His voice was muffled at first, but then she heard more clearly.
"Have you… have you spoken to anyone? No…. No, of course not. I do the talking, the stalking, the seeing and saying! And what do you do? Nothing! Not… not that I'm angry!"
Atehen was completely awake now. She strained to hear the meaning behind his words.
"Cicero understands. Cicero always understands! And obeys! You will talk when you're ready, won't you? Won't you… sweet Night Mother!"
It dawned on Athene: he wasn't conspiring with anyone. He was only talking to the coffin and its contents.
Her eyes were accustomed to the darkness, so it was with slow-growing horror that Athene realized there was light coming from somewhere close. It was coming from the Night Mother.
"Poor Cicero," she heard.
The Night Mother's lips hadn't moved. She hadn't shifted and her eyes were still shut. But there was no mistaking the words in Athene's mind, and where they'd come from.
"He tries… so hard," the Night Mother said. "But you are the Listener. You, my child, are the one who will hear my voice from now until death."
It was as if she heard a siren singing. Athene swayed in her small space, hypnotized.
"Tell my dear Cicero, Darkness rises when silence dies. Tell him and he will believe. And you, my Listener. You will travel to Volunruud and speak to Amaund Motierre. So begins a contract, bound in blood."
The light faded, and the voice was gone. The coffin opened and Athene tumbled out at Cicero's feet.
His face was a vision of fury.
"Defiler!" he screamed. "Treachery! Debaser!"
Athene stumbled to her feet. "Cicero! Um… Darkness rises when silence dies!"
The madness fled from his expression. For a moment she wasn't sure that he'd heard her, his reaction was so blank, and then… and then he laughed. Joy lit him from top to bottom as he began dancing around the room, howling with laughter.
Astrid took that opportunity to break into the room.
"I heard shouting! Are you all right?"
"All hail the Listener!" Cicero cried. "All hail you! Not you. You!" He giggled and danced some more.
Astrid glared at both of them.
"I'm fine," Athene said. "But the Night Mother spoke to me." She explained what had happened, and gave the details of their assignment at Volunruud. "Should I go there?"
Astrid shook herself. "What? No. No! I'm still the leader of this family and I… I need to consider this. Nazir has more contracts for you. Go see him. Let me think."
Athene watched her go, listening to Cicero giggle behind her. She turned.
"Cicero, did you want to be the Listener?"
The jester looked so sheepish it made Athene wish she hadn't asked.
"Oh… well, yes. I did. The silence became almost maddening. But now she has spoken! She has spoken to you! All hail the Listener!"
He stopped his revelry for a moment and said with sobriety Athene wouldn't have believed, "You get to hear voices in your head, now. We should all be so lucky."
And he winked.