“So I’m not certain how many I killed: four or five, I suppose. I wounded several more. But when Gorony tried to knife me, I grabbed him for a shield. I don’t think it even occurred to me that he was also a priest until I was half-way across the room with him. Alaric was in a bad way, had killed at least one man that I know of, and I had to protect him. Gorony was my surety until I could get Alaric to the door and out of that place. And of course, the whole shrine was burning.”

“That was when you revealed that you are Deryni?” Cardiel asked.

Duncan nodded slowly. “As Alaric tried to open the door, we realized that it was locked from the outside, and that this was Warin’s surety. Alaric and I both had used our powers to unlock doors before, so I knew that it could be done, but he was in no condition to even attempt such a thing.

“I had a choice to make, and I made it. I used my powers to get us out of there. Gorony saw the whole thing, of course, and shrieked it out. And then Warin started screaming about blasphemy and sacrilege.

“That was when we left. There was nothing we could do about the burning shrine, so we got to our horses and rode away. I think the fire was what saved us, in the end. There was no pursuit. If there had been, I am almost certain we would have been taken. Alaric was very weak.”

He bowed his head and closed his eyes, trying to shut out the memories, and Cardiel shook his head in amazement.

“What since then, my son?” he asked gently.

MORGAN’S voice had regained its customary crispness as he finished his confession, and he dared to look up at Arilan again. The prelate’s face was serene, thoughtful, but Morgan almost thought he could detect a note of admiration on the handsome face. After a moment, Arilan’s gaze drifted to his hands folded in his lap, to the bishop’s ring flashing fire there. Then he stood up, turning away slightly, his voice matter-of-fact.

“Alaric, how did you manage to get into Dhassa? Your garb when you were first captured indicates that you must have divested some of Thomas’s poor monks of their habits. You didn’t harm them, did you?”

“No, Excellency. You’ll find them sleeping off a Deryni spell in the vaults beneath the main altar. It seemed, I regret, the only way to accomplish our purpose without doing them real harm. I assure you, they’ll suffer no ill effects.”

“I see,” Arilan said. He turned to stare thoughtfully down at the kneeling Morgan, then clasped his hands behind his back and looked up at the high window.

“I cannot grant you absolution,” he said.

Morgan’s head shot up, a hot retort on his lips.

“No, don’t interrupt,” Arilan interjected, before Morgan could speak. “What I mean to say is that I cannot grant you absolution yet. There remain certain details of your story that I must investigate further. But come; this is not the time to talk of such matters. If Cardiel and Duncan are finished,” he crossed behind Morgan to ease the door open, then pulled it wide, “and I see that they are, we should rejoin them so that further actions may be considered.”