyebrows went up. "You and I knew two very different versions of Magentius, then."

Aranis shook her head, raising her hand to her mouth. "The man made him do things, say things. I remember, he came in here sometimes and cried all night. But he couldn't stop." Her voice was soft and heartbroken, her eyes filled with tears. "Tried to kill himself but later couldn't. Tried to catch something that would kill him. Another demon eye healed him."

Livia reached out and put her hand on Aranis's shoulder. "He was caught running from the scene and was executed. He might have been under the slitted-eyed man's control."

"We all are." Her eyes were wide, and she hunched in on herself.

Quietly, she asked, "Was Constans?"

"Constans tried to break them, but the demon eyes refused to heal him anymore."

What was she talking about? "Break them? How?"

"Something in the room they couldn't find."

"That kept their control away from him?"

Aranis nodded. "Yes, demon eyes couldn't get through." Her voice had been getting steadier, and she seemed to be more oriented to her surroundings.

"And because he was keeping away the one, the other wouldn't heal him of his illness any more?"

"No. He was dying. Constans was a bastard, but he tried to stop them." She rubbed her eyes. "The other still searches for the room. The daily one. He asks every day, but I never told him. He searched but couldn't find it."

"Do you know where it is?" Livia took a sharp breath. "Wait. Even if you do. Don't tell me. Don't tell anyone, ever."

"Why?" Aranis asked.

"Because there are some things that are best left unknown, and that's one of them. The man with the slitted eyes has many, many allies. He's even worked with Faydren sometimes."

Aranis frowned, and seemed to shrink a bit. Her voice was very small. "Faydren was good once. He changed when his father made me marry."

"He's become very hungry for power these days," Livia remarked, as neutrally as she could. Perhaps Aranis could shed a bit more light on Faydren.

"All he had left. His father took the rest."

"What happened with that?" Livia asked. "I know his father refused to acknowledge him because he was born out of wedlock."

Aranis straightened. "He showed talent for magic and his father banished him to Ankara, alone and without money. His mother sent him what she could smuggle. He had a streak of hate, but we met and fell in love. We returned to tell my father and his." She shivered and closed her eyes, her voice taking on a clipped tone. "His father came apart. Killed my family, blamed it on clerics and their witchcraft. Started purging the clerics. Didn't kill me. Wanted to prove a point. Had me married to the youngest son, the one who favored boys. Banished Faydren again."

Livia took a long breath, suddenly understanding. He was the reason Constantine started the purges? "Aranis, this might be difficult, but...do you remember having a child?"

"I was with child at my marriage. I remember the boy, but just as a baby." Her voice had gotten soft, and regretful.

"Ah. He was betrothed to my stepdaughter. That's how Diya came to be Constans's heir."

"If she is his heir, Esayis is dead?"

"He is, I'm afraid. I'm sorry."

Aranis bowed her head, a look of pain crossing her face. A minute or so later, she raised her eyes again. "Who's left?" she asked.

"Constantine and his son Cyricus. Constantius, in a way. Julia is still alive, Lukas escaped the purges, Statilla is alive. I've heard that Collita died recently."

There were tears in Aranis's eyes again. "So many dead," she murmured. "So many."

"Especially recently. My husband Sextus was among those that have died in the last month."

She recognized the name, Livia saw. "I'm sorry too. Sextus. Demon eyes got to him?"

"I believe so. It's why I've ended up here. I started looking into his death and discovered all sorts of things, including that he had a daughter from a previous relationship."

Aranis tilted her head, her faded eyes widening. "The daughter that should have been his?"

There was all manner of information in that statement. Livia nodded. Geras revealed much to Aranis in his visits, it seems. Of course Geras would have thought of Diya as the daughter that should have belonged to him, not Sextus.

Lukas broke in, his voice serious. "She's fading. If you need something else, now's the time."

"Why don't you want to know about the room?" Darius asked, holding his voice low enough that she knew it was meant for her alone.

She glanced at the mage. "Because I don't know if Geras has anything in this room to listen to what she says, and she's going to talk to Faydren tomorrow, I hope," she said, keeping her voice as low as his.

"Good point, but it's got to be useful."

She nodded. Risk it, or no? She turned back to Aranis. "Could you tell me a bit about that room that keeps the slitted-eyes man away?"

"Its small, smaller than you can imagine but larger than you think. It purges magic but only once per day. The magic that it takes can be changed and used." Aranis's voice had become uncertain. "That's all I know. Except where it is. I saw Constans once use it."

Livia leaned forward a bit. "Which part of the house? Not which room, but which section?"

Her voice had dropped to a whisper, and her eyes were wide. "Outside."

"Ah. Thank you, Aranis." Livia nodded at Lukas, who stepped forward and murmured to Aranis. Obediently, she lay back down, and Lukas changed briefly as she closed her eyes.

Livia rose silently and walked out. The three men followed her to a reception room, Hadrius closing the door behind her. Darius leaned on the back of a heavy chair. "What the hell was that? What's going on?"

"A couple of possibilities. Either Geras is moonlighting as Pollius, or Pollius was telling the truth. I'm guessing its the former."

Darius shook his head. "She knew the difference. They both were coming?"

"I think so. Geras was doing the damage and Pollius was trying to fix it."

"And he was controlling Magentius. And trying to control Constans but couldn't?"

Livia nodded. "Yes, because of whatever that device is that Aranis was talking about."

