Friday, May 3rd, 2069
“This is Jesse Owens,” Mr. Varnish said, introducing the man that Smegma had just told me could ruin everything. “He’s a squad leader in the Mirage Guild. His team was one of the next to enter the Portal in the park, when it suddenly and unexpectedly closed. He has an interesting tale of being offered a Skill if he called the police. And you’ll never guess where that offer came from? Jesse, would you care to tell them?”
“Uhh, the strange voice seemed to come from some sort of ‘shadowy, Satanic-being’.” Jesse said, sounding confused. I didn’t blame him.
Mrs. Stovall’s eyes narrowed in skepticism before she sarcastically repeated, “A shadowy, Satanic-being? Are you sure you didn’t smoke too much Marijuana the night before?”
I pointedly looked at the man from Mirage and Mr. Varnish, trying my best to look confused. In my peripherals, I also watched Smegma ,who was currently right beside Jesse. Mr. Varnish nodded a few times. “Oh, I think you’ll discover that Jesse is on the straight and narrow, Mrs. Stovall. Jesse, would you like to tell them the whole story of why you called the cops on Tuesday night?”
Jesse looked between Mr. Varnish and then the others in the room before meeting my eyes. There seemed to be a moment of hesitation before he reluctantly began, “I was in my tent, and was woken early due to the noise. Two of my squad mates came in and reported what had happened and how the Permanent Portal we were securing had suddenly closed.”
He paused again and looked at my father and then at Mrs. Stovall, as if trying to place them. After a moment, he shook his head and continued. “At first people believed it was a strike-team sent from Lynx or SnowBird’s Guilds. Something to prevent our Mirage Guild from gaining traction or money. However, rumors began to spread that the people we caught were just the trapped Miners…”
“Regardless, as I returned to my tent about an hour later, with no real explanation and only more questions—something spoke to me. Something sinister and powerful. It spoke out of the shadows in the corner of my tent—“
“I guess the shock and awe worked,” Smegma commented from his spot beside Jesse. “I had hoped it would make him reluctant to speak up, until he reached out to you for that Skill, at least.”
Smegma’s words overrode Jesse’s to my ears, but I still heard him relate the offer the ‘extra-dark shadow’ made to him. Smegma just finished speaking as Jesse concluded as well, saying, “—I was told to find Alonzo Mars, and I’d be granted a Skill for my service.”
“A Skill? This shadowed entity claimed he could offer you a Skill?” Mr. Varnish exclaimed, his voice filled with false-surprise. “Goodness. How on earth do you suppose he could do that?”
My eyes however weren’t on Varnish's antics. They were drawn to the two Larvae Guild members. Aerome and Seleff both leaned forward in their seats, clearly more interested in this piece of information than any before it.
Smegma saw it, too. He hovered over to them and narrowed his eyes. “So… They do know about Demonic Vault and what my Abyss Sect offers!”
“Do you know who Alonzo Mars is?” Mr. Varnish asked after not getting a response to his first question.
Jesse Owens nodded, even as he scratched the back of his neck. “I found him on SwiftGram. When I realized it was just a kid, and a Miner at that—I realized I’d been fooled by a Skill, and well—now I’m here...”
“Thank you Jesse,” Mr. Varnish said quickly, seeming to want to cut off any further story telling from the man.
Mrs. Stovall picked up on it, though. “Hold on one moment, Mr. Owens. Could you elaborate a bit further?” She said sweetly. “You found Alonzo Mars on SwiftGram and discovered that you’d ‘been fooled’? Why is that, exactly?”
“Well, I believed I was dealing with a powerful entity not of this world. Something with the ability to grant me a Skill. When I found out it was just a college aged child—I realized he or someone in his group must have had a Skill that tricked me…”
“So, what did you do after discovering that this had nothing to do with this… ‘shadowy Demon’?” Mrs. Stovall asked. She gave a smug look to Mr. Varnish, and the Court Reporter typed furiously on the tablet.
“Well, I was just trying to figure that out, when Mr. Varnish here approached me.”
“Is that so?” Stovall raised an eyebrow to Mr. Varnish. “He approached you? And what did he say to you?”
“He said he’d discovered who the anonymous caller was—and—umm—encouraged me to tell him the story of that night.”
