Great Kings' War by Roland Green, John F. Carr Read Free Book Online

on the stairs leading to the basement. He grasped the hilt of his poniard and, without willing it, found himself holding his breath.
    There was an audible sigh of relief throughout the chamber when the bent and white-hooded figure of Archpriest Neamenestros entered the room, throwing off his cowl. "I'm sorry, Brethren. I was followed so I took a longer route through the streets."
    "Did you lose them?" Euriphocles asked.
    "Are you certain you were not followed?" Anaxthenes asked, as his fingers tightened on the handle of his dagger.
    "Yes, First Speaker. I lost him in the ruins of the Old Temple of Dralm." All the Archpriests, but Anaxthenes, made the sign of Ormaz's forked tongue with the first two fingers of both hands. "As your foresaw, Speaker, my follower thought the Old Temple was my destination. After I slipped out the back I waited for two quarters and no one followed."
    Using the deserted Old Temple of Dralm as a decoy had been another of Anaxthenes' ideas. As always when one of his plans went well, he felt a sudden surge of pleasure. For him, the joy of a well-wrought scheme brought to a successful conclusion overshadowed the lust for gold, or even the willing women other men prized so highly.
    "Is Archpriest Heraclestros with us?" Euriphocles asked, no longer able to contain his anxiety.
    "Yes, he knows King Kaiphranos the Timid from Great King Demistophon's court. Not even with all of Styphon's Host and treasure would Kaiphranos be able to smite the Daemon Kalvan. He will support our policies even though he distrusts our fervor."
    Anaxthenes shared Heraclestros' reluctance even as he used the True Believers for his own ends. They were useful tools as long as one remembered they were sharp and double-edged. Before the man called Lord Kalvan had arrived out of what seemed to be nowhere, the followers of Styphon's Way had attended their worship in private, fearing the ridicule and persecution of their peers. Who in their right mind would trust Styphon's House's business to the devout? Not when there were storehouses filled with gold, silver, jewels, and wonders from all over the lands—even the deadly and mysterious southern lands of the Mexicotal.
    Before Kalvan the only known True Believers in the Inner Circle had been Cimon, the Peasant Priest, and Roxthar—the self-proclaimed Guardian of Styphon's Way. Cimon had proved a useful spokesman to the Outermost Circle, while Roxthar had his own small fanatical following, and ill luck was known to befall those who blocked his path. The most feared man in the Temple, Roxthar was not only surviving but also prospering since the Daemon's arrival.
    As long as Styphon's House was strong, feared and respected, it was able to survive the disbelievers and cynics within the high priesthood. Then Kalvan had appeared, out of nowhere, disclosed the Fireseed Mystery and turned the wretched backwoods Princedom of Hostigos into a Great Kingdom! Yet it was not Kalvan's military victories, nor his disclosure of the Fireseed Trinity that had shaken the very foundation of Styphon's House On Earth; it was the callous and self-serving defection of two members of the Inner Circle—Archpriests Zothnes and Krastokles.
    How could Styphon's House expect the laity to put out the Temple's fire when its own highpriests fought their way out of the back doors?
    That both of the venal Archpriests had accepted baronies and a share of the gold looted from Styphon's temples from the Usurper Kalvan had only made matters worse. Even the most faithful of Ktemnoi peasantry were beginning to question their faith, as well as the rule of Styphon and his earthly representatives.
    Neither gold nor armies could return that which Krastokles had stolen from Styphon's House. Only the physician's lancet would bleed the Temple of all the corruption that threatened its doom and destruction. As the only servant of Styphon who clearly saw what must be done, it was up to Anaxthenes to act as that healer—even if it meant