Ananke and Moirae [Necessity and Fate]

There was a pounding at the door.

Livia woke with a start, her heart racing. She jumped out of bed and ran to the door, yanking it open. Rusticus was standing on the other side, his face thunderously worried. "Lady, Lord Regent Constantine and Lord Mage Faydren are in the library. They request your presence now."

Her mouth hung open for a moment. "Good lord. Wake Darius. I'll need to dress."

Rusticus nodded curtly. "Darius is up lady, I woke him as well. Quickly, lady, they didn't seem to be wanting to wait. They have brought a contingent of men with them as well, they are stationed outside."

Livia nodded and stepped back into her room, shucking her sleep shift and pulling on yesterday's dress over her head. Modesty at this point wasn't important. "Is Diya awake?" she asked through layers of muffling fabric.

"I was on my way there next." Livia's head came free of the dress at the moment when Rusticus turned and left, to be replaced by Darius. She belted the dress and adjusted the folds, and Darius handed her a knife.

She hooked the sheath over the belt at the small of her back, draped her palla over her shoulder, and said, "I have no idea what might have brought them here, but shall we go see why they have the house surrounded?"

Darius shook his head. He, too, showed signs of having dressed hastily, but he was wearing his sword. "I don't think it's for us."

"Aranis?"

"Don't think so. I am betting on Geras."

She nodded. "Well, we'll see."

They arrived in the library a minute or so later. Faydren and Constantine were sitting, and at their entrance Faydren stood. "Lady, we have reason to believe that Constantius is not himself and has been replaced with a person named Geras. My intent this morning is to prove that point. This, though, could put your daughter in jeopardy. He will probably fight back and he will use anyone or anything at his disposal."

Faintly, Livia heard herself say, "Replaced? And when are you planning to do this?"

"Yes, and now."

She collected herself. "She has the locket Collita made for her. If the protections on the room are still active and they're triggered, she'll be safe. And if you're doing it now, I can't get to her before you confront him."

Faydren shook his head. "He suspects already, we believe. If we don't catch him now, he will escape."

"Then what? I and some of my men go with you, to protect her?"

The mage inclined his head. "No lady, we tell you only because you are Diya's benefactor, but you are welcome to come. We will protect the child if we can, but I can guarantee nothing."

Sharply, Livia said, "I can't let you put my daughter in danger without being there to try to protect her. I and a few of my men will come along."

"As you wish." Without further talk, Faydren stepped past her and walked out the door. Constantine rose, shrugged at Livia, and followed.

Livia chose three of her guards, more or less at random, and winced at the danger she was putting them in. Darius would come too, of course, but he had proven that he was tough enough to survive almost anything. With the armed guard around them, they walked towards Constantius's house. Wide-eyed, the guards on the front door let them pass.

Faydren swept through the outer courtyard. He gestured sharply, and the guards who had begun to close in on him fell, twitched, and were still. Constantine, Livia, Darius, and her guards followed Faydren in to the inner courtyard, where two men were standing. Constantius had evidently been talking to Linaeus, and at their entrance he looked up. "Interesting. Good morning, my lords and ladies."

There was a fierce smile on Faydren's face. He spoke a few words and gestured, and Constantius's form dissolved to show Geras underneath. The mage raised his hands, and suddenly the inner courtyard was filled with fire.

Linaeus stepped back as Geras and Faydren began to cast spells on each other. Livia looked over her shoulder to see that Constantine had retreated. She cast her gaze around and then threw herself to the side as a stray bolt of lightning came towards her. It crackled harmlessly by her shoulder.

Her guards weren't nearly as lucky. All three of them dropped, killed instantly by the lightning. Darius had been knocked down, but he rolled to his feet. Livia pointed at the walls. Blackened and groaning, they were beginning to crumble.

She gave Geras and Faydren one last look, noting that Geras was holding his own, and Faydren's eyes held nothing but a vast, intense rage. She started running towards the nearest doorway that would allow her climb the stairs to the nursery. She couldn't care about the outcome of this battle. Her daughter was what she was here for.

She was too late. The wall in front of her crumbled, and Darius picked her up and literally threw her out of the way of it. His courage cost him the split-second he would have needed to get away himself, and half of the wall fell on him, pinning him to the ground.

Livia looked up, and she could see that the whole section of the house that the nursery was in, the larger part of the women's wing, was beginning to cave in. I have to stop this. Now. She glanced down at Darius, then dropped her palla and pulled the knife that she'd been carrying at the small of her back. She quickly circled around until she was in back of Geras, then screamed as Geras sparked a spell into the wall directly behind Faydren.

The whole thing was coming down. Faydren spoke a sharp word and caught the rubble that was about to fall on him. Livia gasped as she saw Optata caught in the remains of the wall, struggling. Faydren made a gesture, he was about to toss it aside, he couldn't see Optata--

"No!" she screamed at him, forgetting that she was trying to sneak up on Geras. "Optata's in there!"

Faydren suddenly appeared to see her. His eyes softened slightly. "I can't hold this and fight," he said.

She shook her head. "Hold on--" Geras pressed his advantage, flinging spell after spell at Geras, as she ran at the man's back, mentally rehearsing where she would need to hit him to slide her knife between his ribs.

Geras turned on his heel, his hands still raised. "Oh, no, Livia. Not today." He smiled. "Put it down or I will send the next bolt through your child."

Livia's eyes narrowed. "Then she dies no matter what I do."

"Only Faydren has to die here." There was something strange in Geras's yellow eyes. Something beside the rage and the triumph. "We can leave. Sextus was my target and he is dead. There is no reason anymore to kill you."

"You can save her?" she asked.

"Easily."

A long moment passed then, as Livia weighed her choices. Even if I win here, it will mean nothing if Optata dies in the process. She was in a strange space, beyond fear, beyond regret. She bowed her head, and her knife clattered to the stone.

Geras turned his back on her then, and let fly with several more bolts of energy at Faydren. Next to her, she heard a metallic clatter and jumped. It was Darius's sword. She looked up, and saw him awake under the collapsed wall, his legs pinned but his arms free. He was gesturing at her, telling her, Use it!

With pleasure. You don't learn, Geras. You never turn your back on me. She picked up the sword and ran at Geras, holding the heavy blade level. Nothing in the world mattered but what was about to happen. Time seemed to slow down as her world narrowed to a point no bigger than the tip of the blade.

The sword entered Geras's back, and as she threw her entire weight against it, it sliced through flesh and organs until it was hilt-deep in him, half of the blade coming out of his front. Her body impacted against his, and he staggered forward a few steps. She stumbled, then braced herself against the ground, springing back away from him, releasing the hilt of the sword. Geras gave a strangled cry and spun, stepping towards her. She scrambled for her knife.

There was nothing left in Geras's demon eyes anymore but rage. He coughed, "Faydren is not all he seems. I will see you in hell."

