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aithneMore Constantinople, just in time for the new year!
The next morning, Livia and Darius went out early to spar, continuing Livia's education in fighting. She had picked up some food from the kitchen on her way out, and stepped into the birdhouse briefly. Linaeus woke at her arrival, and his color was much better than it had been last night. He seemed to have mostly healed himself, the bruises on his face faded to mere shadows. She exchanged a few words with him and told him she'd be back later.
After their workout, Darius dropped onto a nearby bench. "What next?" he asked her.
"I need to speak with Attius. He needs to be briefed on what's happened, and I need to speak with the other for a little bit." She saw Darius nod in understanding. They had talked for a long time the previous night, after she'd dried her tears, and between them they had come up with a plan. It was daring and dangerous, but it had a chance of succeeding.
Darius looked at the sky. "They'll probably be awake by the time we get bathed and changed. Do you want to do that first thing?"
Livia nodded. "I have a few things to do here, but we should be off as soon as we can." She sighed deeply. "I have a feeling it's going to be another long day."
An hour and a half later, they were being ushered into Attius's house. Livia requested to see Lukas alone for a bit, leaving Darius outside the secure room with Attius/Hadrius. When they were both seated, Livia asked bluntly, "So, I have a question for you. You trust Hadrius, correct? Is he the sort of person who makes a halfway decent leader?"
"Hadrius is a mage. I trust him as far as I can trust any mage." Lukas spread his hands. "He may have an agenda but in the years that I have seen him, his agenda has been to rid Hagia Sophia of Faydren. His work in general has been helping, not hurting. Though we have had words about his hand in this drug trade."
"I figured that was cover, for the moment."
"It is but still...it's distasteful."
We all have to do a lot of distasteful things to survive, Lukas, she thought. "Constantine, now that he's the emperor, I believe is about to do some very nasty things. I was thinking of replacing him with someone who wouldn't decide to purge every priest, mage, and Sassenid from the city and then the Empire."
Lukas's brows went up. "And you are thinking Hadrius?"
"It needs to be a mage, to hold the spell that keeps one in another's form. And, honestly, except for Darius I think Hadrius is one of the few mages I’d trust not to do something stupid with the power."
He paused for a moment, scratching the back of his neck. "And it would be a good counterpoint to Faydren. I suppose you could do worse, and I can't think of anyone better."
Livia nodded. "In that case, I should probably call him and Darius in here. Things have happened that both of you need to know about." She rose and opened the door, and beckoned Hadrius and Darius inside. Once they were all seated, Livia addressed Lukas and Hadrius. "I have bad news. Very bad news. Someone beat us to the rat creatures. Probably Constantine. If it was someone else, they did a very good job at creating evidence of imperial involvement."
Hadrius gave her a sharp look. "Faydren possibly, or are you sure it's Constantine?"
"Not entirely sure. whoever it was had a lot of very well-shod men with them, and all of them were killed with swords," she said. "Like I said, I'm not discounting the possibility that it was Faydren, but if it was, he's gone to great lengths to frame Constantine."
"Sounds like Constantine. Faydren would have fried the whole lot," Hadrius replied.
"That's what I was thinking."
The mage made a sour face. "Faydren hated those creatures for years, until he found out they were actually people transformed. Then he just ignored them."
"Nobody ever connected him with the creation of them?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Faydren tried to kill them out as a species on Constantine's orders. After Constantine the Elder died he gave up. that was about the time that he found out they were transformed."
"Were there ever any rumors of who had transformed them in the first place?"
"Never could find them. We tracked a lab once out by the sewer's end on the beach years ago and we heard rumors of one in the desert, but the sewer one was long deserted."
"Interesting," she said. "Turns out Pollius apparently was at least involved in their creation."
He nodded, as if she'd confirmed something he'd long suspected. "I had wondered about that, never could prove a thing. I think though, he was using some sort of mind tricks on most of us to keep him ahead." He frowned, his brow furrowed as if he were attempting to remember the details of something long forgotten. "As time passes I remember things more clearly than I did at the time."
Livia spread her hands. "Pollius's name seems to come up when I’m looking at a lot of the unsavory things that have happened in the last few decades. The rat creatures. Aranis." She paused, then added, "Geras."
Hadrius grimaced. "And a few more. Constantine the Elder. Statilla."
"Statilla?" Livia asked, startled.
"Ever talked to her? Off her rocker. Pollius had a spell go off, he said. Think he did it on purpose."
Had she not been that way, once upon a time? "Knowing him, probably. And Constantine the first?"
Hadrius nodded and replied, "Before Faydren and I parted ways, my last assignment was to find out why Constantine went around the bend about clerics and took up this Christos religion so fervently."
It made sense that someone would have been suspicious. "Ah. Pollius was involved?"
"Never could pin it on him, but the first thing Constantine the Younger did was remove Pollius as an advisor to the regents."
Livia grimaced. "I wonder if he's gotten to Faydren somehow, too? Pollius is a very dangerous man."
"Its possible. Faydren usually protects himself from just about everything though." He shook his head. "A very dangerous man, and one we could live without."
She gave him a sweet smile. "I could very well live without him, as well. I'm figuring out how to make that happen. I had a chat with Aphe recently, and I have no idea how much of what she told me was the truth, and how much was fancy."
Hadrius gave her a steady look. "Aphe probably told you the truth the way she wanted to interpret it."
"Probably. She mentioned you were her teacher, among other things she told me. She also said that Sextus was under some sort of control, though she didn't give me many details about that." Livia almost asked about the veils, and then decided against it.
He replied, "If she says he was, you can bet there was something going on. Controlled magically or through threats."
"Magically, somehow, I think. She said that the trail I followed was laid not for me but for himself. Just another thing to add to the pile of confusion lately." She shifted in her seat on the low couch, straightening, and asked Hadrius with a serious expression, "So, Hadrius. I have a question. Ever wanted to be an emperor?"
Hadrius was taken aback. "No, not really."
"We have a problem. Constantine shows every sign of wanting to participate in his father's madness, and I think he's going to start the purges again--only this time worse. Priests, mages, and Sassenids, to start with. We may well need to remove him, and if we do, having someone to be him who isn't prone to that sort of thing would be a goodness. You're one of the few mages I think could be trusted with the power." She leaned forward slightly. "And if we worked the timing right, we could remove Faydren right afterwards."
He took a minute or so to think about it. "Ambitious. But I am game."
Livia gave a wry smile. "I don't think small much any more. Thank you, then."
"No, I see not." He chuckled quietly.
"That said, I had an....interesting adventure last night. Constantine grabbed Linaeus right after Geras died. Faydren volunteered to help me get him out." She took a breath. "Linaeus is currently at Constans's house. We need to get him--and you, Lukas--out of the city, I think."
