The temple of Zavan had seeer days.

  Not in terms of the structure itself. Dwarf-built and carved stone formed a massive structure, easily stretg the height of town cavern we were iy feet of mosaics depig ses from I assume the dwarven scripture, including several likenesses of what must by Zavan, pi hand, digging through the earth.

  Hardly something I’d call aspirational or inspiring, but when you spend most of your life underground? Perhaps a different story.

  No, what struck me as it seeier days was how empty everything was. There were a few dwarves oreet as we exited the carriage, all of them moving as quickly as they could, sparing us not a gnce. A small group of bored Watch had beaten us to the church, f a picket lihat was unneeded.

  No one was trying to get in. No one was watg. Nothing.

  I’d say it was just because of the murder, but the streets leading up to here had been just as empty. What few dwarves had chosen to stay were going to o make a decision soon, to head to the surface or stay in the emptying ruins of their old homes.

  Her Majesty’s i in the underground didn’t have any iion of settling it, not yet at least.

  I walked closer, towards the picket line and just beyond, the slightly open stone doors. I could see a charred hand reag out between the open doors, it’s owner just around the er.

  The other carriage had disged it’s octs as well, Walston going to talk to the Watch here, Gregoing in a futile attempt to keep peace because Tagashin and Voltar, and the two bishops walking to join us. Forcreek had disappeared, probably dropped off somewhere along the way or choosing to stay at Savareth’s temple.

  “The paurders increases,” Galspie rumbled, looking at the small stoemple with distaste. “And we are no closer to catg those behind it.”

  I took a mental hat he assumed we must be dealing with multiple killers, and moved towards the front while ign him. It was the sed day, hells, barely even that.

  Bishop Derrick sighed heavily, looking at the heavy stone doors. “Poor Mata. She already risked so much stayihe surface, even mreeing to practice Diabolism, only for this to happen.”

  Galspie opened his mouth, thought better of it, and then closed his tongue.

  “Khe victim well?” I asked Bishop Derrick.

  “Mata and I colborate well before the program. First in making sure the resting pces of dead dwarves were secure even in the midst of the war, and then she helped ensure all resting pces underground, no matter the race, were secure.” She smiled fondly. “Always joked about how simir our deities name was.”

  “Grating,” Galspie ented, apparently uo help himself.

  “Sometimes, but always willing to lend a hand,” Derrick said, her smile fading into a frown. “That’s what made her voluhats what got her killed.”

  “She volunteered,” Galspie said gruffly, and anger fshed in Derrick’s eyes for a sed. If he noticed, he didn’t say anything, walking past to the front gate.

  I traded looks with Voltar, who’d walked up leaving a smug Tagashin on the carriage. However well these two cooperated normally, clearly this utting a strain on their w retionship. That might be helpful in other circumstances, but for now keeping these two from infighting was needed. Last thing we needed is both leaders of the group being targeted spending more time tearing strips out of each other than helping us.

  “There was an of informatiiovanni Versalicci,” Voltar said, trying to get their minds off of the victim for now. “About some of his diabolists gue. All of them, in fact. Sheds some light on this.”

  I resisted the urge to throttle him. Could he not? At least it was framed not in a way that brought attention on Melissa, which was something. And it would e out eventually that these were Fme, but that shouldn’t mean Versalicci be give for anythiely good.

  “A trick,” Galspie said roughly. “rust those words. The fact they inated from his forked tongue makes me even less likely to believe these are Fme.”

  “I agree,” I said, getting a surprised gnce from the bishop. “He never shares information unless he gains something from it, but in this case? His hand is forced. Eventually someone would find out, and with what happened during the shape-ger case.”

  “I see,” the Bishop said gruffly. “C his tracks.”

  “Entirely possible it’s a scheme,” I admitted. “I ’t cim to have perfesight into the mind of someone who tricked me for years. I was years younger and years more a fool back then, but still.”

  That nod of affirmatio a hot tendril of anger w through my gut. Me admitting my failings was not intended as any kind of reinfort of his messed-up views of the world. Still, if it would keep him civil a while longer, I’d keep that anger swallowed up.