“So, he already knew about your ‘anonymous call’ to the police before you ever even mentioned it to him? How interesting. Encouraged, how?” Mrs. Stovall said, looking very pointedly at Mr. Varnish, who was frowning deeply.
“He offered me safety from Echo-Five and told me he’d get me a spot in the Larvae Guild, which works overseas after the trial.”
“So, he convinced you that your life was at risk?” Mrs. Stovall asked, her voice neutral. My brain was whirring as I tried to process what was happening. I could tell there were a lot of underlying things going unsaid, but I couldn’t quite understand what they were.
“He didn’t need to do much convincing,” Jesse responded, his voice small and squeaky. “Echo-Five was on a witch hunt after that night. I was already prepared to get out of Windsor, but Mr. Varnish just—umm—offered a better plan.”
“So, there was no indication that he would reveal your identity to Echo-Five if you didn’t testify?” Mrs. Stovall asked.
Jesse swallowed visibly but shook his head at the same time. “No, Echo-Five was already aware of my identity…”
“He was?” Mrs. Stovall said, looking pointedly at Mr. Varnish.
“He was,” Mr. Varnish said. “He was the one who hired the investigator through my firm, Mrs. Stovall.”
“So, you helped Echo find Jesse, even though he planned to kill him?”
“Come now, Mrs. Stovall,” Mr. Varnish said, chastising her. “Jesse is right here, and quite alright. Since Echo-Five hired the investigator through us, I was able to ensure his safety. He was never at any risk.”
“So, why the offer of sanctuary overseas?”
“Jesse misunderstood. We simply offered him a position in another Guild—a better Guild.” Mr. Varnish seemed a bit shaken, being called out on the holes in his story.
My eyes narrowed studying the interplay between Mrs. Stovall, Jesse and Mr. Varnish. It would seem that there was a reason Jesse wasn’t called to the stand to testify in open court, in front of the Jury. What was it?
Was it these rather gaping holes in the story? The fact that Jesse hadn’t seen Smegma? Was it the clear coercion that Mrs. Stovall was emphasizing?
“Jesse.” Mrs. Stovall’s voice was soft and concerned. She reached out and touched his arm. “Are you aware that Mr. Varnish here has done more than just hire an investigator for Echo-Five? He just recently took on Echo-five and the Mirage Guild as clients?”
Jesse’s eyes widened as he turned toward Mr. Varnish. “Wha—What?!”
Knots stood out in Mr. Varnish’s jawline at Mrs. Stovall’s words. His teeth clenched as he breathed out through his nose and opened his mouth to speak. Before he could, however, Mrs. Stovall cut him off.
“Yes.” Mrs. Stovall answered forcefully, her volume rising. “We only found out just a few moments ago when we passed Echo-Five in the lobby. Mr. Varnish here made sure that we knew he’d taken the man on as a client. In fact, you were nearly in the same room with Echo-Five, who you just said was on a witch hunt.” She paused and shook her head sadly. “Jesse, I’m afraid Varnish may be playing both sides here. He’s the same man Echo-Five used to hire the man who found the rat in his Guild. Then when he does discover you, he brings you into this sham of a ‘testimony’ in a completely separate case? When he’s finished with you here, do you think the offer from Larvae will still be good?”
As more and more of Mrs. Stovall's questions came out, they seemed to land on Jesse like hammer blows. He glared at Mr. Varnish. “Is she telling the truth? Are you just using me?”
Mr. Varnish’s scowl disappeared as he calmly waved away Jesse’s concern. “Nothing so diabolical or contrived, I assure you. In fact, Mrs. Stovall is correct in some of her points, but I’m afraid she’s misconstrued the facts. I took on Mr. Five as a client, in a separate case against Mr. Flacarada here.” He gestured to me. “Who you know of as Alonzo Mars. However, she seems to be implying that I need you to somehow win my current litigation case. There is a reason you are telling your story here and not in a courtroom Mr. Owens. One of which is for your possible safety. The other is that I already have more than enough evidence against Mr. Flacarada to win this case..Since I do have so much information on the man, it was only natural for the Mirage Guild to approach me to represent them against the same man I am currently prosecuting.” He chuckled good-naturedly when he finished.
