Ashen Reign

Chapter 4 - Revised

"Yeah you do. Maybe not in the same sense, but you do." Becca gestured towards the door Jacob stormed out of.

"So I take you saw all of that?" Becca merely nodded her head before replying.

"And I hate to make your day worse, but Jacob's right. Apparently Henry has been talking to Pastor and..." She trailed off hesitant to finish her sentence, glancing down towards the floor. Finally, she mustered the courage to look her in the eyes. "You've been summoned." Fantastic.

Being summoned was never a good thing. Even if someone was being promoted, which was definitely not the case, there was always an audience because if that person was summoned, the town was summoned. No decision could be made without it turning into an event. Her job was obviously at risk, due to the minor fact that the entire town was irritated with her because of the increase in missing men. This would not end well.

Instead of the main section of the church where their prior meeting had occurred, she escorted her to the uppermost dome portion of the church. Mosaic windows encircled the room casting red and purple hues across the marble floor. A large podium was centered across the opposing wall of the entrance towering over the rest of the room several feet above the ground. There stood Pastor. Dark shadows hovered beneath his eyes. His silver hair was combed over his receding hair line, but it was so fine that his glowing head still shone through. The wrinkles lining his face added years to him, the stress of the past few years eating away at him. His hands were folded across the podium grasping the red book. Its rustic color stood out juxtaposed to his black apparel. The golden pages of the book were worn from the constant turning of its pages. Beside him, Henry stood, healthy as ever, flashing a dazzling white smile to the crowd of people lining the circular walls. His auburn hair was gelled back, revealing his traitorous grey eyes. Dawning the usual Guard's wardrobe, his built figure stood out perfectly. All in all, the crowd loved him.

Taking a deep breath, Hailey abandoned her best friend's side and walked towards the Pastor, the crowd parting for her as she passed. Wiping her hands across her shorts, she lifted her head and stopped in the center of the room. A white circle surrounded her along with an assortment of drawings that encompassed the marble floor. Originally a shrine for the Guardians, the white circle emanated a power that made it impossible for anyone who stood in it to lie.

"I was summoned." She blatantly stated, slitting her eyes at Henry, his smile not once faltering. At that, the Pastor looked down upon her his cold blue eyes gazing directly into hers.

"Hailey. Commander of the Guard. It has come to my attention that you may have lost your insight on what is best for this town and have instead chosen to seek what is best for yourself. Do you deny this claim?" All familiarization abandoned his voice, leaving only formality. Henry really had gotten into his head.

"I do." She glared back at him. He had once been a father figure to her, but now none of that appeared to matter. "On what grounds am I accused of this?" she glanced at Henry.

"You have admitted two strangers into this town out of spite. You have attempted to endanger more of our men's lives. Not to mention the fact, that there are several foraging missions that have gone amiss. Would you care to explain your reasoning and keep in mind where you're standing?" As if she could forget she was in the ring of integrity. Without glamouring or direct eye contact, there was no way she was going to get out of this unscathed, not without being able to compel someone.

"As for the foraging missions, nothing could have prevented those incidents. All expeditions have some level of danger. After all, let's not forget why we have the Guard. What we're protecting the town from. But let's not get into that. Secondly, I was looking out for the best interests of our people by attempting to send out another party. We don't have nearly enough food stored to survive this winter if we don't do something. Finally, in regards to Grayson and Luke after much delegation I realized that they could not bring us any harm and that we need all the help we can get" She stuttered the last sentence searching for a technically accurate way of stating the events that occurred with the Guardians.