I couldn’t believe it. After banishing me from the capital, committing arson (or at least encouraging it) on the Temple of Andrena, and accusing me of being irrelevant- not to mention ignoring my letters for fourteen years- Sylvia was going to just treat me like a friend again?

  A moth to a flame, I decided, grim. Of course she would come crawling back now that I had a large sword and some kind of power. “How did you even get up here?” I said instead, ignoring the question about the darkness.

  There wasn’t a candle in the room. I stomped over to one of the beds and stared out of the window, trying to decide how I’d get out. I didn’t like being trapped in small spaces. It was waxed paper, so it wouldn’t be hard to punch out. However, it was a little small, and I was hardly a small woman. I stared at it, trying to decide if I would get stuck in there or not.

  “I heard there was some difficulty in the north, so I hired a ship to take me up here,” she said. “I couldn’t leave my sweet boy to the cold and darkness up here.” She wrinkled her nose. “Although the company I had to suffer on my way up… well, the less said, the better.”

  “How did he end up here, if you didn’t want him to go north?”

  “I sent him here,” she said, sounding mildly embarassed. I hadn’t thought she was capable of the emotion. “I thought it would help teach him some discipline,” she added.

  Was that a bear I could see moving in the distance? I stared at the shape for a moment before turning back.

  “You were trying to avoid your work,” I deduced.

  “I was brought to a higher calling. Not that you would understand the concerns of a mother. Besides,” she added defensively, “Everything is well in hand! I don’t think the accounting department has worked this efficiently in years. The amount of invoices I’ve approved…”

  I thought briefly of Duran and then pushed it out of my mind. She was right. It wasn’t the same at all. As for the accounting… I wondered if she was the reason the lawyers hadn’t been paid. “Let’s just agree to not speak about it. I’ll get out of this room, and we can go our separate ways.”

  “Don’t be silly!” To my vast surprise, she reached out, grabbing me by the wrist. She almost looked genuine, although maybe it was the darkness concealing the truth in her eyes. “I think we’ll work better together,” she said. “Just like old times.”

  “The last time you said that, you locked me up and left me to rot.”

  Her cheeks puffed out in consternation. It was shocking, how different she was in public and private. “You want an apology? Is that it?”

  “As if I’d believe it from you!”

  “I was wrong,” she said, interrupting me. “I dismissed you. I didn’t believe in the power of the gods. I’m sorry.”

  I yanked my arm away and tried to look unaffected. “I don’t think you understand. What you did-”

  “Besides,” she continued, “You need me.”

  “As if I would believe that.”

  “I know how to get you out of here,” she said. She gave the window a significant glance. “You might not fit through that frame, but I will.”

  Sylvia hadn’t lost her touch, I had to admit. Even though she had come swathed in fine fabrics and wearing a cloak that likely cost more than I’d earned in my life combined, she still punched out the window and slithered through the frame with little more than a glance out to make sure we weren’t being watched. There was a moment of silence, then the sound of the bolt sliding back.

  As she pulled the door open, I hesitated in the frame. “What do you want in exchange?”

  Nothing came free in life. Especially Sylvia’s help. She liked to charge interest.

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  I thought I saw something flash through her eyes- hurt? That couldn’t be it - before she shrugged. “Find my son,” she said. “And make sure he doesn’t get caught up in any of… this.” She waved her hand vaguely. “I assume that is within your paladin capabilities?”

  “Fine,” I said. I held out a hand. “It’s a deal. I’ll protect your son, you’ll cover me when I’m gone.”

  “Don’t worry,” she said, breezy. “I’ll just tell them I sent you out to get supplies. I won’t be questioned.”

  This was a very different place than the south, and I doubted that set of excuses would work. I didn’t correct her, though, as I stepped out and into the compound at large after sliding the bolt closed again.

  Even though there wasn’t anyone around at the moment, I still felt strangely exposed. I yanked my cloak up over my head and cast a look around, but I couldn’t see anything except for what looked like a flash of green behind the nearest building.