Jesse’s heated glare cooled gradually.
“I’m… so sorry to interrupt. I just had one more question, Jesse,” Mrs. Stovall gently butted into their conversation. “Aside from Mr. Varnish here refusing to grant you asylum overseas like you said he’d offered,” Mrs. Stoval said, almost sheepishly. Her words drew another glare from Mr. Varnish, who clearly thought he’d side stepped that part of the conversation. She gestured toward Mr. Varnish and the Larvae Guild members. “Do you recall who first used the term ‘Satanic-being’? Was that your description or… someone else’s?”
“Umm—I’m not sure,” Jesse stuttered, still looking hopefully at Mr. Varnish for direction. I could tell that Mr. Varnish, Seleff and Aurome were all pointedly trying not to give him any. Not seeing any signs, Jesse eventually added, “I think it was me?”
“You think it was you?” Mrs. Stovall asked. “It seems like a pretty big-leap to take—you know from a talking shadowy creature, to something Demonic.”
“Well, umm—the voice claimed it was extremely powerful and lived for thousands of eons…”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I was somewhat excited to learn that Smegma hadn’t claimed to be a Demon or a ‘Satanic-being,’ but also embarrassed on the Demon’s behalf to learn he bragged about his age.
“And you reached the conclusion that must have meant it was Satanic in origin? Could it not have been a powerful Angel or Spirit that came from the system?”
“I mean—I guess it could have been?” Jesse answered, still looking desperately at Mr. Varnish.
“Okay, so you’re saying—” Mrs. Stoval stopped, blinking rapidly as though a thought had just occurred to her. A brilliant smile showed on her face for a moment as she reached into her purse. Pulling out her phone, she swiped at it for a few quick seconds before turning it toward the man. As she did, I could see that it was an illustration that very closely resembled the painting that Mr. Varnish had shown us a picture of in court. I wasn’t sure if it was significant or not, but it looked like Smegma when I’d first met him—all thin and bony and much smaller than his current self. “I’m sorry, Jesse. Just one quick thing I wanted to clear up real fast. Does this painting look familiar to you?”
Jesse frowned, leaning in and looking at the phone closely. Mr. Varnish scowled behind him. Jesse blinked, looking around and scratched his head. “I don’t know… I might’ve seen it in a horror movie or something? Some kind of Renaissance thing, maybe? I can’t be sure.”
“Just so we’re clear,” Mrs. Stovall raised her voice, making a show of directing her attention to the Court Reporter. “I am showing Jesse a picture I found online of a thin, emaciated Demonic figure, and which I am also showing the members of this room.” She turned the phone so that everyone could see and brought her attention back to the man. “Are you sure this isn’t the ‘shadowy Demonic figure’ that told you to call emergency services on the day of the closing of your Guild’s permanent Portal?”
Jesse chuckled. “What? No way. Whatever it was, it was much bigger than that. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know what it actually looked like. It was super dark and sketchy, but whatever it was, was bigger and scarier than that little thing. Don’t forget ma’am. I’m a bonafide Hunter. I’d eat that little guy for breakfast.”
“Fat chance, you gun toting little—” Smegma flew up to the man’s head and started swinging his clawed fists through the man’s skull.
[Dude!] My eyes rounded as kept my neck unnaturally still, refusing to look around. [Knock it off! This guy’s doing us a favor, idiot! Didn’t you hear what he just said?]
Smegma stilled, but before he could do anything else, Mrs. Stoval continued.
“Super dark and ‘sketchy’, you say? But you’re sure this couldn’t have been the creature that spoke to you., Is that correct?” At his nod, my attorney looked directly at Mr. Varnish. “Fascinating. Thank you, very much, Jesse.” Mrs. Stovall’s smile was a sunbeam.
The man smiled back, seeming both confused, but also a little proud and oddly shy at her praise.
“That’s enough,” a deep, accented voice said, and all eyes turned to Aurome. “Everyone but the boy, out of the room. I’d like to have a little chat.”
“That is highly inappropriate,” Mrs. Stovall stated. “Any discussions regarding this case must be done in the presence of Mr. Flacarada’s lawyer. Me!”