Lukas straightened at this point. "Same way I got in will work. Sorry the potion was too late."
She turned to him, and nodded. "Me, too. I'd really hoped that we'd be in time. There are a few survivors, but the problem is tracking them down to find them. And Constantine likely has the poison. I would caution both of you about drinking from the Sassenid well any time soon. I hope we can do something about Constantine before he can do something stupid, but..." She trailed off.
"How soon do you think he would actually do that?"
"I'd say the reasonably near future. He's lacking one thing now, as far as I know--someone to reasonably blame it on. If I were him, I'd blame it on either the mages or the priests and use that pretext to start slaughtering people. But he'd need at least a shred of proof, and he's not got that right now as far as I know."
Lukas narrowed his eyes in thought. "I know a few things about Constantine but you said that you had an adventure with Faydren last night. Leave any clues behind that it was a mage that broke him out?"
Oh. Damn. Damn, damn damn. She knew her dismay showed on her face. "Yes. well, how else do you explain an illusion of the captured that disappears at dawn?"
"Evidence right there." He grimaced. "If Faydren is working for Constantine or in some sort of agreement, he tells him what happened. May have even planted evidence, blames you and especially Darius and the war begins.
"Well, that throws a different light on the situation entirely," she said. "I may need to move to replace Constantine more quickly than I anticipated. I really wanted to eliminate Pollius first. All right. Lukas, I'm going to need you to come with me to Constans's house with me. I need your help to get Aranis out to where Lukas is, if you're willing. Hadrius, would you be willing to help Lukas and Linaeus get out of the city if need be?" He nodded, and Livia pursed her lips. "I think we may need Attius to disappear. If we're lucky, if we kill Pollius and Attius goes missing, Faydren will just assume that Attius killed him and decided that prudence was the better part of valor."
Hadrius asked, "Have you figured out how to get Pollius where we can get to him?"
"Still working on it. Be ready, though. If we can move on this tonight, I'd like to." She needed a little time to think, to arrange things in her head, plan for contingencies. She rose and Darius shadowed her, the other two getting to their feet more slowly. They took their leave, Hadrius telling them to send word when his presence was required.
Back at the house, the three of them went to Aranis's room. She was screaming again, thrashing against her bonds, but with a word and a touch Lukas calmed her and brought her into a semi-awake state. "Fifteen minutes, no more," he warned her. "Where does she need to go?"
"Out to the garden," Livia replied. She was undoing Aranis's straps, seeing how her head hung, how her hands shook. Livia reached out and took Aranis's hand. "Please, come with me."
Obediently, Aranis followed her out to the garden. Earlier, Livia had tested with the mirror the properties of her bracelet. If she were in contact with someone, they did indeed disappear from magesight. So she led Aranis by the hand out to the garden and then into the birdhouse, closing her eyes for the transition that was by now becoming familiar.
When she opened her eyes on the other side, Aranis cried out and stiffened beside her. Before them, Linaeus was sitting and talking to Constans. "I thought he was dead," she said.
Livia blinked and then realized she'd forgotten to warn Aranis about the keeper. "He is. This is a...shadow. Of sorts. Constans talked to him, but it's not Constans himself."
The other woman breathed out and sagged. "Good, I was glad he was. That was a bit of a shock."
"I'm sorry, I should have thought to warn you," she apologized. "I didn't think he'd be here when we arrived."
Linaeus had turned towards them, and Constans had disappeared. "Shall we begin?" he asked.
Livia nodded. "Please. Aranis, Linaeus is going to try to heal you of what afflicts you."
He stepped forward, extending his hand towards Aranis. "This will not take long, Livia." He took her hand and drew her closer to him, laying his hand on her head, on her knotted hair. He muttered a few words, sounding strangely like a sentence in the Sassenid tongue. Aranis closed her eyes and then blinked them open once again. Linaeus said, "That's it," and stepped back from her.
Livia smiled. "Thank you. How are you feeling, Aranis?"
Aranis licked her lips and looked around. "Better. Much lighter, oddly."
"Do you remember where you are, and when?"
"Yes, we entered a birdcage and came out here with Linaeus and some sort of mage-induced rendition of Constans. It's--it must be the ninth day to the Kalends of October."
Well, she knows where and when she is, at least. "Do you remember the man with the demon eyes who would come and visit you?"
She shivered. "I do. Unpleasant man."
Livia gave her a smile. "Also, a dead man now."
"Good. Thank you both for healing me." She looked around uncertainty, rubbing her hands together as if unsure of what to do with them. She rugged gently at her dirty shift.
"You're welcome. You're free, Aranis. What do you want to do now? I know Faydren would be happy to see you."
Aranis smiled. "And I would be happy to see him again," she said. "It's been so many years."
"I can invite him over, once you've had a chance to eat and clean up."
The other woman's smile was brilliant, and she almost seemed to light up from inside. "That would be lovely."
"We can do that, then." Livia took a breath and wondered how much she wanted to tell Aranis. "There's a political situation going on that's a bit explosive, but I don't know how much you want to know about it."
"If it concerns Faydren, then I should probably know but other than that, my concern with politics was very small."
Livia said, "It probably does. Geras--the man with the demon eyes--was posing as Constantius. When Collita died recently, it was discovered that Geras had poisoned her, and Faydren unmasked him. We're down to one regent, and that makes Constantine emperor." She made a wry face, thinking of her involvement in that action. "Nobody's sure quite yet what Constantine will do, but everyone's on edge. Constantine will probably continue what his father started many years ago. Purges of magic. Which I’m assuming that Faydren's not going to tolerate. Like I said, it's an explosive situation."
"Very explosive. Yes."
Livia thought of something and frowned. "Do you remember Pollius coming to visit you on a regular basis?"
Aranis shifted and nodded. "I do, I remember him quite a bit. I remember him aging."
"Did he ever say anything about what he was doing to Magentius?"
"He was driving him to paranoia. Delusions and hallucinations, I remember him saying," she replied quietly.
"Did he ever say why?"
She sighed, looking down at the floor. "He wanted him to kill Constans."
"And he was attempting to keep you calm," Livia added.
Aranis shrugged. "Yes. Constans hated it when I was screaming. Constantine got Pollius to come and calm me."
Livia's eyebrows went up. "Constantine did? Interesting. I thought Constantine hated mages in general."
"He did and does. But his words once were, use their power to help you and to calm the masses from hysteria and when you are done with them, discard them as you would anything that is trash."
Of course. Livia spared an angry thought for Constantine. These are people, people with sometimes frightening powers yes, but people nonetheless. "So he doesn't oppose to using them when the need arises. Constantine at least used to be in a position to ask favors of Pollius, then."
