Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky, #1)(82)

A lopsided smile curved his lips. “What could I possibly offer the Sun Priest? You have assassins at your call, healers to do your bidding. The Sky Made matrons don’t take a shit without consulting your star charts. What help could I give you? I’m sorry, the city. Unless… it’s these very people who are the problem.”

She swallowed.

“That’s what it is, isn’t it?” he said, voice soft with surprise. “You’ve been betrayed.”

She thought he would laugh, mock her for her humiliation, but he only stared.

She smoothed her hands across her lap. “I seem to have acquired quite a few enemies, it’s true.”

“Anyone who rises as you have will collect them like flies.” He leaned back, fingers tapping against his chin. “They hate you, don’t they? Because you’re not Sky Made, no matter how hard you try. You can’t quite wash that Dry Earth stink off your skin, can you, Sister?”

She did not enjoy his all-too-prescient insight, but she knew he was not wrong. “I have had my challenges in the tower, I admit, but I want to be clear, Ochi. I am not here for me. I came to you because the city—”

He waved a hand, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling. “Oh, this talk of the city. I know you mean it, Nara. I see your sincerity. But they’re trying to kill you, aren’t they? Your precious priesthood wants you dead.”

She shook her head. “Not the priesthood. The Crow cultists. An assassination attempt was made on my life. Two attempts. We caught the last man. He was killed before he could be questioned properly, but he bore the haahan.”

“Carrion Crow does hate you,” he acknowledged with a little more speed than she liked. “They would not hesitate to murder the Sun Priest, slaughter the whole tower if they thought they could get away with it. But they are much too smart to attempt an outright assassination. They know the other clans would turn against them. Plus, they bide their time for spiritual reasons.”

“Waiting for the return of their god,” she said, waving the nonsense away like the delusion it was.

“Be glad they’ve put their vengeance in the hands of an angry god and not taken up knives against you.”

“You just said they weren’t fools. Taking up weapons against the tower would be foolish, indeed.”

“Exactly. I would suggest that if someone is trying to kill you, then you look a little closer to home.”

She knew what he was implying, but it sounded preposterous, particularly in light of her recent dethroning. “If the priesthood wanted me dead, they have a hundred times a day to kill me in a myriad of ways.”

“Ah, would any of them put the blame on Carrion Crow? But with the murder of their matron, perhaps they have decided they can no longer wait.”

Had she heard him right? A chill slid down her back. “Yatliza died in her bed.”

He tsked, waving a finger at her. “They pulled her body from the river. I have people close to every matron who report to me. It is the truth, although Carrion Crow is trying their best to keep it secret. The new matron and her Shield are no friends to the cultists, and my guess is if the cultists knew their matron had been murdered, Tova would run with blood. Their own blood, perhaps, but the damage would be done either way.”

“But…” She shook her head. Murdered? “That can’t be right.” Skies, did Iktan know? She flushed, feeling like a fool. Of course Iktan knew. The question was why xe hadn’t told her.

Denaochi narrowed his eyes, at first in confusion and then in mirth. “You really didn’t know? How interesting. I assumed the priesthood were the ones responsible for her death.” He smiled, darkly amused. “I think you’ve been trusting the wrong people, Sister. But, you see, you’re not entirely wrong about Tova being in danger. There’s a storm coming, true enough, but not from where you think.”





CHAPTER 28




CITY OF TOVA (COYOTE’S MAW)

YEAR 325 OF THE SUN

(8 DAYS BEFORE CONVERGENCE)

It is imperative that the dedicant forsake the kinship and duties that bound them before they joined the priesthood. Their only loyalty must be to their fellows within the celestial tower, else they risk crossed purposes and their true path becomes occluded by sentiment.

—The Manual of the Sun Priest



Naranpa sat back, her mind racing. She had thought her situation complicated before, but she had only glimpsed the surface. Denaochi could see the entire cliffside.

He was up, pacing the room. She noticed he had a slight limp, a drag to his left leg, and she pressed her lips together to keep from asking. Another memento of his life, along with the scar on his face and the missing fingers and burned hands, no doubt. And all at once, again, her heart ached for the boy he had been.

She knew she couldn’t trust him. His indictment of her was too fresh, his disdain for the priesthood too bitter. But she had come this far, and despite it all, he was helping her. And he knew things, had a grasp of the city that she from her tower did not. So she made a decision.

“There’s something else you should know. The real reason I had to come to you, which now seems all too obvious.”

He turned to her, his face a mask of suspicion.

“There are those in the tower who are advocating for the Knives to retaliate against Carrion Crow with the aid of Golden Eagle. Perhaps other clans, too, I don’t know. Although I don’t think Water Strider is part of their plans.”