"And that's where he got ahold of the digitalis to kill Collita. He was the one that made Magentius get it."

She pulled her palla up around her shoulders. Lukas and Hadrius had both seated themselves, seemingly perfectly willing to listen to Livia and Darius discuss what Aranis had said. "Had to have been," she said. "Magentius must have been under Geras's control for years and years."

"Then Constantine killed Constans. Why?" The line between Darius's brows was back. "So Magentius couldn't inherit and thereby be under Geras's control. Nice. Faydren tipped him off, didn't he?"

"I'm guessing he did. I think Faydren wanted Aranis out of the situation she was in."

Darius took a deep breath. "Geras made the Esayis clone and figured Magentius to do the rest but Faydren told Constantine, drafted a new will and killed Constans off, probably in mercy even, and blamed Magentius. Faydren gets revenge on Magentius and Geras has a new found respect for Faydren."

It all added together. "Damn. Faydren is good. Constantine's almost as good. No wonder Geras and Faydren made up."

"But now Geras killed Collita. And I bet Geras has no idea what he just did."

Livia smiled. "No, I really don't think he does. If we're good, we can tip off Faydren before he realizes the mistake he's made."

"And Faydren will go after Geras."

"And who knows which of them will kill the other?" Livia mused.

"Geras is a dead man." He chuckled quietly.

Lukas broke in, "And you have the cure for Aranis now."

Livia blinked. "Constans's blocking item?"

He shook his head. "No, Linaeus. Though that might work too." The priest shook his head. "You don't think that Linaeus didn't watch him do that do you? If he saw it done, he can undo it."

"This is going to be an interesting conversation with him I'm going to have, I can tell."

Lukas shrugged. "If he is as pliable as you say, it's going to be a short conversation. Just tell him to do it."

"The interesting part is going to be convincing him not to tell Geras," she replied.

"Yes. Do what you are going to do fast with Faydren. He will be too busy running to care."

Livia nodded and sat down herself, Darius following her lead. "I need at least a day. Perhaps two. I haven't yet figured out where a good place to stash a little evidence might be. I don't know where Geras keeps his mage things, and that's the best place."

"Tomorrow you bury Constans and Esayis, remember."

She nodded, distractedly. "I know. Fortunately, I'm the guardian of a rather emotionally fragile girl who won't be able to stay long after the burial. It will still take most of the afternoon, but not as much time as it will take for Constantius and Constantine."

The corner of Lukas's mouth twitched. "And Faydren will probably attend, leaving the house wide open."

"That's the thought. And people are used to seeing me wander in and out of Constantius's house, because of my daughter."

"Perfect time to plant a bit of evidence and how do you make Faydren go look for it?"

She smiled pleasantly. "A little bit of rumor. His harpist, Neera, occasionally comes to play for me. If I can get her over tonight, and she happens to talk to me about what's worrying me, and I say that Collita had said something worrying about getting vengeance on Constantius..."

Lukas took a deep breath. "And around it goes. You are going to whack the bees nest, aren't you?"

Livia grinned. "That's the thought. Faydren and Constantine have just rearranged my life, and not really to my liking. And Geras needs to be gone, and soon."

"I am sure he will, though he will try to take out anyone he can before he goes I will bet," he said warningly.

"That's part of the reason that the timing on this is tricky. I have to get Optata out, preferably right before Faydren makes his move. I have no doubt he'd kill her."

Lukas nodded. "Faydren plans things. He will have the evidence and then strike when the time is to his advantage."

"I may have to do something I'd hoped to avoid, then. If I can keep Geras from trapping me right away, I think it'll work."

"One can only hope."

Livia stood, smiling faintly. "I do. If you gentlemen will excuse Darius and I, I have some work I need to do."

Hadrius stood up, Lukas following suit. "We'll be at my house. It will take us a few days to do what needs to be done. Hold the fort, as it were."

"I will. Can you two find your own way out? Thank you, by the way, Lukas. Your help has been invaluable."

The two men nodded and left. Darius rose and came to put his arm around Livia. "Next?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"Messages. One to Iraeus, one to Neera. Then Linaeus."

He nodded and followed her as she went to the room that had once been Constans's library and study. There was paper and ink she'd had brought in, and Darius paced as she quickly wrote out her notes. In her message to Iraeus, she requested a pair of bodyguards for Diya, preferably one male and one female. She is a spirited girl, and mage-gifted, she wrote. I would prefer people who are used to working around both mages and nobility, if possible. Diya has a lot yet to learn.

To Neera, she simply wrote asking if she would be willing to come to the regent's house tonight, to see if there was anything she could do for Aranis. Then she looked up. "Close the door, please?" she asked Darius. "Time to talk to Linaeus."

Darius complied and then pulled up a chair behind her, at her shoulder. Livia fished the mirror out of its bag and held it on her lap. Linaeus, she thought.

The mirror shimmered and cleared to show Linaeus. He was sitting in what looked like Constantius's house, his eyes closed, seemingly in meditation of some sort. Livia waited a moment to make sure he was alone, and then spoke softly. "Linaeus? Can I speak to you for a minute?"

He opened one eye. The yellow iris of it surrounded a dark pupil that seemed to be less slitted and more rounded than it had before. "Yes Livia, go ahead."

"I was wondering if you might have time tonight to stop by Constans's house. Aranis, I think, could use your expertise."

