“Who?”
“My captor.”
“Right. You cannot say?”
“Just so.” He leant forwards, resting his elbows on his knees. “But I can say what I know of the Wisps and the Forgotten Gods. Both are ancient powers, neither existing far from the other. There can be no light without darkness. They are each other’s counterbalance. Where one is called forth, the other appears.”
“Do you know who called upon them?”
“My captor.”
“Is there any way we can find out who it is?” Aloisia dragged her fingers through her hair. “I guess, if we had you testify, it could release the blame from Fynn? If your captor is the one who summoned the Forgotten Gods… If you were captured in Ephroditia, there is no way he could have been the one to do it. He has always been in Littlewatch. Plenty of townsfolk could attest as much.”
Mavka drew closer from where she stood behind Ezra. “I see what you are saying, Lis. But they could counter that with him having allies, people to help him. We must be vigilant. It has become clear the Modäiti will turn any tale to her own end.”
Aloisia sighed. “True enough.”
“To find who it is…” Ezra tilted his head, considering. “There is one party you could ask, who could tell it true.”
“Who?”
“The Forgotten Gods.”
THIRTY FOUR
AloisiastaredatEzraforalongmoment.“Youcan’tbeserious?”
“I am perfectly serious.” He folded his hands before him. “If you could catch one, to subdue it, then it could say the name of its master.”
“Insanity. How would we even go about capturing one of them?”
“You are a huntress. You’re good with a bow. I’m sure you would figure it out.”
“Even if we captured one, how do we make it talk?”
“Hypothetically, if one had a truth potion, it should work just the same as it would on a human. Provided the Forgotten God was as corporeal as a human, of course.”
“Where would we get it? Can you make one?”
Ezra lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Potions are not my forte.”
Inari entered the hall, a few small darts in his palm. “The Shadow Sisters’ solution seemed to be effective enough.”
Kaja gaped at him. “You took those?”
“Thought they might come in useful.”
Aloisia sighed, pushing herself up from the bench. “This is madness. We cannot capture one of them and get it to testify. And I certainly do not think we can do so in the next couple of hours to bring it to the trial. Therefore, your testimony will have to do, Ezra.”
Kaja rose beside her, putting an arm under her shoulders.
“As for right now, there is a trial to prepare for. I will ask one last question: How do you know of everything which has happened in Littlewatch?”
Ezra steepled his fingers beneath his chin. “The spell which bound me to the cave also bound me to my captor. It is through their knowledge I gained what I know. The things playing out here, whilst not exactly of their design, have been at their hands. And by my powers. You understand why I may be wary to be brought to testify.”
“It is what it is. My brother will hang for a crime he did not commit if we do not find the truth. You will testify.”
“And when they find my powers are linked to all this, I will hang for the same crime.”
