“What about those still loyal to Joshua?” she asked, standing up and pacing again.
“Sprenger plays nice with them. Even Thomassin, Bartholemew, and Brín.”
The three elders that had been Joshua’s battle-cohorts. The only three who understood exactly how Gemma felt at this very moment.
“I doubt they trust him,” Shona went on, “but they also know that Sprenger has quite a few allies on his side as well.”
“When it comes down to it,” Katla ruminated, “it will be the Sprenger allies versus the Joshua allies.”
“Monk against monk.” Gemma shook her head. “The one thing Joshua never wanted. But he didn’t want Sprenger in charge either.”
“He didn’t want him in charge? Or you don’t want Sprenger in charge?”
“You know why he can’t be in charge, Katla. He’s a man who can never have power.”
Shona watched her for a moment before asking, “But didn’t you come here for another reason, Gemma?”
“What other reason?” Completely confused, Gemma gazed at her cohorts until she remembered why she had traveled so many miles back to her past. “Oh, gods! Yes! Uh . . . the destruction of monasteries, churches, temples, nunneries.” She shook her head, trying to think like a representative of her sister and not a monk-knight loyal to Grand Master Joshua. “Ummm . . . Keeley is offering protection to any religious sect that wants it. You can stay in her territory. That’s why I’m here. At least until we know who’s doing this and how they can be stopped.”
“Who’s doing this?” Katla repeated. “We know who’s doing this.”
“It’s Beatrix, isn’t it?” Gemma immediately accused. “My father’s not so sure, but I think it’s Beatrix.”
“It’s not Beatrix.”
Dammit! “It’s not? Are you sure? It seems like something Beatrix would do.”
“It’s not Beatrix.”
“Then who? It can’t be those idiot twins. They can barely scratch their balls.”
“It’s Cyrus the Honored,” Shona told her, stretching her arms over her head.
“It can’t be,” Gemma argued. “I thought he was the good brother.”
“In that family, good is relative.”
“There’s something else you should know,” Katla said, standing up and adjusting her weapons.
“What?”
“Sprenger’s already made a deal for protection . . . with Beatrix and King Marius. In fact, she’s made a protection deal under her husband’s banner with religious sects all over this valley. From here to about five hundred leagues farther east.”
Gemma stared at her battle-cohort until she finally raised her hands, balled them into tight fists, and, through gritted teeth, howled out, “I. Hate. Herrrr!”
Katla nodded. “I am aware. I believe it was one of the first things you ever told me. That and it was nice not having to share your bed with three other siblings. And a pig.”
“Oh, yeah,” Gemma said. Calm now that she’d gotten her hatred of Beatrix off her chest. “Tommy the Pig. My da loved that pig.”
* * *
It seemed the safest place to wait. The stables. The horses didn’t complain and the squires were too afraid to say anything at all about the Amichais as long as they didn’t bother the horses.
Eventually, Gemma found them.
“There you are.”
“I enjoy the way you make it sound as if we deserted you,” Laila pointed out. Quinn’s sister was more than annoyed.
“Have you seen Ainsley?” Quinn asked.
“Who?”
He frowned. “Your sister?”
“She’s at home . . . isn’t she?”
“She came with us.”
“Oh . . . oh! That’s right. I don’t know where she is.”
“Or that she’s your sister?”
Keran stepped in front of Quinn. “I thought you lot were the drinking type of monks.”
“We are,” Gemma said.
“Then where’s the ale?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t been here for two years,” she added when her cousin’s eyes grew wide. “Maybe they took a vow of celibacy since I’ve been gone.”
“That’s no sex,” Laila corrected.
“Is it? Well . . . they wouldn’t do that.”
“What are the drinking rules here?” Keran pushed.
“No drinking if we’re about to go to war. And maybe we are; I don’t know.”
Quinn, not in the mood for any of this, pushed, “Can we get back to your sister?”
“Which one?” Gemma asked.
“The missing one?”
“Which one’s that?”
“Gemma!”