He opened the other eye, looking at her. "You aren't contemplating what I think you are?"

Livia replied, "Getting her sane again, at least as sane as the damage that's been done to her mind over the years will allow." She smiled wryly. "I suppose you're going to tell me that this is a bad idea."

"Well, yes. Civil war is always a bad idea."

Of course. "And why would one woman returning to sanity cause a civil war, pray tell?" she said, her voice quiet but not bothering to hide the edge in it.

He shook his head. "What she knows about Geras. When she tells Faydren, he is going to kill him, me and anybody in the way. Once he starts killing, do you think he will stop there? Constantine, you, Darius, Diya, everyone that can even think about laying claim to the throne."

"You really think he'll go that far?"

His brows were drawn together, and he had a dark look in his yellow eyes. "Try it and find out, but yes I do."

Livia sighed. "It needs to be done. I think that I may be able to limit the damage, we'll see."

Linaeus shrugged. "As you wish. I will be over in a minute."

"It's the middle of the day. Shouldn't this wait until the evening at least?"

His voice was emotionless. "Whenever you wish, Livia."

"Tonight, after sundown. Do your best not to be seen on the way over." She took a breath. "I have another question for you, before I go. I've discovered that there are some secret places in Constans's house. Do you know if there's another room behind the library in Constantius's house?"

"There is."

"Does Geras use it at all?"

Linaeus shook his head. "Not much, he has some stuff in there, mostly weapons."

She thought forward, her mind ranging outward. "Ah, I see. Does he bother to have magical protections on it?"

He shrugged. "Very few, might be some small trigger alarm. Collita was working on things around the house. So I am not sure what's working and what's not working."

Livia frowned. She had no reason to know that Collita was dead. "Was working? She's not working on the house any more?"

"She died last night."

She took a breath. "Ah, no. That's sad, I only met her a few times but I liked her. How did she die?"

"Want the Constantius excuse or what really happened?"

"The excuse first, then what really happened."

He grimaced. "She was old and died of a heart attack. In truth, he poisoned her I am sure."

Livia twitched her eyebrows. "Why would he have done that?"

"The argument that I heard was that she was casting a spell directly on him. He freaked out and she gave an excuse of only needing it to match the locket to his body. He stormed off and in the morning she's dead."

"That is suspicious. But she was old, the excuse looks good."

"Very old. But with Magentius importing Digitalis for Geras, very easy to make it look like her heart gave out," he replied.

She sighed. "Another death on Geras's head."

"You do this, and there will be more, but on your head."

Livia's voice rose. "And what alternative do I have, really? Keep her as she is and hope that she comes out of it on her own? This woman has been kept a prisoner for twenty years."

"I don't disagree, Livia. Just warning you."

She took a breath. Some instinct struck her then, and she narrowed her eyes. "Actually, I have an idea. Don't come over tonight. Perhaps tomorrow. I'll contact you tomorrow afternoon."

His eyebrow twitched. "As you wish."

"Thank you, Linaeus. I'll talk to you later." She cleared the mirror and slid the mirror back into its bag. Softly, she said, "Damnit. He has a point."

"He always does."

Livia leaned her elbows on the table and sighed. "There may be something Neera might be able to do, I don't know. If nothing else, if we can block her memory of the last twenty years, it might keep a lid on things for a while, until the other stuff happens."

"It might work. The game is getting worse, Livia."

"It is. at the moment, Geras and Faydren are balanced against each other." She shrugged. "I kick the beehive and they're no longer balanced."

"And can you tip the balance without Faydren going bezerk?" He gave her a wry smile. "Some days, it is good to be the bodyguard."

She snorted. "Just the bodyguard, he says. I think I want to wait to see what happens with Collita before we bring Aranis back. Both Aranis and Collita's death might be too much for Faydren. If he's just avenging Collita, he may limit the bloodshed."

"He might. Faydren can have a vengeful streak. Look at Magentius. He didn't just kill him. He obliterated him."

She made a face. "And Magentius didn't really have any close associates that weren't already dead. If Geras gets wind of this before it happens, bad things will start to happen. we'll have the civil war I keep trying to prevent."

Darius shook his head. "You can't let it rest too many days, I fear."

"No, I can't. Things may shift soon. If this is the only opening I'm going to have, I had better use it." She sighed and rose. "I want to go look for the room. Want to come with me?"

He grinned. "Of course. Outside it is."

The garden outside was very well-kept, full of different kinds of trees and shrubs, late-blooming flowers, and bees buzzing from bloom to bloom. She could see a few bird nests in the trees and shrubs, and to one side a fountain or spring bubbled quietly. Livia couldn't help thinking that she wished Optata were here. She'd love it here, in this garden. There were even a few trees that had spaces beneath their low canopies that would be perfect for a child Optata's size--places that would be nearly hidden from view from adults.

She began to walk around the garden, Darius doing the same. Smaller than I can imagine, but larger than I might think. And he went there every day. Look for traffic patterns.

There were paths winding through the garden. All but one led to doors into the house. The exception led to a tall tree with an arching canopy, one that had a couple of benches underneath of it. A place for quiet contemplation, she assumed.

Maybe something more. She inspected the tree trunk, stepping around it and out of view of Darius. She ran her fingers over the trunk, looking for a catch or something like it. Then she glanced up into the canopy of the tree.

