19. Kit
Kit
P enny was too earnest to be a liar, and I hated that I had to forge him into one. We spent the hour before our meeting with Levitt running through the questions he was likely to ask so Penny wasn’t completely unprepared. It wasn’t enough time, but it would have to work. No other options remained.
I led the way to the town center and the Ossuary, the building in which we’d been detained upon our arrival.
I counted us lucky that we encountered neither Merrick nor Violette on our way.
When we reached the imposing stone structure in the middle of the square, I held the door as Penny passed through it.
“Remember to breathe,” I told him. “Don’t let him get you flustered. You can do this.”
Penny nodded but kept his eyes down. I followed him into the dimly lit hallway and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. After a quick glance around confirmed we were alone, I hooked a finger under his chin and tilted his head up.
A faint flush colored his cheeks and darkened the freckles that dappled his skin. He peered out through the fringe of his blond hair, clearly apprehensive.
“You have to look confident, even if you don’t feel it. They expect and respect arrogance.” I offered him a reassuring smile. “With any luck, Levitt will be as unintimidating as I remember.” Dropping my hand, I motioned for him to follow me.
Down the hall, the space opened into a wide atrium with a row of high windows on the eastern side that admitted blinding pools of morning sunlight.
The circular space was outfitted with an altar that spanned the width of the room and a long table with a man and a woman seated on either end.
Hallways branched off in every direction, leading to the chambers of the upper-ranking members of the cult as well as the interrogation and meeting rooms.
The man at the right end of the table glanced up from a pile of papers and looked us over. “Can I help you?”
“We’re here to see the Right Hand.” I tugged the summons from my pocket and held it out for his inspection.
He peered at it for a moment, then pushed his chair back. “Follow me.”
I fell into step behind him, and a quick check over my shoulder assured me Penny was right at my heels, looking a fair sight more confident than he had a minute ago.
We took a hall to the right and ascended several flights of stairs up to the top floor.
There were only two rooms on either side of the short hallway: the chambers of the Shroud Warden to the left and the Right Hand to the right.
The man knocked once on the heavy wooden door on our right, then beckoned us forward. Turning, he disappeared back down the stairs, leaving Penny and me in silence.
Before I could reach for the latch, the door swung open and silhouetted Levitt Yost in a wash of morning sun. He was as tall as his sister, with pin-straight red hair tied back at the nape of his neck. His warm brown eyes swept over me, and a grin split his face.
“And I thought Vi was pulling my leg,” he said, reaching out to yank me into a bone-creaking embrace.
It was less offensive than Violette’s had been since I didn’t hate this man, though I probably should have on principle.
Over his shoulder, I caught sight of Merrick leaning on the desk in the center of the room.
My stomach dropped. The last thing Penny needed was a confrontation while he was barely holding onto his brave face.
The elder Oliver looked ridiculous in his ceremonial robes with everyone else in casual dress. When I realized he was watching us with his mouth puckered like he’d tasted something bitter, I leaned into Levitt’s affection a little more.
“Welcome home, Kit.” Levitt pulled away while grasping my shoulder. “I wasn’t sure you’d ever find your way back.”
I shrugged. “Couldn’t come back while my father was still here.”
Levitt made a noise of assent and gave my arm a squeeze.
“But imagine my surprise when Vi said you’d taken over in his stead.” I leaned in, offering my old friend as warm a smile as he’d given me. “If you ask me, the better man is at the helm now.”
Levitt laughed, and Merrick scowled.
“Come in, come in. Let me meet this recruit of yours.” Levitt stepped back, motioning with his right arm. I tried not to notice the puckered scar at the end of the stump where his hand should have been .
Surrounding the desk inside, shelves spanned three of the four walls, crowded with leatherbound tomes that dwarfed my father’s collection of journals.
I wondered if he had penned any of these, determined as he was to leave his mark on every inch of this place.
A large gold chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling, spilling warm candlelight in addition to the sunshine coming in from the windows that made up the whole eastern wall of the room.