“I don’t believe that Brodie, will want this discussion on record, Mrs. Stovall,” Aurome responded. “I have no issue with your presence if he doesn’t…”
The man let that statement hang in the air, his eyes never leaving me. I looked to my father and Mrs. Stovall, but pointedly ignored Smegma.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“I want to hear what he has to say!” Smegma said excitedly.
Slowly I transferred my gaze to Aurome. After a time, I nodded, indicating that they could stay.
“As you wish,” Aurome said, turning his steely gaze onto Mr. Varnish, the reporter and the other assistants of the Lawyer. “Then I would ask that you give me the room for a moment.”
Mr. Varnish bowed, and began ushering Jesse out of the room. Jesse looked a bit lost, but also happy to be getting out of the spotlight. The court reporter forced Mrs. Stovall to sign something before leaving, but I didn’t get a good look at it.
“Good,” Aurome intoned in his deep and accented voice once the room only had Seleff, himself and the three of us. Aurome’s eyes seemed to glow with power as he focused back in on me. “Let me be Frank. That is the saying, correct?”
Smegma scratched his head, clearly confused.
[What now?] I asked.
“If he’s going to be Frank, who are you supposed to be?”
The effort to not roll my eyes nearly sent me apoplectic, so it took me a moment to realize he was actually asking that as a question. Someone on my side must have nodded, that or he just continued without prompting. “Demonic Vault,” Aurome stated, that one word making my heartbeat begin sounding like a bass drum in my ear. “You have it, and through it, offered a Skill to that man, yes?”
I began to shake my head, seeing what that whole play with Jesse Owens had been about. Clearly, Mr. Varnish hadn’t wanted Jesse to testify in court, but Aurome, the man’s backer, had needed him to—for this moment. I even opened my mouth, planning to deny having the Skill when I remembered that Seleff may have a Truth Seeking Skill.
So, I snapped my mouth shut and began planning my words more carefully. “That isn’t true. I can impart a Skill to Jesse Owens, though, yes,” I said slowly. Trying very hard to not reveal having the Skill but also hint at something else that Aurome might want.
Seleff blinked at me, and then nodded slowly. Aurome’s face broke into a huge smile as he leaned forward further. The Portal Wood Table creaked as he placed more than his weight one it. “So, you can impart Skills because you are a Snatcher like Mr. Varnish and our leader believes, then?”
“No, I am not a Snatcher.” I responded simply. And I wasn’t. My sub-Skill of Dragon Heart clearly said ‘Skill Copy & Cannibalism’. Seleff leaned forward this time, giving me a pointed look, but he still nodded after realizing I wasn’t going to say anything more.
“So, you aren’t a Snatcher, and you don’t possess the Demonic Vault Skill?” Aurome asked. “But you can still grant a Skill in another way?”
“Ooooh, this is an opportunity,” Smegma crowed. “Because he asked multiple questions and even imposed a tense on the Demonic Vault one, a Truth Skill won’t be able to distinguish between what you’re answering.”
[Okay, so I just focus on answering the final one in the affirmative?] I asked, trying to take the opportunity that Smegma with his knowledge of Skills saw. The Demon nodded, and I did exactly that.
“Yes, that’s correct. I can reveal what my intentions for granting Jesse a Skill were but those secrets are quite valuable. Can you guarantee you’ll pay a fair price and that what I say next will remain confidential?” I asked, thinking of revealing the Skill Altar.
Aurome’s smile grew broad, and he made some sort of motion toward Seleff. The man started to glow for a split second, and then a pulse of golden light shot out from his chest. It rushed past me, and the others in the room before affixing itself to the Crystal Glass walls. “Seleff has made it impossible to listen in on our conversation. You have my word that what you reveal will not be divulged to hurt you. We will pay an appropriate price but we cannot negotiate without knowing this secret. I cannot guarantee more than that, it all depends on the information.”
“Will you sign an agreement to that effect?” Mrs. Stovall asked. “An amended NDA for now—with promises of paying ‘market value’ to be discussed later.”
Mrs. Stovall looked to me right when she finished. “We could do more but I assume you’d like this conversation to continue today?”.
“Are you okay with me revealing this?” I asked my father. He shrugged when my eyes moved to him. Clearly, he was leaving the decision in my hands.