There was a birdhouse there, just within reach if Livia stretched and stood on her tiptoes. It was a plain little thing, made of rough wood, but the open doorway sparkled strangely.

Livia frowned, stretched herself, and touched the doorway.

The world vanished.

She was suddenly in a room, a larger room than she ever could have imagined existing. It ran for what might be miles in every direction, stone floor stretching away. The ceiling was glass, allowing the sun to shine in, and Livia could see snow-capped mountains through the glass. The air was warm, and there was nothing at all in the room that she can tell.

She turned around, looking for an exit. She felt uneasy when she saw nothing. If there was an exit, it was miles away, and she chuckled as she imagined using the mirror to tell Darius that she was trapped inside of a birdhouse. "Constans used this room, and he was no mage. Let's see--"

She visualized a control, something that would help her understand this place. Suddenly, in front of her, appeared a man.

It was Constans. Livia jumped back. "Um. Hello?" she said, shakily.

"Hello, Livia," said Constans.

He looked solid enough. Was this really Constans? "I take it this is your place, then?"

He shrugged. "Was, it's yours now."

Livia shook her head, confused. "You died. I think, anyway."

"Yes, Constans is dead." He was standing there, simply looking at her. Livia felt uncomfortable, but persisted.

"You look an awful lot like him. Who are you?"

He shook his head gently. "The keeper of this place."

"What is this place, anyway?"

Constans spread his hands. "A place of peace."

Livia looked around. A flock of birds passed overhead, beyond the glass. "Did Constans have this built?"

"No, it has been here from a time long before Constans."

She remembered why she'd come here in the first place. "I've heard that it can be use to purge magic. Is that the case?"

"It can be used to purge any magic brought to this place. But not from afar."

Livia was starting to get used to the fact that a dead man was standing in front of her. "Ah. So whatever needs to be purged must be brought here?"

"Yes, that is the nature of this place. It purges for whoever owns the entry."

"There's only one entry?"

"Correct," replied Constans.

"Did anyone other than Constans ever come here? During Constans's time, I mean."

He shook his head. "No one in Constans time."

"Before him were others, I assume," she said.

The keeper nodded. "Thousands."

Livia looked around again. Her eyes kept on thinking she was seeing things just at the edges of her vision. Something about the huge emptiness made the eye think there should be things there that there weren't. "How long has this place existed, and do you know who made it?"

"Since before man arose. The gods built it."

This is the sort of thing I'd build if I were a god, all right. "Oh. Does it do anything besides purging magic?"

He shrugged. "It used to."

"Why doesn't it now?"

"Lack of faith."

Livia drew in her breath. "Let me guess. Did that lack of faith start about the time that Constantine decided to purge the Empire of pagans?"

The keeper nodded. "Yes."

"I figured. What was it able to do, before?"

He gestured at the room around them, the space that did not echo even though it felt like it should. "The things it could do were only limited to the imagination of the owner."

To have seen it in its glory days... She felt a touch wistful. "Interesting. Can I bring someone else here, if I want?"

"If you wish, just be in contact with them when you enter."

"And how do I leave?"

The keeper shrugged. "Just ask."

Livia nodded and fingered the edge of her palla. "All right. Tell me, if you're not Constans, why do you look so much like him?"

"When the old owner dies, I assume their form. When you die, I will be you for the next owner."

"Ah. So you don't know everything Constans knew, then." Too bad, she thought ruefully.

"No, just what he told me."

She raised her eyebrows. "He came and talked to you?"

"Sometimes."

Livia bit back a sigh of frustration. The keeper was who the keeper was. He probably couldn't really volunteer any information for her. "What about?"

The keeper spread his hands. "All manner of things. Life, love, the true nature of the gods. Sometimes just the weather."

"He must have been lonely," she said, shaking her head.

"He was. No one he could trust."

She made a wry face. "There was a tragedy going on in the household that nobody ever really knew about. Now that I've mostly unraveled it, it really saddens me."

"It saddened him, but he was caught."

She turned around, her gaze sweeping the horizon. "As we all are, sometimes. Who did you appear as, for him?"

"Her name was Maris, his mother."

She turned back around again. "No wonder he came to talk to you. It must have been very comforting."

The keeper was looking at her with a neutral gaze. "I think it was."

"Does time pass in here like it does outside?"

He nodded. "It does."

It had been about five minutes. Livia probably had another five minutes before Darius would completely tear the garden apart looking for her. "Did Constans ever talk to you about someone named Diya, his son's betrothed?"

The keeper's gaze went past her, to the horizon. "He did."

"Did he ever mention making her his heir?"

"No, he didn't. He did like her but he couldn't let her marry Esayis."

"Why not?"

He said, "He couldn't let his only heir marry a commoner."

"True. Did he ever talk about Aranis, and what might happen if she regained her senses and went back to Faydren?" she asked.

"He spoke of war coming and he couldn't find a way out. Aranis was the key."

"What was her importance?"

The keeper spread his hands. "He knew of Geras and his collusion with Faydren. But he also knew that if Faydren found out about what Geras did to her, his rage would be beyond anything that he'd ever seen. Faydren would destroy Constantinople searching for Geras. He also knew that if she ever awoke and regained her mind that he would be killed in Faydren's effort to reclaim her."

"So he was stuck, then," she said.

"He was tied and so he kept the mage Pollius to keep her quiet. He knew that Geras owned him."

Livia's heart skipped a beat. "Geras owned Pollius, as well?"

