s there anything else I could provide for you, Fathers?” Malisa asked as she finally settled down in her meeting rooms. She’d drawn three chairs for them to sit across from her own finely upholstered seat. A fire crackled in the hearth, recently drawn by one of her pages. The same page stood a short distance back, quiet and unassuming.
The three black robed priests sat as they had stood, with a practised grace that was deliberate in its unmanliness. All three rested their arms on the arms of their chairs, as if they were conquering despots surveying a wretched supplicant who would find no mercy at their feet. The central figure, Father Kehthaek, spoke, his voice soft, but clearly audible in the quiet room. “No, we will take all our meals and drink in the privacy of our own rooms. If you would have your kitchens prepare them for us, we would be most grateful.”
Malisa felt her teeth clench together. What arrogance! “You must speak with Steward Thalberg about that. It is his responsibility and not mine to see to the needs of the Metamor’s guests.”
The youngest of the three priests had been staring down her chest, noting the bulges in her surcoat. “You were once a man?”
“Yes,” Malisa said, resting her hands in her lap, wishing that they had not make her think of what the curses had taken from her. She had grown used to it over the years, but there was still a twinge of regret that struck her now and again.
“Many women here were once men, is that not so?” Father Akaleth continued, his voice more curious than anything else. It seemed to her the first real bit of emotion any of the three had displayed.
“That is true. And many men here were once women too.”
Akaleth appeared to ignore her comment. “How does it feel to know that you were so poor in your own spirit that Eli choose to reduce you to a woman?”
Malisa bristled at that and nearly sat up in indignation. In the course of her work as Prime Minister, she often had to deal with foreign dignitaries that could find little pleasant to say of the cursed castle of Metamor. But so rarely had she been effectively skewered by such an unpleasant and humiliating question.
“This is the work of an evil man, not of your Eli,” Malisa said, trying to keep her voice as level as possible, remembering all the rigour she had been given in the art of diplomacy. How she wished Posti were still here. Now that had been a Prime Minister and a fair magician who could have put this unkempt priest in his place.
“How do you know that?” the third priest asked, the one in his thirties. Father Felsah was his name, she recalled. His voice was flat, eyes as lifeless as a snakes.
“I was here when it happened. Where were you?” Malisa said, anger filling her despite the years.
The riposte did not appear to affect either Felsah or Kehthaek. Father Akaleth’s eyes went wide for a moment, and then narrowed suspiciously. “Do you doubt out authority to speak on matters divine?”
Sensing that this question was far more important than any of the others, Malisa drew herself up in her seat and counted to ten before she spoke. Her voice was measured, the words coming with slow precision. “I am not a member of the Ecclesia. I do respect its traditions and its ways. But I am not a member. Therefore, what reason would I have to believe in any authority on matters divine that you might possess?”
“Why indeed?” Father Kehthaek said, before either of his fellow Questioners could interrupt. For a moment, Malisa thought she saw a grandfatherly smile cross his lips, but the thin line returned quickly. “You are the one who wrote the letter to the Bishops in Yesulam detailing what happened the night the Patriarch and his retinue were murdered. Is this not so?”
Malisa nodded, feeling her ire settle. This was what they had come to ask after all. “Yes, that is correct. Did you read it?”
“Yes,” Kehthaek replied tersely. His skin was drawn tight against his skull, so that she could see his cheekbones protruding slightly. “For three days Patriarch Akabaieth dined with you here at Metamor. He wandered its halls, and spoke with its peoples. And then, when he tried to leave, on the first night out in fact, he was brutally slain. By whom, you did not know, although you claimed it was not Sathmoran spies, though the blade used to kill him was Sathmoran. That is what you wrote, is it not?”
“That it is.”
“But some survived. Kashin of the Yeshuel lost his left arm above the elbow. Sir Yacoub Egland had both his legs broken. Bishop Vinsah of Abaef had his chest caved in, though the wounds were not fatal. You also mentioned that Sir Albert Bryonoth was not among those found dead. Where are they now?”
Malisa took a deep breath, “Sir Egland has recovered and now serves as a knight here in Metamor. When he is not serving the Ecclesia parish here, he helps with the defence of the city. Sir Bryonoth was found this winter, and after some time recovering, has done much the same as Egland. Kashin took the Sathmoran blade and left, saying it was his duty to avenge the Patriarch’s murder.”
Kehthaek nodded at that. At Malisa’s questioning glance, he said, “It is his duty to do as you say. And Bishop Vinsah?”
“The Bishop has recovered, and he helps Father Hough in the Ecclesia services. He has also helped rebuild homes all about Metamor these last few months.”
Her eyes were drawn once more to the youngest of the three, Father Akaleth. He had reached into his black robes and pulled out a small metal bracelet that could fit over ankle or wrist. A screw was placed in one side, the end pointing in was blunt and wide. He was idly turning the handle, the tip pushing into the bracelet. She stared wide-eyed for a moment, as the tip was not flat, but covered in an array of small notches. Were that device used on anyone, it would grind a hole in their flesh and bone.
