at the door whenever he heard a sound elsewhere in the townhouse. It was a modest building for the Knight-Cardinal and his staff to be confined to, and the attendant priests installed as his ‘spiritual advisors’ to monitor Certinse’s activities made it even more cramped.
The Knight-Cardinal stopped dead and frowned. ‘What do you mean?’ His house-arrest was making him feel powerless and frustrated, emotions he was quite unused to.
‘The duchess came to petition Lord Styrax, so I’ve heard. He made her wait several hours, but he did eventually admit her to his august presence.’
‘Yet I am ignored by even Styrax’s subordinates?’ Certinse scowled. ‘This cannot just be grief, or Styrax showing me my place. That I am so cut off must be of more significance. Does he not care at all about going to war with Raland and Embere? Could he have secured an alliance with that worm Vener without me knowing?’ He looked at Perforren and shook his head. ‘No, the Serian still reports to me, however gutted the Devout Congress has left it.’
He walked to the window and looked out for a moment. The captain could see his commander muttering silently; he glanced suspiciously at Perforren for a moment before resuming his pacing.
Perforren wasn’t worried by the look; the Knights of the Temples were in chaos and his lord was right to be fearful of everyone. He’d just reminded himself that Perforren could be trusted absolutely - one of the few of his men who could. They were both Farlan originally, and Perforren was the son of a loyal family retainer who had been with the Knight-Cardinal since before Lord Bahl had banned the Order from Farlan lands.
Every officer of the Knights of the Temples had to be ordained as a priest - to the God of their choice - before being allowed to command troops, a time-honoured tradition that had served them well over the centuries. It didn’t necessarily mean a lifetime of study and prayer, but it did ensure no one joined the Order lightly, and there was responsibility on both sacred and secular levels. The majority of the officers lived relatively secular lives, but the Gods’ influence was there nonetheless. Unfortunately for Certinse, the specific God to whom they made their commitment was not made public, and the records were nowhere to hand.
Each of those turned into rabid fanatics by the rage of the Gods were aligned to one of the six principal Gods of Scree, that much he had deduced. How to tell who among his officers was secretly aligned to the various factions of fanatics was something he had yet not worked out, but he knew Perforren was, like him, a devotee of Anviss, and thus unaffected.
‘Six more men were executed by High Priest Garash,’ the captain said grimly after minute’s silence. ‘Three for whoring, two for gambling, one for some non-specified reason.’
‘Damn the man,’ Certinse said. ‘He’s not even bothering to follow the Codex of Ordinance any more. I’d hoped I could use its rules to curtail his excesses.’ He threw up his hands in disgust. ‘Karkarn’s tears, what am I reduced to? I must ask you to hide in here when I retire so that bastard priest doesn’t have to insist on being present; I’m surprised they’re not whispering we are . . .’ His voice tailed off as he sank down onto the side of his bed.
‘By the Dark Place, we cannot continue this way. The Order will tear itself apart if we do.’
‘I’ve been speaking to those sergeants I trust, sir’ - he broke off and raised a hand at Certinse’s alarmed expression - ‘only those I know well, I assure you, and asking in only the most general of terms. The enlisted men are unhappy with what’s going on, but they’re Godsfearing, and it’s going to take more than Garash’s harsh punishments before they even think of rising up against the priests. There’s talk of informers being recruited into every squad, men who will only take orders from priests — ’
‘Gods, has it come to this, when we must murder our own?’ Certinse shook his head in despair.
‘I . . . I may have a solution, sir,’ Perforren said hesitantly.
Certinse looked at him, but the captain looked down at his hands, saying nothing. After a few moments, Certinse said softly, ‘Well, Captain? What is it?’
The anxiety was plain on his long face. His bloodshot eyes moved towards the door and back again.