On Death's Honor

Chapter 37: The Circle Council

"It is," I nodded. When I didn't further elaborate, Pyre frowned.

"And why did you do it?"

I shrugged. "I didn't have the order. I am under contract," I added, feeling a slight change in the air - an electric charge that was strong enough for the spirin inside of my to churn uncomfortably.

"You refused to take down a nymphtan due to lack of funds?" Piped in the red-haired woman. I glanced at her.

Here came the tricky part.

"With all due respect, the Circle was not unaware. You receive copies of my contracts - you would have seen the notes I'd written down for when I completed my previous one."

"What are you trying to say?" This came from one of the twins standing to my left. He did not sound at all pleased.

"Sometimes we let things run its course. Seeing as no one seemed prepared upon my arrival to the city, I assumed this was one of those instances."

"Perhaps we should stop grilling the girl over what we know and address the greater problem we are currently facing, yes?" Twin Number Two said abruptly. The red-haired woman gave him a nod of acknowledgement.

"Your fight with the nymphtan," the man in front of me said. "What transpired?"

"I had an order a few years ago," I replied, wishing that I could go find somewhere to rest, already. A puddle of water and mud gathered around my feet from where it dropped off my clothes. "That wanted me to go to the underworld. I caught a traver, and it became active about six weeks ago." I refused to look over at Bonosoli at this bit, knowing that I was in for more than an earful afterwards. "The nymphtan knew this. She wanted to sacrifice me to her god because of it."

"Why were we not notified about your possession?" The sunken-eyed man demanded. I glared at him. This time, I was unable to hide the snark.

"I have gone the past six weeks relying on meditation and sundown to keep me awake with the damn thing trying to control every fucking thought that went through my head. Forgive me if the only thing I was able to focus on was fulfilling my oath to the Circle before it killed me."

It was the wrong thing to say. I knew it would be the wrong thing to say, yet I couldn't think of anything else. I blamed it on my lack of decent health and sleeping habits.

The councilor took a step forward, hand outstretched towards me before clenching it into a fist. The magic I felt buzzing around me vanished for a quick moment-

Something like an invisible fist wrapped itself around my core, turning my insides to a hot, flaming mess of agony before forcing me none-too-gracefully to my knees. I groaned through my teeth, tears already surfacing my eyes.

"We gave you the gift of agelessness, girl," the man snarled. "You took a vow to follow the Order-"

"I took a vow to follow the gods," I snapped through the pain, raising my eyes to meet his before succumbing to yet another groan. Fuck, this hurts.

For a moment, the pain lessened. The man's voice dropped to a deadly, chilling whisper.

"Do you accuse the Circle of doing any less?"

"Councilor Pyre," Bonosoli interrupted. "If I may, she speaks the words of an unwell woman. We should not take offense."

There was a tense, heavy bout of silence with me nearly flat on the floor, unable to move through the fire restraining every muscle in my body. Tears and sweat mixed in with the grime already matting my face; I didn't realize I was crying until I struggled for a breath and it came out choked and broken.

Finally, whatever hold Pyre held on me was released, although the pain still lingered. My body was shaking far too much for me to attempt getting back up on my feet, so I wrapped my arms around my chest and leaned back on my knees, instead.

"I did not sense a traver inside of you," Pyre regarded. As much as I wanted to respond immediately, I had to wait before I could properly form the words on my tongue.

"The nymphtan wanted it as a sacrifice."

"You mean it's gone?"

"It's gone," I answered. Then, slowly, I angled my leg so that I could pull the fabric up and expose the scars where Mutnya had bitten me. Bits of ugly, yellowish bruising peeked out over the skin as well. "I don't understand it, but it's gone."

"How are you not dead?"

I let my pant leg drop back in place, reaching for the chain around my neck.

"A god intervened," I said, staring down at the cursed piece of metal. Pyre tried reaching out to grab it, but I flinched away, tucking the necklace back beneath my shirt. "I wouldn't do that."

Then, before he could do anything to retaliate, my former mentor stepped in on my behalf.

"Councilor, she has the Mark of Refyra."

"Learn your history," I mumbled. Whether Pyre heard me or not, he didn't let on. Still, it never ceased to amaze me. These people were potentially decades, maybe even a couple of centuries, older than me. Blessed - or cursed, depending how one looked at it - to not be physically aged by time, Pyre and his companions had the ability to learn plenty. Same thing with Mutnya. So how could a person who lived around the order of the gods for so long remain so incredibly ignorant to the stories?

"Refyra?" Pyre repeated. Finally, he had the sense to look concerned, although that was far from my behalf. "Are you certain?"

"What did she want with you?" One of the twins demanded - the one closest to Pyre. I shook my head.

"She said I intrigued her."

"So the goddess saved you, but she did not bother to stop the evil that was released from the nymphtan's den?" Pyre narrowed his eyes.

"She speaks the truth," spoke the twin behind me. Still on the ground, I sighed. A Truthsayer. They thought I would try to lie my way out of this. It was a good thing I knew how to avoid a direct lie.

Pyre clenched his jaw, obviously displeased, but it allowed my shoulders to relax somewhat. They wouldn't risk killing me - not when I had a token of a chaotic goddess's favor. I didn't think they understood just how dangerous Refyra could be, except for Bonosoli, but they knew enough that attempting to kill or mame me over the incident would either evoke Refyra's sporadic wrath or nothing at all.

"Hmm," Pyre mused with a slight tilt of his head. "You're under contract, you say? How many more do you have?"

Even through my foggy mind, I felt my heart drop at his words. He was not suggesting what I think he was suggesting. After a long pause and a raised eyebrow on Pyre's end, I forced out a mumbled "one".

The councilor turned to the red-haired woman.

"What is the consequence for sworn contractors that deliberately refused to stop a blood witch from feeding?"

The woman shrugged, not at all bothered by the fact that I was saved by a goddess that had very little care for any sense of order. Bonosoli was. I knew it without even having to look in her direction, but even so, one quick glance at her disturbed frown and furrowed brow told me all I needed to know.

"Seeing as how she is quite eager to leave, we could mark up the number of contracts required," the woman said. Bonosoli blinked. A small part of me was screaming at the suggestion, and if I had the strength, I would have made an effort to defend myself. Instead, my shoulders slumped, my breathing labored and heavy. The spirin lying within me turned my insides to ice - or maybe that was just the weather getting to me. Sometimes, it was hard to tell.

"She's already suffered," Bonosoli objected. Pyre scoffed, but my former mentor continued before he could say anything. "Trust me, the execution was punishment enough."

"She let hundreds of people die a little over a week ago," Miss Red Hair reminded. "How would killing a lone girl correct her?"

"Memories," was all I was able to hear the runkist say. I couldn't force myself to stay awake much longer than that. Shivering, I felt my eyes close long before my body fell over to the floor.

~ 2152 Words ~