Grand Master Lorn beckoned the next in line.
“Now,” Kreya whispered.
All five of them stepped up onto the railing, whispered “renari,” and soared off the balcony. Below them they heard surprised gasps and shouts. Following Zera’s lead, they circled once before landing in a line in front of the masters.
Straightening stiffly in his thronelike chair, Grand Master Lorn opened his mouth to speak, but Kreya did not give him the chance to either welcome them or berate them for their interruption.
“Eklor has lied to you,” Kreya said with no preamble. “He is granting life for a chosen few by taking life from unconsenting innocents.”
“He is a murderer,” Zera put in. “Not in the distant past. But now. In this city.”
Everyone broke out in shocked chatter, both from the supplicants in line behind them and from the council. Kreya focused solely on Grand Master Lorn and the other masters. Their response was what mattered, and their expressions ranged from shock to disbelief.
“Impossible!” Grand Master Lorn said. “He has been nowhere but my palace and the guild headquarters since themoment of his return to Cerre.” He signaled to the guards, and they herded the supplicants out of the hall.
She glanced back at them and the heavy doors. He’d reacted quickly, almost as if he’d been ready for them. But they could do this without an audience. The only ears they truly needed were the council’s.
“With all due respect, Grand Master, we believe he has found a way to circumvent you,” Jentt said with a bow. “He has deceived you.”
“We believe he is stealing blood from victims convalescing in the second-tier hospital and using it as a conduit to transfer their life force to the dead for his ‘miracle’ resurrections.” Kreya switched her gaze to their nemesis.
On his chair of tusks, Eklor looked unfazed. He hadn’t moved, not even to flinch when they flew in from the balcony.He couldn’t have been expecting us,Kreya thought.
Or maybe he had. After all, he knew what crimes he was committing. It couldn’t have been a surprise to him that someone eventually noticed.
“These are serious accusations,” Grand Master Lorn began.
“For serious crimes,” Kreya cut in. “And we count on you and the council to investigate them. Master Eklor has caused great pain to the people of Vos. We must learn from our past mistakes and not allow history to repeat.”
A small smile was playing on Eklor’s lips. She wished she could charge up to him and wipe it off his face. What did he have to smile about? They were exposing him, and yet he seemed like he was about to get a commendation!
“Ah, but we must also not be blinded by our past,” Grand Master Lorn said. “Master Eklor has come to us with open arms,confessed, and repented. In exchange for forgiveness, he offers us a blessing: a second chance at life for our loved ones.”
“By murdering innocents,” Zera said. “You caught that part, right?”
A few chairs down from Lorn, Master Subene scowled at them. Kreya recalled that the master had never liked her. Called her arrogant and pigheaded, which may have been accurate but the master shouldn’t have said it publicly. “Such a serious accusation requires serious proof. Do you have proof?”
Presenting her death list, Zera indicated the eight hospital patients who had died. She shared it with all the council members, walking to each one of them. “Note the times of death. Each corresponds to the exact time of one of Eklor’s resurrections. Also note the causes of death: inconclusive. In all cases, according to their records, the patients were not in the hospital for life-threatening causes. Furthermore, all were located in the same floor and same wing of the same hospital.”
“Coincidence,” another master scoffed. Kreya had forgotten her name. She didn’t think she’d made an enemy of her. Zera, though, who had obviously expected a greater reaction to her presentation, looked rattled.
Master Subene agreed with his colleague. “I only hear speculation. Do you have any proof beyond this coincidence?”
Kreya had expected outrage. Confusion. Questions. She hadn’t expected anyone on the council to sound so immediately dismissive of their charges. She eyed Master Subene, wondering why he would want to defend Eklor. Fear of his own death, or fear of a loved one’s? That fear was a powerful thing. She began to wonder if she’d misjudged the council members.
She wondered if she’d misjudged humanity.
I was willing to sacrifice myself, and desecrate the dead, to reach my goal. Who’s to say others wouldn’t willingly kill for their loved ones—or themselves—to live?
Still... was that true for all of them? Surely, at least one council member had to harbor doubts. She glanced again at Eklor and saw he was twirling the same unfamiliar talisman. She wondered again what it was. A backup plan of some sort? A way to escape, if all turned sour for him?
“Furthermore, I, for one, do not appreciate the theatrics of it,” Master Subene continued. “There is a process here.” He waved his wrinkled hand at doors, now closed to the line of supplicants. If they were still out there, it was impossible to hear them through the thick wood.
“Kind of thought the seriousness of the issue warranted a deviation from the usual process,” Zera said. “Again, murderer. Mass murderer. Of innocents.”
“If you had actual proof, you wouldn’t have resorted to theatrics,” Subene sniffed.
What was wrong with them? This wasEklor. Mass murderer. Cause of the Bone War. Enemy of the people. Why were they being so obstinate?
