Patrol 3: Darkness & Light

Chapter 14

"And that's it?" Vania asked, looking at Bergin. "There was nothing in the file about Du l'Tagne's connection to the Dark Eaters?"

"No," Bergin said quietly, shaking his head. "And, unless you want the summary of that night, yes, that's it."

Vania looked away, biting her lip as tears welled in her eyes. "N-no. I... I don't need to hear that."

"I still don't understand why it happened," Bergin admitted quietly, looking off into the past as his eyes stared at the blank wall. "I was talking to Taila... She was being rather evasive. Starlin got defensive, trying to protect her. I think... they thought I was just... assuming they were guilty. Because. You know. I was an enforcer. They were Marked tydring." He bit his lip. "Then, we were fighting. It was so sudden. So... abrupt. Like someone had flipped a switch—"

"Stop," Vania whispered, hands covering her ears. "I don't need to hear this."

He blinked several times, then looked over at her. He reached across the table and put a hand on her arm. "Vania. I'm so sorry."

Her hands moved from her ears to her face as she sniffled loudly. "Thank you, Bergin. You can go now."

He sighed, looking at his feet as he walked out, leaving her sobbing in the room alone.

"Bergin! There you are! I almost thought you'd decided to work extra today!" Jezora said brightly. "I was just talking to Eddin here and he—" She saw the downcast look on his face and stopped. "Oh, now what?"

Eddin stood, asking, "Everything all right?"

Bergin nodded vaguely, gesturing back down the hallway. "You... might want to give her some time."

"Okay." Eddin looked at him. "Did she grill you about all the files?"

"Uh, no. No, we only discussed... the one." He wrung the hood of his cloak in his hands as he pulled it from the back of his chair.

"I see," Eddin said. "Well, are you sure you gave us the right files? The ones I looked through had nothing about the Dark Eaters."

"Yes," Bergin nodded. He pulled his cloak on. "It's where I got my—admittedly barely anything—information about the Dark Eaters. When I was looking into them last year."

Eddin frowned. "Did she at least mention we think someone tampered with the Lower Quarter files?"

"No."

"Did you look through any of the files before you gave them to us?"

"No." Bergin looked up at Eddin. "Look. What is it?"

"Can you meet us here again tomorrow? To discuss this?" Eddin asked.

"Um. I'm not sure she..." Bergin's eyes wandered back to the corridor.

"Please? We might need your memories. They might be all that's left of the information we have about the Dark Eaters."

"Okay," Bergin agreed with a sigh. "I'll write up what information I can remember tonight and give it to you tomorrow."

"With as much detail as you can remember. Especially about information sources," Eddin added.

"Sure," Bergin replied. "Though, from what I remember, the sources won't help you. They're all dead."

Eddin frowned. "All dead?"

"Yeah. Well, at the time, Du l'Tagne wasn't. But... he is now."