"Probably still is."
"Do he and Pollius have a connection, somewhere?" she asked.
Aranis shook her head, pulling at her shift again. "Nothing other than he used Pollius in the past for controlling some people that he needed to control for a time."
"Ah. Pollius has a high price, but he is hirable."
"Yes, this is how he made his fortune. On Constantine’s money and Constans's."
"I'm sure he did quite a bit of work for them both over the years," she said. "Constantius never hired him, then?"
Aranis shook her head firmly. "Constantius killed Pollius's first wife when she was found injuring Fausta. "
Livia's brows drew together. Who would have hurt Fausta, the small, sweet woman who had been beloved by almost everyone who knew her? "Injuring Fausta? How?"
"Pollius's wife was a midwife. When Fausta was having trouble conceiving, she was asked to look in on the problem. After several months, Fausta was looking very tired and worse for the wear. When questioned, she had no idea what was being done to her. She couldn't recall. When the midwife came the next week, Constantius came into the room, halfway through session and found her cutting on Fausta." She paused and twisted her mouth. "In her nether regions."
Livia shuddered. "Nasty. Very nasty. Did anyone find out why before Constantius killed her, presumably in a rage?"
"No, his personal guard killed her." She shrugged philosophically.
"The fact that Fausta couldn't remember makes me wonder if Pollius wasn't involved with that. Well, no wonder Constantius never hired him. And no wonder she never managed to conceive. Poor thing. She was my friend."
Linaeus broke in. "And now you know why Geras targeted Constantius for the beginning of this."
"Right. I wondered why he was the candidate chosen, now I know," she said, taking a long breath.
Linaeus shrugged. "Constantius killed his mother. Ah, sorry, not his mother but his father's wife, his stepmother."
Livia met his eyes. She let him see her lack of surprise at that revelation. "Geras had reasons to want vengeance on half the world, it seems," she said, her voice low.
"He believed he was wronged on a great many things."
Her voice was sharp. "I'm sure he did. From this end of things, it looks like a nasty cycle of disappointment, hatred, and retribution. Constantius kills the woman who raised Geras because she was hurting his wife. Sextus blinds him. And having Pollius for a father probably didn't help things any."
He shook his head slowly. "No, it didn't. After you finish with Aranis, if you could linger for a moment, Livia?"
She inclined her head. "Actually, I think I was about to send Aranis back into the house." She turned to the other woman, who had been watching them with curious eyes. "Find a woman named Orla, and tell her I say that you're to have a chance to bathe and eat, and she should find some clothing for you. I'll send a messenger to Faydren when I'm done here." She paused and added, "Oh, one more thing, Aranis. If you could do me a favor...please attempt to forget where the entrance to this place is. It's a secret not many know, and I’d like to keep it that way."
Aranis nodded. "I will keep your secret," she said.
"Thank you." She raised her voice slightly. "Constans, the door for the lady, please?" The door appeared and Aranis went through. After she was gone, the door disappeared.
Linaeus had sat down on the smooth wood that made the floor of the huge room. Livia joined him, sitting down about at arms' reach. He spoke slowly and carefully. "What I have to tell you, Livia, will probably not come as a shock but Aranis may remember it someday and someone should know. Over the years when I came to Constans' house I was present many times to cure Aranis of various diseases, much like the ones Merouk had." He looked away from Livia, towards the horizon. "Twelve years ago, I came her and helped her give birth to the son of Geras."
Livia drew her knees towards her chest. Her mother would have scolded her for sitting in such an unladylike fashion, she thought, irrelevantly. "I'd wondered if Geras hadn't been--using her. What happened to the child?"
He shrugged and spread his hands. "Geras took the child to Pollius. He has never been seen since." He turned back towards Livia. "Geras used to describe as a child a place in the basement, full of cages. I can only hope the child is not there."
A basement full of cages. Like the one that he built in Constantius's house. Geras, you never escaped your father's house, did you? No matter how old you got, no matter how strong you were, you were still there. Slowly, she replied, "I hope not, as well. We may have a chance to go find him, sometime soon."
He nodded. "I thought you should know."
Livia looked over at him, and her felt a thread of pain run through her. "I'm sorry, Linaeus. I had no idea that Geras was your brother. I don't think it would have changed anything had I known, but..." She spread her hands.
"It shouldn't have changed me but it did." He was looking away from her again, and there was old pain in his voice. "I am glad he is gone now. He led such a tortured life. So have we all."
"The farther I get into this, the more I marvel at the fact that any of you are even still sane," she said.
He turned back to her, and his smile held more than a little fatigue. "It was a hard life, I have to admit. But it's over now. For me at least. I fear you have to go on."
"I've had less time for this to try to break me than you." She shrugged. "What will you do now? I don't think you can stay in the city."
"If my father will take me, I can help him," he replied. "If not, I will head to Ankara and basically set up like he is."
She nodded, and then a thought struck her. "He very well might. I'm going to see if I can talk to Thalea in a bit. Is there anything you want me to tell her? Do you want to see her? I think we need to try to get you out of the city tonight.. We may combine that trip with something else interesting, we'll see."
"I would love to see Thalea, if you can."
She smiled. "I'll see what I can arrange. I'll let you know when I know more."
"Thank you, Livia." His smile, and his thanks, were both genuine. There was something different about him now, Livia realized. What was it?
Then it struck her. Linaeus looked like a condemned man who had been given another chance at life, but who wasn't quite sure if his new life was going to stick. She gave him a smile and then called for the door. Constans, and the door, appeared.
Livia paused, suddenly struck by a thought. She asked Constans, "Could you purge any magic on me? Oh, wait--" She took off the key and pulled the mirror out of her bag, and set them down. "All right."
Constans nodded, and a look of concentration passed over his face. Livia felt a brief, sickening sensation in her gut, which quickly cleared. Constans was shaking his head. "I cannot, Livia. I removed the physical block, but the memory charms are too intricate. I can't remove them without possibly harming you."
Livia stared at him. "Memory charms?"
"Many memory charms, layered on top of each other. You have tampered with quite a lot of your memory. There are two keys, one to restore the memories, the other to erase them, but nothing to indicate who might know those keys. The physical block was trivial enough; if you wanted it, you'll need to have it replaced."
She considered this, then asked, "What physical block?"
"On your womb. Meant to stop a pregnancy in the early months, making it look like a natural miscarriage. It was well-crafted, but if you didn't want it--"
"No. No, I did not." She felt cold. Dear gods. All of those miscarriages, all of that pain, every hope I had for more children, stopped by a spell. Who would do such a thing? And why?
