He cleared his throat. “As you will, Huntress. I had hoped to divulge this information myself, but the crowd demands it from your lips.”
Aloisia inclined her head, looking back to the expectant mass. “At the last trial, a map was spoken of. A map only the shaman, Inari, could decipher. Upon Magistrate Vester’s agreement, myself, the shaman, Huntress Kaja and a group of guards followed where this map led. And we reached its end. There we found the scholar, Ezra, bound in chains – and by enchantment – within a cave deep in the mountains.”
Lusana frowned. “The map took you to the mountains?”
“It did.”
“And you entered the lands of the mountain clans? Without authorisation?” She barked a laugh. “Not that they would have been granted. No doubt you know of the treaty. The boundaries between our lands are clear, as is the agreement we each keep to our own side.”
Aloisia narrowed her eyes. “You know as well as I, Modäiti, they do not hold to their end of the bargain. And not all clans were against our presence there.”
“But some were?”
“The cave was in the Vale of Poppies.”
Lusana pinched the bridge of her nose. “The Shadow Sisters.” She gave a sigh. “What is done is done. Now is not the time for this discussion. Tell us more of the cave.”
Aloisia paused a moment, concerned about how easily Lusana brushed the matter of the clans aside. “The cave? There were markings – runes – all along the walls inside. A spell. A powerful one. Blood magic.”
A gasp murmured through the crowd.
“The spell was keeping the scholar in place. It was also preventing him from speaking. So, we freed him.”
“How? If it were blood magic holding him in place, then only blood magic would free him. Are you insinuating the shaman knew what spell to use? He practiced forbidden magic without proper permissions?”
Aloisia shook her head. “Not exactly. The scholar had tried to use it to free himself. Yet when he spoke the words, metal spikes had pierced his skin where the chains bound his ankles. He spelled it out for Inari, tracing the runes on his palm, and Inari performed the spell. And I had thought, with him being a scholar, such magic would be permitted. It is the remit of the Mage’s Guild, after all.”
Lusana tensed. “It is little matter to this trial, in any regard. Back to the spell. From what little I know, blood magic requires a blood sacrifice. Did the shaman make the sacrifice?”
“No. I did.”
Her eyes widened. “How foolish. How do you know what the side effects of such magic, of such sacrifice, might be?”
“In truth, I did not. I still do not. But, if it pleases the judiciaries, the scholar could always be brought forth to give testimony.”
Magistrate Vester stepped forwards. “The scholar is yet to be questioned. There will be no testimony today. Not from him.”
“Truth and justice!” the crowd bayed.
“Bring out the scholar!”
“Let us hear the truth!”
Asmund shrank back on the platform, those gathered riling further at his words. He glanced to the Modäiti, to High Priest Silas, as if for aid.
Lusana cleared her throat. “Rest assured, people of Littlewatch. You will learn the truth today.”
Magistrate Vester blanched.
“We shall bring the scholar out before you, and you will hear what he has to say. Likewise, the shaman shall be brought to testify. We promised to shed light on these matters this day, and so we shall.”
At her words, a pair of guards headed for the prison. While Aloisia was glad Ezra’s testimony would be given, she was uncertain of Lusana’s motivations. Especially when she wanted Inari brought out as well.
Though Magistrate Vester fumed at being overruled, he could say nothing against her. Not when she was sister to the queen, not when she outranked him, and not when it would further implicate him in trying to obstruct justice.
A hush enveloped the crowd as they awaited the prisoners.
Fynn, in the silence, looked to Aloisia and raised a brow. She shrugged. The heat had been taken away from him, and she was relieved. The chances of Fynn hanging were dwindling, as Lusana’s argument against him failed. However, the attentions of the judiciaries and the crowd had turned to Inari and Ezra, which was more than concerning.