The keeper nodded gravely. "Yes, it was the calming effect for her and the insanity effect for Magentius."

"So Pollius was the one driving Magentius mad, then." She started to feel the tangle that had been this household in her mind begin to unravel. "And Faydren didn't have any part in that?"

"He never knew."

"Did he ever say why Geras wanted Magentius to be mad?"

He replied, "No, but he did say that Aranis was the ace in the hole for Faydren. Only Geras and Linaeus could remove the process."

She sighed. "Indeed she is. Interesting. Poor woman. A few more questions, and then I need to go before I'm missed. Did Constans ever mention a man named Sextus?" The keeper nodded. "Did he mention why he was meeting with him?"

The keeper said, "Constans wondered if Diya was Sextus's child."

"What did Sextus say?"

"Sextus sidestepped the question, by replying, does it matter. She can not marry Esayis even if she was. Constans believed her to be."

Livia frowned. "Well, she's noble, but illegitimate. Sextus never married her mother. Were they meeting about anything else, or just that?"

"They held several meetings on the subject of Linaeus."

"What about him?"

His gaze went distant again. "Constans believed that without Linaeus, Geras would be less effective as a foe. Constans wanted to put a price on his head as well as Geras. He wanted Sextus to be the person that brought him down. Sextus thought that Linaeus could be turned and redeemed."

Livia nodded. "He was correct. Well, mostly."

"Sextus died before too many meetings between the three of them had taken place."

Her eyes went wide. "The three of them? Sextus, Constans, and Linaeus?"

The keeper nodded. Livia closed her eyes. Oh, Sextus. You were playing a game I'm not sure you had a hope of winning. I'm not sure I have much more of a hope. "I think I'd better go. If Darius tries to find me and can't, he's going to get worried. Can you put me back where I was?"

"It is the only way in or out. Goodbye, Livia." A door appeared before her, standing open, shimmering.

"Goodbye, Constans," she murmured, then stepped through the door.

She opened her eyes to see Darius standing right in front of her, staring at her, a deep scowl on his face. She glanced around, but evidently Darius hadn't begun uprooting things looking for her quite yet. She gave him a small smile. "Um. Sorry about disappearing like that."

His scowl didn't fade. "I assume you found it?"

"I did. It's...interesting. And the person who keeps the place is talkative."

His eyebrows went up, and his frown began to fade. "All right, that must have been interesting."

Livia grinned. "It was. Constans talked a lot to him, because he didn't exactly have a lot of other people to talk to. I found out some very interesting things. Geras owns Pollius, and Pollius was the one driving Magentius crazy."

The frown was completely gone now as he began to think about what she was saying. "That is useful. So does Faydren know?"

She shook her head. "No. He knows nothing of it."

"Interesting. So Geras has a spy on the council," he said.

"He does, and a very well-placed one at that."

"Nice." He glanced around, but they were the only people in the garden at the moment, and the tree shielded from view of most of the house. "One more person to kill."

"Well, we knew that we might have to, anyway. That's not really new." She gave him a half-smile. "Constans was of more or less of the same opinion as Linaeus when it came to Aranis. If he finds out, Faydren will destroy the city in order to get to Geras."

"So do we continue, and chance his wrath?"

She looked away from him, and leaned against the tree. "I don't know. The thought has occurred to me that Aranis might well be the excuse we need to get Neera out of Faydren's house for a while, though."

Darius nodded. "That is a thought. If we can rid ourselves of Geras forever, it might be worth the cost."

Livia still was looking away from him, at a sparrow that was hopping around in a flowerbed, scratching at the earth. "But if the cost is Optata's life, or Diya's? That's where I'm stuck. Almost anything else is worth paying. Their lives are not. Neither is yours."

"Nor yours, Livia." She looked up at him, a protest forming and then dying on her lips as she saw the look in his eyes. She might be willing to die for what needed to be done, but he wasn't going to give her up without a fight. "Our choices are limited, though. We have the means to take him down but we can't use it."

She put her back against the tree, feeling the rough bark through her dress. "We have Collita still. I think I want to see if that gambit works, first. Especially if we can get Neera into our household, Aranis is possibly more useful crazy than sane."

"Maybe. Think he will kill less people for his mother?"

She shrugged. "Possibly. I'm sure he loved her, but he also hasn't been waiting for twenty years for the chance to get her back, either. He might choose to target his rage."

He inclined his head. "No, that's true. He may just target the killer."

"I can only hope. Otherwise, we may find that Constantinople's crumbling around our ears," she replied. "It's very, very risky."

Darius nodded. "So the next step is?"

"Planting the evidence, and seeing what Neera can do for Aranis. If we can set it up so that she comes over every night and morning for a little while, I'll be able to use her to get word back into Faydren's ears."

"And see if Faydren takes the bait? What about Aranis?"

"Yes. Aranis we can leave as she is for a while. The only problem is, if Linaeus gets killed, that's her last hope of ever regaining her sanity. Only Linaeus and Geras can undo it."

Darius shrugged. "And Geras isn't going to want to do that."

"Never." She gave the big mage a small smile. "Giving Faydren a little hope, a little glimpse that Aranis might get better one of these days, can only work in our favor. I may be able to use that hope. We'll see." She pushed herself away from the tree, and sighed. "There are things that need doing."