She was shaking, and she swallowed. Linaeus--she'd forgotten that he was there--said, "I don't know about the physical block, but the mental block--that reminds me of something. Sextus and I occasionally met at Statilla's house. Once, she wandered past where we were stalking, and stopped to speak to Sextus. She asked how the spells were holding on you. He said they were, then refused to answer any of my questions about it."
"Statilla, then. Maybe." She sighed. "Maybe she knows the keyword to free the memories. Thank you, Linaeus. I'll be back in a while. Do you need anything?" He shook his head, and she departed.
Lukas was in the garden. She came around the tree and saw him, in his guise as a doctor. "Aranis went into the house. I take it the healing was successful?"
She nodded. "I'll send a message to Faydren when she's arranged herself to her satisfaction. There's no real reason to keep the two of them apart."
He raised an eyebrow. "I'd have thought she'd want to see him as soon as possible."
"Never underestimate the power of female vanity," she said with a smile. "She hasn't seen him for twenty years. Another two hours for her to wash, have her hair untangled, and find something to wear that isn't filthy won't hurt." She took a breath. "You may want to return to Attius's. I'll send word or come by when I know more about tonight. Oh. Could I impose on you to look at something for me?" She explained about the memory charms, and he gestured her over, laying his fingers lightly on her temples.
His probe felt strange, like something tickling on the inside of her head. She fought the urge to flinch and pull away from him. "Whoever did this knew what they were doing. They did it at your request, I'd wager. A spell of this sort laid without consent feels a bit different. Definitely clerical in nature, not mage. It actually feels a bit like Linaeus, but not identical to his style." He lifted his hands from her head, and she stepped back.
"Strange. I can't believe I did this to myself. What on earth possessed me? Why would I have agreed to have this done?"
Lukas' mouth was set in a straight line. "Usually, those who consent have memories that cause them great pain, either of someone hurting them or of hurting someone else."
She blinked at him. Have I done something so terrible, or had something that bad happen to me? "I know how Pandora felt," she said. "Gods above and below."
He nodded. "You don't know what the box contains, and when you find out, you won't be able to undo the action. I will take my leave, then. I was called inside, by the way, to see Hedea. I believe she's Optata's nurse?" Livia nodded. "She's back on her feet, and she'll be fine. The first thing she asked about when she woke was your daughter." Lukas straightened and took a breath. "I will see you soon, Livia." He nodded to her and then exited the garden as Darius entered it.
"I saw Aranis," he said. "It was just a glimpse before she disappeared with Orla towards the baths. I take it she's better?"
"Very much so," she replied. "I have some things I need to tell you, but they can wait. We need to go track down Thalea."
He nodded. "I know where she lives, near Julia. This is another of those days when you're going to pack every moment with something, isn't it?"
"Do I have any other kind?" She gave him a sharp smile. "Let's go. Have you seen Diya and Optata?"
"Diya's absorbed in her studies. Optata's in the workroom, as well, doing something arcane with a pot of dirt and one of her dolls. I didn't question, just closed the door."
They were walking out of the garden towards the front courtyard at this point, and Livia chuckled. "I have got to take Optata to meet Statilla soon. She'll love her house, I can already tell."
They walked to Thalea's house. Fortunately, the mage was at home. "Linaeus is safe," Livia told her once the door was closed. "He'd like to see you." Thalea sagged in relief, the lines around her mouth disappearing. "We're heading outside of the city tonight, if you'd like to come along. If you can take out the rest of the demon in reasonably short order, now would be a good time, when we can do something if it goes wrong."
"Goes wrong?" Thalea echoed.
"I talked to Julia, Thalea. She's worried that the demon was given to Linaeus too young. She thinks that he might not have much of a personality apart from it." Livia shrugged. "I don't know if she's right or not, but if you can do it when we have Lukas to help if he needs it."
Thalea nodded. "It's a reasonable fear, and it's a risk I decided to run." She took a breath. "After this is over, after whatever goes on between Faydren and Constantine is decided, I’m resigning from the council. I'm going to live with Linaeus. I'm tired of the politics and the intrigue and never knowing who's lying to me."
"I understand. Trust me, I understand. We're leaving the city tonight," Livia said.
"Linaeus will be out of it for a while after I pull out the demon. I'll need to settle up a few things here, then I’ll be able to join him." She gave Livia a canny look. "I take it there was another reason you're going out of the city?"
"There is, very likely. I'll tell you about it later, though." Livia smiled. "I'm going to return to Constans's house now. Will you come with me?"
"Let me get a few things," she replied. "Should be about ten minutes."
They returned without incident, and Livia took Thalea to the birdhouse. After she came out, she paused and looked up. She hadn't noticed before that the house was hung on a hook. It was very likely portable. She smiled, thinking of certain possibilities, the question of how to get everyone out of the city finally solved.
She stole a quick kiss from Darius, and then went to speak to Rusticus. One of the currently off-duty guards was sent to Faydren's house, with the message: "Aranis is awake, lucid, and would like very much to see you." Five minutes later, Faydren arrived in the outer courtyard.
Without comment, Livia showed him in. There was something like a fever in the thin mage's eyes, though he showed no other sign of his feelings. Livia paused in front of the open door of the reception room, and motioned him in.
Livia stayed at the doorway as Faydren stepped inside. He stopped near the doorway, seemingly arrested by the sight of the woman inside who rose at his approach. Aranis was clean, her waist-length hair falling shining over her shoulders, dressed in a peplos that was a creamy white, with a beautiful palla that nearly matched the color of her light blue eyes. She was beautiful, but what made her glorious to behold was the joy on her face and her welcoming smile.
For a few seconds, neither Faydren nor Aranis moved. Then they came together, wrapping each other in an embrace, and Livia turned away, suddenly feeling like she was intruding on something she had no right to witness. She took a step or three away from the doorway and dashed a tear from her eye. Behind her, she heard Faydren and Aranis's voices murmuring.
"Sentimental, Livia?" Darius asked in a low voice.
She gave him a wry smile. "Sometimes," she replied, her voice as quiet as his. "They've been waiting for each other for twenty years."
Darius returned her smile, but his was understanding. Then he motioned with his chin towards the door, and Livia turned.
Faydren and Aranis stepped out of the room, arm in arm. Faydren nodded to Livia. "With your permission, Livia, Aranis has asked to return home with me."
Livia chuckled. "I didn't call you here just to keep her away from you. You have my permission, and my blessing, as long as it's what she wants to do." Aranis nodded, almost shyly. "Of course, then."
They walked out of the house, and Livia sagged against the wall once they were gone. "I hope that doesn't come back to haunt me," she muttered to Darius.
"Me, too." He glanced around, and seeing that they were alone, slid an arm around her shoulders briefly. "Now what?"
She sighed. "Now, Darius..." She smiled fiercely. "Now we arrange for one man to meet his just reward."
