Jane had seen the temple on Mount Naridnya twice before. The first time had been when the gods visited her dreams, a few days after her arrival in Mir, to tell her she'd been chosen as the new avtorka. The second time had been the previous day, when the Pool of Dreams had shown her a vision of Divna, Avdotya, and Sidor seated around a stone table, discussing how her godstests would make the best spectacle they'd seen in years.

The table from the vision was still there, but its chairs were empty now, devoid of godly figures, its surface bare and stony. Jane's hope—that the gods might be there to meet them, to stop Nikolay, to save her—faded as abruptly as it had begun.

Where were the gods? Shouldn't they be here, to watch over her, to supervise? She had thought that Divna, at least, might care that Nikolay was about to Write whatever he wanted.

But perhaps this was just more spectacle for them.

Nikolay's teleportation had carried them just beyond the table, in front of the long stone pillars that framed the temple's entryway. Stairs trailed down the mountain, fading into mist. The temple and its balconies were empty, yet the temple looked pristine, like someone had swept and scrubbed it that morning. Exotic flowers lined its walls, perfectly maintained.

As they stepped through the doorway, the weight of enchantment hit Jane, so thick and stifling that she struggled to draw breath. She knew Nikolay was affected as well, by the way his hand on her shoulder tensed as they entered.

The azdaja had noticed it too. She hissed with agitation and flapped her wings. Nikolay spoke soothingly to her, and she fluttered off to wait outside.

If you had any decency, you'd wait outside too! Jane thought. Although being mind-controlled prevented her from saying words aloud, if she thought things very strongly at Nikolay, he could pick up on the general tenor of her thoughts.

His only response was to tighten his grip on her hand and pull her deeper into the temple.

The temple was mostly bare, save for two ornate podiums. The podium nearest to the door held a book titled Guide to the Book of Truths.

The second podium stood in the very back of the temple, between two narrow pillars. It was taller than it was wide, fashioned entirely of gold, with rubies set into the edges. Engravings of dragons snaked up from its base. On top of the podium, its cover pitch black and gleaming, rested the largest, most ornate book Jane had ever seen. To the right of the book stood a tall quill pen, and beside it, a crimson inkwell.

Jane knew immediately that she was looking at the Book of Truths.

Nikolay must have realized it too. For a moment, he seemed to hesitate, and something like reverence crossed his features.

Then he strode toward the first podium.

While Jane waited, unable to do anything else, Nikolay scanned the rule book. It was handwritten, short, more like a journal than a true book. Jane tried to read it, but she was too far away, and she could not edge closer while Nikolay had hold of her mind.

But their mental connection was a two-way street. Jane remembered the feel of the Zakhar's mind against hers. He had fought back. She could fight back too. And Nikolay was distracted, his eyes hurriedly skimming the rule book—

She focused hard, trying to visualize the mental link between them. A piece of advice Nikolay had given her during one of their battle lessons flitted to the forefront of her mind:

If you must attack, strike fast and unexpectedly; keep your enemy constantly unbalanced until he is down.

If she was going to fight back against the mental bindings, what better time than now, while Nikolay was distracted by the rule book?

She could see the link now, clear as day in her mind's eye. She steeled herself, gathering strength. If she just followed the link, hurled herself against his mental hold, with all the strength she could muster—

Emotions hit her, roiling and tumultuous as the sea in a storm. Terror, fury, self-loathing, indecision, regret, exhaustion, pain from the Oath-scar, the desire to free himself, once and for all—

He struck back like lightning; mental shields slammed against her, shoving her back. Words filled her head, a grated snarl:

STAY OUT.

If she'd had control of her vocal cords, Jane would have whimpered. The mental hooks dug in again, worse than ever. Instinct told her that if she fought back now, her mind might splinter into a thousand pieces. She stilled her mind, tamping down the urge to struggle.

At last, the sense of impossible pressure lessened. Nikolay's attention returned to the rule book, and a frown creased his forehead.

Jane almost blacked out with relief.

She had asked Casimir, during one of their lessons, about whether it was possible to read minds. She now understood his resulting look of horror, his comments about loss of self and sanity. She felt dazed, disoriented, her thoughts fragmented and slow. Her right arm burned with terrible pain, and it took her a minute to realize it wasn't real, but a passing sensation she'd caught during her foray. Was the Oath-scar really that painful, she wondered, and if so, how was Nikolay still standing?

Focus.

She sifted through some of the other thoughts she'd glimpsed. Nikolay had a plan, a loose one, but he was basically making it up as he went along—well, that makes two of us—and he was a good deal more afraid than he'd been letting on. And he was furious. Something he'd seen in Dalnushka's pool had unnerved him greatly...