Then he crumpled to the ground. Livia murmured, "See you there, bastard."

There was a moment of profound silence in the courtyard. Then Faydren set the piece of wall that he had been holding up on the ground and fell as well. Livia felt time begin again, and it was as if she were distant from all of the events that had just happened, still in that place beyond fear that she had found herself in. "He is dead," she muttered to herself. "Dead."

Linaeus came up to her. "You all right?" he asked.

She nodded distractedly. "I think so. I'm not sure Darius is. I'm going to go find Optata."

"I will look in on him. Faydren?"

Livia looked around. Linaeus and she were the only two people left standing. She could see Faydren breathing slowly. "Take a look at him. Don't do anything for him just yet."

He hurried towards the fallen mage, kneeling and laying his hands on his chest. "He's dying. I think."

Livia blinked. "You think?"

"He should be dead by now, he has more holes in him than any one person should be able to survive, but his heart is still beating somehow." He looked back down at Faydren, his face astonished. "Dear Athena, that's not possible."

She spent a long moment thinking about it. The temptation to let him just die was terrible, but fighting with that was an intuitive feeling, something Aphe had said. He chose to save Optata instead of himself. She heard herself saying, "Do what you can for him, then. I don't know what's keeping him alive, but I'm not sure I want to mess with it."

Linaeus began immediately chanting, and behind him Livia heard the sound of someone climbing over the rubble. Constantine came into view, and Livia climbed towards where she had last seen Optata. The air was chokingly thick with stone dust and smoke, and she coughed.

Her daughter was curled up in a shallow depression in the stone, being held suspended over the surface by a softly glowing bubble of energy that was surrounding her. As Livia reached through it to grasp Optata, it popped and dissolved, and she was set gently down.

Optata opened her eyes, saw Livia, and let out a wail. Livia picked her up as she cried hysterically, murmuring to her. "You're safe now, Optata. Mama's here. You're safe." She checked her over, and was amazed to find that her daughter was entirely unharmed. Not a cut or a scratch was on her.

Livia climbed back over the rubble carefully, and by the time she had reached solid ground again Optata's sobs had quieted to hiccups. She got very quiet as Livia carried her towards Darius. "Mama, that man has a sword in him," she said, freeing one hand to point at Geras's body.

"Don't look at him, sweetling. Let's go get Darius out from under the rocks, all right?"

Optata nodded. "What's Linaeus doing?" she wanted to know. Livia blinked--she hadn't known that Optata knew who Linaeus was, but it made sense that she did.

"Healing the other man. He was hurt." Livia kissed Optata and set her down, picking her palla up from where she'd dropped it and wrapping it around her daughter. "No more questions, sweetling. Save them all up for me for later. This is grownup business right now, all right?"

Grownup business had always been code for I'll answer your questions later, but not right now, and Optata nodded. She "helped" Livia pull chunks of rock off of Darius, who was pinned by the wall and badly bruised, but awake. After a few minutes he was able to wriggle free.

"Thanks," he said as he came free and got to his feet. "I think I sprained something, but I'll be all right." He went to retrieve his sword, limping as he went.

Livia glanced over her shoulder. Constantine was standing, his arms folded, watching. "What happened? Why did Faydren decide to take him out?" she asked him.

"Julia reported last night that Collita had been poisoned. Faydren's spy in the house found this." He held up a familiar vial of white powder, the one that she had planted. "It stops the heart. Faydren consulted with me and we had Aphe spy on Constantius with my approval, we saw him change into Geras. He went after him."

"And almost died for his trouble." Livia glanced over at Linaeus, who seemed to have finished with his chanting, and was now simply watching Faydren's face intently.

Constantine said, "Almost, had not the cleric of Athena here saved him."

She gave him a sharp look. "Is there going to be a problem with that?"

"There is. Guards, take him away. We will execute him in the morning."

No! She took a step towards the regent--now the emperor, she supposed. "Even Lukas was given a chance at exile!"

He shook his head. "Laws are laws, Livia. We have to uphold them."

She was still favoring him with a sharp look. "And what if it's a bad law? Do we have to uphold it then?"

Quietly, Constantine asked, "Are you siding with a heretic, Livia?"

Faydren had gotten to his feet, Livia saw out of the corner of her eye. He approached her, turned and then stood beside her. Livia took a deep breath. "I am only saying that your father made his point. He broke the pagan temples and their power. One lone priest, who if you gave him the chance would be out of the city and never trouble you again--what does he matter? So many died in the purges."

"Yes, they did, and many more will."

Livia clenched her jaw and opened her mouth to make another objection, when Faydren laid his hand on her shoulder. She flinched. "Let it go, Livia." he murmured. "There are always possibilities."

She folded her arms and closed her mouth. Her heart ached as she saw a pair of Constantine's men seize Linaeus and hustle him away. The priest's gaze was on the ground, and he did not look up at Livia before he was out of sight. Constantine followed.

Tears were pricking Livia's eyes. This is what I wanted. I wanted Geras dead, and now I have my wish. It didn't feel very good. She had thought it would feel like triumph, like freedom. It did, but there was something else mixed in, some vast grief that she could not look closely at right now. I have Optata. That is all that matters. Aloud, she said, "That's it, then. he'll be killed tomorrow morning for nothing more than attempting to be a good person." She stepped away from Faydren and looked at Darius. "Can you walk, do you think?" He nodded in reply.

Behind her, Faydren said, "Meet me at my house about an hour before midnight. We can get him out."

Livia nodded. She reached down to take Optata's hand, numbly. "All right," she said in a voice she barely recognized. She offered her shoulder to Darius, who leaned lightly on her, then the three of them began to walk away.

Faydren's voice rang out. "Nice sword play today, Livia."

She stopped, looking back over her shoulder. She shrugged. "I got lucky."

She could not read the expression in his eyes. "Yes, I see."

Livia gave him a small smile. "And you would not believe how pissed I was at him." She paused, and looked at him. "Or maybe you would."

The mage inclined his head. "I would. Tonight, Livia."

"Tonight, Faydren." Then she, her daughter, and Darius climbed over the fallen rock and out of the house.

On the street outside of the regent's house, Optata tugged on her mother's hand. "Mama? Did you see me? I flew, Mama. I flew." There was a radiant joy on her daughter's face.

*****

When they arrived back, she sent a detachment of men to gather the bodies of her men and look for Hedea, and to see if Julian and Gallus survived. She didn't know if Constantine even remembered the boys existed. Then she sat for a time and just held Optata, rocking her back and forth, shedding silent tears into her hair. For once, her daughter did not squirm or protest at being held still.

Diya appeared in the open door of Livia's chamber. "What happened?" she asked. "Is that--"

Livia nodded. "This is your sister Optata." The child had fallen asleep, her tear-streaked face peaceful. "Geras is dead."

