“A tattoo?” I brush the burning skin, but feel nothing. “Tell me what kind of tattoo, for fuck’s sake!”
“It’s a black coiled snake,” Vera says in a calm voice. “Its eyes…glimmer when it catches the light. I assume you didn’t get inked before you went into the trial?”
“Yeah, no shit,” I deadpan.
There’s a knock on the door, and a moment later it opens. I turn my head towards the sound.
“Vera, Master Oka Oya is?—”
Tanaka’s sweet voice is interrupted by Kazh. “Move out of the way, you walking fuck doll. I’m here. I came to see the fucking damage.”
I want to recoil inside and hide. No way I can face Kazh’s wrath in this state. Not right now. Not after the way we left things…
Of course I have no other choice but to face her. So, I lift my chin and wait for her to whip me with her words.
After a long silence, she says, “You passed the Trial of Truth.”
“I guess so.”
Kazh offers me no comfort. Not that I expect it, anyway.
“I would say congratulations, but I see you carry the mark of Lorca.”
I swallow. “Lorca? The tattoo is a mark of Lorca? Who’s Lorca?”
“Oh, no,” Vera sighs.
My head snaps to her direction. “What do you mean ‘oh, no’?”
That doesn’t sound good.
“During the Trial of Truth, every participant faces Lorca, the trickster god. They judge whether or not the champions are worthy to ascend to the next level,” Kazh says. “Carrying their mark means you’ve been punished, dipshit. You don’t remember, or are you lying?”
That sounds really, really bad. If I was punished by a trickster god, and don’t remember…
My chin dips, cheeks burning with shame.
“I’m not lying,” I snap. “I don’t recall anything that took place during the second trial.”
“Is memory loss and blindness part of the trial or the punishment?” Vera’s impatient. “Lorca’s the worst possible god to face.”
“There are worse spirits of the gods,” Kazh says. “Memory loss and blindness is related to the punishment. She’s got a lesson to learn, if I had to guess.”
I cock my head to the side. A lesson? I try to push through the dark mist that clouds part of my memories, but it only gives me a headache.
“How’s she going to train in this condition?” It’s Jax’s voice.
Kazh snorts. “Train? This arrogant brat won’t train shit. It’s over for you, dipshit. The Trial of Strength may happen anytime now. If you go in the state you are in, you’re doomed.”
“Can you shoot an arrow without seeing the target?” Jax asks.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I can,” I snap at him. “I’m a Phantom fucking Ranger.”
The silence that settles in the room is charged with tension.
I swallow and brace myself. “You won’t train me anymore?”
“I won’t. Not until you learn a lesson even a trickster god wants you to learn,” Kazh spits. “And if you don’t, well…may it be your punishment. You should grovel at Vera’s feet for choosing you as her champion, even though you didn’t deserve it and failed her in the end.”