“For the husking record, I’m not okay with revealing this!” Smegma shouted. “This is completely stupid. Why by the Seven Deadly Trials would you offer something like this to our enemies? This has real husking value.”
Closing my eyes, I pretended to be making a difficult decision. In truth I realized that Smegma had good points but he was missing quite a bit as well. [We are in a room with two men that are very high up in a very powerful Guild. If we try to go speak with Taz or some other far lesser group, we won’t even be admitted. Then there’s the fact that they are the ones pressuring me and my family. So, with this secret we can negotiate for them to back off. Likely even end this farce of a husking trial!]
“It’s still stupid! You could just keep the information for yourself, use the fourteen Skill bestowals on you and the group and then become a Hunter and collect more. Never telling anyone!” Smegma countered.
[Yeah, right! Smegma, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m starting to see why the Demon’s failed to Ascend.]
Smegma went deadly silent after that comment. I opened my eyes and glanced in his direction, where he floated behind the two men. He was blinking in stunned silence, and I got the feeling he realized I might be right. I took a deep breath, and then turned back to the two men. “Sign what Mrs. Stovall suggested and we’ll negotiate afterwards.”
The two men signed the hurriedly amended Non Disclosure Agreement Mrs. Stovall pulled from her briefcase. She nodded to me when they finished. With a deep breath I began, “We were the ones who closed the Portal in the park. Not intentionally, mind you—“ I added quickly as I saw Aurome grow excited. “—it was through the help of a Creature of immense power…”
I began telling an abridged version of our group’s time in the caverns, leaving out a great deal, but highlighting the Snake’s knowledge of the Skill Altar in the leader’s Stone Hut. About how triggering it initiated the Dungeon closing, and how I received a reward.
“—a ‘low-ranked Skill Altar’ was granted to me,” I said, as I made the small bird fountain-like object appear on the desk. Eyebrows shot up, as the Altar suddenly materialized. I saw both Seleff and Aurome’s eyes flick to my Necklace.
Still, they dismissed the low-ranked Spatial item rather quickly after discovering it. Aurome pointed to the Altar instead, as he asked, “So, this object can impart Skills if you place nine Cores in it?”
I nodded, and he stood up as he indicated wanting to pick up the object.
”There are, however, only a limited number of uses,” I added, wanting to drive up the value as much as possible.
“I see.” Aurome replied. His small smile seemed to indicate he understood what I was doing. “May I?”
I nodded after a time, and Aurome moved around the table. I hadn’t realized when he was sitting just how big Aurome was. He easily was six and a half feet tall, and his biceps were likely the size of my head. I may have been imagining it but each step Aurome took seemed to be felt through vibrations in my feet.
I swallowed, as he reached past me. Sitting down in the chair, and having the dark-skinned, huge man reach over me, felt terrifying. Like I was somehow feeling the weight of his power pressing me into the seat, and floor below.
“Does he possess a Skill that can manipulate Gravity?” Smegma surmised—which at least allowed my brain to focus elsewhere as Aurome took the Altar and moved to the head of the table, where the court reporter had been sitting.
“What does your Skill say, Seleff?” Aurome asked.
Seleff looked at his fellow Guild member with a bit of disapproval on his face, and then looked at the three of them, making it clear he didn’t like having whatever his Skill was revealed. I looked at my father and Mrs. Stovall and we all shrugged. It wasn’t like we were going to reveal Seleff’s Skill to anyone.
“Yutlaq ealayh madhbah almaharat munkhafid alrutba, Aurome,” Seleff said.
My eyes narrowed, and I blinked as I realized he must have spoken another language. Smegma, hearing my thoughts said, “He just said, ‘It calls it a Low-Rank Altar, Aurome’.”
[You can understand—umm—Arabic?] I asked, somewhat guessing at the spoken language from the tone and sound.
“The System translates languages for me, yes,” Smegma responded. Still, Aurome’s eyes on me made me return to acting like I didn’t understand what was going on.
“My colleague says that it has something to do with Skills,” Aurome stated. “But can you prove that it grants Skills?”
