“We told you where to find proof!” Kreya said. “Grand Master Lorn’s palace! The bones are there, right now, if you send someone—”
Leaning over, Eklor whispered a word to Grand Master Lorn.
“Enough!” Grand Master Lorn said to Kreya. “I know what lies in my palace, and there are no human bones within. I have had enough of you questioning my integrity and my intelligence. Heroes you may be, but you have worn out your welcome here.”
She was about to launch into arguing more, to go through it all again, but Kreya’s team urged her backward, with Jentt pulling her hand and Zera guiding her other elbow. Bowing, Jentt said to all the masters, “We thank you for your time, and hope you will consider what we have said and proceed with caution.”
Kreya turned to glare at him and noticed that several guild soldiers were flanking them. They looked nervous but resolute. If she didn’t want this audience to turn into a brawl, then leaving gracefully now was their only option.
Part of herwantedto turn it into a fight. Knock sense into their heads, before any more innocents died. But that wouldn’t make them see reason.Fools. Damn fools.Grinding her teeth, she stalked out of the great hall and didn’t stop until they were out of the guild headquarters full of uncaring masters, only to find herself standing beneath the uncaring sun.
Outside, Kreya stalked through the third tier, away from the guild headquarters and its obstinate, delusional, selfish, shortsighted, moronic—
“It was a persuasion talisman,” Zera said.
“A what?” Marso asked.
“Remember the mindcloud jaguar in the valley,” Zera asked Kreya, “the one that hypnotizes its prey and nearly killed me? I bet anything Eklor’s talisman is carved from a mindcloud jaguar bone.”
“Mind manipulation talismans are forbidden,” Stran said.
“So is corrupting a bone reading and claiming it’s truth,” Marso said. “And using human bone in a bone-making spell. And raising an army of constructs to try to kill everyone. We know Eklor will cross any line. Why not this one?”
“But he’s not a bone wizard,” Kreya said. He was a bone maker, like she was; that was how he’d made the constructs for his army. Of course, he had been alone for twenty-five years, plenty of time to hone new skills. And he was undeniably a genius. She’d read his journals.
She wondered if he’d used the talisman on her, that time in Lorn’s palace when she’d agreed to give him the benefit of the doubt. She remembered he’d put it away when she’d noticed it, but had he already messed with her mind? Or were all her mistakes her own?
“He’s not a reader, either. But he showed at least some proficiency there.”
“And he might not be at my level as a wizard, but he could be good enough to craft an effective talisman—he had plenty of time to work on it, especially if he focused on perfecting just that one type,” Zera said. “Think about it. Persuasion talisman to soften up Lorn and the council. Bone reading to show them what he wants them to see. And resurrection spell to prove he can do the impossible. Combine all of that with an irresistible offer of eternal life, and there you go.”
“We need to destroy that talisman,” Stran said. “Free the council from his influence.”
“How?” Jentt asked. “We’d never get close enough. He’s under Grand Master Lorn’s protection, and it looks as though the protection of the entire Council of Bones too.”
“Plus we just got kicked out of there, if you noticed,” Zera said.
“If he works his longevity spell,” Marso said anxiously, “innocent people will die.”
“And if hedoesn’twork the spell and instead orders his army to attack the guild,” Stran said, “innocent people will die. Either way, whatever he plans, it is a tragedy waiting to happen.”
Both of them are correct,Kreya thought. It almost didn’t matter what his end goal was, since either result was unacceptable.
“What do we do?” Zera asked.
And all of them looked at Kreya.
Kreya took a deep breath. She quit raging. And she started planning. “Master Subene said we can return if we come with proof. So we need to obtain proof. Use that to either shake Eklor’s hold on the minds of the council, or to at least get close enough to him to destroy the talisman.” She turned to Jentt and Zera. “I need you two to get to the hospital. Zera, you charm your way inside. Convince the hospital to increase their security. Donate enough for a private security force if you have to, to protect the patients. Instruct them to watch for unauthorized constructs. Cut off Eklor’s access to his favorite victims.” She turned to Jentt. “Jentt, you need to identify which doctors treated the patients who have already died. Speed them out of there. We’ll need to protect them from Eklor. He’ll go after them, if he can. He won’t want to risk their testifying against him—there’s a chance they may have witnessed a construct stealing the blood from his victims. At the very least, they can testify that the deaths were unexpected. Anyone know a safe house they can hide in until we’re ready to bring them before the council?”
“I know a few places,” Zera said. “I can direct Jentt, after I talk to security.”
“You think the doctors will be able to provide enough proof?” Stran asked. “Exactly how powerful are persuasion talismans? Will the testimony of witnesses be enough to counter its effects?”
Zera shrugged. “Never experimented with illegal talismans. But based on my work with non-horrifying ones, my guess is that we can break his hold if we present enough tangible evidence to create cognitive dissonance. He’s influencing their minds, not controlling them. They need to want to believe him, at least on some level. Shake that up, and we may have a chance.”
“And if we can’t... well, then our goal becomes destroying the talisman,” Kreya said. “But to do that, we have to be close to Eklor. And to get close, we have to have proof, as I said. So let’s go get it. Marso, Stran, you’re with me.” She kept walking toward the gateway between the tiers. She didn’t even glance at Zera and Jentt as they split away.
With luck, Eklor would be stranded at the headquarters for a while longer, placating everyone and acting the innocent, possibly twirling that blasted persuasion talisman some more. Grand Master Lorn would stay as well to reassure people that the accusations were baseless, either because he was in thrall to the talisman himself or because he’d been persuaded by his son’s fate. Or both. Regardless, Kreya and her team would have a slim window in which to act.