"Darius told me. He said it was his sword but your hand."

"Sextus's death is avenged, and Geras will never hurt anyone again." She sighed.

"You know, you don't look too happy about it."

Livia grimaced. "Linaeus was taken by Constantine. They're going to burn him tomorrow. I'm very happy that Optata is home, but the price was very high."

"Oh." Diya came over to look at Optata. "She looks like you."

"She has her father's eyes, and his mouth." The eyes that had never looked at her with anything approaching hatred, the lips that had always said such sweet things to her. "So do you." Livia swallowed her tears, and smiled shakily.

Orla appeared behind Diya and brushed past her. She took a look at Livia, and her mouth hardened as she saw the way Livia was holding herself, as if she had been gravely wounded by a fight that had left only scratches on her. She pried Optata out of Livia's arms, and said, "I'll bathe her. One of the maids will come with wash water for you. Diya, come with me, please. Now." Optata murmured as Orla carried her away, Diya following. The girl stopped in the doorway, gave Livia a long look, and then closed the door behind her.

Livia clenched her fists in her palla and slid out of the chair down to the floor, pressing her forehead against the stone. She suddenly missed Sextus terribly. Despite everything that she had gained, she was feeling very, very alone. She didn't know why she was feeling this now, at the moment of her triumph, when she'd done the thing that she'd spent the last month trying to accomplish.

Only now that the man who had killed him was dead, she felt as though she were losing her husband anew, as if by her relentless pursuit of Geras she had been keeping something of Sextus alive. It made no sense, and yet she felt the wracking cries rise in her, opening wounds in her soul she had thought had partially healed. She pressed her fists against her mouth as she fought the scream of grief that was trying to make its way out of her chest into the open air. Hot tears ran from her eyes, burning her cheeks.

She did not hear the door between her room and Darius's open, but she did hear his step on the stone floor. "Livia? Are you all right?"

Livia shook her head mutely, raising her dust- and tear-streaked face, her shoulders shaking. He came over to her then, kneeling beside her, pulling her into an embrace. "He's gone," she sobbed brokenly. "Sextus--he's gone--"

"It's all right, Livia. We knew this was going to catch up with you sometime." He stroked her disheveled hair and she turned her face into his shoulder and cried even harder. Each sob felt as though it were tearing something inside of her apart. These were tears she had not cried when her beloved husband had died, tears that had been swallowed by the chaos the aftermath of his death had made of her life. Almost without her noticing, Darius pulled her to her feet, guided her over to the low couch under the window in her room, and sat her down.

Finally, her painful sobs subsided. "I'm sorry," she said, wiping her running nose, breathing as hard as if she'd just been running. "It just hit me, all at once. I don't know quite why right then."

"It's no trouble," he said. "I thought something like that was happening. You were trying to get yourself killed, after Geras died."

"I know. That was stupid of me." She sighed shakily. "Well, now I know what Aphe meant about trusting Faydren."

"I see what you mean." There was a knock at the door, and a servant brought in a large bowl of warm water and clean cloths. Livia rose and went to wash the stone dust, blood, and tears from her skin. Darius had washed and changed as well, she noticed. He watched her begin to wash and said, "Nothing like dealing with the devil. Why did he stop for Optata? He could have tossed her away and killed Geras. What does it matter to him?"

She dried her face and arms, and turned to the wardrobe to find a clean dress to wear. "I don't know. I yelled at him, and it seemed like maybe his rage cleared away a little bit. Maybe he's got a soft spot for children."

His eyebrows went up. "A redeeming quality?"

"Possibly. He wasn't always like this." She stripped off her dress and pulled on the new one, belting it and looking at herself critically in the mirror.

The corner of Darius's mouth twitched. "I have seen death, Livia. I have seen other gladiators kill each other to save their own skins. Why do you stop for a child? He almost died, and he was using the last of his magic to hold her safe. He was expecting to die."

"I'm not sure. What if it wasn't Optata he was really doing it for, but for me? For whatever reason." She sat down and started to pull a comb through her tangled curls. "Why that would be, I have no idea."

"And he is going to break out Linaeus?"

"Exactly," she replied, and winced as her comb snagged. "What the hell."

He shook his head. "I don't trust this, but it makes me question. Are we wrong in some way?"

She turned to look at him. His eyes were shadowed with worry and doubt, and she knew that doubt was reflected in her own eyes. "Maybe. What if the bigger danger to us all is Constantine?"

He nodded. "I begin to think so."

They were interrupted by the door flinging open, Optata hurtling in like a small comet. "Mama!" she crowed. "I found you, Mama!" She skidded to a stop, seeing that Darius was in the room, her eyes going round. "Will you give me a shoulder ride?" she asked him seriously.

Darius glanced over at her, amusement in his eyes, and Livia smiled. "I need to see if Rusticus has arrived yet," she said.

"He came back," said Optata. "Miss Orla told me to come see you. The other girl said to tell you that Gallus and Julian were taken to the emperor's house. Who's the emperor, Mama?"

Livia took a deep breath. "Optata, do you remember meeting Lord Regent Constantine?" The girl nodded vigorously. "He's the emperor now."

There was a frown on the child's face. "Mama? What happened to Uncle Constantius? Did a wall fall on him too?"

She held out her arms, and Optata came into them. "Sort of, Optata. He died. That's why you're here with us now."

"Am I going to stay here?" she asked. Her voice was clear, and unlike when she'd been told Fausta had died, there were no tears in it.

"Yes. I'm never, ever going to let you go again, Optata. This house belongs to your sister Diya, and we still have our house. We will spend part of our time here, and part there. There are nice gardens here. You'll like them. And if you're very, very good, I have a surprise for you in a few days."

Optata smiled. "Will I like it?"

"Very much, I think." Livia kissed her daughter. "Come with me, now. Let's see if any of the servants have some spare time to play with you while I take care of a few things."

Surprisingly, it was Diya who volunteered to take Optata. "We'll be in the workroom. I promise not to make anything explode while she's in there," she said defensively as Darius eyed her.

Optata's mouth fell open. "You make things explode? Will you show me?" Livia giggled at the dumbfounded expression on Diya's face. She was about to learn that Livia's younger daughter was a force unto herself, Livia reckoned.

She and Darius went downstairs. In the hall lay three shrouded bodies, Rusticus standing by them. He bowed as she approached. "Lady. We have recovered the bodies."

"I'll take care of funeral arrangements, and contacting their families. Did you find Hedea?"

Rusticus nodded, his dark green eyes serious. "She had a piece of wall fall on her head. We brought her back, and she's in the servants' quarters. Orla took the liberty of calling the doctors for her. They haven't said much yet, but I've seen these kind of injuries before. They are difficult to recover from."

Livia took a breath. "Well, we'll see what the doctors say when they're done. I'm going to go send some messages."

Rusticus bowed again. "Lady."