The next morning, Livia and Darius went out early to spar, continuing Livia's education in fighting. She had picked up some food from the kitchen on her way out, and stepped into the birdhouse briefly. Linaeus woke at her arrival, and his color was much better than it had been last night. He seemed to have mostly healed himself, the bruises on his face faded to mere shadows. She exchanged a few words with him and told him she'd be back later.
After their workout, Darius dropped onto a nearby bench. "What next?" he asked her.
"I need to speak with Attius. He needs to be briefed on what's happened, and I need to speak with the other for a little bit." She saw Darius nod in understanding. They had talked for a long time the previous night, after she'd dried her tears, and between them they had come up with a plan. It was daring and dangerous, but it had a chance of succeeding.
Darius looked at the sky. "They'll probably be awake by the time we get bathed and changed. Do you want to do that first thing?"
Livia nodded. "I have a few things to do here, but we should be off as soon as we can." She sighed deeply. "I have a feeling it's going to be another long day."
An hour and a half later, they were being ushered into Attius's house. Livia requested to see Lukas alone for a bit, leaving Darius outside the secure room with Attius/Hadrius. When they were both seated, Livia asked bluntly, "So, I have a question for you. You trust Hadrius, correct? Is he the sort of person who makes a halfway decent leader?"
"Hadrius is a mage. I trust him as far as I can trust any mage." Lukas spread his hands. "He may have an agenda but in the years that I have seen him, his agenda has been to rid Hagia Sophia of Faydren. His work in general has been helping, not hurting. Though we have had words about his hand in this drug trade."
"I figured that was cover, for the moment."
"It is but still...it's distasteful."
We all have to do a lot of distasteful things to survive, Lukas, she thought. "Constantine, now that he's the emperor, I believe is about to do some very nasty things. I was thinking of replacing him with someone who wouldn't decide to purge every priest, mage, and Sassenid from the city and then the Empire."
Lukas's brows went up. "And you are thinking Hadrius?"
"It needs to be a mage, to hold the spell that keeps one in another's form. And, honestly, except for Darius I think Hadrius is one of the few mages I’d trust not to do something stupid with the power."
He paused for a moment, scratching the back of his neck. "And it would be a good counterpoint to Faydren. I suppose you could do worse, and I can't think of anyone better."
Livia nodded. "In that case, I should probably call him and Darius in here. Things have happened that both of you need to know about." She rose and opened the door, and beckoned Hadrius and Darius inside. Once they were all seated, Livia addressed Lukas and Hadrius. "I have bad news. Very bad news. Someone beat us to the rat creatures. Probably Constantine. If it was someone else, they did a very good job at creating evidence of imperial involvement."
Hadrius gave her a sharp look. "Faydren possibly, or are you sure it's Constantine?"
"Not entirely sure. whoever it was had a lot of very well-shod men with them, and all of them were killed with swords," she said. "Like I said, I'm not discounting the possibility that it was Faydren, but if it was, he's gone to great lengths to frame Constantine."
"Sounds like Constantine. Faydren would have fried the whole lot," Hadrius replied.
"That's what I was thinking."
The mage made a sour face. "Faydren hated those creatures for years, until he found out they were actually people transformed. Then he just ignored them."
"Nobody ever connected him with the creation of them?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Faydren tried to kill them out as a species on Constantine's orders. After Constantine the Elder died he gave up. that was about the time that he found out they were transformed."
"Were there ever any rumors of who had transformed them in the first place?"
"Never could find them. We tracked a lab once out by the sewer's end on the beach years ago and we heard rumors of one in the desert, but the sewer one was long deserted."
"Interesting," she said. "Turns out Pollius apparently was at least involved in their creation."
He nodded, as if she'd confirmed something he'd long suspected. "I had wondered about that, never could prove a thing. I think though, he was using some sort of mind tricks on most of us to keep him ahead." He frowned, his brow furrowed as if he were attempting to remember the details of something long forgotten. "As time passes I remember things more clearly than I did at the time."
Livia spread her hands. "Pollius's name seems to come up when I’m looking at a lot of the unsavory things that have happened in the last few decades. The rat creatures. Aranis." She paused, then added, "Geras."
Hadrius grimaced. "And a few more. Constantine the Elder. Statilla."
"Statilla?" Livia asked, startled.
"Ever talked to her? Off her rocker. Pollius had a spell go off, he said. Think he did it on purpose."
Had she not been that way, once upon a time? "Knowing him, probably. And Constantine the first?"
Hadrius nodded and replied, "Before Faydren and I parted ways, my last assignment was to find out why Constantine went around the bend about clerics and took up this Christos religion so fervently."
It made sense that someone would have been suspicious. "Ah. Pollius was involved?"
"Never could pin it on him, but the first thing Constantine the Younger did was remove Pollius as an advisor to the regents."
Livia grimaced. "I wonder if he's gotten to Faydren somehow, too? Pollius is a very dangerous man."
"Its possible. Faydren usually protects himself from just about everything though." He shook his head. "A very dangerous man, and one we could live without."
She gave him a sweet smile. "I could very well live without him, as well. I'm figuring out how to make that happen. I had a chat with Aphe recently, and I have no idea how much of what she told me was the truth, and how much was fancy."
Hadrius gave her a steady look. "Aphe probably told you the truth the way she wanted to interpret it."
"Probably. She mentioned you were her teacher, among other things she told me. She also said that Sextus was under some sort of control, though she didn't give me many details about that." Livia almost asked about the veils, and then decided against it.
He replied, "If she says he was, you can bet there was something going on. Controlled magically or through threats."
"Magically, somehow, I think. She said that the trail I followed was laid not for me but for himself. Just another thing to add to the pile of confusion lately." She shifted in her seat on the low couch, straightening, and asked Hadrius with a serious expression, "So, Hadrius. I have a question. Ever wanted to be an emperor?"
Hadrius was taken aback. "No, not really."
"We have a problem. Constantine shows every sign of wanting to participate in his father's madness, and I think he's going to start the purges again--only this time worse. Priests, mages, and Sassenids, to start with. We may well need to remove him, and if we do, having someone to be him who isn't prone to that sort of thing would be a goodness. You're one of the few mages I think could be trusted with the power." She leaned forward slightly. "And if we worked the timing right, we could remove Faydren right afterwards."
He took a minute or so to think about it. "Ambitious. But I am game."
Livia gave a wry smile. "I don't think small much any more. Thank you, then."
"No, I see not." He chuckled quietly.
"That said, I had an....interesting adventure last night. Constantine grabbed Linaeus right after Geras died. Faydren volunteered to help me get him out." She took a breath. "Linaeus is currently at Constans's house. We need to get him--and you, Lukas--out of the city, I think."
