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“The Dareks hate the Hevelikar and Artemia, and yet they keep those carvings,” Lyr says quietly.

“Perhaps they were too beautiful to destroy,” says Opeth.

“Are you interested in the old Artemian temple? Much of it remains,” says a male voice from a figure a little further down the table. Damon looks over at him. He is dressed in the white and grey robes of an acolyte of Zai. His face is veiled with a grey cloth. Even his eyes are covered with just a stripe of grey lace to allow him to see. Damon wonders how he eats. He had not been sure, until he spoke that he was even a man.

Acolytes of Zai do not typically veil their faces. Although a few do, especially among the sects that believe vanity is a sin. It is far more common among the Brides of Zai than any male acolytes.

“The Hare here knows much about the history of Azuria,” says Trysta. “I like you, Hare.”

Lyr looks at the Hare curiously. “Why do you sit with the women?”

“Ah, merely old tradition,” says the Hare. “A Zai priest from the enforcers is put at each female table. For protection.”

Damon is surprised that the Hare is an enforcer under the command of Gelen the Green. Gelen the Green’s enforcers are fearsome. This man does not look like he could enforce anything.

“There are levels of the Rose Palace where no one ever goes,” says the Hare. “It extends far beneath the earth all the way down to the Gleam in places. Some are dangerous and impassable. Parts are walled off, but walls can be broken through. The Hevelikar built a labyrinth beneath the ground. It cannot be destroyed. The whole palace would fall without it. I would like to map it all someday. I explore it when I can.”

“What have you found?” Damon asks, interested. “I grew up here. I have seen some of the tunnels as a boy.”

The Hare’s voice is wistful. “Halls of glass, halls of iron, underground gardens full of strange plants... there is a library, abandoned for a hundred years.”

“A library?” Lyr glances at Damon.

Damon knows what he is thinking. He thinks it too. The Books of Alios. A hidden library. Are there other copies? Could there be copies here? In the Rose Palace? If he found them, what else could he secure for himself?

The Hare looks at Lyr, then at Damon. “Master Damon, please, I would speak to you in private.”

Damon is still looking at Lyr. He looks wary. But the Hare seems as harmless as a man could be.

As Damon hesitates, the Hare says, “Please. I assure you it is of great importance. Bring your sword. And your slave, if you wish.”

Lyr shrugs at Damon. Damon has to admit he is curious about what this priest could have to say to him. “Very well,” he says.

Opeth, Razelii and Trysta are laughing about something, they barely notice as the Hare leads Damon and Lyr to a withdrawing room at the back of the hall.

The Hare closes the door. The room is small. Two wooden chairs are close to a small flickering fire. The room has no windows. On one wall of the room is a tapestry, so large it covers it completely. It shows King Sarelik on his black mare, his great army behind him, driving the heretics out of the Rose Temple. Damon puts his hand on the hilt of The Amber Blade.

The Hare says, “What books in particular do you seek?”

Damon takes a breath. He does not feel that the Hare is a threat. Oddly, he feels strangely inclined to trust him. The room has no other exit, but he walks over to the fire and turns with his back to it. Letting the Hare stand between him and the door. A sign of his status. His confidence that the Hare could not stop him leaving if he wished to. Lyr follows, standing beside Damon, as Damon says, “Books that were taken by the Hevelikar to Jur-Mattan when Sarelik overthrew them.”

The Hare nods. “You mean the Books of Alios? What do you know about them?”

“Nothing that I will tell you,” Damon says, although he does wonder what the Hare might know.

“Perhaps,” says Lyr, far more softly, “you could tell us what you know of them?” Damon glances at him. He feels a little warm inside at how Lyr seems to have anticipated Damon’s own thoughts.

The Hare smiles. His face is open and easy. He says, “Certainly. They were in Jur-Mattan. Queen Jareleezi, the mother of King Ramel, fled Pellex with them. Selim wants to find them and destroy them. Your slave, Master Damon, was close to Jareleezi in Jur-Mattan. I am an acolyte of the Order of the Enforcer. Gelen the Green himself is interested in meeting your slave in case he knows more.”

Damon puts a hand on Lyr’s arm and says, “He will not touch him. I have assurances from the Emperor. I will be taking him to Vashti.”

“I know,” says the Hare, lightly. “Gelen the Green has expressed his dismay about that choice.”

“If you have brought us here to threaten Lyr on the wishes of Gelen the Green, I would warn you to reconsider,” Damon says tightly.

The Hare shakes his head. “Oh, no, not at all. Gelen the Green would never disobey Emperor Selim. I tell you this only so you know how I know these things. I brought you here because I am interested in the Books of Alios. I wonder what Selim wants to hide. Do you know anything about what the books contain?”

“No.” Damon looks at him with narrowed eyes, “Do you?”