She turned and left, towards the study, trying to think of what messages she could possibly send to explain to the families of the dead men that would explain why they died.

In the end, she simply wrote that they had died in service, bravely defending their mistress. It was really all she could say.

*****

Aphe lived a few blocks away, still firmly within the noble quarter. Livia had done what she could with makeup to erase her earlier bout of tears from her appearance, but she knew her eyes were still reddened, and there was still the ghost of a frown on her lips. She was still feeling shaky, but this could not wait.

She raised her hand to knock in the door and it opened before her knuckled managed to rap the surface. Livia jumped. The man who had opened the door was a large, handsome Sassenid, dressed in very scanty clothing. "The mistress was expecting you," he said, his voice smooth and almost without a trace of accent.

The woman who refuses to give up her virginity keeps her servants mostly naked? wondered Livia. "I see. Thank you." The man stepped aside and she came in, Darius just behind her. The servant led them up one set of stairs and then another. The house was well-kept, not ostentatious in any way other than the statuary. Most of the statues were human nudes, and most of the nudes were male. Livia blinked. Perhaps, if she cannot touch, she likes to look.

The room they were escorted into was warm and rather humid, pools and bowls of water everywhere. The splash of water came from several different places around the room, and Livia straightened as a figure drifted towards them.

Aphe was, as she had been when Livia had seen her the other night, entirely clothed in veils. Her face was well hidden and her hair was covered, but as for the rest...the veils almost revealed more than they hid. The ones over her breasts and hips were more opaque than the rest, but as Aphe walked towards them, Livia could see her navel, and the outline of a slim waist and shapely legs. "Please sit," she murmured, gesturing at some cushions on the floor. Her voice was musical and pleasant.

Livia eyed their host warily as she sat. Darius remained standing, and Aphe seated herself near Livia. "I take it I didn't just dream our conversation, then?" she asked the mage.

"No, things rarely happen by chance, or so I have come to believe."

She nodded. "I see. And I suppose you already know what happened this morning, so I don't need to tell you."

Aphe gestured with her hands, the only part of her body free of the veils. "Yes, terrible things. Geras dead, Linaeus about to be burned, your daughter is at least safe."

Livia frowned. "Geras's death is a terrible thing?"

"From a certain point of view. Most may not consider it so, but I do. Emperor Constantine will do horrible things, I fear."

"I'm starting to wonder about him, myself. People who want absolute power seem to rarely want to use it for anything most people would consider desirable."

Aphe's voice was tight and tense. "Yes ,and it's about to begin again."

Begin again? Oh. "The purges, he said. Something about starting them again."

"And he will, this time mages, Sassenids, any he names." Aphe folded her hands. "The gladiatorial games will never be so well fed. But for some, the end has already come."

"So many people dead, recently."

"Yes, and more than you know."

Livia looked at her sharply. "Who?"

"Best to show you." She half-rose and lifted a metal bowl of water down from a nearby table. She placed it on the ground in front of Livia, and colors swirled on its surface. Within the water was a terrible image.

She recognized it as the dark entrance of the sewers, where the rat creatures had their enclave. There was rat bodies everywhere, lying as if they were broken toys tossed aside by an angry child. Livia spent a long moment looking at it. "Do you know who did this?"

She could feel Aphe's gaze on her, even if she could not see her eyes. "Yes. Who do you think?"

Livia shrugged. "Faydren is my first guess."

Aphe shook her head. "No, you underestimate Constantine. He is the cobra in the grass, slowly sneaking his way to strike."

"He killed the rat creatures and took the poison."

"Yes, and with it he will poison the Sassenid well, probably."

Livia looked away from Aphe, thinking, We should have gone with the Iraeus option, damnit. How could I have known that Constantine would move on this before I was ready for it? "When, do you think?" she asked.

Aphe's hands were eloquent, tilting to indicate that she did not know. "When it will be the most advantageous for him. That is hard to tell."

Livia's breath was a hissed exhale. "It's difficult to see what he's planning. He has a charming way of nesting games within games. I would guess soon, myself."

"Yes and deeper and deeper they go." She reached out to brush the surface of the water with her fingertips, and the image cleared away. "Soon, unless you can find it and stop it. There are few survivors, but there are still some. A few survived by hiding and a few were out."

She nodded. "Ah. Might be worth going to see, anyway."

Aphe inclined her head, and Livia wondered briefly if she were smiling. I wonder if this is how the Sassenid men feel, sometimes. It's easier when you can see their eyes, but when their whole face is covered... The mage's pleasant voice said, "Convincing one to talk is another problem."

"True enough. Perhaps I can find a way."

"You probably will."

Livia nodded. This, at least, was one person who did not doubt Livia's capabilities in the slightest. It was rather unnerving. "You said, when we were talking before, that I was going to have to trust Faydren if I wanted to keep Linaeus alive. Why would Faydren need me?"

"Linaeus will think its a trap." Aphe shrugged slightly. "He won't go without a face he trusts."

"Ah. And he's currently not in a state of mind to be overly suspicious that I'm, say, under some sort of control."

"Yes. But he has seen the things Faydren is capable of--or at least the things he thinks Faydren does."

Livia's brows rose. "I don't know. Faydren seems to be capable of a great many things. I honestly don't know who I'm more frightened of, him or Constantine, at the moment."

Aphe's voice went very quiet. "For me, that is Constantine, but you have to make your own decision. But let me tell you that you may be continuing from a false assumption."

Livia's voice was sharp. "And what is that?"

"Faydren didn't create the rat creatures, and that lab is not his."

She knew that Livia knew about the lab, then. "Whose is it, then?" she asked.

"Pollius."

Livia sat and thought about this for a moment. She folded her own hands. Very well, Aphe. We will play. "That doesn't seem like Pollius's style."

"Whose is it, then?" Aphe's voice had gone oddly emotionless.

She shook her head. "Someone who doesn't concentrate largely on mind-affecting magic."

"Someone who is cruel and someone who is out for revenge? Geras, perhaps?"

"Possibly. Perhaps what I found out was not what I thought it was."

"Well Geras had to learn it from somewhere. His father?" The emotion was back in Aphe's voice, a tinge of--bitterness?--entering it. "Or maybe his mother? Possibly his half brother?"

Livia frowned. "You know, I never actually really thought about Geras having a family, once upon a time. His half brother?"

Aphe shook her head, and her veils shifted with her movement. "You know them all."

Julia. I would bet my life on it. Conversationally, she said, "One or both of his parents were probably mages. The only mages I know who are really old enough are Julia, Statilla, and Collita. Faydren, perhaps."

"What ties a man to another man so deeply that he would do anything for him? Even change his very nature to protect him? They shared both a mother and demon eyes."

Livia took a sharp breath. Gods, Linaeus, I am so sorry. "Linaeus, the brother. Julia, the mother. The father--don't tell me he was one of Constantine's get."