She started to walk away from the tree back towards the house. Darius followed her. "I saw that you were having the room on the other side of yours prepared. Who for?" He was referring to the fact that across the hall from the regent's chambers where Diya would be sleeping were the chambers that Livia and Darius were taking. They were linked by a door, not unusual in households where important family members would have their own retinue of guards. On the other side of Livia's bedroom was the small bedroom that had been Magentius's. Livia had ordered it stripped and pretty furnishings brought in, fresh linens and a bed with no straps. She'd also ordered the doorway that linked her bedroom to that room unbricked, and a real door installed.

Livia gave him a tired smile. "Optata." At his surprised look, she shrugged. "We all have to have hope, Darius. If I keep acting as if she'll be with me any day, then I can keep hoping."

He laid a hand silently on her shoulder for a moment, and she took a deep breath. Then they walked into the house.

*****

Neera replied to her message, saying that she would visit that night. Faydren almost did not allow me to go, but when I told him it was for Aranis he relented. Iraeus, too, replied to the message she'd sent with a pair of Ares priests. One was male, small and wiry but loaded down with more weapons than it seemed possible for one man to carry. The other was a woman nearly as large as Darius, almost as muscled as she remember Iraeus himself as being. Both were heavily scarred, and very ugly.

Livia introduced Diya to her new bodyguards, and then shooed them out. "I have something to talk to you about," she said to her stepdaughter. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Darius press his lips together and sidle towards the door. Fat lot of help you are, sometimes, she thought.

After he was gone, Diya asked, "All right, what now?"

Livia took a breath. "You're the heir to a powerful position that you can't yourself occupy, Diya. There are too many people whom your death would directly benefit. We need to shield you from that. I've taken the precaution of finding someone who you being linked with wouldn't put in more danger than they had been."

Diya's voice was sweet, and Livia winced. Diya only used that tone when she was thinking about being difficult. "And who might that be?"

"Constantine's son Cyricus."

"Esayis's cousin? He's boring!" Diya jumped up and began pacing. "I just lost both of the men I've ever really loved, and you propose to marry me off to some regent's son like I was just some cow you're going to trade away? I don't want to marry anyone, much less some pompous brat who doesn't know a spell from a hole in the ground!"

Livia watched her stepdaughter. "It's only an informal betrothal. Something to keep the wolves away from the door and give us something plausible to say when people come sniffing around. Unless you'd like to marry Faydren instead?" Her voice was low. "He knows a spell from a hole in the ground, I hear."

"Faydren? But he's old!"

"You're right. He's your father's age, about."

"No," hissed Diya. "No. I won't. I won't marry anyone. Esayis was the only man I ever wanted to marry, and he was willing to give up everything he had for me."

"That is just about enough of that, young lady." Livia rose, and her voice was as cold as a mountain wind. "You've just inherited a title you cannot bear, and a position you cannot occupy. It is not fair, but it is the law. You have been acknowledged as a noblewoman, and that comes with a number of responsibilities. Among them is the need to marry for political connections, and for children."

Diya's eyes widened, and she fell back a step as Livia stepped forward. "Noblewomen never have a choice of who they marry on their first marriage. Some marriages are good, others bad, and you never know beforehand which you'll get. Who knows? Cyricus might be boring, but he might also be kind. You might come to love him eventually. As your father did me." Livia saw tears fill her stepdaughter's eyes. "I wasn't his first choice. I knew I wasn't, even at the time. But he was the man my father had chosen for me to marry, and so marry him I did. It was only later that I discovered that I loved him, and he me."

Diya turned away. Livia said quietly, "I'm sorry, Diya. I wish I'd been able to give you more time to deal with everything else before springing this on you. But I needed to see you settled, in case--" She broke off.

"In case? What do you think's going to happen?"

Livia met Diya's eyes. "In case I go out one of these nights and don't come back."

"You can't. You can't die on me, too--" Diya took a few stumbling steps and threw her arms around Livia. "Everyone else is gone!" Her voice rose into a wail. "You can't leave me, not now, not yet--" The girl finally broke down into inarticulate sobbing, and Livia held her, murmuring to her. She got the girl sat down on a low couch and stroked her hair.

"I promise I'm going to do my best to live through this, Diya," she said. "For you and your sister, if nothing else."

Diya sniffled and wiped her eyes and nose on the hem of her dress. "I want to meet him before I agree," she said. "For all I know, he could be ugly, or mean, or have a hare lip or something."

"I've seen him, he's perfectly pleasant-looking, and, well, he seems nice enough. A bit spoiled, I thought." Livia squeezed her stepdaughter's shoulders gently. "All right. I'll see if I can arrange something for a few days from now."

The girl nodded and wiped her eyes again. Livia rose, and said, "I'll give you a few minutes to pull yourself together, and then I think Darius wants to get some instruction in." She walked out to find Darius on the other side of the door. He reached out as if to steady her, and her whole body sagged for a moment.

"She didn't take it well, I take it?" he asked.

"No. Not really. She wants to meet Cyricus before she agrees to the betrothal. That's not particularly unusual, and can be done. Maybe three or four days from now."

He nodded. "Busy days, Livia."

"And not like to get better any time soon. I have some work I need to get done, and you wanted to lesson Diya this afternoon, correct? Give her a few minutes to collect herself before you go get her."

"I do, and I will. I will set Diya her lesson and then come stand guard on your door. You'll be in the library?"