Lukas straightened at this point. "Same way I got in will work. Sorry the potion was too late."
She turned to him, and nodded. "Me, too. I'd really hoped that we'd be in time. There are a few survivors, but the problem is tracking them down to find them. And Constantine likely has the poison. I would caution both of you about drinking from the Sassenid well any time soon. I hope we can do something about Constantine before he can do something stupid, but..." She trailed off.
"How soon do you think he would actually do that?"
"I'd say the reasonably near future. He's lacking one thing now, as far as I know--someone to reasonably blame it on. If I were him, I'd blame it on either the mages or the priests and use that pretext to start slaughtering people. But he'd need at least a shred of proof, and he's not got that right now as far as I know."
Lukas narrowed his eyes in thought. "I know a few things about Constantine but you said that you had an adventure with Faydren last night. Leave any clues behind that it was a mage that broke him out?"
Oh. Damn. Damn, damn damn. She knew her dismay showed on her face. "Yes. well, how else do you explain an illusion of the captured that disappears at dawn?"
"Evidence right there." He grimaced. "If Faydren is working for Constantine or in some sort of agreement, he tells him what happened. May have even planted evidence, blames you and especially Darius and the war begins.
"Well, that throws a different light on the situation entirely," she said. "I may need to move to replace Constantine more quickly than I anticipated. I really wanted to eliminate Pollius first. All right. Lukas, I'm going to need you to come with me to Constans's house with me. I need your help to get Aranis out to where Lukas is, if you're willing. Hadrius, would you be willing to help Lukas and Linaeus get out of the city if need be?" He nodded, and Livia pursed her lips. "I think we may need Attius to disappear. If we're lucky, if we kill Pollius and Attius goes missing, Faydren will just assume that Attius killed him and decided that prudence was the better part of valor."
Hadrius asked, "Have you figured out how to get Pollius where we can get to him?"
"Still working on it. Be ready, though. If we can move on this tonight, I'd like to." She needed a little time to think, to arrange things in her head, plan for contingencies. She rose and Darius shadowed her, the other two getting to their feet more slowly. They took their leave, Hadrius telling them to send word when his presence was required.
Back at the house, the three of them went to Aranis's room. She was screaming again, thrashing against her bonds, but with a word and a touch Lukas calmed her and brought her into a semi-awake state. "Fifteen minutes, no more," he warned her. "Where does she need to go?"
"Out to the garden," Livia replied. She was undoing Aranis's straps, seeing how her head hung, how her hands shook. Livia reached out and took Aranis's hand. "Please, come with me."
Obediently, Aranis followed her out to the garden. Earlier, Livia had tested with the mirror the properties of her bracelet. If she were in contact with someone, they did indeed disappear from magesight. So she led Aranis by the hand out to the garden and then into the birdhouse, closing her eyes for the transition that was by now becoming familiar.
When she opened her eyes on the other side, Aranis cried out and stiffened beside her. Before them, Linaeus was sitting and talking to Constans. "I thought he was dead," she said.
Livia blinked and then realized she'd forgotten to warn Aranis about the keeper. "He is. This is a...shadow. Of sorts. Constans talked to him, but it's not Constans himself."
The other woman breathed out and sagged. "Good, I was glad he was. That was a bit of a shock."
"I'm sorry, I should have thought to warn you," she apologized. "I didn't think he'd be here when we arrived."
Linaeus had turned towards them, and Constans had disappeared. "Shall we begin?" he asked.
Livia nodded. "Please. Aranis, Linaeus is going to try to heal you of what afflicts you."
He stepped forward, extending his hand towards Aranis. "This will not take long, Livia." He took her hand and drew her closer to him, laying his hand on her head, on her knotted hair. He muttered a few words, sounding strangely like a sentence in the Sassenid tongue. Aranis closed her eyes and then blinked them open once again. Linaeus said, "That's it," and stepped back from her.
Livia smiled. "Thank you. How are you feeling, Aranis?"
Aranis licked her lips and looked around. "Better. Much lighter, oddly."
"Do you remember where you are, and when?"
"Yes, we entered a birdcage and came out here with Linaeus and some sort of mage-induced rendition of Constans. It's--it must be the ninth day to the Kalends of October."
Well, she knows where and when she is, at least. "Do you remember the man with the demon eyes who would come and visit you?"
She shivered. "I do. Unpleasant man."
Livia gave her a smile. "Also, a dead man now."
"Good. Thank you both for healing me." She looked around uncertainty, rubbing her hands together as if unsure of what to do with them. She rugged gently at her dirty shift.
"You're welcome. You're free, Aranis. What do you want to do now? I know Faydren would be happy to see you."
Aranis smiled. "And I would be happy to see him again," she said. "It's been so many years."
"I can invite him over, once you've had a chance to eat and clean up."
The other woman's smile was brilliant, and she almost seemed to light up from inside. "That would be lovely."
"We can do that, then." Livia took a breath and wondered how much she wanted to tell Aranis. "There's a political situation going on that's a bit explosive, but I don't know how much you want to know about it."
"If it concerns Faydren, then I should probably know but other than that, my concern with politics was very small."
Livia said, "It probably does. Geras--the man with the demon eyes--was posing as Constantius. When Collita died recently, it was discovered that Geras had poisoned her, and Faydren unmasked him. We're down to one regent, and that makes Constantine emperor." She made a wry face, thinking of her involvement in that action. "Nobody's sure quite yet what Constantine will do, but everyone's on edge. Constantine will probably continue what his father started many years ago. Purges of magic. Which I’m assuming that Faydren's not going to tolerate. Like I said, it's an explosive situation."
"Very explosive. Yes."
Livia thought of something and frowned. "Do you remember Pollius coming to visit you on a regular basis?"
Aranis shifted and nodded. "I do, I remember him quite a bit. I remember him aging."
"Did he ever say anything about what he was doing to Magentius?"
"He was driving him to paranoia. Delusions and hallucinations, I remember him saying," she replied quietly.
"Did he ever say why?"
She sighed, looking down at the floor. "He wanted him to kill Constans."
"And he was attempting to keep you calm," Livia added.
Aranis shrugged. "Yes. Constans hated it when I was screaming. Constantine got Pollius to come and calm me."
Livia's eyebrows went up. "Constantine did? Interesting. I thought Constantine hated mages in general."
"He did and does. But his words once were, use their power to help you and to calm the masses from hysteria and when you are done with them, discard them as you would anything that is trash."
Of course. Livia spared an angry thought for Constantine. These are people, people with sometimes frightening powers yes, but people nonetheless. "So he doesn't oppose to using them when the need arises. Constantine at least used to be in a position to ask favors of Pollius, then."
"Probably still is."
