But Ysira spoke up. “The Firstborn can’t use our Gate here, butwestill can. We can take it to their base in the ruins of ZalFel. When I was their prisoner, they took me to the station from there. I know they have the means.”
“They do,” said Urien. “They use the space between the spires as a landing zone—it’s wide open, flat, and very high up. Their communications center is just below. The altitude, far enough from the Source’s interference, allows for transmissions into orbit. We would need to be fast, but if we take control of communications, we could steal a transport shuttle and take it to the station.”
“Only the demon-possessed can travel through the Gate,” Jacen pointed out. “That limits our options.”
But Hesaya’s face had lit up, and Urien said, “Gatekeeper. Do you have anything we could use for keys?”
“Enough for exactly forty-two passages,” said Hesaya. “We would need to make them count. But . . . it could work.”
Jacen was lost. “What could work?”
“Vermin,” Hesaya explained. “I’ve been collecting them for years, from every exorcism I could. With a negligent fool like Lev as Chief Exorcist, I was able to get away with quite a lot. Anyway—think of them as keys. If you handle the demon with care and let it . . . er . . . enter you the moment before you step through the Gate, the Source will allow you to pass.”
Jacen raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t alone. There was no small touch of horror in a knight’s voice as he said, “You want us to bond with demons?”
“Temporarily,” Hesaya stressed. “Vermin would rather remain in the Source than with a host. They’ll detach from you before you emerge on the other side.” She pursed her lips. “You’ll get no return journey. If you’re caught at Zal Fel, you’ll have nowhere to run.”
“There is another concern.” Ogden cleared his throat. When he seemed confident he had everyone’s attention, he continued, “There are three ways to Zal Fel, of which both we and theFirstborn are aware.” He pointed at the map, indicating each location as he spoke. “The long way, on foot through the canyon ruins. The Otavok Gate, here. And finally, the White Cathedral.” His gloved fingertip lingered on the red glyph at the heart of Zivora. “The Church would be foolish not to keep their own emergency supply ofkeys.”
With a tight nod, Hesaya pursed her lips.
Jacen could no longer contain his astonishment. “I had no idea.” “Yes, well, you never attained a high-enough rank.” Hesaya sighed.
“The inquisitors guard this knowledge carefully.” Across the table, Sister Ilusha concurred.
Hesaya addressed Ogden. “What do you propose we do, then?”
Ged answered instead. “We have to make sure the Church can’t send anyone to Zal Fel through the Cathedral Gate.” He lifted his fist, showing them all the dark metal ring once worn by Avram Semira. “I’m High Lord now. My inquisitor”—he jerked his chin at Sister Ilusha—“knows how to access the white room in the Cathedral. I can travel there and lock it from the inside.”
“Senior members of the Council have the same permissions as the High Lord,” Ogden objected. “And Akkani will be prepared for the possibility we’ll use the Gates against her. It’s too risky.”
“So,what do you propose?” Hesaya repeated. “You sound like you’ve thought this through.”
Ogden folded his hands. “I have, over the last few decades, planted a number of explosives around the Citadel. Should it become necessary, they can be detonated remotely. Not from here—but Zal Fel should be close enough.” He paused, as even Urien turned toward him in surprise. “Brother Kheris can attest they’re still in working order.”
Jacen remembered, then, something Ogden had said as they fled Zivora—something he had been almost too preoccupied to hear, let alone process:I planted enough to demolish the White Cathedral.A sinister cold trickled down his spine.
“With the touch of a button, we could set off a chain reaction.” Ogden reached inside his robes and produced a metal cube, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. “It would level the Cathedral and a good portion of the surrounding area. It would destroy the Church’s easy access to Zal Fel. I estimate it would remove from the equation . . . seventy percent of the Church and fifteen percent of the City Guard. Most of their loyalist leaders. The bulk of their resources.” He tapped the cube. “All in one move.”
A shocked silence fell over the chamber. Urien stared at Ogden as though he’d never seen him before.
From her refuge in the shadows, Nines blurted, “No.”
Jacen might have been the only one who heard her. Several others spoke up, drowning her out. Neri alone did not react. His mind seemed far away, oblivious to the turmoil around him.
“Why didn’t you use that when we were losing the battle in Zivora?” demanded a square-jawed young knight.
“The Citadel is one of the most densely populated districts in Zivora,” said Hesaya sharply. “More so since the coup. Thousands have taken refuge around the Cathedral. To destroy it would kill them all, and it’s not just Guardsmen and inquisitors inside. There are lay priests, staff, their families. Every child acolyte still trapped inside those walls.”
Ged appeared to take Hesaya’s side. “It’s worse than that. The mechanisms in the white room control Zivora’s infrastructure—lighting, cooling systems, the dock elevators, irrigation, and gods know what else. If all that shuts down at once, it’ll be chaos. Along the deepriver, laborers will be trappedif not outright killed—to say nothing of water shortages and spoiled food stores in a city already on the verge of famine.”
The cost was unfathomable. The immediate, staggering death toll would pale in comparison to the suffering that followed.
“They designed it this way for a reason,” Jacen muttered, half to himself. The Church would not be destroyed without carving out the city’s heart.
“Put that away,” Hesaya told Ogden. “We won’t be using it.”
“You cannot underestimate Drusa Akkani,” Ogden said. “She may join the fight here and discover any ruse we attempt. She may already be at Zal Fel, waiting. If she discovers us, I guarantee she’ll have her best inquisitors after us within minutes. What do you plan to do? Pray you avoid her?” His tone turned scathing on the wordpray. “You need to limit her options. What I propose is merely?—”