She nodded, and they parted. Neera came at about three hours after sundown, harp in hand. she was shown into the library, and Livia rose to greet her.

She explained the situation with Aranis, giving the impression that she thought her condition was the result of well-meaning attempts to fix her. "I was hoping, first of all, that you might be able to help her at least sleep, without causing any further damage."

Neera nodded. Her dark hair was braided away from her face; she was dressed in Roman garments, a change from before. "Sleep is pretty easy, lady. I should be able to without causing any damage whatsoever."

"The second thing I was wondering about is if you've ever used your talent to block memories, at all," she said, keeping her voice steady.

Neera's reaction was to wince. "I have, but it isn't all that pleasant."

"For you, or the subject?"

"Either." The harpist shrugged.

Livia took a breath. "Ah. The theory is, Aranis has twenty years' worth of memories of being insane. Blocking out those memories might help her recover. It's not something I want to do quite yet; I want to see if, without the treatments that she was having done to her, she'll get better on her own. It was mostly just something I was thinking about."

Neera looked at Livia, her dark eyes thoughtful. "As I said, it can be done, but it will break down. The subject will probably not remember them clearly but they may do strange things and not know why. Follow a different street for no reason. Maybe even leave themselves clues to their old life and not realize they are doing it."

"Well, I'd like to see if she'll start getting better on her own. Do you think Faydren would be all right with you coming over every morning and evening for a while? If it works tonight, I'd like to try that for a while and see."

"I am certain he will," she replied, nodding.

Livia smiled at her. "Good. After you're done with her, could I impose on you to play for me tonight, perhaps?"

"Certainly. I think if she follows your pattern, it will be just a few minutes."

She tilted her head at the harpist. "Other people take longer to play to sleep?"

Neera's smile was wry. "Faydren can take hours."

"Odd. What makes the difference, do you think?"

"In your case, exhaustion plays a large part I believe, lady. In the second part, your bracelet flares about five minutes into my playing and you are gone from that point on."

The bracelet was responsible for the dreams? How strange. I don't think Julia designed it like that. "Ah. Interesting. I wonder why it does that? Strange thing, that bracelet is."

"Seems to be, lady. Please ready yourself for bed. I will be there shortly, I believe."

About ten minutes later, Neera came in to find Livia in bed and ready for sleep. A few minutes after that, she was soaring through dreams.

Familiar voices rang in her mind, and she opened her eyes. Pollius and Constantius were sitting in the regent's study. "She has dismissed me from helping Aranis," said Pollius.

Constantius shrugged. "That's fine. her mind will continue to warp and all sense of reality will spin in on her. Your propping up of her mind and keeping what's left of her sanity alive will fade within the week." He smiled viciously. "Then all that will be left is a drooling idiot for Faydren."

That scene dissolved and Livia felt herself moving, stopping this time at Faydren. The thin mage was alone, standing at a table, maps spread out before him. She moved around until she was looking over his shoulder. The maps he was looking at were maps of the city, and of the sewers that ran beneath the noble section of town. He was tracing with his finger the paths that the sewers took into the noble quarter.

Livia felt herself falling and didn't resist the tug. When she opened her eyes again, she wished she had.

Linaeus was tied to a stake, burning. Though he was not screaming, he was thrashing, still very much alive. Livia could smell the odor of burnt flesh coming off of him. His hair had burned away, she noticed, and felt sick.

Her touchy stomach tumbled her away from that scene, into another. A woman, heavily veiled, sat in a small room, looking at a crystal. In it was Livia's image. Aphe, she thought. Why is she looking for me?

Aphe spoke. "So that is you that disturbs the balance. Faydren will be wondering about this. Why do you do it?"

Livia muttered to herself, "To protect my daughters. For vengeance."

She started as Aphe responded to her words as if she could hear Livia. "Vengeance you may get, but maybe at the cost of your daughters. How much of this is about them and how much of this is about you?"

Livia's voice was sharp. "I am between a rock and a hard place. I am afraid of what Constantius will make me do, using Optata as leverage. I am afraid of what happens if he no longer has her to use against me. And now, Diya has been thrown into play. It is about me, and about them. I protect my people. I play because I was given a choice, and I chose to do what Sextus wanted me to do."

Aphe shook her head. "Sextus didn't leave those clues behind for you. He left them for himself."

Her eyes widened. "Himself?"

The mage raised her hands, then lowered them. "His mind was not his own."

"Whose was it?"

She could not see Aphe's face, and her voice was entirely neutral. "Think, and you will see the path back."

Livia turned it over in her mind. Who had you, my love? Then she sucked in her breath. "Constantine. The path leads back to Constantine."

"She sees in the darkness around her." Aphe raised her hand again. "Time is running out. Come to me and I can show you the path."

Suddenly, Livia seemed to wake up a little. In horror, she realized what she'd been saying to the mage. "What about Faydren?"

Aphe's shoulders moved in an apparent shrug. "Faydren is but a beginning."

"He's a beginning who will kill me for the things I've told you."

"Yes, he will. But he will never know."

Livia shivered. "Ah. Soon, then."

The mage spoke. "Death approaches but not for you, for someone close and someone you hate."

The smell or burned hair and skin came back to Livia, and she gritted her teeth. "Linaeus?"

"Yes, but only if you don't trust Faydren."

Grimly, she said, "Trusting Faydren is going to be a tall order."