"Do he and Pollius have a connection, somewhere?" she asked.
Aranis shook her head, pulling at her shift again. "Nothing other than he used Pollius in the past for controlling some people that he needed to control for a time."
"Ah. Pollius has a high price, but he is hirable."
"Yes, this is how he made his fortune. On Constantine’s money and Constans's."
"I'm sure he did quite a bit of work for them both over the years," she said. "Constantius never hired him, then?"
Aranis shook her head firmly. "Constantius killed Pollius's first wife when she was found injuring Fausta. "
Livia's brows drew together. Who would have hurt Fausta, the small, sweet woman who had been beloved by almost everyone who knew her? "Injuring Fausta? How?"
"Pollius's wife was a midwife. When Fausta was having trouble conceiving, she was asked to look in on the problem. After several months, Fausta was looking very tired and worse for the wear. When questioned, she had no idea what was being done to her. She couldn't recall. When the midwife came the next week, Constantius came into the room, halfway through session and found her cutting on Fausta." She paused and twisted her mouth. "In her nether regions."
Livia shuddered. "Nasty. Very nasty. Did anyone find out why before Constantius killed her, presumably in a rage?"
"No, his personal guard killed her." She shrugged philosophically.
"The fact that Fausta couldn't remember makes me wonder if Pollius wasn't involved with that. Well, no wonder Constantius never hired him. And no wonder she never managed to conceive. Poor thing. She was my friend."
Linaeus broke in. "And now you know why Geras targeted Constantius for the beginning of this."
"Right. I wondered why he was the candidate chosen, now I know," she said, taking a long breath.
Linaeus shrugged. "Constantius killed his mother. Ah, sorry, not his mother but his father's wife, his stepmother."
Livia met his eyes. She let him see her lack of surprise at that revelation. "Geras had reasons to want vengeance on half the world, it seems," she said, her voice low.
"He believed he was wronged on a great many things."
Her voice was sharp. "I'm sure he did. From this end of things, it looks like a nasty cycle of disappointment, hatred, and retribution. Constantius kills the woman who raised Geras because she was hurting his wife. Sextus blinds him. And having Pollius for a father probably didn't help things any."
He shook his head slowly. "No, it didn't. After you finish with Aranis, if you could linger for a moment, Livia?"
She inclined her head. "Actually, I think I was about to send Aranis back into the house." She turned to the other woman, who had been watching them with curious eyes. "Find a woman named Orla, and tell her I say that you're to have a chance to bathe and eat, and she should find some clothing for you. I'll send a messenger to Faydren when I'm done here." She paused and added, "Oh, one more thing, Aranis. If you could do me a favor...please attempt to forget where the entrance to this place is. It's a secret not many know, and I’d like to keep it that way."
Aranis nodded. "I will keep your secret," she said.
"Thank you." She raised her voice slightly. "Constans, the door for the lady, please?" The door appeared and Aranis went through. After she was gone, the door disappeared.
Linaeus had sat down on the smooth wood that made the floor of the huge room. Livia joined him, sitting down about at arms' reach. He spoke slowly and carefully. "What I have to tell you, Livia, will probably not come as a shock but Aranis may remember it someday and someone should know. Over the years when I came to Constans' house I was present many times to cure Aranis of various diseases, much like the ones Merouk had." He looked away from Livia, towards the horizon. "Twelve years ago, I came her and helped her give birth to the son of Geras."
Livia drew her knees towards her chest. Her mother would have scolded her for sitting in such an unladylike fashion, she thought, irrelevantly. "I'd wondered if Geras hadn't been--using her. What happened to the child?"
He shrugged and spread his hands. "Geras took the child to Pollius. He has never been seen since." He turned back towards Livia. "Geras used to describe as a child a place in the basement, full of cages. I can only hope the child is not there."
A basement full of cages. Like the one that he built in Constantius's house. Geras, you never escaped your father's house, did you? No matter how old you got, no matter how strong you were, you were still there. Slowly, she replied, "I hope not, as well. We may have a chance to go find him, sometime soon."
He nodded. "I thought you should know."
Livia looked over at him, and her felt a thread of pain run through her. "I'm sorry, Linaeus. I had no idea that Geras was your brother. I don't think it would have changed anything had I known, but..." She spread her hands.
"It shouldn't have changed me but it did." He was looking away from her again, and there was old pain in his voice. "I am glad he is gone now. He led such a tortured life. So have we all."
"The farther I get into this, the more I marvel at the fact that any of you are even still sane," she said.
He turned back to her, and his smile held more than a little fatigue. "It was a hard life, I have to admit. But it's over now. For me at least. I fear you have to go on."
"I've had less time for this to try to break me than you." She shrugged. "What will you do now? I don't think you can stay in the city."
"If my father will take me, I can help him," he replied. "If not, I will head to Ankara and basically set up like he is."
She nodded, and then a thought struck her. "He very well might. I'm going to see if I can talk to Thalea in a bit. Is there anything you want me to tell her? Do you want to see her? I think we need to try to get you out of the city tonight.. We may combine that trip with something else interesting, we'll see."
"I would love to see Thalea, if you can."
She smiled. "I'll see what I can arrange. I'll let you know when I know more."
"Thank you, Livia." His smile, and his thanks, were both genuine. There was something different about him now, Livia realized. What was it?
Then it struck her. Linaeus looked like a condemned man who had been given another chance at life, but who wasn't quite sure if his new life was going to stick. She gave him a smile and then called for the door. Constans, and the door, appeared.
Livia paused, suddenly struck by a thought. She asked Constans, "Could you purge any magic on me? Oh, wait--" She took off the key and pulled the mirror out of her bag, and set them down. "All right."
Constans nodded, and a look of concentration passed over his face. Livia felt a brief, sickening sensation in her gut, which quickly cleared. Constans was shaking his head. "I cannot, Livia. I removed the physical block, but the memory charms are too intricate. I can't remove them without possibly harming you."
Livia stared at him. "Memory charms?"
"Many memory charms, layered on top of each other. You have tampered with quite a lot of your memory. There are two keys, one to restore the memories, the other to erase them, but nothing to indicate who might know those keys. The physical block was trivial enough; if you wanted it, you'll need to have it replaced."
She considered this, then asked, "What physical block?"
"On your womb. Meant to stop a pregnancy in the early months, making it look like a natural miscarriage. It was well-crafted, but if you didn't want it--"
"No. No, I did not." She felt cold. Dear gods. All of those miscarriages, all of that pain, every hope I had for more children, stopped by a spell. Who would do such a thing? And why?