Kehthaek touched Akaleth’s arm gently, catching the younger priests attention. Akaleth gave him a questioning glance, but the elder priest only shook his head and gave a slight wave of his hand. Grimly, Akaleth slipped the device back within his cloak, eyes narrowing unpleasantly as he stared at Malisa. No, he wasn’t staring at her, but at her wrists as she let them rest in her lap. By the gods, Malisa trembled, what was that man?
“Why has Bishop Vinsah remained here?” Kehthaek asked then, his voice strangely gentle.
Malisa forced herself to gaze at the older priest. His eyes were firm, but there was no trace of animosity within them. “His injuries kept him abed for two months. He had become a raccoon by the time he was able to move up and about.”
“That did not answer his question,” Felsah interrupted brusquely, though his voice lacked anything resembling indignation. “Why did Bishop Vinsah remain here?”
“He became a raccoon,” she repeated. “He could not have hoped to travel anywhere outside the Keep. None of us who become animals can. We are called demons by many still. He would have been killed should he have ventured beyond this valley.”
“Has he spoken of his duty to the Ecclesia at all?” Kehthaek asked, his voice merely curious.
“Not to me. He may have spoken of it to Father Hough, the Ecclesia priest for the parish here.”
“Then we will ask him,” the Questioner said. “Who came upon the scene where Patriarch Akabaieth and his retinue were slain?”
Malisa licked her lips, remembering the names of the four that had arrived first. One of them was now dead, and a second banished. Thankfully, neither had arrived first. “Murikeer Khannas was the first to arrive.”
“Who is this Khannas?” Felsah asked, his voice empty even of curiosity it seemed.
“He is a mage,” Malisa replied. Akaleth’s lips pulled into a thin, taut line of displeasure. Felsah did not appear to have heard her, while one of Kehthaek’s eyelids lifted ever so slightly.
“Was he the one who investigated the attack?” Kehthaek asked then, his voice warm after the cool of the younger priest’s voices.
She shook her head, “No.” Having no desire to wait for them to ask the obvious question, she went on. “That was done by Misha Brightleaf, the head of the Long Scouts here at Metamor.”
“The Long Scouts?”
“An elite organization of some of our best scouts and warriors,” Malisa explained.
“And it was he who decided that Sathmore was not responsible for the murder?” The elder man continued.
“I believe so, yes.” Malisa had not been involved in that decision or that investigation. She had trusted the scouts and mages to do their job, and had simply taken them at their word when they told her that Sathmore was not responsible. She of course was familiar with the details, but she did not want to share them with these priests.
“Who do you think killed the Patriarch?”
Malisa blinked at the question. She opened her mouth and shut it. “We do not know for certain who it was who killed the Patriarch.” She could well remember the trial of Charles Matthias only two months back. The face of the man that was suspect glared mockingly at her through the pages of memory, that self-satisfied snarl upon his lips making her flesh tremble. “We have a few ideas, but nothing we can prove for certain.”
“What are your ideas?” Felsah asked.
“I do not think I wish to speak of them just yet. They are only ideas after all.”
“It is for ideas that we have come,” Akaleth said, his voice harsh, indignant. “We seek to know what happened. If there is something you suspect, then you must tell it to us that we may study it too.”
Malisa glared back at the young priest, though in truth, he was slightly older than she. “I am not beholden to you. You have no right to compel my tongue. You are here at the sufferance of my father, Duke Thomas. Do not threaten his loyal subjects lest that sufferance come to an end.”
“Your father gave us permission to investigate these matters. Would you interfere in that?” Akaleth practically snarled, but some arcane training kept his emotions from being displayed wholly on his face. “Would you insult the Ecclesia by refusing its servants?”
“And would you insult in turn Metamor by refusing its people the chance to consult? Allow me the opportunity to speak with my father. Then we shall decide what it is safe to tell and what it is not. Come back with your questions another day, and then we shall see if they can be answered or not.”
Father Kehthaek rose from his seat, his expression soft, but there was some other quality to it that Malisa could not define. “We will again ask this question of you, Prime Minister. Consult with your Father. In two days, we shall speak again. I hope you will be able to give us an answer.”
The other two priests also rose, their hands slipping within their sleeves quickly and smoothly. “If you would now direct us to the rooms your Steward has prepared for us, we should be most grateful.” From the tone of his voice, Malisa could not help but wonder if these three priests could ever actually be grateful to anyone.
“Of course,” she snapped her fingers and the page came forward. He was a short lad, only twelve years of age. The curse would take him in another two years. “Would you see that these men find their rooms. Thank you.”
The boy nodded wordlessly, looking at the black-robed priests with trepidation. He straightened himself up though, and stepped quickly to the door, opening it for them. The priests slid out through, their robes brushing feathery light against the jamb. And then, the page closed the door behind them, leaving Malisa alone at last in her meeting chambers.
She bent over her chair, head resting in the palms of her hands, long hair falling down over her shoulders. She shuddered, fighting back the fright that had sunk into her heart. They had been at Metamor less than two hours, but already she knew they would regret every single one of them.
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