“Look, I’m sorry,” she finally said. “This . . . isn’t what I expected. I thought we’d be dealing with Grand Master Joshua.”
“But we’re not because he’s dead,” Laila said.
“Exactly. But there’s an even worse problem.”
“Which is?”
“Sprenger’s in charge. And he shouldn’t be. Even worse, he’s already made a deal with Beatrix. She’s offered protection to every religious order in this valley.”
“Great!” Keran cheered. “Then we can find your sister and go back home.”
“I can’t go.”
“I knew you were going to say that.”
“You all can go. I’ve passed on Keeley’s message. And now we know who is behind the attacks. It’s Cyrus the Honored.”
“I thought he was one of the good ones,” Farlan pointed out.
“It seems he’s a religious fanatic. Anyway, with that information, Keeley can make her plans.”
“But you’re staying here,” Quinn said.
“Just for a little longer.”
“But they keep calling you traitor.”
“That’s true.”
“And you’re staying where they call you traitor?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” Quinn asked politely, nodding toward the back stable doors.
“Actually, I have to—hey!”
He’d grabbed the back of her brown fur cape and dragged her toward the doors. When she began to put up a fight and the fur began to tear, he wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her up, taking her out of the stables. Quinn looked around. He saw the monk who liked to hug everyone.
“Brother Kir!”
“Hello again, my new best friend!”
“I’d like to talk to Brother Gemma alone. Can you recommend a place?”
“Of course!”
“Kir!” Gemma barked.
“I’ll show you where the armor room is!”
“Thanks, mate!”
Quinn followed Kir, carrying Gemma under his arm. She didn’t say anything but he knew he’d be paying for this. But he needed answers.
When they arrived at the armory, Kir unlocked it and let them in.
“You know what?” Kir suggested. “To let you two have some privacy, I’ll be right outside, blocking the way. No one gets past me.”
“Because you’re as big as a mountain.”
“I am as big as a mountain!” Kir eagerly agreed.
“Thank you, my new friend.”
“I know we haven’t known each other long, Amichai, but I’ve decided I love you.”
“And I love you!”
Kir threw his arms open, and Quinn tossed Gemma inside so he could embrace the monk.
“That’s not funny, Quinn!” Gemma yelled from within the room.
They hugged and Quinn went inside while Kir closed the door behind them.
Confident the monk was blocking the door as he’d promised, Quinn was about to face Gemma but she slapped the back of his head before he could.
“Owwww! What was that for?”
“Don’t toy with Kir!” she angrily whispered at him.
“That’s your problem? I thought I’d get in trouble for carrying you around like a sack of grain.”
“Kir is very sensitive. And you saying you love him?”
“I do love that man.”
“Because he does whatever you say?”
“Yes. And he adores me, which shows he has excellent taste. Tell me, does he cry after every battle?”
“Yes, and why am I in this room with you?”
“So I can find out what the fuck is going on.”
Quinn took Gemma’s hand and pulled her deep into a large armory that was empty of monks but filled with nice weaponry. Not as nice as the work of Keeley and her mother, but not bad at all.
When he felt he was far enough away from the door so that even Kir couldn’t overhear them, Quinn asked, “So what the fuck is going on?”
“You seriously dragged me all the way back here to ask me that again?”
“Now you can answer me.”
“I don’t have to answer you.”
“Your silence confirms that you’re going to do something incredibly stupid.”
“What?”
“When you think you’re going to do something smart, you brag. You tell everyone. But when you don’t say anything . . . it’s because you know the rest of us will think it’s stupid. That’s why you didn’t tell us you were returning to the monastery in the first place. Because you knew we would think it was stupid.”
“Stop saying stupid.”
“Because what you’re about to do is—”
“It’s not stupid!” Gemma paced away from him. “You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it to me. Or I start stomping around this place in my hooves and take a serious shit right in the middle of your Chamber of Vagary.”
She faced him. “The chamber of what?” She rolled her eyes. “And you will do no such thing.”