Corvan dropped wearily on the bench overlooking the half dead tree at the center of Kadir's cemetery.

Morgan was rubbing his chest and breathing hard. "We beat them here."

Corvan pressed a hand against his own aching side. After cutting around the slow-moving funeral procession, they had run the entire way from the palace. He glanced at Morgan. It was rather surreal to be sitting on the bench where he and Jorad had set Morgan's supposed corpse when he first visited this odd place.

"We will hide out near the royal crypts so we can see which one they place her in," Morgan said. "Hopefully the High Priest made all his grand speeches back at the temple and this won't take long." He shook his head in disgust. "I can't believe he's willing to use Kate to pretend Tyreth is dead, just so he can take over the palace."

"Is Tyreth still alive?"

"She is. I was here at the battle in the crypt clearing. The captain of the guard almost succeeded in rescuing her but was run through by the rebel leader. Tyreth was taken along with the rebels as they retreated to their own city. I followed as far as I dared but the palace guard sealed off the tunnel that leads to Rozan. No one can go in or out."

"But aren't you going to at least try to rescue her?"

"I need to find out where Jorad and his men have gone. I will need his help to get her out of Rozan, but first we must get Kate's body out of the crypt and to a safer place. Only then can we risk going to the chamber to rescue her."

"How can you be sure. . ."

Morgan dug an elbow into Corvan and flicked his thumb across the open space.

A slender man with an open long box piled with tools was approaching from around the half-dead tree.

"Do not use my name," Morgan hissed as he swiveled to face away from the newcomer. The man drew near, dropped his box of tools to the ground with a crash and sat down next to Corvan.

"There'd better be double pay for that job. I shouldn't need to be called to work through the night just to change a name." He wagged his index finger in the air. "If I ever catch up with that fat oaf, he'll pay for abandoning the crypts, rebels or no rebels." He looked at Corvan. "You're not crypt workers or priests. What are you doing out here?"

Corvan cleared his throat, but Morgan responded without turning around.

"We couldn't get a good look at the princess in the plaza, so we ran ahead to wait for the procession to pass by." He patted the bench. "We are going to stand right here."

The man nodded. "Ah yes, one final look at the princess. Shame about that."

The voices of the funeral singers wafted in from the streets of Kadir, and the man got to his feet. "Hope nobody looks too close at her crypt; it's not my best work." He pointed past the tree. "It was fortunate that when I cut in Morgan's name, I didn't go too deep. Never did get paid for that job. After the idiot got himself killed, he didn't even get buried in his own fancy tomb." He picked his toolbox. "Enjoy the funeral. I have a feeling there will be plenty more." He sauntered off into a narrow channel between the tombs.

Morgan jumped up and beckoned for Corvan to follow. The funeral procession had just cleared the main streets of Kadir and was approaching the gate into the City of the Dead.

Morgan jogged along into the small courtyard in front of the royal crypts and walked straight toward the largest tomb at the upper end. Corvan looked overhead to where Morgan's name had been replaced with Tyreth's as Morgan ran up the steps, used a key to open the front door of the crypt and held it open for Corvan to duck inside.

"This is very fortunate," Morgan said in the darkness. "I couldn't have planned it better myself." A ball of light appeared in his hand as he moved to the short side of the small room and slid aside a narrow door to reveal a tight passage. "I had this tomb built as a way to move people in and out of Kadir without being seen. I hid Jorad's wife and daughter here along with others we managed to save from the Chief Watcher."

"Jorad said you killed them."

"That's what he was led to believe. I knew that they wouldn't have been safe if he found them again, so I never challenged his version of the story. It was Jorad's choices that put them in harm's way. "

"Where did you take them?"

Morgan glanced at him. "The fewer who know where we hide people away, the better."

Corvan followed Morgan down a short set of stairs and into a small natural cave with a low ceiling. Morgan obviously didn't trust him so did the man know about the eating of the lumiens, or was it because Corvan had worked with Jorad in the past?

Morgan turned toward him. "It will take them a while to place Kate in the tomb above us. I need you wait here for me while I check on someone. Kate will not be in danger even once they leave her behind as the crypt is large and has a constant supply of air." He pointed at a row of small holes bored into the ceiling, then looked Corvan in the eye. "I also think it would be best if you took off your medallion and did not go to the council chamber. We need everyone together if we are to defeat the one who is holding her captive. The old man may appear weak, but he is far more dangerous than he looks." He waited until Corvan nodded, then turned to the place a hand on the wall of the cave. A portion of it slid upward. Morgan ducked down, crawled out through the opening and the rock slid back into place.

Sitting on the bottom step, Corvan rested his head against the rough stone wall. If Kate was trapped in the chamber, there was no way he would take off his medallion and leave her on her own. From the quick glimpse of Kate on the funeral bier, she looked more ill than when he and Jorad had taken her to Saray at the Molakar settlement. He nodded to himself. According to Tsarek, Saray was still at Molakar and if the old woman had the other seed from the mother plant, it might be able to bring Kate's body back to full strength and pull her from the chamber. As soon as Morgan returned he would ask him to help get Kate to Molakar.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Faint notes of music filtered through the holes overhead, then stopped. After a brief moment, there was the scrape of feet overhead and voices drifted down through the air holes. He tipped his ear toward the sound. The High Priest was talking but Corvan couldn't make out what he was saying. He tiptoed back up the stairs. The voices were clearer by the secret door, where a shaft of light escaped through a vertical line along the door frame. Putting his eye to the slender crack he discovered Kate laid out on a raised platform, the white shroud flowing to the ground around her. The High Priest was standing at her feet.

A soldier entered the room carrying a firestick. "As you expected, sir. He was hiding nearby."

