can’t beat him. It’s a game to him. Lortune was locked down straight away, and the first we heard of it was the message he sent to the Council to say it was done and he’d declared himself uncontested king.”
“So you think he won’t invade?”
“Not yet. His main focus now seems to be destroying the temples and killing the devout in Lormere. He’s taken against the Lormerian Gods in the worst way.”
“Why, though? Why is he targeting holy people?” I’m not religious, few here are, but the idea of burning down temples and butchering nuns and monks makes me feel queasy. It’s like hurting children. They’re harmless, mostly.
“Burn all the food, and people will starve, weaken, and turn on one another. Destroy the temples and their acolytes, and the people will have nowhere to turn, no sanctuary, no charity. No hope. Especially somewhere like Lormere. They’re already distraught because their living Goddess has vanished; it’s child’s play to him at this point.” He pauses, disgust coating every word. “What he does, to the pious… It’s awful, Errin.”
“What does he do?” I don’t want to know, but the question is ready on my lips before I can stop it. And from the speed Kirin replies at, he knew it too.
“He cuts out their hearts. Men, women, seminarians, novices, altar servers. He doesn’t discriminate, doesn’t care how old they are, or how young. He has the hearts cut from the bodies, and he puts them on display in the town squares. He has men guard them so they can’t be claimed. The birds can get at them, and the rats. But not the people. The bodies are thrown in pits, and they’re denied the Eating. He’s outlawed that too; there’s a price on the Sin Eater’s head. A good one. She wasn’t loved anyway, from what I’ve heard. Given the price she’ll fetch, I reckon he’ll have her before Midwinter Day.”
I stop moving. “Why? Why is he doing this?” I’m sickened by it, by the bestial, savage cruelty of it.
“Because he’s a monster. Because the Lormerians are mice who spent years cowering under their royals and their Gods, afraid of their own shadows. They couldn’t have made it any easier for him if he’d strolled up to the doors of the castle and knocked. They haven’t done a thing to fight back. They’re too scared, too busy praying for salvation. And because he’s trampling across Lormere unheeded, our Council has had to make sure he won’t get the same chance here.” He glances down at his uniform and his fire falls away, leaving him looking more like the boy I used to know. “Why are you still here? You should have been evacuated this morning, shouldn’t you? We were told all civilians would be gone today. Which hut is yours? Come on, I’ll speak to your mother now; we can try to get you out this afternoon.”
“Don’t be stupid,” I say swiftly. “You need to get back to your camp. Your leg needs proper attention.”
“Surely you can patch it up. Isn’t that what you were training for?”
“You need a physician to look at it, not an apothecary. Why don’t I meet you somewhere later on? We can arrange what to do then. Come, I’ll see you back to the road.”
Kirin leans forward and peers into my eyes. “What are you up to, Errin Vastel?”
“Nothing.”
“Liar. I know you. You’re hedging me. What’s going on?”
“If you must know, Mama is sick.” I feed him the same line as I fed Unwin. “I can’t move her yet. As soon as she’s better, we’ll go. But I don’t want to risk her on the road, or in a camp, as she is.” It’s as close to the truth as I dare. “We’re keeping a low profile until then.”
“Maybe we can move her to the barracks. It’s a safe distance from the woods. We’d be on hand to keep an eye on her while she’s recovering. I’ll come now and we’ll—”
“Your leg.” I talk across him and he scoffs, raising an eyebrow at me. I force myself to look into his familiar, friendly eyes. “I’m scared of wounds left alone,” I say quietly. “You know why. It doesn’t take long… A puncture wound…”
“Oh, Errin.” Kirin looks wretched, and I feel horribly, horribly guilty for playing that card. “I’m sorry. I’ll go now and have it patched up. Then I’ll come for you. Gods, if I’d known you were here I would have come sooner and got you