The midnight bell”s twelfth toll vibrated through the damp stone walls of the lower crypts, dying out in the suffocating darkness beneath Saint Aurelius.
Inquisitor Kael Roth stood near the mouth of the subterranean archway, his dark leather cloak dusted with bone dust and dried lime. Six pursuivants stood in a tight tactical V-formation behind him, their heavy iron crossbows loaded with silver-tipped quarrels, their steel breastplates dull and non-reflective under the torchlight. They moved like statues, trained to breathe in unison, their eyes fixed on the iron-bound door leading into the city's ancient arterial catacombs.
"You're late, Doctor," Roth growled, his voice a gravelly rumble that barely carried across the damp vault.
Cattleya stepped out from the spiral staircase shadow, h