  With that out of the way, we made for the temple.

  “Everyone please stay clear of the corpse till we have it examned. Bishop, please do not kick the Infernal’s body.”

  The inside of the temple was… iing.

  We were in a tunnel, one nowhere he size of the temple itself, in fact small enough that both Dr. Dawes and Bishop Galspie had to stoop down some so they could fit ihe temple.

  A thick coating of dust greeted us, and a charred Infernal corpse by the door. Further dowunnel y Stonemaker Mata.

  The Stonemaker’s corpse was on it’s side, in the middle of a se of the tunnel floor cleared of dust. Instead, blood formed a star around her, and even at a distance I could see the feline head f it’s way out of exposed back, the bristling red fur that looked as sharp as needles puncturing through skin in patches.

  More blood staining the tunnel behind her, and from the extra puddle I could see at one end of the star, just a bit further? Mayhaps one of the other would be-murderers had taken a bleeding wound trying to incapicitate her.

  “Cat,” I observed mildly. “Pride is what’s been assigned. Iing that they kept the calling card, or maybe the ritual really is grasping ahold of something ihem. Make any seo either of our bishops?”

  It shouldn’t, but something was clearly direg the ges of these people and their souls.

  Galspie didn’t answer while Derriodded.

  “Mata rideful,” she said. “Not to the point of sin, I’d say. Proud of the fact she’d kept her duty. Proud of peacefully joining her empire when so many of her kin chose to fight instead. Perhaps to the point of…well…antagonizing some members of her deity’s worshippers.”

  Which would expin the disused nature of this temple. Perhaps her frequent versations with Derrick had been more out of loneliness after having driven away her remaining floot even a majority of dwarves left behind and forced to join the Anglean empire were happy. Maybe a slim minority at best.

  “Everyoay clear of the Stonemaker’s body please,” Voltar requested. “The yer of dust is thiough that it might hold clues to the order of events. Just, for the moment, no one besides me beyond the threshold?”

  No one objected, and sooective was w his way around the edges of the tunnel, examining each square foot of floor before daring to disturb it. That left us with the corpse of the attacker.

  I k down, looking them over. Every inch of their skin had been charred, whether by divine magic or infernal fmes hard to tell. I could still see the outline of the tattoo though, the fming goat’s head drawn into flesh deep enough that not even torg the flesh could hide it.

  There would have been no hiding who this group was. Which mean if it became known to the general public, more pressure on the Infernals as well. Shite.

  Personal details besides that were a little hard to tell given how thhly his skin has been burnt. About as tall as me, male. Melissa might be able to make a guess if she were here, but without her I had no idea who this might be. I took a feles, of skin, what might have been clothing. There might be something iher.

  “First one bursts in the front door,” I said, getting up from the charred husk that had once been an Infernal. “Bait, most likely.”

  “As to be expected from the Fme,” Forcreek observed, getting a nod of approval from Walston that nearly made me gag.

  “Not the Fme,” I corrected, earning a few looks of disbelief. “Decoy was a diabolist. No matter what else you might say about him, Versalicci wouldn’t spend a diabolist just to take doriest. Hells, Versalicci being involved with this makes no sense.”

  I couldn’t e out and say exactly why I k wasn’t him. Only a few should know about the Whisper, even less about Melissa.

  “She is right,” Galspie agreed. “Don’t uimate them just because of your distaste, Acolyte. They are ruthless about using even the slightest uimation of their ing and deviousness.”

  ly how I would have phrased it, but close enough. In all likelihood, the group was clearly not that tightly bound. Had the bait just been the weakest member, set up to fail because they needed a distra? A power struggle within the group? Or was the deal on offer one where only one Diabolist could cim the prize?

  “Mata kills the decoy, realizes soon after she’s getting jumped but it’s too te,” I said, looking down at the corpse. “Gets a face full of rot or something simir for her troubles. Still mao get a good blow in that leaves some of the sed attacker’s blood staining the wall. Then they drag her corpse over to the ter and begin a ritual to ge her and desecrate the church.”

