Releasing the Veil

With a cue from Beastmaster, the wall of darkness fell away, revealing what was hidden in the void.

Noble had sensed the Skinwalker ever since the door first opened, but had never felt it move.

Now she knew why. Her second sight had been obscured not only by the black veil but also by a string of runes carved in the floor. They glowed with a soft luminescence.

Inside the circle, the man who had once been Ginnar was frozen in place. His body was chained to the wall with a blindfold and gag enveloping the majority of his face.

On either side of him, four people with empty gazes were also stuck in the runic array. Since none of them had an emotional signature, Noble guessed that they were pilgrims.

In contrast, the Skinwalker was seething. His hatred for everything was so oppressive that Noble felt her heart skip a beat.

This wasn't just any room; it was a prison cell. No, they weren't in the dungeon. The walls and table were too pristine and beautiful to be meant for riffraff. This chamber was intended for royalty.

Yet there were chains on the wall as well as a runic circle.

'This isn't a jail cell. It's a place for torture!'

Had the Jade Queen or one of her descendants created this room for such a purpose, or had Ki Song altered it to make it what it was?

Either way, it wasn't somewhere Noble wanted to be. She gasped.

"Don't worry. It won't hurt you. It can't even hear or see you right this moment."

Seishan eyed the creature with disdain.

"But if it gets off its blindfold, don't look it in the eyes. None of you lovely ladies looked it in the eye, did you?" Mordret's pleasant smile faded momentarily. He showed a rare moment of concern.

"You already told us not to," Revel clicked her tongue, annoyed.

"I might have," Noble chewed the inside of her cheek.

She had certainly looked Master Yosh in the eye months ago, but she couldn't remember if she had looked directly at Lindy or Ginnar. "How long would it take before before something happens if I did?"

"You would be gone by now," Mordret squinted. 

"Maybe we should check to see if she had been taken..." Beastmaster turned to Death Singer, whose glistening eyes looked back at the dead creature on the table. 

"There's no need. Among other things, she wouldn't have admitted to looking into its eyes if she were taken." Mordret vouched for the floating Master, much to Noble's relief. 

She had no idea how Death Singer's Aspect worked, and she didn't want to find out—especially if it meant more digging around inside the mass of flesh and bones on the table. 

Noble closed her eyes momentarily and allowed them to swirl freely. "All of you are clear as well." 

"You have already made yourself useful," Seishan crossed her arms, satisfied. 

Noble appreciated the compliment. "I can say with certainty that you all have unique emotional signatures, though yours..." 

The professor's eyes shot open as she looked at the pale gentleman. He gave her a sharp look, his mirror-like eyes snapping her mouth shut before she could complete her thought. 

"...Your emotional signature is unfamiliar to me since we have not met before, Saint Mordret," she finished, her gaze darting away. 

"That's good enough for me," the man's winsome mask fell back in place. "Now..." 

Noble could not explain the relief that she felt when Mordret's attention left her. Something about the way she looked at him had warned her to never speak of what she thought at that moment, even to her husband. It told her to throw the notion away entirely. 

Shivering, the floating Master focused on the eerie cage and its contents. 

"How would the Queen like this handled?" Mordret chose his words carefully. 

"I believe Mother has no preference, or we would have already been informed." Beastmaster motioned to the frozen Pilgrims, but they did not move.

"If we lower the protections, can't you just entrance it?" Revel asked the stunning Saint.

"I don't think it will submit," Beastmaster held up her hands in revulsion. "Even if it did, I don't want anything to do with that thing. It's not normal."

Crossing her arms, Revel sniffed. "Don't look at me. I kept it in the dark. I'd just as soon kill it as talk to it."

Hel lifted her chin, "If we want, I could…"

"No!" The others said in unison, making Noble wonder what had brought about such a united front.

There was a pause as Beastmaster paced around the frozen prisoner.

"Seishan's Aspect is better suited to ripping and tearing. Does that Creature even feel pain?" Beastmaster's disgust somehow only made her beauty more pronounced.

"You ladies need to use finesse," Mordret asserted a little too confidently. His handsome expression turned wistful. "I suppose, as usual, it is up to me."

"You think very highly of yourself," Beastmaster's tone was neither approving nor condemning.

Mordret turned up his nose. "Perhaps it is everyone else that doesn't think highly enough. If you don't want my help—-"

The oldest of the Saints pointed at the monster with the end of her club. "It's all yours, but if anything goes wrong, we finish it before it has a chance to escape."

'Escape?!'

Noble did not like that prospect at all. She silently summoned her Xiphos, hoping she would not need to use it.

Suddenly, the runes dimmed, and the people inside them began to stir like they had woken from a dream.

Noble had expected there to be some explosive movement. Perhaps the Skinwalker would struggle and win against at least one of the chains.

But the release was anticlimactic.

The blindfolded figure hung limply in the circle as the Pilgrims finished securing him and walked away.

He worked at his gag, and with the help of Mordret, he maneuvered it away from his mouth.

"Is anyone there? Please. I don't know what I've done or who I have offended. I just arrived in Ravenheart this morning. Ask anyone! Is this about Lindy? I hadn't met the sweet girl before. I wish I could have kept her from falling…Hello?! Can anyone hear me?"

Ginnar's voice was weak, vulnerable even.

Even though Noble could feel the hatred he had for those who had imprisoned him, she was still moved by the despair in his voice.

Mordret frowned, annoyed.

"How many are with you?"

"With the government? I didn't count how many came through today. My job isn't in the census bureau, but I am needed for an important meeting with Lady Seishan." Ginnar leaned against the chains which held him to the wall. They groaned lightly under the pressure, adding a baleful sound to his plea.

"Please, if you could just get her a message. The brown-haired Master that Lindy was talking to before me—I don't remember her name, but she is married to Ambassador Fort. I couldn't say it before, but she's the one who caused Lindy to fall. Did she blame me? Is that why I am here?"

Ginnar paused. His shoulders sagged helplessly.

"She's here. Isn't she?"

With his blindfold still in place, his head slowly turned Noble's direction.

"Why did you do it? Why did you kill Lindy?"