Beneath the windows were a pair of armchairs with a small table between them, and underfoot, a worn tasseled rug blanketed the floor, softening our steps as I led Penny in.
The moment Penny came into view, Merrick’s face turned red. The familial resemblance was undeniable in such a direct comparison, and I wondered how Violette hadn’t made the connection when I’d introduced them.
I expected him to jump in, to question Penny as to why he was here, but Merrick held his tongue while he met my eyes. The fury in his face was equal parts worrying and vindicating.
Penny, to his credit, fixed his gaze on Levitt as if his brother wasn’t even in the room. He briefly dipped his head in acknowledgment of the Right Hand as I’d instructed.
“Lev,” I said, turning my attention back to the Right Hand, “this is Penny, my recruit.”
Levitt grinned and glanced back at Merrick, whose expression had smoothed. “That’s funny. Merrick, didn’t you used to have a farmhand by that name?”
The comment chafed me. To reduce Penny, who was by rights the sole owner of the family property, to the role of a hired hand was a deliberate blow to the younger Oliver’s status.
It was a way to demean him even when he wasn’t around to hear it.
Even Violette had commented on the supposed farm hand, which meant Merrick hadn’t even told her the truth.
Merrick nodded. “I did, and he was quite inept.” He fixed Penny with a withering look. “I hope this recruit proves more capable.”
It struck me as strange that Merrick continued to avoid telling Levitt who Penny actually was. It would come out eventually, and Levitt was savvy enough that he’d notice their resemblance before too long.
“I wouldn’t have brought him in if he wasn’t capable.” I failed to keep the sharp edge out of my voice.
Levitt gave Merrick a dismissive wave. “I trust your judgment, Kit. Don’t mind Merrick; he’s always a little sour.
” Levitt turned an easy smile on Penny and folded his left hand over the stump of his right wrist. “Now, Penny, I have to ask you some questions. It’s only a formality and, so far as I’m concerned, it’s enough that Kit vouches for you.
But Merrick is a stickler for the rules, so bear with me. ”
Penny tipped his shoulders back, putting on that air of confidence we’d rehearsed over breakfast. I was proud of how well he was handling all of this, especially considering the scathing glare Merrick had focused on him.
“First things first,” Levitt began, “what do you know of Eeus?”
“He is Paneus’s opposite,” Penny replied.
“He rules over scarcity and suffering, famine and blight. He is the dark after the light and the architect of community.” The words spilled out, practiced, perfect, and somehow chilling.
He barely paused for breath before continuing.
“He teaches us to rely on each other and work together to eke out a life worth living where suffering is embraced instead of avoided. ”
Levitt grinned. “Excellent. And why do you aspire to join our order? Why now?”
Penny dashed a glance at me before returning his attention to the Right Hand. “I’ve worshipped Eeus for years in secret. My family wouldn’t have approved. But he has called me to community, and it’s time to prove my commitment to him. With my father gone, there’s nothing to stop me anymore.”
Levitt nodded my way. “I see why you picked him, Kit. You two have a lot in common.”
I forced a smile, trying not to betray how sick this whole situation made me. Even after having heard Penny rehearse these things over and over for the last hour, it still made my stomach churn.
“He’s a good fit,” I said. “Exactly what I was looking for.”
Levitt returned his attention to Penny, who remained stiff-backed and alert.
“I’m told you are pledging yourself to our cause to contribute in practical ways.
Eeus accepts all, and we understand that we could not exist as an organization without laypeople to help keep Ashpoint running.
However, should you choose to pursue initiation in the future, you must be prepared to undertake the Oaths to prove your dedication to Eeus,” Levitt said.
“They are as brutal and dangerous as he is, and they will lay bare every part of you. Eeus demands everything of us, sometimes even our lives. Are you prepared to face that?”
Penny’s voice didn’t waver. “I am prepared to give whatever is required.”
