“We are doing you a service,” Asmund said, “by allowing you to speak with the shaman, Huntress.”
“No,” Aloisia said. “You are doing yourselves a service. He will speak to none except me. What choice is there? After all, it would be detrimental to your image if it appeared you were doing nothing when three more lives have been taken.”
The magistrate sat back, the muscle in his jaw pulsing.
“If he does consent to destroying the copies and translating the map, will he be free?”
“We shall see,” Asmund answered.
“I intend to follow where this map goes, to get answers.”
“That is out of the question.” Lusana gave a shrill laugh. “You will bring the map to us, Huntress. This is not your jurisdiction.”
“Yet I seem to be the only one getting anywhere near the truth. The map will remain with me. And, when I follow this map, Inari shall accompany me.”
“Preposterous!” Lusana exclaimed, turning to Magistrate Vester.
“You do not have the authority to decide such things.” Asmund looked to Aloisia.
“No. I suppose I do not.” Aloisia tilted her head, considering him. “After all, it is your town, Magistrate. But Inari’s notes are in my possession. The only one who can translate them will speak only to me. All I need say is no. Then where will your answers be? It does not seem you have got much out of him thus far.”
Lusana sneered. “The shaman will speak, Huntress. Eventually. Answers can be pulled from even the most stubborn of people, if you know which pressure points to hit.”
“Fine.” Aloisia placed the coin atop the table and rose to her feet. “Have it your way.”
Kaja gaped at her as she strode for the door, jumping up to follow when she realised Aloisia was serious. Aloisia lifted her chin high, gritting her teeth against the pain in her ribs.
“Wait,” Magistrate Vester ordered.
Aloisia turned back, her fingers upon the door handle. She had hoped to call their bluff, and it seemed she had played her cards right.
“If the shaman speaks, if he agrees to help, then he can accompany you.” Asmund rose, folding his hands behind his back. “But he shall be in chains and guarded. Follow this map, and my guards shall be at your side, and his. They shall report everything back to me. Whatever you may discover shall be your knowledge and mine.”
Lusana’s amber eyes flared with fury.
“And his freedom?” Aloisia asked.
“Shall be won only if he proves true.” Magistrate Vester collected the coin from the table and pressed it to her palm. “Go, speak with him. This is the only offer I will make.”
Aloisia clicked her tongue. “Then I suppose it will have to do.”
She gave no further pleasantries as she left the room. On Asmund’s instruction, Guard Oda led the huntresses back across to the prison. Aloisia showed the coin as they passed through the gates, though she needn’t have bothered. With Oda at their side, they were permitted to enter, regardless.
The Watchtower and prison were as intimidating as the night she had visited Fynn. Even in the daylight, both held a foreboding presence. Oda marched to a door and beckoned them inside. The walls of the corridor narrowed in on them and within minutes of following the guard, Aloisia had lost track of how many turns they had taken. They reached a set of stairs, winding deeper into the cliff below.
Finally, Oda paused before a door. She gave three brisk knocks, and it swung open. Another guard greeted her on the other side.
Oda turned to Kaja. “I will have to ask you to remain here, Huntress. The magistrate permitted only Aloisia to enter.”
Kaja looked to Aloisia, who gave a shrug. “I suppose I must agree. Be sure she takes it easy. The huntresses will blame me if Aloisia comes back damaged.”
Aloisia breathed a laugh. “I’ll go easy. Don’t worry.”
“Well, I’ll just be waiting here then.” Kaja spotted a stool against the wall and took a seat. “Have fun with your shaman.”
Aloisia rolled her eyes and followed Oda. While she was tiring, the exertion of her movements and pain they caused weighing on her, she continued to lift her head and stride onwards.
The guard closed the door behind them, and the corridor plunged into an unsettling darkness. As her sight adjusted, Aloisia trailed her hand along the left wall to steady herself. There were no candles on the walls as there had been in the previous hallways. On the right side were metal bars and beyond them were cells. Some were occupied and others were not. Aloisia could not imagine living in such darkness.
