She walks to the front of the room, shakes it off, then pastes on a smile. “So, welcome to our inaugural meeting. You have been selected because your blood and your sparks are the future of Havengard. But the Conclave expects its Cadets to have more than mere competence; it expects absolute transparency and unyielding loyalty.”
The common room door opens again, interrupting her flow.
François de Vaux saunters in, taking a seat away from everyone else, then flicking his fingers. “Continue.”
Little shit.
Gimble gets back on track. “You are about to be admitted to a cohort of Elite that are allowed to use the highest level restricted spells.”
Donovan does spooky fingers and says, “Wooooo.”
The corner of Theodora’s mouth twitches.
Her voice breaks through into my brain; she’s got us all on the line. —You guys have to stop making jokes. Keeping a straight face is difficult enough…—
—That’s the challenge, Tee!—
Fucking Dono.—It’s not a game, asshole. She’ll be in real danger if anyone realizes she’s not hypno-spelled—
—Oh, shit, yeah. Sorry, babe—
I rap my knuckles on the desk. “Concentrate. Today we’re learning ‘Spill Your Guts’.”
“Compelled Testimony,” Gimble corrects. “Also known asOcculta vi.”
Walking over to her tablet, she starts scrolling, then looks up. “Occulta vi means ‘secrets taken by force’. The cast bypasses the conscious mind and pulls truth directly from the spark. It’s incredibly painful to try and resist the spell. And resistance is useless anyway.”
She demonstrates a sharp, twisting motion that looks like a key turning in a lock. “The incantation must never be written down, it’s only passed on to the worthy through word of mouth.”
As she repeats the words of the enchantment, the atmosphere in the room turns heavy.
“Now, for a demonstration,” Gimble says, her eyes scanning the small semi-circle of chairs. They bypass me, lingering for a second on Max’s scowl and Donovan’s raised middle finger, before landing, with a gleam, on Naomi.
“Miss Watson. Since your family is so deeply entrenched in the Conclave’s inner circle, I’m sure you have nothing to hide. Step forward.”
Naomi sighs, but does as she’s told. I see the slight tremor in her fingers as she smooths her skirt.
Gimble doesn't hesitate. She performs theOcculta vigesture, her hand snapping shut like a trap. Naomi’s eyes glaze over.
“Let’s talk about Article Four of our new Constitution,” Gimble purrs, enjoying the power. “Have you engaged in any romantic entanglement that would jeopardize your lineage purity, resulting in the dilution of your DNA?”
Naomi’s eyes go wide, it’s obvious she’s fighting. Sweat breaks out on her forehead and a look of agony takes over her features.
After five seconds, she loses the battle.
“I-I have had a r-romantic entanglement…”
Behind me, I hear Max growl. “Stop this shit.”
But Gimble’s eyes are lit up with a sick, triumphant glow. “Tell us.”
Poor Naomi is struggling so hard but she can’t withstand the spell. “...with an Ordinarii g-girl…last weekend, after the All Hallow’s Ball, I lost my...”
“SILENCE, WATSON.”
For once, I use my Elite command for good not evil.
“Mr. Drakeward, she was just about to admit…”