She was shaking, and she swallowed. Linaeus--she'd forgotten that he was there--said, "I don't know about the physical block, but the mental block--that reminds me of something. Sextus and I occasionally met at Statilla's house. Once, she wandered past where we were stalking, and stopped to speak to Sextus. She asked how the spells were holding on you. He said they were, then refused to answer any of my questions about it."
"Statilla, then. Maybe." She sighed. "Maybe she knows the keyword to free the memories. Thank you, Linaeus. I'll be back in a while. Do you need anything?" He shook his head, and she departed.
Lukas was in the garden. She came around the tree and saw him, in his guise as a doctor. "Aranis went into the house. I take it the healing was successful?"
She nodded. "I'll send a message to Faydren when she's arranged herself to her satisfaction. There's no real reason to keep the two of them apart."
He raised an eyebrow. "I'd have thought she'd want to see him as soon as possible."
"Never underestimate the power of female vanity," she said with a smile. "She hasn't seen him for twenty years. Another two hours for her to wash, have her hair untangled, and find something to wear that isn't filthy won't hurt." She took a breath. "You may want to return to Attius's. I'll send word or come by when I know more about tonight. Oh. Could I impose on you to look at something for me?" She explained about the memory charms, and he gestured her over, laying his fingers lightly on her temples.
His probe felt strange, like something tickling on the inside of her head. She fought the urge to flinch and pull away from him. "Whoever did this knew what they were doing. They did it at your request, I'd wager. A spell of this sort laid without consent feels a bit different. Definitely clerical in nature, not mage. It actually feels a bit like Linaeus, but not identical to his style." He lifted his hands from her head, and she stepped back.
"Strange. I can't believe I did this to myself. What on earth possessed me? Why would I have agreed to have this done?"
Lukas' mouth was set in a straight line. "Usually, those who consent have memories that cause them great pain, either of someone hurting them or of hurting someone else."
She blinked at him. Have I done something so terrible, or had something that bad happen to me? "I know how Pandora felt," she said. "Gods above and below."
He nodded. "You don't know what the box contains, and when you find out, you won't be able to undo the action. I will take my leave, then. I was called inside, by the way, to see Hedea. I believe she's Optata's nurse?" Livia nodded. "She's back on her feet, and she'll be fine. The first thing she asked about when she woke was your daughter." Lukas straightened and took a breath. "I will see you soon, Livia." He nodded to her and then exited the garden as Darius entered it.
"I saw Aranis," he said. "It was just a glimpse before she disappeared with Orla towards the baths. I take it she's better?"
"Very much so," she replied. "I have some things I need to tell you, but they can wait. We need to go track down Thalea."
He nodded. "I know where she lives, near Julia. This is another of those days when you're going to pack every moment with something, isn't it?"
"Do I have any other kind?" She gave him a sharp smile. "Let's go. Have you seen Diya and Optata?"
"Diya's absorbed in her studies. Optata's in the workroom, as well, doing something arcane with a pot of dirt and one of her dolls. I didn't question, just closed the door."
They were walking out of the garden towards the front courtyard at this point, and Livia chuckled. "I have got to take Optata to meet Statilla soon. She'll love her house, I can already tell."
They walked to Thalea's house. Fortunately, the mage was at home. "Linaeus is safe," Livia told her once the door was closed. "He'd like to see you." Thalea sagged in relief, the lines around her mouth disappearing. "We're heading outside of the city tonight, if you'd like to come along. If you can take out the rest of the demon in reasonably short order, now would be a good time, when we can do something if it goes wrong."
"Goes wrong?" Thalea echoed.
"I talked to Julia, Thalea. She's worried that the demon was given to Linaeus too young. She thinks that he might not have much of a personality apart from it." Livia shrugged. "I don't know if she's right or not, but if you can do it when we have Lukas to help if he needs it."
Thalea nodded. "It's a reasonable fear, and it's a risk I decided to run." She took a breath. "After this is over, after whatever goes on between Faydren and Constantine is decided, I’m resigning from the council. I'm going to live with Linaeus. I'm tired of the politics and the intrigue and never knowing who's lying to me."
"I understand. Trust me, I understand. We're leaving the city tonight," Livia said.
"Linaeus will be out of it for a while after I pull out the demon. I'll need to settle up a few things here, then I’ll be able to join him." She gave Livia a canny look. "I take it there was another reason you're going out of the city?"
"There is, very likely. I'll tell you about it later, though." Livia smiled. "I'm going to return to Constans's house now. Will you come with me?"
"Let me get a few things," she replied. "Should be about ten minutes."
They returned without incident, and Livia took Thalea to the birdhouse. After she came out, she paused and looked up. She hadn't noticed before that the house was hung on a hook. It was very likely portable. She smiled, thinking of certain possibilities, the question of how to get everyone out of the city finally solved.
She stole a quick kiss from Darius, and then went to speak to Rusticus. One of the currently off-duty guards was sent to Faydren's house, with the message: "Aranis is awake, lucid, and would like very much to see you." Five minutes later, Faydren arrived in the outer courtyard.
Without comment, Livia showed him in. There was something like a fever in the thin mage's eyes, though he showed no other sign of his feelings. Livia paused in front of the open door of the reception room, and motioned him in.
Livia stayed at the doorway as Faydren stepped inside. He stopped near the doorway, seemingly arrested by the sight of the woman inside who rose at his approach. Aranis was clean, her waist-length hair falling shining over her shoulders, dressed in a peplos that was a creamy white, with a beautiful palla that nearly matched the color of her light blue eyes. She was beautiful, but what made her glorious to behold was the joy on her face and her welcoming smile.
For a few seconds, neither Faydren nor Aranis moved. Then they came together, wrapping each other in an embrace, and Livia turned away, suddenly feeling like she was intruding on something she had no right to witness. She took a step or three away from the doorway and dashed a tear from her eye. Behind her, she heard Faydren and Aranis's voices murmuring.
"Sentimental, Livia?" Darius asked in a low voice.
She gave him a wry smile. "Sometimes," she replied, her voice as quiet as his. "They've been waiting for each other for twenty years."
Darius returned her smile, but his was understanding. Then he motioned with his chin towards the door, and Livia turned.
Faydren and Aranis stepped out of the room, arm in arm. Faydren nodded to Livia. "With your permission, Livia, Aranis has asked to return home with me."
Livia chuckled. "I didn't call you here just to keep her away from you. You have my permission, and my blessing, as long as it's what she wants to do." Aranis nodded, almost shyly. "Of course, then."
They walked out of the house, and Livia sagged against the wall once they were gone. "I hope that doesn't come back to haunt me," she muttered to Darius.
"Me, too." He glanced around, and seeing that they were alone, slid an arm around her shoulders briefly. "Now what?"
She sighed. "Now, Darius..." She smiled fiercely. "Now we arrange for one man to meet his just reward."