"Oh no, the one whose lab you destroyed. Pollius."

"That makes sense, in a twisted sort of way."

Aphe nodded slowly. "That was the control the Geras had over Pollius."

It explained so much. Too much. "He was his son. I wondered. And now I know Julia a little better, as well."

"Why do you think she would consent to repeat the mistake she made with Linaeus? Because her son asked her to? No. Because it was her other son." Aphe's voice was tight again. Was that anger, or betrayal? Livia wished she could see the mage's face.

"And that answered the question I'd always wondered--why Sextus and Linaeus were friends with Geras in the first place."

"Yes. Sextus was friends with Linaeus and Geras tagged along. Even though Geras was older."

No friends of his own, Livia thought. "Julia's involvement with Pollius predated her involvement with Lukas, then."

She nodded. "Yes, and he lived with Pollius. Tortured by him, is a better word."

Livia straightened. "Tortured? Why?"

"Pollius is not a nice man. He loves to torture people. Aranis, Magentius, his own son. People in his lab." Aphe's hands were very still. "Imagine living with a mage that can mess with your mind."

No wonder. No wonder he was like he was. "That's a really terrible thought. So when Sextus and Geras both spied Merouk at the same time, things exploded."

"Yes. Geras snapped and followed his father. I ask you, though, how did you find Pollius's lab?"

Livia was not quite ready yet to admit to either of her methods of gathering information she wasn't supposed to have. "Faydren went there, at least once," she said shortly. Let Aphe think she had been following Faydren.

"Are you sure?" the mage asked. "It was Pollius that brought back the proof that linked Magentius to Zaran's death."

"It was someone who looked and acted remarkably like him."

Aphe tilted her head, and for a moment the veil fell against the curve of her cheek. "Ever seen Faydren be that cruel? Decisive and quick. But not cruel. I would look to see if what you saw was truly what it was. "

Livia shook her head. "I will. And I don't know about Faydren not being cruel. The opinions about him are--diverse."

"Yes, and this is mine."

"Of course." Livia paused. "How much did Faydren like Zaran?" she asked.

"They were fellow mages, nothing more," replied Aphe.

"What about Pollius and Zaran?"

The veiled mage inclined her head. "Pollius and Zaran knew each other socially. When both were at Hagia Sophia, they would regularly adjourn for lunch together."

Then Faydren's reaction to finding Zaran's body had been much more in line with Pollius than Faydren. Livia pursed her lips briefly, then sighed. She asked Aphe, "Tell me--do you think Faydren wants the Empire?"

The mage shifted on her cushion. "I am sure of it. But is he any worse than Constantine?"

"The question is, will he be any better?"

Silence fell between them for a moment. Aphe finally asked, quietly, "How did you find out about the lab?"

She knows I have to have something. Better the mirror than the dreams. Livia sighed. "I came into possession of a mirror recently. It shows me far-flung people."

"Magesight sometimes lies," Aphe replies. "Mental control can make you see things differently than they actually occurred."

Her eyes widened. Mental control? "That's...a somewhat frightening thought."

There was a smile in Aphe's voice. "Whose father was Pollius? Not seen Geras anytime over the last few weeks, have you?"

Oh, you know very well I have. "On a regular basis, actually, since my daughter was at his house. Wouldn't I have noticed some sort of spell being cast on me, though?"

"Did you see me cast on the water?" Aphe shrugged. "The whole point of a mental mage is that they can weave it into a conversation. That way you don't know."

Livia shivered and said, "So does that mean I can't trust anything I've seen over the last month?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I doubt all of what you have seen in that mirror has been true. Only my opinion though. Or it is possible that what you see is true and maybe what I am seeing is false."

"It begs the question of whether either of us knows what exactly is going on."

Aphe's hands made a helpless gesture. "Yes, well when next you consult your divinations check for Pollius and see what you can see. If you see Faydren, then the item is at fault. For the record, Faydren can never be scryed on directly, same as you."

Directly. But I can be seen using the person I am always close to, I'm afraid. "Constantine's not a mage, is he?"

The mage shook her head. "No he is not--or at least not one that has ever come out as one. He is the son of Constantine the Elder and that line has been known to cast off a mage or two, though."

Like Faydren? she thought, and smiled. "You know, he avoids mages like the plague--or says he does, at least. Interesting."

"Yes, Constantine does. He hates magic, always has."

"Would be interesting if he was actually a mage. If he's not, and Sextus was under some sort of metal control by him, I wonder who's casting his spells for him."

Aphe shrugged and shifted her seat. The toes of one foot snuck out from under her veils, and Livia noticed that her feet were bare. "No one from Hagia Sophia, unless it's Faydren himself."

"There are non-Tower mages out there. Well, I knew I was going to have to take a closer look at Constantine. And you don't think Faydren's working with Constantine?"

"Constantine has always exhibited hatred for Faydren. Unless that is an act."

"Who knows, at this point?"

"Only you may be able to determine that."

"I'd ask why me, but I reckon that I know. This might be excessively personal, Aphe, but...why do you veil yourself as you do? I'm curious."

She spread her hands. "Superstition, mostly. My old teacher told me that if no one could see you clearly, then you couldn't be seen. Might or might not be true, but I don't take the chance."

Interesting. "Ah. Who taught you?" Livia asked.

"Hadrius."

Livia caught her surprise before more than a flash of it showed on her face. "Ah, you were his student before he disappeared?"

The fingers of one of Aphe's hands was rubbing the back of her other hand as if it hurt. "Yes, before the fight that lead to him leaving."

Conversationally, Livia asked, "You know, nobody's ever actually said what Faydren and Hadrius were actually fighting about. Do you know?"

She nodded. "Hadrius accused Faydren of attempting to take control of the empire. Faydren claimed innocence but words led to spells and Hadrius nearly killed him."

"The council stepped in at that point?"

Her voice had dropped low. It was obviously not a time of her life she enjoyed remembering. "Yes, several members were in attendance and they brought him down. A quick vote led to Hadrius's dismissal. I took over the role of diviner from him."

"And he left, never to be heard from again. A lot of people think Zaran got him."

Aphe's hands had stilled. "I don't. And I don't think you do either, do you?"

Livia smiled wryly. "No, not particularly, really. If nothing else, I don't think Zaran would have been a match for Hadrius if he knew Zaran was coming."

"Nor do I." Aphe abruptly stood. "Good day, Livia." She turned and walked away, and Livia climbed to her feet. She met Darius's eyes and exchanged a quizzical look with him, but they had evidently been dismissed. The same scantily dressed servant showed them out, and they found themselves out on the street.

"And now?" asked Darius, as Livia set off for her own house, following her closely.

"We go change. And then we go to confirm the rat thing."

"You think she's lying?"

"I have no idea." She sighed sharply. "I want to see it with my own eyes before I call off the ones making the potion, though. Come on, this is going to take a little while, I think."

