Aloisia turned to go, then paused. “Now you are free, what does it mean for your captor? Has their magic waned? If your powers called upon the Forgotten Gods, though not by your wish to call them, does that then mean you could send them away? Or, at the very least, exert some control over them?”
Ezra lowered his head, his dark curls falling across his face. “As I said, it was not the only spell on me. The bond has not fully severed now I am free. While their power will fade, it will be gradual. They likely have not yet noticed the spell is broken.”
“As for the Forgotten Gods?”
“In all truth, I do not know.” He raised his head, meeting Aloisia’s gaze with his wary hazel eyes. “And I do not fully wish to find out.”
Aloisia could not blame him. After weeks of being trapped in a cave, bound by an enchantment, drained of his power, Ezra was right to be concerned of what degree he may command the monsters unleashed by his magic.
“If you do not, hypothetically, possess any control over them, and your captor’s power is draining… Would anyone be able to command them?”
Ezra paled. “I do not know.”
A hush fell upon the room, Aloisia’s fear echoed by the silence. If neither party retained control with the spell gone… It did not bear thinking about the consequences should the Forgotten Gods be released from their master.
Hooves pounded beyond the hall, breaking their reverie, and with Kaja’s aid Aloisia hastened to the door with her sisters. A group of at least twenty guards surrounded the entrance to the building, Oda and Ragnar amongst them.
Oda dismounted, approaching them with a set of manacles in her grasp. “I come to reclaim our prisoner. It is a poor show from the Hunting Guild that you did not bring the shaman back immediately.”
Mavka and Dhara blocked the guard’s way.
“You would do well to remember,” Mavka said, “you are standing on our territory now, guard. Your guild may serve the Father, but we all have a duty to justice. He is just as secure in our possession as he would be in yours.”
Oda barked a laugh. “Just as secure? The shaman bears no chains nor is he in a cell.”
“Nor has he done anything to warrant such treatment. We do not bind those within our custody like animals. Not if they do not need to be.”
“I hold the shaman, and one of your own, accountable for the death of one of my guards.” She turned her gaze to Aloisia. “Be glad I have only come for one of them.”
“I do not see what difference it makes if he remains with us.”
“What difference?” Oda scoffed. “He is a prisoner of the law. If you do not step aside, I will arrest you all for obstruction of justice.”
“Obstruction of justice?” Dhara shifted forward, toe to toe with the guard. “As I recall, he is not the one on trial. And, if you would care to peruse the Guild Charters, any guild has the right to hold a prisoner, regardless of crime or which guild performed the arrest. Of course, you would know, with it being your job and all.”
The muscle in Oda’s jaw twitched. “Step aside, Lead Huntress.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Do not make this more difficult than it has to be.”
“You all stand there, in your glittering armour and pretty swords.” Dhara smirked, meeting the eyes of every guard who stood behind Oda. “You play fight in the square and call it training. Remember this, guard. My sisters are trained to fight beasts more ferocious and less predictable than humans.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No. Just a friendly reminder.”
Oda sighed. “The shaman remains a prisoner of the law, first and foremost. Magistrate Vester released him under the conditions he was to be under guard and chained. He was to be returned to the prison upon arrival back to Littlewatch. You have held him here—”
Inari moved forwards, flanking Dhara. “If I had any ill intent, I would not have returned. I had every opportunity back in the Vale of Poppies to run, especially when you abandoned us and headed back to Littlewatch. If that is not a show of good faith, then I do not know what is.”
Oda balked at his words. “Abandoned? They killed one of my own, and you all were still intent on following the Divines-be-damned map! I hope what you found at the end of it was worth it.”
“It was,” Aloisia said, with more confidence than she felt.
“In any case,” Oda continued, “the magistrate will want to see the two huntresses, and the shaman. He would like to know, before the trial begins, what you found. Therefore, I will take back our prisoner and escort the huntresses with what they have found.”
Aloisia glanced to Ezra, fear prickling across her skin. Would the magistrate allow his testimony to be heard if he got his hands on the scholar?
