The Canticle of Whispers Read Online Free PDF

stronger days. She had sat at her father’s bedside, and held him as he died. After that, she remembered only a mist of grief and rage, and a determination to do something, anything, that would give this journey meaning.
    She had been told that she was a Judge—the “Antagonist.” That she and Mark were destined to change Agora and Giseth forever. But Mark was missing, kidnapped by the Order of the Lost, and the all-powerful Bishop had proved to be little more than a withered corpse on his throne. All of the prophecies seemed to have fallen apart.
    In her apron pocket, she touched the letter her father had given her before the end—a letter that had told her that The truth lies below, where the darkness echoes . So when she had broken open the sealed tomb in the deepest crypt of the Cathedral and found steps descending into the earth, she knew which way she needed to go if she were ever to find the answers she craved.
    But now that she was here, it didn’t feel real. Here, following these two strangers who acted and spoke so oddly, the world above seemed to fade away, like the voices of the Cacophony. Right now, she was hungry, tired, and lost. Right now, all she could think about was finding somewhere she could be comfortable.
    â€œI’m hungry,” Septima said, coming to an abrupt halt. “I think we left some food around here.”
    Lily looked around. She couldn’t see anything to distinguish this spot from the rest of the tunnels. The craggy rock made a ceiling not far above her head—now she understood why Septima and Tertius walked the way they did in these cramped spaces. Only the occasional chisel mark on a wall, and the straightness of the tunnels themselves, indicated that they had ever seen a human hand. The air was still and cold, and Lily was glad that she was wearing her thick boots.
    Septima fell to her knees and began running her hands over the rocks at the base of one of the tunnel walls. Meanwhile, Tertius held up his lantern to her face.
    â€œIf we’re going to give you food, you’ll have to pay us,” he said.
    Lily was surprised. Over the past year, she had become so used to Giseth, where everything was offered for free, that she had not expected him to say that. But she supposed that this place, Naru, was different again.
    â€œOf course…” she said, swinging her pack off her back, “but I don’t have much to trade. I might have some lantern oil left…”
    She reached into her pack, but Tertius shook his head.
    â€œDon’t you know anything?” he said, scornfully. “Or doesn’t the Orchestra trade knowledge?”
    Lily wasn’t sure what to make of this question. What Orchestra did he mean? And then she remembered how they had acted when they first found her, how eager he had been as she began to explain herself …
    â€œYou want knowledge? About me?” she ventured. Tertius snorted.
    â€œSo you do understand,” he said, wearily. “I guess you must just be slow then. Yes—answers, information, secrets. Anything hidden.” He stretched, and yawned. “Think of something good. I’ll wait.”
    Lily resisted the urge to give a sarcastic reply. Her stomach was beginning to ache, and if all he wanted in payment was a little information, that wouldn’t be difficult. For a moment, she considered telling him about her quest—about everything she’d learned at the Cathedral of the Lost. But she decided against it. She could satisfy his desire for facts without having to give away her most precious secrets.
    â€œI come from a city called Agora…” she began.
    â€œWhat’s a city?” Tertius interrupted, immediately. Lily raised her eyebrows. But, then again, why would he know? She didn’t suppose that there were many cities down here.
    â€œIt’s a place where a lot of people live, all together…”
    â€œLike the Hub, then?”