They changed into Sassenid clothing and left the city. It was perhaps an hour after noon, and they reached the place where the sewer emptied into the sea easily enough.

Aphe had not lied. It was a scene of immense carnage, what seemed like hundred of bodies thrown about. All of them had been killed with swords. There were tracks in the sand around the mouth of the sewer, booted feet. "Imperial guard," Darius said sourly. "Probably some of the most well-shod men in the empire. And look, here--looks like one or two got away. See where the tracks overlap here?" He pointed. "That's a rat footprint, over a booted foot."

Livia nodded, and turned away to walk down to the ocean, looking at the place were the sluggish, stinking river that ran from the sewers met the blue-green of the sea. Tears stung her eyes, not entirely from the smell. "I can't believe it," she ground out as she heard Darius come up behind her. "Another day, maybe two. That's all we needed. But we ran out of time."

"Constantine, if he did this, has much to answer for."

She looked over her shoulder at him. "You think it was him?"

"If this was Faydren, he's made it look very, very good. I wish I knew what to think, about this, and about what Aphe said."

Livia reached out and took his hand. "I don't know, either," she said quietly. "I'm afraid that I know what kind of emperor Constantine's going to be. I think we need to go out to Lukas's camp and speak to the people we saved from the lab."

"Going to ask them who came to them?" She nodded in response. "Aphe is probably watching. Not you, but me."

"I know," she replied. "Maybe, if we keep in contact, the bracelet will protect us both. I don't want them to know where we've put the people from the lab."

"It might, it might not. Worth a try, anyway." Darius eyed the sky. "We'd better be off then, if we want to be back by the time they close the gates."

It took them a bit over an hour to reach the camp, holding hands the whole way. By the time they reached the camp, Livia was panting and tired; Darius did make an effort to slow his steps down, but she still had to work to keep up. They skirted the main camp and went to the secondary camp where the people from the lab were now living.

They looked better, with regular food and water. Livia talked to several of them, and from them got a pair of descriptions. One older mage, balding on top. Another mage, tall and thin, with a cruel smile. Pollius and Faydren both had been visiting the lab.

As Livia and Darius walked back to Constantinople, hand in hand once more, Darius shook his head. "How many times have we seen people assume other forms? It could have been Pollius posing as Faydren to throw people off the trail."

"Might be. Might not be. Gods above, I am so confused. Here, just a second." With her free hand, she dug into the bag she wore at her side. She pulled out the mirror and concentrated on Pollius. The mirror gave her nothing but her own reflection. Then she murmured, "Faydren."

The mirror shimmered and cleared, showing her the inside of a library, with Faydren sitting in it, reading. Livia frowned. "That's not Faydren's library, is it?"

Darius looked at the image and shook his head. They watched for a little while, and then in walked Reyna, who came over to kiss the man who looked like Faydren fondly. "Dinner will be in a little while, dear," she said with a smile. "Are you going to unbury yourself long enough to join us?"

He smiled up at her. "Would I miss it? Send Nareus to get me when it's ready."

Reyna nodded and withdrew. Livia cleared the mirror. "Pollius." She swore roundly. "The mirror's lying to me."

"Nice trick on his part," he said. "Unless Aphe did that to the mirror while we were sitting in there. It's possible she could have."

Livia growled. "Too much doubt. Far too much doubt. I'm starting to second-guess myself, and that's going to kill me quicker than anything else. And now I don't even know if it was Faydren who killed Magentius." She sighed. "Well. I'm going to trust Faydren at least once, and try to get Linaeus out. After that, I think we're on our own. I need to figure out where I want to end up."

Darius frowned. "In what respect?"

"Who would I choose to run the Empire? we've been running low on good choices for a while. Constantine may want to do more purges. Who the hell knows what Faydren would do. I suspect that Constantine's son is under some sort of control. There are a few nobles who might do admirably, but I don't know."

"I would be as well. I think, Livia, that the best option is the one that Constantine's son marries Diya. Remove both Constantine and Faydren."

Livia made a face. "And try to undo whatever damage Constantine's done to his son. Really, do I have the kind of--hubris--it would take to run the Empire?"

Darius shrugged. "Yes, you could. If you have to. There is, though, another option."

Livia raised her eyebrows. "What?"

"Take a page from Geras's book. Replace Constantine with someone you can trust. He is emperor now."

She stopped dead in her tracks, the very idea taking her breath away. Like a ripple in a pond, the idea dropped into her mind and echoes of it began to shiver outward. "You?" she asked, frowning.

Darius chuckled. "I couldn't disappear like that, not with questions coming up about where I've gone. And you need a mage to keep it up."

"True. No Lukas, then." She made a tching sound with her tongue. "Too bad."

"No, it's looking more and more like Attius needs to die."

Hadrius. Hm. She tasted the thought, and found that it didn't offend her. "Interesting idea. Hadrius is a halfway decent sort."

He nodded, and they began walking again. "And he hates Faydren. He knows Lukas, and Lukas seems to trust him."

"Both points in his favor." She took a skipping step and tugged on Darius's hand, trying to get him to slow down; he tended to forget that her legs were shorter than his when he was thinking hard. "As a general rule, I trust Lukas's opinion of people."

"So, it's an option. How to do it becomes the hard part."

She thought about it. How to kill an emperor? "We have to do it more or less in plain sight. A magician's trick of sorts. Constantine's rarely alone, and when he is it's always with people he could overpower if he needed. Like, say, me."

Darius smiled. "Yes, but even all you have to do is drug him. Or use some digitalis."

She thought about it. She was going to have opportunity. A little bit of sleight of hand over a glass of wine, or even a decanter--the smell of wine these days was beginning to turn her stomach, she'd have ample excuse to water her wine--and Constantine's heart would stop. She might have to take some of it herself, but if she controlled how much she took in, the worst it would do was make her fall into the death-like sleep that small amounts of the poison caused.

She gritted her teeth. If she could, she'd avoid deliberately poisoning herself. She had no idea if it would harm the child she carried. But if it were necessary--is this that important?

Maybe. She shook herself. "True enough," she replied quietly. "He dies, we swap in Hadrius, and then we have a body to get rid of. I can think of something for that."

"Hadrius becomes Constantine. Then with the imperial guard on your side, Faydren can be removed."

"And the damned poison can be gotten rid of." Livia sighed. The poison was weighing heavily on her conscience. She knew she couldn't have known what would happen when she decided to try to save lives rather than slaughter the rat creatures, but she still was blaming herself.

Darius nodded. "The trouble is if he even suspects, he will knock down the spell and Hadrius will be revealed."

"Removing Faydren would have to happen right away after Hadrius becomes Constantine." She tched again, thinking about it. It would take some very tricky timing. They would have to catch Faydren unawares.