  Where to first? I wondered. Maybe it was better to get my bearings. I could see a path- the one we’d come in on- winding around the outside of the compound. I strode forward, trying to look confident.

  Most of the compounds were fairly easy to identify. There were a few low buildings that looked like housing, not marked by anything I could see but all without windows. I peered into one and saw rows and rows of neatly made bunk beds and very few personal belongings.

  Past the dormitories- if that was what they were- there was an even lower building, half-dug into the ground. I tried the door, but it was locked. Maybe a cellar? There were no windows.

  Giving up, I moved on. At the center of the compound was an even larger building, with smoke puffing out of the chimney and a smell of food emanating from it. I sniffed, identifying a few herbs and a meaty undertone. The kitchens and maybe the dining hall, then.

  That brightened my thoughts. Maybe I could ask for a job there, prove myself.

  The strangest part of the compound, however, was the lack of people. I thought I had seen students milling about when I’d looked down on it from the mountain trail I’d taken over here, but now that I was within the compound itself, I hadn’t seen a single child.

  I felt a shudder go down my spine and tried to ignore it. No one had ever claimed the Crags were dangerous for the students. The worst that could possibly happen was Duran gaining a little more discipline.

  I still walked a little faster and tried to pull open the door of the kitchens. Before I could, a figure darted out, head down. I opened my mouth to try and make excuses, but they didn’t look up at me. They had a hood pulled over their face and strode quickly away, carrying a basket in their hands. I glanced once more into the kitchens, but I’d already decided. This was someone worth following.

  I tried to stay quiet as I followed the hidden servant. They wound across the compound, heading to the opposite end of where we’d entered. As we approached, I could see a wide hollow in the earth, like someone had scooped out a bowl. It was lined with paving stones- the first stone I’d seen used to build here- and surrounded by a tall iron fence.

  I hesitated as the servant used a key from the ring hung on their waist to unlock the gate, then stepped inside. They closed it firmly behind them.

  Not willing to leave without seeing what was happening, I darted forward. I could see what this was built for, now. There was a figure curled up in the center of the pit, head down. A large furry shape.

  A bear. It lifted its head up, glowing green eyes focusing on the approaching basket. When it had its head lifted, I could see a gleaming golden collar latched around the bear’s neck, the chain hanging down and disappearing into the fur before the chain re-emerged, leading to an anchor in the stone nearby. From here, I couldn’t see if there were any of the inscriptions they had used to imprison Teuthida in a human’s body.

  Finally, you have found the darkness, hissed Andrena. I glanced over. She was leaning over the fence, looking for all the world like a spectator. You must free him. The great lord of the hunt! Captured like nothing more than a feral animal!

  The servant placed the basket down and lifted a napkin off of the top, revealing a pile of hacked off pieces of meat. Then they scurried back so quickly that I was forced to duck for cover and hide behind a nearby tree. When I finally looked back at the pit, the meat was gone. The basket had been left untouched, and the bear reared back on its hind legs. It looked over, and for a moment, I swore we made eye contact.

  I shuddered. I don’t know what you want me to do, I said to Andrena, who’d run over with me as if anyone else could see me. She had climbed up into the tree and looked down at me now, swinging her legs like a child. It’s not as if I can fight a bear. He doesn’t seem friendly, either.

  After that long, aching moment of eye contact, the bear turned back to the pit and walked in a few circles before lying down. I was reminded of a dog for a brief moment before I remembered the vicious look on its face.

  I frowned. If this bear was locked up, though… why had I seen another one walking on the grounds? Didn’t bears hibernate, this time of year?

  Fix it, said Andrena. I don’t care how. He has been imprisoned for long enough. Before I could tell her exactly how unhelpful that was, she tossed her hair over her shoulder. You promised, she said.

  I gave the pit one last look, staring down at the sleeping bear, before I turned back to the compound. I’ll find Duran first, I thought, hopefully. Then I’ll deal with the bear situation.