Danilynn was disappointed and it showed. She looked away for a moment, but soon she turned her glowing blue eyes back to Kari. “Aye, I can do that for you,” she said, the fures-rir accent coming through for just a moment. “Come in the back to the fireplace room, we can talk privately there.”
Danilynn led them into a back hallway that was better lit than the temple’s main chamber. Her footsteps were silent as she led her guests down the corridor, the soft swish of her robe inaudible over the sound of her companions’ armor. After they passed a couple of doors, Danilynn opened one to her left and ushered Eli and Kari in.
The room was cozy, with a couple of rockers and deep-cushioned chairs in front of a fireplace. There was already a warm fire going, and the room was full of its aroma and well-lit by the dancing flames. It was a casual meeting place for the priests, or perhaps a place to wind down as the day grew old. Danilynn gestured toward the chairs, and Eli and Kari sat.
The priestess closed the door and took the rocker on the far left so she could face both of her guests. “Eli, are our secrets still safe?”
The half-corlyps glanced at Kari. “She knows about Tor, but she’s agreed to keep his secret,” he said, and Danilynn pursed her lips.
Kari was surprised that Eli would bring that up right away after what he'd told her on the trip, but she decided to take advantage of it. “I only want to know one thing about him: Does he work with his mother or have any real contact with her?”
“No,” Danilynn said with a shake of her head. “Tor didn’t even find out that Emma was his mother until we had lost contact with her. For a while he thought she had just abandoned him, but I think when she realized the DarkWind military was going to take him in, she allowed them to protect him. Had they threatened him harm, I can’t even imagine what she might have done to protect him. It’s complicated, but I think Tor has come to terms with who and what he is. We’re just not so sure everyone else would understand—including your Order.”
Kari nodded. “I was wondering if anyone else in the Order knew. Did Bosimar know?”
“Only the five of us knew: Eli, Jori-an, Rhiannon, Tor, and me,” Danilynn said. “We kept it from the Order—even Jason—because we were afraid they might put Tor in prison, or use him as a bargaining chip to find and get rid of Emma.”
“One of Jason’s journals talked a bit about Emma, and how Jason was trying to figure out what she was up to. You never told him about your interactions with her?”
Danilynn and Eli exchanged a glance before the priestess answered. “We told Jason just about everything we knew and had seen of her. He didn’t trust her; he said that what we had seen and told him about was only a part of the entire story. He was constantly getting reports from his hunters that mentioned her, and she seemed to be manipulating events all over the continent, so he never trusted her. He always figured she was up to something big, but we could never get a clear indication of what. The fact that her son worked directly with us never helped in that regard. It was confusing, and oftentimes frustrating.”
“I know the feeling. She seems helpful at times, but that doesn’t mean she’s doing it to be helpful,” Kari said, and Danilynn nodded. “So, Eli told me you’d know more about Ciceria and the syrinthian priesthood?”
Danilynn nodded again. “Yes. At one point, when I used some of the Night Runner’s divine power to spy on the syrinthian temple, Se’ceria established a telepathic link with me. From that point on, we talked rather frequently.”
“Se’ceria?” Kari interrupted; the pronunciation was slightly different when Danilynn said it.
“Se’ceria Sasha Solaristis,” Danilynn elaborated. “Syrinthian females have three names: The first is actually a derivative of their mother’s name; the second is their equivalent of our first name; and the third is their familial name. Se’ceria means daughter of Ceria. They denote the lineages of the females for the sake of the priesthood.”
“So, her daughter’s name would be Se’sasha?”
“Well, not exactly. Her daughter’s title would be Se’sasha, though that would be how they refer to her in casual conversation, as though it is her name. Her daughter’s actual name is Aesiasi. When I saw Eli, I had hoped he changed his mind about going to find Se’sasha in the underworld,” Danilynn said. “If not, I was wondering… might you be willing to do so?”
Kari scratched at her snout. “I’m not sure the Order would want me wandering around in the underworld, even with my latest promotion. Or rather, especially with my latest promotion.”
Danilynn waved off the answer. “I’m not looking to go down there and fight our way through to find Se’sasha. I understand enough about the underworld to know that those who go there to fight or cause trouble find a quick demise. However, we have sources of information, so we may be able to find out where Se’sasha is hiding or being hidden, and we can hopefully slip in and out without notice. That would depend on whether she’s being held prisoner, or if she’s in hiding from Sekassus, and if she is, exactly where.”
Kari leaned to the side in her chair and stared at Danilynn silently. The priestess’ gaze kept flicking back and forth between the demonhunter and Eli, and Kari assumed Danilynn was waiting for him to volunteer. The half-corlyps continued to hold his tongue, and Kari thought about what Master Surallis had told him after offering him a position among the Order. Eli might be afraid to go to the underworld now, but his attitude might change if Kari agreed to go first. Since Kari was now the head of the Order, she reasoned she could theoretically do what she wanted to, but the opinion of the council and the delicate balance between the heavens and the underworld would weigh heavily on her decision.
“I understand you made a promise to Se’ceria,” Kari said, “but I really can’t help but wonder what we stand to gain by rescuing her daughter. Se’ceria’s plot was at least the second invasion attempt by the syrinthians; how do we know bringing Se’sasha here wouldn’t help start a third?” Danilynn didn’t answer immediately, and she chewed on her lip silently as she thought about what to say. Kari prodded her further, asking, “Why don’t you tell me a bit about syrinthian priests. Eli mentioned they’re rather rebellious against Sekassus?”
“Se’ceria was sickened by the things she had to do for Sekassus,” Danilynn said. “She was forced to sacrifice her own people to power the portal they had built for him. There was only so much she could tell me when we ‘spoke’ telepathically, but from time to time, I caught glimpses of her… dreams, I guess you could say. The syrinthians didn’t always serve Sekassus. They used to serve a god—a true god. One who was benevolent, and who they bent knee to willingly, out of love and respect. They are slaves to Sekassus. They’re little more than sacrifices, battle fodder, and sources of entertainment as he tears their society apart piece by piece. Eli has told you that the syrinthians aren’t demons?”
“Yes. I wasn’t sure if that made them better or worse, given their race’s history.”
“If what Se’ceria told me is true, the syrinthians have lived in the underworld since before the demons conquered it,” Danilynn said. “She gave me no indication of how long ago that happened, but she tried to impress on me the fact that the syrinthians are little more than Sekassus’ patsies and playthings. He sends them here to die on the off chance that they succeed in punching a hole through the dimensional barriers that he can slip through. But he cares nothing for them… if they die, it is simply more enjoyment for him as he sees the misery and sadness their loss instills in the rest of the population.”