  That was important. The ce this group was w with the Church killer was unlikely. If they were, they’d just employ his help instead of using a strategy that guarao get one of their number killed, and was still risky besides that. The Church killer also didn’t need a slow, dangerous, vulnerable ritual in order to vert their victims into devils.

  “Only two other attacks,” Voltar noted, looking over the floor. “Oh hooves and oh boots. No ns of other attackers.”

  Galspie frowned. “There were twelve seen fleeing the se, wouldn’t it-”

  “Sentries,” Dr. Dawes interrupted quietly. “When your target is unaware, you take as little ce of alerting them as possible. Twelve individuals l around, ones who stand out iarget enviro? That would attraotice. Three would be pushing it, although I suspect the bait would be the most overt.”

  I really o sit down with Dawes at some point and discuss his military history with him. Voltar nodded.

  “Precisely. The others were probably hidden, waiting for any signs of trouble. They interfere when they hear the sounds of violehey quickly assemble and perform the ritual on her while she’s still barely alive. She ’t resist, and they get it over and doh. Voltar, are you done examining the footprints so I e over there?”

  He nodded, standing up. “If I could get Dr. Dawes as well? Assuming you are doh the Infernal’s body?”

  “Got what I ,” I said. “Fmes haven’t left mue to pick over. The Stonemaker?”

  “You’ll have more, but less likely to be useful,” he admitted. “They used clubs instead of diabolsim. Beyond bruising, I don’t see any signs of embedded splinters.”

  “Hrrm,” I got closer, and with each step that bruising across the fad back of the head became more apparent, less hidden by the discoloration caused by the ritual ging her skin e.

  They hadn’t been frugal with those club blows either. The Stonemaker’s face was more bruise than normal flesh, her nose was broken, one cheek, jaw dislocated.

  “They really didn’t want her scious,” I said. “ah this group. The rest of them must have e in soon after she was disabled, jumped on keeping her down.”

  They’d o have down this all quickly, after the first attack. This pce was dying, but someone would have heard yelling and the fmes. Eleven rushing about, raining blows on the dwarf to keep her from waking, setting up the ritual, and rushing it to pletion before the Watch could intervene. Another oo desecrate the church, which I yelled a question about to Derrick.

  Yes, they had desecrated it. Eleven would be enough, with the priest whose house it was dead.

  I collected samples from what might be useful, a little bit of the cat hair, swabs of clothing where she might have been grabbed and dragged. Blood from the stains along the tunnel wall.

  Physical evidence might not win the day, but seeing two different groups of attackers w towards the same goal told us a fair bit.

  Whatever this deal offered by the devil was, the transf of the priests, before or after death, was key. So was the desecrating of the churches. The group of fast-w Bck Fme wouldn’t have bothered with a time ing ritual to do both if they didn’t o.

  And like that, some more fell into pce. If the key to the deal was the transformations of priests, divine magic acted as a pretty good ter to that type of forced corruption. If the soul was already ged towards that goal in some way, say by using Diabolism, it would be easier to force a version than on say a non-Diabolist priest. Both would result ih, but one was much easier in terms of the sheer power of Diabolism haher.

  This might mean that the Church killer wasn’t as ideologically motivated as Voltar thought. It could just be going for targets they knew would be easy to ge, while leaving the breadcrumbs of someone who had finally snapped or was trying to purify the world of the program.

  “A thought strikes me,” Voltar said quietly. “How did the Bck Fme Diabolists know that Stonemaker Oedeur is a diabolist?”

  I froze. Shite, he was right, and I hadn’t even thought about it. The idea of it being a ce was quickly dismissed, we were far underground and far away from the Quarter. How did they know she was a diabolist?

  “A colboratioween the groups?” Doctor Dawes said. “Although that leaves the question of how they ko tact each other.”

  “I doubt it,” I said. “This group? Clearly aren’t bosom friends with each other, and knowing there’s a stronger, more powerful diabolist chasing the same deal is more likely to result in attempted sabotage.”

  “One would think the devil would try to ence it,” Dawes said.