A breath hissed between my teeth while Levitt bobbed his head, clearly pleased with Penny’s preparedness. “Everyone here contributes,” he said. “We function in community as Eeus commands, so all must pull their weight. What skills do you offer our cause?”
Merrick pushed off the edge of the desk. “You skipped three questions, Your Eminence,” he said.
Levitt turned an irritated look on his Shroud Warden. “Merrick, I conceded to your requirement that I pose questions to the recruit,” he said, the warmth gone from his tone. “I did not concede to waste time by asking all of them.”
Merrick’s lip curled. “All due respect, Your Eminence, but you’re taking quite a bit on faith here simply because Mister Koesters is the one who brought this man in. Mister Koesters, who deserted his post thirteen years ago. Such treachery should be punished, not rewarded.”
“Enough,” Levitt snapped. “Thirteen years ago, this man”—he gestured to me—“had more devotion than most can claim. Certainly more than you.”
Merrick’s mouth hung open in shock as Levitt continued.
“Kit had devotion enough to walk away when Vaughn twisted Eeus’s commands and set us down the same path that led to the Judgment.
” Levitt gestured to the town beyond the wall of windows.
“We were only too lucky that Eeus took his anger out on Vaughn alone and not the rest of us. Kit should be commended for being the only one of us brave enough to take a stand against the human sacrifices.”
It was jarring to hear someone defend my escape, especially for mostly the wrong reasons.
More than that, it was strange to see soft-spoken Levitt so stern.
I’d wondered how someone as gentle as I remembered him to be had become the Right Hand.
Clearly, there was a side to him that emerged after I left .
The Oaths changed everyone. Maybe that’s how they changed him.
He turned back to Penny, and his gentle smile returned. “Now, as I asked before, what skills do you have to offer?”
Penny swallowed hard. “I own a farm. I pledge it and all it produces to Eeus and to the people here.”
Merrick’s face contorted in rage, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
Before Levitt could answer, I broke in. “He’s also my apprentice in the forge. Assuming there’s a place for me there, I’d like to continue his training.”
Levitt arched a brow. “We accept the offering of the farm. And Kit, it’s been a while since we’ve had a competent smith working the forge.
I think we can arrange to place you both there.
In a few weeks, the other initiates will receive their brands, and you’ll join them afterward for the second Oath. ”
“Mister Koesters will receive his brand along with the other new initiates,” Merrick corrected.
It was all I could do not to glower at him.
Levitt sighed. “Kit has already completed the first Oath. I should know; I was there.”
“It’s been thirteen years, Your Eminence.” The elder Oliver brother returned to his post against the desk, covering his anger with a smug smile. “The law requires any initiate to begin the Oaths again if they haven’t completed all seven within the span of a decade.”
“Surely, an exception can be made given the circumstances?—”
“If exceptions can be made to one part of the law, what will stop others from claiming they’re due exceptions as well?
” Merrick’s volume increased as he carried on.
“It sets a dangerous precedent, Your Eminence. It would be unwise to allow a single Oath from thirteen years ago to destabilize all we’ve built here. ”
Levitt lifted his left hand to pinch his temples between his thumb and forefinger. I didn’t blame him; listening to Merrick spout rules and vitriol was giving me a headache, too.
“You have a point.” He let his hand fall to his side, then aimed an apologetic look my way. “Kit, I’m afraid this means you’ll need to start from the beginning with everyone else.”
Any hope of a reprieve from being re-branded died, and I forced a smile. “To follow Eeus is to suffer. It would be an honor to suffer for him again.”
Levitt returned my smile. “I always envied your faith, Kit. Please let me know if there’s anything you need as you settle in.
It’ll be nice to see you finally take the place here you always deserved.
” He looked back at Penny. “And I look forward to seeing you thrive under Kit’s guidance. You couldn’t be in better hands.”
Penny nodded. “I agree, sir.”
Bile rose in the back of my throat and choked any response I could have given.
It was probably for the best.