I shook my head, “I don’t have any Cores—”
A pile of at least eighty Cores appeared on the table, cutting me off. I blinked at them, and then looked to Mrs. Stovall and my father. I didn’t want to get another Skill, but maybe one of them would want one?
“It only has fourteen uses left,” I said slowly, waiting for Mrs. Stovall to meet my eyes. My father had shook his head while indicating Mrs. Stovall with a slight jerk of a thumb. When Mrs. Stovall did look over, I nodded and said, “If you want?”
She stood up rather quickly, with that little prompting. Her voice was high as she asked, “How does it work?”
“I’m not an expert, but from my understanding you need to use F to C rank Cores, because this Altar can’t accept higher ranked ones. I’m pretty sure that’s what the ‘low-ranked’ part of the description means. I think there are also affinities or elements to consider. So, try to pick Cores that are similar or compliment each other. Once you slot them, you place your hand on the impression, and a window should pop up…”
“May I?” Mrs. Stovall asked, as she pointed at the pile of Cores, and included the Altar in the gesture.
Aurome stood back and nodded. It was slightly strange to watch three adults acting the way they all currently were. It was akin to seeing a video of a child and its parents on Christmas morning. It made me smile, even as Mrs. Stovall began sorting out the Cores that fit into the depression and were all white or brown in color.
That would probably be light and earth elements? But without a label her guess was as good as mine.
Once she had nine she excitedly placed them in the slots and then put her hand on the impression. She made a small squeak of excitement when the screen appeared. Aurome placed a hand on her shoulder at this point and said, “One moment, if you please, Mrs. Stovall.”
She reluctantly stepped back, removing her hand, and he placed his in the place. The screen reappeared and he tilted his head. Looking at me he asked, “So, what rank Skill can this provide?”
“So far, only F and E ranked Skills,” I answered.
“Do you believe that other permanent Portals could contain these Skill Altars?” He followed up.
“I can’t say,” I responded.
“Does anyone else know about this?” Aurome asked, his voice excited but also deathly serious.
I frowned, not wanting to lie to the man. At least, not with Seleff in the room, but also not wanting to expose anyone. I didn’t think the tone was a threat, per se, but I could tell that Aurome was extremely powerful. In fact, I was starting to question my decision to reveal this to him.
He must have seen my worry, because he shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’m assessing the value of this information. Suffer to say, you haven’t gone public with it yet?”
I could tell that he meant to say ‘suffice’ but let the slip pass. Instead, I simply nodded in affirmation. He motioned to Mrs. Stovall and indicated the Altar. She’d been completely occluded by Aurome’s monstrously large bulk, but when I saw her face I knew she had worried she wouldn’t get a Skill with how everything was progressing.
Her face broke into a tentative smile before growing, as she rushed forward to place her hand on the impression again.
“You do remember that everyone who got a Skill passed out, right?” Smegma said, reminding me of something I had indeed forgotten.
“Wait—“ I began to say, even as the screen vanished and Mrs. Stovall’s eyes rolled into the back of her head. Thankfully, Aurome caught her before she collapsed face first onto the table.
“What is this?” The big man asked, putting his fingers to her neck to feel for a pulse.
I scratched my neck in embarrassment. “Umm, I kind of forgot to mention that the Altar kind of knocks the person out when granting the Skill…”
Aurome narrowed his eyes, but glanced at Seleff, who stood nearly atop of him. Seleff’s yellow eyes were wide with shock, and his mouth was partially open as he stared at Mrs. Stovall.
“’aelaa muharatiha alan hi salasil alhaqiqati, 'ayuha alqayid,” Seleff whispered.
“Her highest Skill is now ‘Chains of Truth’, Chief,” Smegma translated.
Aurome’s reaction also made it very clear what Seleff had just said. The man’s eyes widened and he stared down at the Altar. “What do you want for this?”
I looked to my father, who blinked back at me. Then he coughed and turned to regard Aurome. “I don’t think we should be making deals with the man that is trying to convict my son of a crime he didn’t commit.”
Aurome’s eyes narrowed. “Your son. Is he not the one who kneed my Guild member in the face, causing his death?”
“Kneed your Guild member in the face in self defense, to protect his own life,” my father countered, his voice growing aggravated on my behalf. “Are you telling me that you aren’t aware of the crimes he was committing?”