Jane focused on the first thought. Indecision. He was still uncertain about what he wanted her to Write in the Book of Truths. There were too many competing desires, and not enough Writings. Could she use that?

Something she had heard Velos say in the cave drifted back to her, unbidden.

A god cannot control an avtorka or Write in the Book of Truths himself...

Sidor had said something similar, when he'd invaded her tent and she'd asked him why he didn't just write Eloise back to life. And he'd said it again during the bonus vision she'd seen in the Pool of Dreams.

Jane's heart sped up. It was a crazy idea... She'd have to be insane to try it...

And yet, what choice did she have?

Jane swallowed. She would have to be very careful. She didn't know how much of her thoughts he could sense, how much he might be able to see...

Nikolay was still scanning the rule book. Steeling herself, Jane focused once again on their mental connection.

What are you going to make me Write in the Book? she demanded. I know you're in this for yourself, no matter what you say. After I break your Oath scar, what then? Will you make yourself immortal? The new ruler of Somita? Or will you go the megalomaniac route and aim for straight-up Godhood?

She held this idea in her head, trying to shroud her bravado with all the panic and fear and horror she could muster, to convince him she was terrified of this outcome turning real.

That, Avtorka, is none of your business.

But there was a musing undercurrent to his tone that made Jane think he might actually be considering what she'd said. After all, it made sense. How better to fight the threat of Sidor coming after him than by becoming a god himself?

I knew you were an egotistical maniac, but that's just going too far! Jane called up her fear again—it wasn't hard to let him think she was afraid, when she was legitimately terrified. You wouldn't do it. You wouldn't .

She could tell her idea had taken root by the way his eyes didn't actually seem to be reading the rulebook anymore. They unfocused for a moment, staring into the distance, and then he recommenced studying the rulebook with renewed interest.

Jane tamped down a surge of hope. He mustn't know, he mustn't feel that she was pleased—she was getting ahead of herself—there was no guarantee he would actually fall for her trap... She had to be very, very careful.

He closed the rule book with a snap. Hand still on her shoulder, he marched her toward the second podium, where the Book of Truths lay.

The weight of enchantment grew stronger as they approached. Power swirled around the podium, making the hair on Jane's arms prickle. She could feel herself moving slower the closer she got, as though she was wading through molasses. Everything about this place felt old. An acrid scent hung upon the air, almost like blood.

Nikolay's hand on her shoulder, she noticed, was shaking. A sharp wariness had fallen over his features, a hint of fear. His eyes were fixed on the crimson inkwell. Without warning, he let go of her.

"Open the Book."

Jane tried to resist the command, but her body still refused to obey her. She stepped toward the podium and laid a hand on the Book of Truths. Its cover was smooth beneath her fingers, polished; it glinted night-black with multicolored undertones like a dragon's scale. Truths of Mir, read the title.

She slid the book open. Parchment crackled beneath her fingers.

"Fill the quill with ink," said Nikolay.

Her hand wrapped around the pen. It was cool beneath her fingers, heavy and hard to hold. It sank into the inkwell and emerged, red-black and glistening.

"For my first Writing," said Nikolay, "You will write the following, exactly as I state it..."

She tried again to resist, pushing back against Nikolay's mental control, trying with all her might to wrench herself free, to wrest back control of her recalcitrant limbs. Her right hand hovered, trembling, over the Book of Truths.

"Stop fighting."

There was an undercurrent of something in Nikolay's voice that made her pause, and in her moment of distraction, her hand lowered to the parchment. Terror swamped their bond. Her fingers shook so badly with her efforts to resist, it was a wonder the words came out legible at all, but perhaps that was also part of the magic of the Book of Truths, for as soon as she wrote a word, the letters straightened until they were perfectly shining and clear and legible. She wrote one word and then the next until she was at the end of the sentence, placing the final period in the scratchy parchment page of the Book.

And then, she looked at Nikolay.

And smiled.

~*~

Shorter update than usual this week—I'm sorry! I was originally going to post this chapter and Chapter 16 as a single chapter, but real life got a bit overwhelming and there was a limit to how much I could edit. I'm going to try to post Chapter 16 this Thursday and get back on the regular schedule—fingers crossed!

~*~

He is the Kanachskiy sorcerer Jane defeated at the end of the first book. He led the sudok to attack the tsar's castle and gave Nikolay the Oath potion laced with poison. For her second godstest, Jane used a trick/portal to send him back to Kanach, and he lost a leg in the process—so she technically "defeated" him... but he is still alive.

They could try... but that writing would be very much subject to interpretation. For example, the Book might decide that the best way to alleviate suffering in the kingdom was if no one in the kingdom was alive in the first place!