Jeza VI

16th Night of the Month of Ice, 10:10, after Moonrise

Jeza speed walks towards the House of Flesh after dropping Enuma with Master Sipho.

It's her night off, but Jeza cannot waste this opportunity. She will fill a report afterwards and talk with Darule about it. But now, it's a chance she cannot let pass, and she won't. She'll be done before Enuma is done.

She passes many Echelons as she walks, all turning towards her and reflecting back her own anxious face in their mirror masks. All Echelons wear the same robes and masks and the only way to differentiate the house they attend to is the symbol engraved on their mirror masks.

The water Asha symbol for the House of Currents and the Scyphomancer.

The fire Asha symbol for the House of Flesh and the Haruspex.

The wind Asha for the House of Feathers and the Augur.

The wood Asha for the House of Smoke and the Soothsayer.

And the eye symbol for the Echelons that serve Ayth and the other gods.

After a minute or so walking, Jeza starts to see Echelons belonging to the House of Flesh and knows she is close.

The door to the House of Flesh is as disturbing as what hides inside; a red wooden door, with a human body carved upon it. A body half dissected with every organ represented in detail. Very different from the Augur's beautiful birds or the many flowers of the Soothsayer. The Scyphomancer's almost reaches the same level of creepiness with its door carved with fetuses growing and water.

Jeza knocks and waits patiently. She knows Vyshe Ardashir is extremely busy, with no Nashe yet to train, the Haruspex is shouldering every responsibility, while the other Vyshe have the help of their Nashe.

The door opens and there stands Vyshe Ardashir, tilting his head at Jeza like a curious bird.

"Lady Zasya…what can I help you with?" He asks and Jeza notices his voice is back to normal, no longer a raspy whisper like a couple of nights ago.

"Vyshe Ardashir" greets Jeza with a respectful bow "I wished to ask you a couple of questions, if you have time"

The Haruspex stays quiet for a second before stepping aside and allowing Jeza to enter, she bows her head slightly in thanks and enters.

The room looks better without a corpse in the middle and a grieving family around it. It smells clean and fresh, not a thing out of place and no blood covered floors. A desk, that Jeza didn't remember from the last time she was there, sits in the middle of the room, a comfortable looking chair behind it and the table filled with silvery tools next to the desk.

She approaches the desk and freezes when she sees a jar filled with a clear liquid and an eyeball floating inside.

"It's that…Vyshe Kyome's eye?" Asks Jeza in a deadpan tone, feeling like she is hallucinating it.

"Yes" Answers Vyshe Ardashir "Nasaru found it appropriate that I keep it, since I was the one that had to extract it"

Jeza looks at it with morbid curiosity, half the eye looks like it's folded into itself and Jeza shivers, realizing that is the effect the vardera's venom has on soft tissue.

"He should have known better" mentions Vyshe Ardashir offhandedly "Hopefully he won't get so close to a vardera next time"

"Knowing him he'll get even closer" mutters Jeza with disgust as she scrutinizes the eyeball.

A soft chuckle echoes around the room and Jeza turns in surprise towards Vyshe Ardashir. Did she…make him laugh? That was almost impossible unless you were the prince or Hilde. Jeza pats her own shoulder internally and then clears her throat.

"I had an interesting chat with An-Lord Anax the other night" starts Jeza "He told me the story of what happened between you and Infans Mikhe five years ago-"

"You think I killed him?" Asks Vyshe Ardashir, interrupting her, no humor in his voice.

"Wha-no! No, I just-" stammers Jeza waving her hands in front of her body, physically trying to stop his train of thought.

"It wouldn't be strange" continues Vyshe Ardashir, ignoring her momentarily excuses "I hate him very much, I would kill him myself again, if I had the chance.But I stayed almost until moonrise that night"

"Vyshe Ardashir " Whispers Jeza "I didn't mean to imply tha-"

"Stop that, Jeza" snaps Vyshe Ardashir, tone tense and loud enough to make Jeza flinch.

"What?" She says.

"That fake respect, it annoys me to no end" almost growls Vyshe Ardashir "Say what you mean, stop hiding behind your stupid titles and honor"

Jeza stares at him with wide eyes. She knows it must have been strange to him, to stop being referred by his name and the people that glared and insulted him now where forced to call him by the title that had previously belonged to his father. She knows it's hard for him to understand the importance of the Vyshe, that the respect the rest of Neth offers is supposed to be honorable. How can he truly understand any of it?

She is no longer awkward, she is angry. How dares he accuse her of faking honor and respect! She is showing reverence to those chosen by Ayth, she is showing recognition to what Nima fought to get!

"I would never!" Yells Jeza "Never fake respect! Not to you! You deserve that respect!"

She freezes after she finishes, suddenly bashful for her social blunder.

"There, that's better" says Vys-Nima and Jeza breathes harshly, her body still ready for a fight.

Jeza glares at him as an answer and huffs.

"I thought your mother had sucked all your temper out with her lady lessons" snarks Nima "You were acting worse than Loa"

This last sentence is said with an emotion Jeza cannot recognize in Nima's voice. Sounds like hate, but almost envious. Why would Nima envy Loa? That made no sense.

Nima reaches towards his head and lowers the hood of his Vora, taking off his mask right after. It's been three years since Jeza saw Nima's face and he has changed little; his face is leaner and his hair is shorter. But his frown and scar are still there, like no time has passed. Jeza stares and then lowers her eyes. She used to wonder, when was just a child, why Vyshe had to hide themselves from the public. Why would Ayth be so cruel to their own servants? But she no longer wonders about that. It is what it is, there had to be a reason why that was. Ayth wouldn't do something that had no true meaning.

"Let's just drink something" sighs Nima, interrupting Jeza's thoughts "Then, we can talk"

"I just wanted to know where you were" mumbles Jeza "Not because I think you did it, but because…because…"

"It doesn't matter, Jeza" says Nima in exasperation "I didn't kill that thing some may call a man. I wish I had, but I didn't"

Jeza believes him. Nima wouldn't lie to her, he wouldn't lie to anyone.

"Just sit" orders Nima as he waves at a lone chair that's close to the desk "I'll get the arsinoe"

"Do you want to kill me!?" Exclaims Jeza as she sits ok the chair and looks at the eyeball again "Get me karmot, arsinoe will burn my esophagus!"

Nima chuckles again and as he turns and starts to rummage through a cabinet by door. She feels content and sure of herself, maybe she needed to have this talk with Nima, to free the toxic air that had been created between them and then, everything would be okay.

Jeza's eyes leave the eyeball and become attracted to the only shiny thing close to her: The tools, all silvery and methodically organized, each knife, plier and hook carefully put in their place, sharp and extremely clean, not even a single stain of rust. The table had an indentation for each tool and Jeza frowns suddenly, there, at the edge of the table, next to the last tool, an indent where a tool was supposed to be, was empty.

Huh.