Impossible to tell what the woman was thinking. Her voice was still neutral, her posture the same. "Just once may be all you need."

"Ah. Soon, Aphe." Livia kicked herself away from the dream and fell tumbling into the darkness of sleep.

When she woke in the morning, it was nearly an hour before she could get her hands to stop shaking.

The funeral was set for late morning. Diya had been coached on her role, and Livia hoped that giving the girl something to do would distract her from the things that were bothering her. The funeral procession wound outside the city to the burial grounds, and it seemed like most of the nobility in the city was out to see the regent and his son buried. Collita's death was announced, causing mutters to spread through the crowd.

Livia shed a few tears herself as she saw Constans and the body that looked like Esayis lying in state. Gods, Constans. You were trapped but good, weren't you? Saddled for years with a lover who was going mad, and when he wasn't screaming, he was very unlike the man you fell in love with. Trapped in a dying body, knowing that without Linaeus's treatment you'd die, and knowing that the cost of his treatment was far, far too high. And you died without knowing for certain if your son was alive or dead. I pity you, Constans. You may not have been a particularly good man, but you endured things almost nobody will ever know.

As agreed, Diya threw a spectacular hysterical fit in the middle of the speeches for Esayis. Livia and Darius each took one arm in a firm grip and marched her away from the burial, murmuring apologies to those they passed. They loaded Diya back into the chariot they'd come in and took her back home, the girl weeping piteously as they rode.

Livia couldn't tell how much of Diya's behavior was an act, honestly. They went back to the regent's house, deposited Diya in the workroom to regain her composure, and Livia pocketed the vial of digitalis that she'd taken off of Zaran. Darius and she walked down the street to Constantius's house, the guards letting her in without question.

She and Darius had discussed the plan beforehand, and silently they put it into motion. They collected the obviously restless child from her nursery, Hedea handing her over gratefully, and wandered towards the library. Livia distracted Optata with a book while Darius inspected the secret door for alarms. When he came back into view, he shook his head gently.

Livia nodded. She handed Optata off to Darius, telling her, "Go out to the garden with Darius, sweetling. I'll be with you in a little bit." Optata made as if to protest, but the idea of being out in the garden was so appealing that she didn't complain too much.

When her daughter and Darius were gone, Livia steeled herself. She needed to do this and be quick about it. Every moment she spent in the secret room was a moment that someone might decide to wander into the library. She pulled on the catch and the bookcase swung open.

Linaeus had been right. There were weapons of all sorts in here, shelves and racks of them, Livia dropped to her knees. Geras was a relatively tall man, and the best place to hide things from such men was to keep them low. The bottom shelf was only about eight inches off the floor, and as Livia inspected the underside of the shelves, she saw a brace that was a little loose on one of them.

She pulled the vial of digitalis out of her pocket and wedged it between the brace and the shelf. She wiggled it to make sure it was good and tight, stood and glanced around once more, then stepped out of the secret room and closed the door after her. Her heart was pounding, and she couldn't quite believe that she had just pulled what she had off.

She straightened her palla and stepped out of the library, walking towards the garden. It's almost too bad Geras will never know who planted that. But that's his death warrant, right there. Signed, sealed, and almost delivered.

She walked out into the sunshine, and joined her daughter and Darius, who were inspecting a beetle, serious looks on both of their faces. Livia joined in, and they spent an hour or so playing. Livia saw no sign of Julian or Gallus, and then realized that they had been taken to the funeral with Constantius's household.

Afterwards, when they walked Optata back to the nursery, Darius looked at the walls with a speculative glance. He said, "The protections are still on the room. The other lockets weren't finished, I'll bet."

Livia nodded and lifted the locket she wore over her head. She draped the chain around Optata's neck. "Remember what I said about this?" she asked. The child nodded, her dark curls bobbing. "You must always wear it. It's magic. It will keep you safe."

Optata smiled and threw her arms around Livia's neck, kissing her. "It's purring still!" she said. "Are you going to come to live with us, Mama? It's nice here, but I miss you."

The shadow of pain crossed Livia's face. "I don't know, sweetling. Maybe. Keep being a good girl, and I will see you tomorrow or the next day, all right?"

The child nodded gravely, and Livia handed her to Hedea and took her leave.

Back at the regent's house, she dropped into a chair in the study and let out a long breath. "Well, that's done."

"For good or for ill," Darius agreed. "Are you going to go see Aphe?" She'd told him about her dreams when she'd woken that morning, about actually speaking with the veiled mage in her dream.

"I think so. Tomorrow morning." She grimaced.

"You trust her?"

"Not a bit. She could be just trying to get what information she can about me, and I don't know if she's telling the truth about Sextus being under control. But if she can give me something I can confirm--Darius, I don't like where this is going. If Constantine had Sextus under control, what about his son? And the regent's no mage so far as I know. Who was helping him?"

"Do you have a theory?" he asked.

"I do, and it's not one I like. Which mage was Sextus seeing on a regular basis for years, and which mage did Constantine pull strings to have reinstated to the council? And who set my feet on this path, and who can't seem to tell me the whole truth to save her life?"

"Julia."

She nodded. "I hate to think of it, because I do like her. But until I have more information, she's my first suspect. So I need to go talk to Aphe. She might lie, but the lie might be interesting to hear."

They sat together in silence for a time after that, before Orla came to fetch Livia and she was once again absorbed into the busy life of the household.