"Yes very quickly, but we may have to pull down his base of power more before we can act and hope that Constantine doesn't do something stupid before then."

Livia took a skipping step, as Darius had increased his pace again. Ahead of them, a rabbit burst from cover and bounded off, and Livia jumped at the sudden motion. Calming her breathing, she replied, "Pollius needs to go."

"Very soon," he said. "I don't relish the thought of doing battle with him. Zaran comes to mind."

She gave him a thin smile. "No, I really don't either. Maybe I can get someone else to do the dirty work for us."

He eyed her. "Know anybody that does assassinations?"

"Rumor, mostly." She shrugged. "There are people out there who do, and I could make some careful inquiries. With enough gold, almost anyone can be made to disappear."

Darius let out a sharp breath. "Oh, this just gets better and better."

"I used to be a good person. I swear, I was." Her smile was more than a little bitter.

"So were we all."

She nodded, and silence fell between them for a few moments. Then Livia said, "Pollius needs to go. Aphe...I don't know. Maybe. It's too bad, I sort of like her. And I still am not sure what to do with Aranis. I'm sure she's the reason that Faydren wants to break Linaeus out. I'm having more difficulty coming up with reasons not to let him heal her. The man responsible for her madness is dead."

He shook his head. "But the instrument is still out there. Linaeus is the only one left that can heal her. And if you kill Aphe, Hadrius will never agree. She was his apprentice."

"True. I think she might be swayable, given enough evidence, but we'll see. Julia, I hope, will be done soon with the thing she was going to make for me that's like the bracelet. With that, Neera might be able to disappear."

"Yes, that will eliminate Neera. Now, though, can you trust Julia?" Darius asked. his face was serious.

She threw her free hand to the sky. "I have no idea. As time goes on, I become less and less trusting of her. She can't tell me the whole truth about anything, it seems. And if Constantine had Sextus under control, she's my first suspect. They were meeting every week or so."

Darius shrugged. "No, so I don't know where to turn. Is she working with Constantine?"

"That's my first suspicion. I wonder if Lukas would know. Probably not, but I can ask." she sighed, and the sigh turned into a jaw-cracking yawn. "I was going to go talk to Lukas and Hadrius today, but I think it can wait until tomorrow. It was an early morning, and it's going to be a late night tonight."

"Indeed it is. We could probably both use some sleep before we go tonight." They were nearly to the walls, and they freed their hands from each other. "Eat, then sleep, then go see what Faydren has in mind."

Livia shook her head. "I'm not really hungry."

"You barely ate before we left." He fixed her with a stern look. "Am I going to have to mention to Orla that you're not eating again?"

She laughed. "Anything but that! All right, all right." They passed through the gates, heading home.

*****

Livia was down in the passage that led from Constans's house to Constantine's and Constantius's. down one passage, she could see rubble reflected in the light of her lamp--the house had come down on it. The other way was clear, though clogged with cobwebs. She stopped at the gate that barred the way and lifted her lamp. There was dust thick on the floor, and there was no sign that anyone had been in this passage for months.

Lowering the lamp, she inspected the gate that barred the way. The locks would be easy enough for her key to open, she decided, and though she looked very hard, she could see no sign of an alarm or other trap on it.

Satisfied, she returned to the house, closing the panel that led to the passage behind her. Darius was standing there, waiting for her. "Ready?" he asked.

"As much as I'll ever be. Let's go."

It was a short walk to Faydren's house, since he lived right next door. It was an hour before midnight when she knocked on his door.

Faydren himself answered it, then ushered them into the library she'd been in before, when she'd stolen the papers and the gem from his secret room. She deliberately didn't look at the entrance to that room, instead turning to watch Faydren close the door. Darius stood at her shoulder, and she could feel his tense watchfulness. "So, I'm hoping you have an idea for how to get Linaeus out," she said, her tone deliberately relaxed.

"It should be child's play, really," he said, turning towards them. "All I need from you is to convince him to come with us. He would never leave if it was just me."

"Last time I checked, he trusted me." She gave the mage a wry smile.

Faydren nodded. "Then we can be off."

"All right, then. Are you going to give us any idea of what to expect?" she asked.

"I expect guards, a locked cage, and a resistant Linaeus. But little of concern." He looked at her and Darius. "Please accept this spell that I am about to cast. It will harm you in no way, but will greatly benefit our cause."

Livia tensed. Her first instinct was to refuse any spell that this mage wanted to cast on her. Then she glanced at Darius and caught a warning glance in return. She relaxed, and nodded. Faydren raised his hands and said a long string of incomprehensible syllables in a very quiet voice.

Something washed over Livia, some subtle ripple of energy. It settled around her, and then the sense of its presence faded a bit. If she thought about it, she could still feel it. She glanced down at her hands and then at Darius, but couldn't see if anything was different about them.

"Good, then we will be off." He opened the door of the library and gestured at them to precede him out the door. When they were out, he cast another spell. This one created an illusion of the three of them. Books were out before them, glasses of wine in their hands, and Faydren was pointing with one long finger at a passage in the scroll in front of him.

Livia watched for a moment, and a chill touched her. Do Darius and I really look like that? she wondered. The two of them were seated altogether too closely to each other, and something in how they both moved spoke quietly of mutual possessiveness. They did not touch, but they did not have to. No wonder he's one of my worst-kept secrets, she realized in dismay.

Faydren spoke and broke her reverie. "From here on in, no one can see or hear you. But you can be bumped into. Don't touch anything you don't need to, and give people a wide berth."

"I can do that. Shall we?" she said, inclining her head.

He closed the doors of the library, and they followed him out of the darkened house and out into the street. They walked down the street to Constantine's house, and Faydren stopped in front of the gates that led to the outer courtyard. He gestured, and a subtle ripple left his fingertips. "The guards will remember nothing out of the ordinary and the gate is now unlocked," he told them. "An illusion maintains the appearance of a closed and locked gate, but pay it no mind and walk through."

Livia did so, walking past the unsuspecting guards. In the outer courtyard stood a large cage, with guards on all four corners. There was what Livia's eye first took for a pile of clothing in the center of the cage. Then she blinked and realized that it had to be Linaeus. Faydren had caught up with her, and as he stopped in front of the gate, he gestured again, then caught Livia's eye and pointed at the cage.

"As soon as you touch him he will see us all," he told her.

She nodded and pulled open the door of the cage. She stepped inside and then crouched by Linaeus's side. His breathing was ragged, and in the light of the torches in the courtyard Livia could see that he had been badly beaten. Her heart lurched. She reached out to lay her hand on his shoulder. "Linaeus?" she said quietly. "Linaeus, are you awake?"

Linaeus groaned and rolled over towards her. He opened his eyes to look at her, the yellow irises glinting in the light. "Livia?" he asked, his voice thick. The movement of his lips broke open cuts on his lips, and she could see that he had mottled bruises on his cheeks and jaw.

