He turned and set off without waiting for them,...
He turned and set off without waiting for them, on a path going around to the left of the temple
Devin and Erlein looked at each other and exchanged a shrugThey followed Torre and Alessan, passing a number of other priests and lay servants, most whom smiled at them, somewhat making up for their dour, self-appointed guide
They caught up to the other two as they rounded the southern side of the templeTorre had stopped, Alessan beside himThe balding porter looked around, quite casually, then said, almost as casually:
"Trust no oneSpeak truth to none but Danoleon or myselfYou have been expectedWe thought it would be another night, perhaps two before you came, but she said it would be today
"Then I have proved her rightHow gratifying," said Alessan in an odd voice
Devin felt suddenly coldOff to their left, in the games field, Savandi's boys were laughing again, lithe shapes clad in blue, running after a white ballFrom within the dome he could hear, faintly, the sound of chantingThe end of the afternoon invocationsTwo priests in formal white came along the path from the opposite direction, arm in arm, disputing animatedly
"This is the kitchen, and this the bakehouse," Torre said clearly, pointing as he spoke"Over balenciaga new yellow bags there is the brewhouseYou will have heard of the ale we make here, I have no doubt
"Of course we have," murmured Erlein politely, as Alessan said nothing
The two priests slowed, registered the presence of the strangers and their musical instruments, and went on"Just over there is the High Priest's house," Torre continued, "beyond the kitchen and the outer school
The other two priests, resuming their argument, swept briskly around the curve of the path that led to the front of the templeThen, very softly, he said: "Eanna be praised for her most gracious loveMay all tongues give her praiseWelcome home my PrinceOh, in the name of love, be welcome home at last
Devin swallowed awkwardly, looking from Torre to AlessanAn uncontrollable shiver ran along his spine: there were tears, bright-sparkling in the brilliant sunlight, in the porter's eyes
Alessan made no replyHe lowered his head, and Devin could not see his eyesThey heard children's laughter, the final notes of a sung prayer
"She is still alive then?" Alessan asked, looking up at last
"She is," said Torre emotionally He could not finish the sentence
"There is no point in the three of us being careful if you are going to spill tears like a child," Alessan pasha de cartier 32 mm steel said sharply"Enough of that, unless you want me dead"Forgive me," he whispered
"No! Not 'my lord'Not even when we are aloneI am Adreano d'Astibar, musician Alessan's voice was hard"Now take me to Danoleon
The porter wiped quickly at his eyesHe straightened his shoulders"Where do you think we are going?" he snapped, almost managing his earlier tone againHe spun on his heel and strode up the path
"Good," Alessan murmured to the priest, from behind"Very good, my friend Trailing them both, Devin saw Torre's head lift at the wordsHe glanced at Erlein but this time the wizard, his expression thoughtful, did not return the look
They passed the kitchens and then the outer school where Savandi's charges, children of noblemen or wealthy merchants, sent here to be educated, would study and sleepAll across the Palm such teaching was a part of the role of the clergy, and a source of a goodly portion of their wealthThe Sanctuaries vied with each other to draw student boarders, and their fathers' money
It was silent within the large building nowIf the dozen or so boys on the games-field with Savandi were all the students in the complex, then Eanna's Sanctuary in Lower Corte was not doing very well
On the other hand, Devin new cartier watches thought, who of those left in Lower Corte could afford Sanctuary schooling for their children now? And what shrewd businessman from Corte or Chiara, having bought up cheap land here in the south, would not send his son home to be educated? Lower Corte was a place where a clever man from elsewhere could make money out of the ruin of the inhabitants, but it was not a place to put down rootsWho wanted to be rooted in the soil of Brandin's hate?
Torre led them up the steps of a covered portico and then through the open doorway of the High Priest's houseAll doors seemed to be open to the spring sunshine, after the shuttered holiness of the Ember Days just past
They stood in a large, handsome, high-ceilinged sitting-roomA huge fireplace dominated the southwestern end and a number of comfortable chairs and small tables were arranged on a deep-piled carpetCrystal decanters on a sideboard held a variety of winesDevin saw two bookcases on the southern wall but no booksThe cases had been left to stand, disconcertingly emptyThe books of Tigana had been burnedHe had been told about that
Arched doorways in both the eastern and western walls led out to porches where the sunlight could be caught in the morning and at eve
On the louis vuitton women's handbags far side of the room there was a closed door, almost certainly leading to the bedchamberThere were four cleverly designed, square recesses in the walls and another smaller one above the fire where statues would once have stoodOnly the ubiquitous silver stars of Eanna served for painted decoration on the walls
The door to the bedroom opened and two priests came out
They seemed surprised, but not unduly so, to see the porter waiting with three visitorsOne man was of medium height and middle years, with a sharp face and close-cropped salt-and-pepper hairHe carried a physician's tray of herbs and powders in front of him, supported on a thong about his neck
It was at the other man that Devin stared, thoughIt was the other man who carried the High Priest's staff of officeHe would have commanded attention even without it, Devin thought, gazing at the figure of what had to be Danoleon
The High Priest was an enormous man, broad-shouldered with a chest like a barrel, straight-backed despite his yearsHis long hair and the beard that covered half his chest were both white as new snow, even against the whiteness of his robeThick straight eyebrows met in the middle of a serene brow and above eyes as clear and blue as a fake gucci watches child's