“Is he threatening you?” Zera asked. “Blackmail?” She made a show of studying her nails. “Eklor, you should know that Grand Master Lorn has many, many friends who would hate to see him used in an unscrupulous way.”
“I hope to someday count myself as one of those friends,” Eklor said. He was all politeness and charm, and Kreya didn’t believe it for a single second. It was all she could do to keep from screaming in frustration.
The armyhadto still be there. It had to all be a trick! Even if she couldn’t figure out how he’d done it—crafting a false reading, hiding all trace of his forces from the guards on the wall, faking a fire, and persuading Grand Master Lorn, who was no fool, to trust him after everything he’d done.
Why was he not in chains?
“Grand Master Lorn,” Stran said stiffly, “tell us in plain terms: is that man under your protection?”
Kreya translated. “We want to kill him, but we don’t want to piss you off. Give the word, and he stops breathing.” She felt as if her muscles were vibrating, every inch of her wanting to attack the monster in human skin who stood before them.
“He is indeed under my protection,” Grand Master Lorn said.
Eklor smiled.
“Why?” This time it was Marso who asked, his voice quivering.
“Because I believe in second chances,” Lorn said loftily. “Our guild did him a grievous wrong that led to a tragedy that cost us all so dearly.”
She knew Eklor’s tragic backstory. Everyone did. It was part of the legend, entwined in theirs. His wife and child had died in a terrible accident—a cable car wire had snapped, and they hadn’t survived the fall—and he’d turned his rage and helplessness on the guild who’d created the technology that failed. “Lots of people experience loss,” Kreya said. “They don’t use it as an excuse to turn into a mass murderer.”
“But they do find it pushes them to extremes they’d never have previously considered.” Eklor gestured at Jentt. “I thought you, of all people, would understand.”
Kreya opened her mouth and shut it. The idea that she could be anything like this... this inhuman monster, this seething mass of hate disguised as a person. She shook, wanting to protest—but shehadused Eklor’s research to create her spell. And worse, Eklor knew it.
“Shenever hurt anyone,” Zera piped up. “You, on the other hand,murderedhundreds—thousands!”
That was true. There was a vast difference between violating the law to help a loved one, with zero harm done to others, and violating the law to slaughter innocents in an act of mindless revenge. Surely, Grand Master Lorn saw the difference.
I’m not like him!
“But she still broke the law, all of you did, as witnessed by my guards on the wall, and all of you are in need of forgiveness,” Grand Master Lorn said. He held up his hand when Jentt stepped forward to protest. “Which will be granted,ifyou will all agree to allow Master Eklor the chance to earn his own forgiveness.”
He’d done the unforgivable.
Before she could say so, Zera clutched her hand. “Consider it.”
Kreya gawked at her. How could...
“By your own admission, you crossed the border into the forbidden zone, violating the law,” Grand Master Lorn said. “Your transgression will be forgiven, each of you, if you agree to leave Master Eklor unharmed.”
The five of themmightbe able to overpower the grand master and take down Eklor. She couldn’t guarantee it, though. She didn’t know what surprises Grand Master Lorn had up his sleeves, literally. Or Eklor. And if they tried and failed...
“I repeat: he is under my protection,” Grand Master Lorn said. “An attack on him is an attack on me. You know the guild council would not forgive that.” He smiled benevolently.
He’s right,she thought. If it were only Eklor they’d be fighting, that would be one thing. The Bone Makers Guild would understand an attack on their mortal enemy. But it would not forgive an attack on their grand master, no matter the excuse or provocation—the laws were clear and unyielding on that point.Regardless of whether or not the other bone workers believed they were justified, the five of them would be hunted until the end of their days. At best, Stran would lose his farm and endanger his family, and Zera would lose her wealth and all she’d built. At worst, each of them would lose their life.
It’s not worth it,she thought.
Killing Eklor to protect Vos was one thing.
Killing him for revenge... It wasn’t worth their lives.
She knew Eklor must have seen his victory in their faces, and she refused to look at him. She only looked at Grand Master Lorn. “He’s deceived you, and he will destroy you. When you are ready to face that truth, we will do what needs to be done. Until then...” She turned to each of her friends, reading in their faces that they saw what she saw: they had no choice. “You have your second chance.”
They didn’t speak until they reached Zera’s palace.
Inside, Kreya crossed to the fountain and stared at the water while Zera dismissed her followers, shooing them away as if they were gnats. When it was only the five of them left, Stran slammed his fist into one of the skeleton-shaped marble pillars. Unfueled by a talisman, he only chipped it.
