“It gave a name,” Aloisia said. “We have the truth. What more do you require?”
“How can we trust the words of this creature?”
“Had it spoken the name Inari, would you feel the same?” Aloisia clenched her fists. “We cannot ignore this, simply because she is the Modäiti, nor because she is the queen’s sister. Looking back to earlier arguments, perhaps she did not realise what she called forth? Perhaps, using one of the many books of her collection, she summoned something she didn’t understand?”
Magistrate Vester wrung his hands. “That does not explain the scholar’s situation. His imprisonment within the cave, the leeching of his powers, all of it was deliberate.”
“Indeed it was,” Ezra said. “The one who bound me knew exactly what they were doing.” He turned his glare to Lusana.
Aloisia, catching this, thought back to when he could not speak out against Inari. Perhaps…
“Ezra?” Aloisia called his attention to her. “Can you tell us if you have encountered the Modäiti before we released you from the cave?”
The muscle pulsed at his jaw. “I cannot.”
“Isn’t this further proof? He cannot speak against her, just as he cannot speak against his captor.”
Lusana’s eyes flashed with anger. “I could say some very damning things about you, scholar.”
“Could you?” Ezra smirked.
“So, you do know him?” Aloisia asked.
The Modäiti regained her unnerving calm. “The Temple has many dealings with the Mage’s Guild. This proves nothing.”
“Yet you showed no familiarity to him before now. Likewise, with Ezra towards you.”
“I could not,” Ezra said.
“This is absurd.” Lusana folded her hands before her and glowered at the magistrate. “Are you going to allow them to throw such heinous accusations at the Crown?”
Aloisia gritted her teeth. They were so close, but she was slipping from their fingers. This entire time, she had been deflecting any hint of guilt from herself, directing it at Fynn, Inari, and Ezra. Even now, she was still trying to pull rank, still trying to wriggle away from justice. After all, why would they have brought the Modäiti into this case? Perhaps she had forced her way into it once she realised the severity of what she had done.
Asmund rubbed the back of his neck. “Of course, I would not allow accusations to be thrown around if they were not duly founded. But these accusations are becoming concerningly well evidenced. However, if it is true and the powers with which you summoned the creatures have waned, then there is the more pressing matter of how to deal with the Forgotten Gods, now they are not under command. Though, the creature certainly seemed to think you still command them.”
“I thought we had already established the creature’s testimony is not trustworthy?” Lusana said.
“No, you decided that yourself,” Aloisia snapped. “Why did we bring it here under the judiciaries’ instruction if the testimony would not be used as evidence?”
Lusana lifted her chin and turned her gaze to the huntress. “There is no way to know if it speaks the truth. Yes, you used a truth dart on it. However, we do not know if it would work on the creature. It is not human.”
Mavka clasped Aloisia’s shoulder, stepping forwards for the first time. “There is little point in continuing this line of argument. We are only going around in circles, and we potentially have limited time as it is. After all, we do not know where the other creatures have gone. They could return any minute.”
High Priest Silas gave a nod. “True enough. We need to conclude this. And quickly.”
“There may be a way to prove whether Lusana is behind this,” Mavka said. “Ezra claims his powers were used to summon the creatures. And someone bound him with at least two spells – the first being the one which trapped him in the cave and leeched upon his magic; the second being the spell that binds his tongue. “I know little of magic,” Mavka continued, “but from what I gather, words possess power. Therefore, it would cost you nothing, Modäiti, to speak words along the lines of releasing the scholar from this second spell. If you are not the one who bound him, if you are not the one who summoned the creatures, then speaking such words will hold no weight, surely?” She glanced at Ezra. “Would such a thing work?”
Ezra’s eyes glinted. “It just might.”
Lusana stilled, staring at the lead huntress.
“A very good point, Mavka,” Magistrate Vester said. “It would certainly prove the Modäiti’s innocence definitively, should such words do nothing. And if you are not involved, Lusana, then you should have nothing to fear from speaking such words.”
“You do not understand what you ask.” Lusana’s voice was quiet, edged with a slight tremble.
Ezra grinned. “What is the problem, Modäiti? As they said, you have nothing to fear if you are innocent.”
Lusana was silent for a long moment, the calm demeanour she had maintained beginning to crack. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