"Yes. I've come to get you out of here. Come with me, as quickly as you can." She extended her hand to him. "Try not to run into anyone," she added.

He stood, and looked around at the unsuspecting guards. Where he had lain was another Linaeus, curled up on the floor of the cage, very still. Linaeus's eyes went past Livia, and widened when he saw Faydren behind her. He looked at her, questions in his demon eyes.

"It was the only way," she said quietly. "He has reason to want you alive."

He wiped blood from the cuts on his lips. "All right. Didn't feel like being burned either, so if this gets me out, so much the better."

Livia gave the priest a brief smile. "You and I still have work to do."

"Good, glad to be of use." Darius stepped into the cage and draped Linaeus's arm over his shoulders, and on his other side Livia did the same. When they were out of the cage, Livia closed the door, feeling it click locked under her hands. They walked out of the courtyard, closing the other gates behind them.

After they were well away, Faydren turned to them as they walked. "Where to now? Back to your place, or back to mine, or do you need transport out of the city?"

Livia nodded. "To my place. I can take care of getting him out of the city later. And there's something there that needs attending to." She eyed Linaeus. He seemed to be mostly unconscious, and Darius was shouldering most of his weight. "Though it's likely going to need to wait till morning." If it happens then, she thought. He may need more time than that to recover.

Faydren said, "As you wish, I will leave the illusion of us in the library on for another two hours. You left then an hour after midnight, I will make the illusion come back to your doors at Constans's house."

"How long will the spell on us last?" she asked.

The tall mage shrugged his thin shoulders. "The one you currently have can be dismissed at any time or left until the dawn, which is when it will run out. As will the Linaeus illusion."

Livia gave him a faint smile. "Constantine's going to be furious."

"Yes, yes he will." He took a breath. "Good night Livia. Darius. Linaeus. Good luck."

"Good night, Faydren. Thank you, we're going to need it."

"Yes, you probably will." He turned from them then, and took a few long strides to his own door.

They reached Constans's house, and down a narrow alley beside the house they went, going into the servants' entrance. "That man has way too much power," Darius muttered.

"You're telling me. What he did was just creepy."

"Very, he could do that anytime he wants. And to anyone."

Livia sighed. "And nobody would ever be the wiser."

"No, that's the really scary part." He was holding his voice low.

She took a sharp breath. "No offense, Darius, but mages are really pretty frightening, sometimes."

"None taken. Some crave that kind of power. I don't really. I wanted it to enhance myself and complement my skills, and if you have the ability you may as well use it." He shrugged awkwardly, still bearing Linaeus's weight. "But that goes beyond, way beyond."

Livia nodded. "True enough. I'm somewhat glad I don't have the talent. It doesn't help that Faydren's so slippery that you can't ever tell what his real game is." She sighed. "Now. What to do with Linaeus? I was thinking the room I found the other day--it's secure, and he won't be found there."

Darius nodded. "Yes, and then what are you doing with Aranis? And how do we get him out of here?"

She laid her fingers on her lips and slipped away from Darius and Linaeus, stepping into the kitchen and snagging some bread, a chunk of cheese, and some apples, as well as a pitcher with water in it. She returned swiftly to Darius. "At this point, getting Aranis healed up is pretty much all we can do--she doesn't have a lot of time left, if not. As for getting him out of here, I'm still working on it. I was thinking of asking for some help from--" she glanced at Linaeus, wondering exactly how awake he was, "--the people working on the potion."

"That may work. They got in, they can probably get him out."

They were walking towards the gardens, quietly. "Right. The one needs to get the hell out, anyway. If what I fear is going to happen does, best that he's far away."

"Yes, that would be best. Constantine may do something rash."

"I hope not, but it might come to pass," she said.

Darius shrugged, and Livia paused to gather blankets from one of the several cupboards that were used to store them in. "Ah well, one small victory and another day we have bought," he said, his voice rueful.

"Several victories, and some things that may end up being defeats. It's been a very, very long day."

"Yes it has." He paused, and a smile she was beginning to come to know very well touched his lips. "Well at least with this spell, if you ever had the inclination to make love outdoors, now is the time."

She thought about it, and then gave Darius a wicked grin. "Let's get Linaeus settled, and then we'll see." They walked out into the garden and towards the tree. Livia took hold of Darius's arm, then stretched up and touched the entrance to the birdhouse.

When her vision cleared, she saw that Darius was looking around with wide eyes. "By all that's holy," she heard him mutter to himself. "Big, she said, this place is enormous--"

She interrupted his muttering. "Hold him for a little bit more. I want to lay some blankets down for him to lie on." He nodded and she spread out the blankets. Together, they lay the priest down, who moaned as they did so.

He was only barely conscious, Livia saw. Her fingers searched through his hair and winced as she found several lumps, probably the result of being hit. Quickly, she went over him, looking for other injuries. He had what appeared to be a couple of broken fingers, some swelling around one of his knees, and there was quite a bit of bruising and a number of cuts on his torso and arms. She rather thought that he had a couple of broken ribs, at least. She snagged a cloth out of her bag--she'd known that they probably wouldn't have treated him gently--and dipped it into the pitcher, cleaning the blood from his face. "I can't do much for him," she told Darius. "I think he'll live, but unless he can heal himself he's going to hurt a lot tomorrow."

Linaeus had closed his eyes entirely, and seemed to fall asleep. She covered him with a blanket, and then concentrated on the keeper of this place. Constans appeared, and she saw Darius jump and utter an oath. She pointed at Linaeus. "This man's hurt and hiding from what now passes for the law," she told him. "I should be back for him tomorrow evening. Don't let him leave unless I request, he has no idea where he is or where he'll come out."

The keeper nodded. "And the other?"

"Darius, my--bodyguard. Darius, this is the keeper of this place." Darius was staring, but finally managed a nod. "The keeper always takes the form of the last owner. For Constans, he was his mother," she explained to him.

"I see," Darius said.

The keeper nodded. "Livia mentioned you before," he told Darius.

"We should be going. I'll be back later. The door, if you please?" she asked the keeper.

He nodded. "Of course. Goodbye, Livia." The door appeared before them, and Livia picked up the last of the blankets that were still folded and waked through it, Darius following.

Behind the tree once more, Livia took a deep breath of the chilly night air. "Well. Hadrius and Lukas tomorrow morning, then."

Darius nodded. "All right." He looked at the blanket she was carrying. "What's that for?" he asked mildly.

Her response was to slide her free arm around him and kiss him, quite thoroughly. "What do you think?" she murmured when she was done.

They spent an hour or so naked under the waning moon, the fire between them rekindling. Livia was unashamedly hungry, seeking to shove away the heartbreak and pain of the day, reaffirming that she was still alive, still fighting.

And when there were tears, afterwards, Darius simply held her and let her cry once more.