The High Priest nodded. "Dismiss all the people. Tell them I must be alone to grieve my daughter. Have the honor guard clear the area and tell them to wait for me by the tree."

The soldier saluted, mounted his firestick in a holder on the wall, and left.

The High Priest ran his hands over the shroud around Kate's neck, grunted, then stepped back just as a hooded figure slipped in through front door of the crypt. Without turning around, the High Priest spoke, "I was wondering if Mara would be able find you. Where have you been?"

"At one of the priests' hiding places among the crypts," Jorad said, pulling his hood back. "How did the funeral go?"

The High Priest tugged the shroud down and stared at Kate's face. "Well enough for my purposes."

"What is she holding?" Jorad asked pointing to Kate's hands that had been folded over her chest. Corvan looked closely and made out the forked end of a polished stick. Where had Kate found his slingshot?"

"It's some sort of carved stick with odd vines attached to it. Mara said we should leave it with her and see if anyone else noticed and gave themselves away. Have you seen it before?"

"No," Jorad replied, "and it's not Tyreth's. Likely something that belonged to that boy she was looking for." He cleared his throat. "So what is your plan with this girl?"

The High Priest pointed at Kate. "By holding this girl's funeral, we have bought Tyreth some precious time. As far as the people of Kadir are concerned, their beloved princess and the captain of the guard both perished in the battle."

"How does that help us if the leader of the Rozan rebels is still holding Tyreth."

"Precisely why we had to pretend Tyreth is dead. The man realiz immediately contacted me and offered to exchange Tyreth's life for the master medallion but obviously I don't have it." He sighed heavily and his shoulders drooped. "Tyreth will die in Rozan unless I can find him one in time." The High Priest's lifted his head slightly, but he did not turn to Jorad.

"I might know where one of the medallions is hidden," Jorad said.

The High Priest struggled to suppress a smile. "And you would be willing to let it go to save Tyreth's life?"

"Tyreth means more to me than all seven medallions together." Jorad stated.

The selfless sincerity of Jorad's words caught Corvan off guard. For all his faults Jorad truly did love Tyreth.

"To me as well," the High Priest replied. "And with the captain of the guard dead, you are the only person I wish to see as her counterpart. You and Tyreth will rule Kadir together if you can obtain the master medallion and we can set her free. The Rozan leader has set a time and place for the exchange, and if I do not come alone with the medallion, I know he is crazy enough to murder my daughter out of spite." He turned to Jorad and spread his hands helplessly. "I could not bear it if she died when we had a chance to save her."

Jorad pointed to Kate. "What about this girl's body and the funeral all of Kadir just attended?"

"If we can rescue Tyreth then I have a way to have her return from the dead. That is why I let a few of my guard notice that you came here to pay your respects. We will say that you discovered she was poisoned but not dead, so you searched out the old healer from the settlements and saved her life. Kadir will love a story of true love and devotion and Tyreth will have to work with us once we set her free." He stroked his beard and gazed at Kate. "Kharag tells me there are reports that Morgan is still alive. Does he or his friends have a key to this tomb?"

Jorad snorted. "Morgan didn't have any friends and he is most certainly dead. I made certain of that myself."

The High Priest turned from Kate. "You did well, Jorad. Morgan was a traitor, and I was glad to be rid of him. He would turn on anyone for his own gain. As for this girl, we must make sure her body is never found. I believe you are the one in possession of the key to the portal door that leads to the labyrinth?"

Jorad nodded.

"Since there is only one key for that door," the High Priest continued, "we can put her body just inside and the buraks will dispose of her for us."

Jorad stepped closer to Kate's body. His face betrayed the same sorrow Corvan had often seen on his mother's face as she mourned the loss of his father.

The High Priest moved toward the door of the crypt, then turned back. "Find a couple of men to help you to remove this body. Lock them beyond the portal door with the buraks. No one can ever hear of this."

Jorad hesitated and the High Priest strode back to him. "You must do as I say. I know what must be done to save Tyreth and you are the only one who can make it happen. Here, take the key to this crypt. I must return to the palace, but I will come to your temple quarters at first light. Make sure you have the master medallion with you." Tyreth's father waited until Jorad took the key, then strode from the tomb.

Jorad moved in closer and stood over Kate's body, staring down at her face. His jaw was tense, and his eyes glistened in the light of the torch. Jorad gently lifted the funeral shroud to cover Kate's face. "I'm sorry you got caught in all this," he mumbled, "I should have . . ." He stopped, wiped his face with the back of his sleeve, clenched his jaw, then left the tomb and shut the door.

As the key turned in the front door of the crypt, Corvan slipped the secret door open and cautiously entered the small room.

The glow from the soldier's firestick flickered across Kate's body, penetrating the shroud, and lighting her face in soft shadows. Corvan swallowed hard. If he had given the medallion back to Kate instead of planning to return to the Cor on his own to see Tyreth, things would have been better for everyone.

Pulling the shroud away from her face, he touched the scar on her cheek. He and Kate had been through a lot together over the years. Her arrival in his hometown had completely changed his life. She was the only person who truly cared about him or believed in him. Pushing aside the strands of hair that had been pulled over her eyes by the shroud, he leaned in close. "I don't know if you can hear me, Kate, but I hope you can forgive me."

Corvan cupped her cheek in his hand. Her skin was cool to the touch, but her face tensed under his fingers and her eyes moved beneath her eyelids. The corners of her mouth twitched, her lips pinched tightly together, and she moaned as if she was trapped in a nightmare and was trying to call out.

"It's okay. I'm here now. I won't leave you."

Kate's eyelids fluttered, her face tensed, and her mouth moved slightly.

Corvan leaned in close and whispered in her ear. "Be strong Kate. I'm coming for you. I love you, Kate."

Gently touching her face, Corvan pressed his lips to hers.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.