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Naturally, I told Talin all about it. I wasn't sure if we should tell Ela, not with the mood he was in, but Talin promised that he would handle it. Secrets weren't something the five of us were very good at keeping - nor should we be - but spying on my own ward wasn't my only responsibility anymore. I also had five gods to attend to.
That evening, the back porch was completely empty. Five days a week, I'd promised to be out here in case anyone needed to talk, and every time there'd been at least one and usually more. This time, I was alone. I waited the whole hour, just in case a god decided to show up, but it seemed they were busy. Hopefully, that was a good sign.
But the next day, I realized it wasn't. Talin, Wraythe, and I were headed from strength training class to the practice room for our close combat course when Zeal appeared and started walking beside us. Today, he was dressed the same way we were, but the look on his face was the serious kind.
"Anver," he said, "I need you to be at the Temple of All Gods right now."
"Zeal, I have class to go to," I reminded him.
Zeal grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. "This is not a request!" he roared. "My High Priest, the man who is betraying me every chance he can get, is currently heading to a meeting between all of the temples, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. My sister says they want to strip my temple's power. My brothers think this is a plan to restructure who leads all of our temples. I need to know what they are doing!"
"There's no way I can get into that meeting," I told him. "I can go to the Temple of All Gods, but I don't know what good that's going to do."
Zeal just leaned into my face and screamed, "Try!" And then he was gone.
"We can all go," Wraythe offered.
"No, we can't," Talin countered. "Anver is the Shadow. There's a reason that Zeal gave him that title; I think it's time for him to use it. Wraythe, you and I will make sure that he's excused from class. I'll tell Roek that he's working for Zeal." Then he looked at me. "Just go, because when gods are in play, things have a funny way of working out."
He was right, and I knew it. Thanking both of the guys, I took off towards the back door of the temple before deciding that the front would probably be easier. My mind was spinning, and I couldn't figure out how I was supposed to do anything about a meeting between the temple leadership.
I was simply an initiate, not even ranked high enough to have full status yet. Then again, there was a good chance that the priests who worked in the Temple of All Gods wouldn't know that. But if Zeal said this was happening right now, I needed to get there fast. I also didn't dare risk drawing attention to myself.
Stretching my legs to their fullest, I used the same path that we'd used as students for our education about the other gods. Thankfully, it was a short walk. While it might not be snowing, winter was still in full swing, and I didn't have a coat with me. Instead, I crossed my arms and tucked my hands into my arm pits, ducking my head against the cold wind.
But the moment I stepped through the front entrance of the Temple of All Gods, I had to duck to the side. High Priest Kinen, Priestess Yana, and three other high-ranking priests I didn't know were standing in the middle of the main worship area. The giant statues of the gods surrounded the room, and while their focus was all pointed at the basins of tears they held, their oversized presence made me feel like they were listening.
So I moved to the statue of Zeal, placing myself on the far side to reduce the chance of being noticed. While I waited for Kinen's group to leave the area, I looked up at the statue's face, surprised at how much it really did resemble my god. The color was completely wrong, but the features were perfect.
"Can I help you today?" asked a man in the soft grey robes of this temple. Then he noticed the lace on my hands. "Oh, my apologies, priest. I didn't mean to interrupt your prayers, but if there's anything you need, even if it's another god, I am willing to listen."
I almost told him no. It would've been easy to make some excuse about how I just needed a moment of privacy, but Talin's words trickled in the back of my mind.When gods were in play, things had a funny way of working out.
"I was told that there's a meeting between the High Priests today," I said, keeping my voice down so it wouldn't echo in this large open room.
The priest leaned back to look over my shoulder, then to me again. "Your hands mark you as Temptation, but you clearly aren't with the High Priest's entourage."
"I'm not," I admitted. "I was just told that I'm supposed to find out what's going on." I closed my eyes and grimaced, knowing that was just about the dumbest thing I could've said.
But the priest before me lifted his green-patterned hand, and gestured for me to follow. "Did you know that when a priest volunteers to leave their own temple and join this one, we don't lose the traits that our god chose us for? Among the Priests of All Gods, it has always been a debate as to whether our traits come first or come after the gods mark us with their colors."
"They come first," I muttered, remembering how Zeal had talked about Talin being meant for Intuition.
"Mm," the priest hummed. "What makes you say that?" Then he turned me towards one of the narrow hallways that led towards the restricted area.
Confused, I continued to follow him. "Yeah, that's kinda hard to explain."
The priest stopped before a small, plain door. "Is it? Or is it more that it's hard to believe that I might not think you're insane?"
So I blurted out, "The Ranndor tithe to the Temple of Temptation has a soul that was meant for Intuition. Zeal allowed Bode to design his marks, but they're all black, and Zeal says he will not give Talin up."
The priest smiled and offered his hand. "My name is Makis. This morning, Priest Peyron from the Temple of Perception told me to watch for shadows and make sure they had everything they need. He swore to me that Savi told him that herself."
"I'm Anver, and she probably did," I assured the man as I accepted his hand. "Peyron is her Chosen, just like Nariana is Zeal's."
"And when you were standing beside the Temptation statue, I almost kept going because I thought you were a shadow," Makis said. "How do I help you, Priest Anver?"
I just reached up to drag a hand over my face, unable to believe this was actually happening. "I am not invited to this meeting, but Zeal wants me to hear what's going on. It seems that the gods have trouble entering temples that aren't theirs, so they rely on their priests to reach places they can't on their own. I thought they were all able to come here, but now I'm starting to wonder if that's true, because they want me here for some reason. I'm just hoping it becomes obvious soon."