  “Depends oerms of the deal,” I said. “It’s entirely possible everyohe same rewards at the end. Could be it’s a set amount divided equally. Depends on what the goals are. Could be they are colborating at killing multiple priests on the same day is trying to winnow down their needed kills as quickly as they . But I think it has to be priests practig Diabolism that’s the key.”

  “You think the targets were set by the devil?” Voltar asked.

  “I think there would be an easier list of targets they could have gone for,” I said. “The only thing that’s easier is less energy spent ging them to devils. But your trading that for targets that are probably a bit tougher than your average priest, whose deaths at the hands of diabolism will immediately be noticed. And if one of these killers is a member of the program, killing their colleagues is going t attention to them.”

  “It could fit,” Voltar admitted. “Reluce to do the attacks could easily be because he doesn’t have other targets. F their bodies to fit sins he assigns to them may be an attempt to justify the killings.”

  “Reluce to kill people,” Dawes said. “In order for a deal with a devil?”

  “Personal attats do make wielding a knife harder for many,” I said. “But the doctor has a good point. Our killer is itted for killing for a devil’s cause, and I doubt this is just a trade of power for service. There’s some greater aim utilizing these killings. Deities involved maybe?”

  Voltar frowhinking. “Perhaps, although that’s your area of expertise more than mine.”

  “My uanding of divine magic is that it usually hurts and ranting from angry Halspus’ priests,” I said drily. “But point taken. I’ll try to set aside some time to educate myself on this. Fht now, if you don’t mind I’m going to see what the bishops have to say.”

  They had not left the Infernal corpse yet. Probably having their own private versation much as we’d held regory wasn’t here at all. Talking with Tagashin perhaps?

  I forced doang of something at that thought and gave the two Bishops my best toothy grin.

  “Apologies for b you both, but if I inquire, how maies are involved in the program?”

  “Why?” Galspie snapped, and Derrick frowned.

  “Apologies for my colleague’s rudeness, but while we are willing to share information about our program, only what is necessary to aid the iigation.”

  “We’re trying to think if there’s any factor besides the diabolism program that could link these targets,” I said. “Especially if this is targeting for some diabolic ritual of some kind. The deities involved might inform the ritual being aimed at. If it was just someohin yroup doing these killings, I might agree with Voltar that this is someoh a personal goal, but the involvement of this group suggests something more reted to the Hells.”

  I k was, but for now these two didn’t o know that.

  The two of them traded gnces, and then Galspie spoke up.

  “The deities represented by the group who came to Father Reginald’s after his passing. Those are the deities whose priests are involved.”

  I frowhe twelve deities from the group that had broken into the church had been all that beloo this group? I’d have expected Maldeura, God of War and other patroy of Her Majesty, or Ixilliae, the goddess of magic. More transpnts from her travels or quests.

  Twelve. Something about that g me, and as I thought further, I remembered. Tyler’s sacrificial circle, twelve symbols stamped into metal. Twelve deities whose priests were practig Diabolism.

  No, Halspus was only their to oversee, none of their priests were practig the Infernal arts. But….

  “Ixilliae,” I said calmly. “That’s the deity whose involvement you’re trying to hide, isn’t it?”

  Galspie muttered angrily under his breath while Bishop Derrick sighed.

  “High Arist Taldare asked that her involvement be kept as secret as possible,” she admitted. “There are enough rumours about Ixilliae’s followers experimenting with magic others deem-“

  “Evil,” Galspie said. “They practice evil with no care for the sequences.”

  Derrick was already responding, a bit of steel in that calm reply but I wasn’t paying attention.

  Twelve deities involved after all. Twelve deities whose followers, those they’d given divine magic, were also calling on the power of the Hells.

  I hat dis Tyler’s house, assuming Holmsteader hadn’t destroyed it yet. I checked my watch. There was enough time, just enough to head to Glee street before I met with my uncle.

  Just o meet with Holmsteader, who had just told me to stay away from her street earlier this m.

  Maybe it wouldn’t end in violence?

  Saithorthepyro