“Morgan Hallsbrad was committing no crimes that I’m aware of. He truly was investigating the death of one of our members' daughters.”
My brain froze. Even Mental Fortitude was unable to deal with the fallout of that statement. I didn’t have a Truth Seeking Skill, but I could tell that Aurome’s words were genuine. He truly believed that Morgan Hallsbrad was not a serial killer. Still, I was there. The man admitted it, and was in the process of stealing my Skill! My Dragon Heart Skill…
“What is going on?” Smegma asked, clearly as confused as I was. “Isn’t he supposed to be the Guild Leader?”
The question gave my brain a direction to pursue, which helped me focus. What if Morgan had actually been living a double life? He was both Morgan Hallsbrad the serial killer, and Morgan Hallsbrad the private eye?
“Still, someone had to have known. Someone was feeding him targets,” Smegma said.
[So, if it wasn’t the Larvae Guild, then who was it?] I asked. Smegma shrugged.
In a burst of sweat I realized everyone was watching me. I’m sure my body passed through multiple stages of emotional reactions to Aurome’s words. I pointed to Seleff. “He has a Truth Skill of some sort, right?”
Aurome nodded, and I continued, my voice hard. “Morgan Hallsbrad was trying to kill me that night. Kill me and steal my Skill. He held me at gunpoint, and Mana Raped me. He wasn’t acting as a Private Investigator that night. I don’t—No I know, he was there to kill me, all because of some Skill he had—” I almost said that I didn’t know what he wanted from me, but stopped myself, because I realized that I actually did…
We’d already speculated that Morgan Hallsbrad had found out about Dragon Heart, or at the very least, that I’d possessed a Skill better than the low-quality UNMH Assessment indicated by listing me at F-rank. I now knew that was because my Mana Pool, a part of my B-ranked Dragon Heart Skill, had been at ten points, and that the equipment used only could check power that radiated from you. Since then my Pool had grown but stalled at fifty. Smegma had speculated that my pool would grow again when I reached an evolution for the Skill or something else that caused it to break through.
The problem was that someone behind Morgan had fed him my name. Known my mis-identification by UNMH, but not fully informed Morgan of everything. I could clearly recall the Serial murderer being surprised by my low Mana.
In that vein, Smegma had told me about Skills like Seleff’s a while back. He’d given us the example of the Eyes of Truth when we realized that someone must have been either working with or following Arnando’s photoshoots to use it on Awakened people. The photographer dealt exclusively with helping young aspiring people get their foot in the door, mostly as Mana Batteries. It was why I had been there, after all. I studied Seleff more closely. Could it have been him? I didn’t remember seeing the man before our first initial introduction by Mr. Varnish, but still…
Seleff blinked at me, and then whispered something to Aurome. “He says you are telling the truth, or what you believe is the truth. Still, I personally knew Morgan Hallsbrad. So did Seleff. He could not have been this man, you describe.”
I blinked in confusion. But my father realized something long before I did. My dad pointed at Aurome, and said, “Then why does your Guild want my son, if you think he actually murdered one of your members?”
It was Aurome’s turn to blink. He realized in the middle of his confusion that he was still cradling Mrs. Stovall, and lowered her into a chair. Then he slowly returned to his own chair and sat down silently. His frown and introspective look was telling.
“I apologize but this, I cannot answer. Let me call the boss,” he said, after a quiet discussion with Seleff in Arabic.
Smegma summarized their conversation. “It’s obvious they’re both aware of Demonic Vault’s Shop, since they’re the one that brought it up, and believe that’s the reason why the boss wants you in their Guild. However, they both also see the strangeness of the situation, since you don’t seem to possess it.”
I put the Altar back in my Necklace at Aurome’s direction and Seleff dropped his Skill, evidenced by the golden light on the walls fading.
“We will be back after making a call,” Aurome explained. Aurome and Seleff walked out of the conference room.
The door didn’t even close before Ashley stuck her head inside. “Can I get you anything while you wait? Water? Coff—“ her eyes saw Mrs. Stovall slumped in the chair at the head of the table and she rushed inside. “Oh my! Is she okay? What did they do?”
“She’s okay,” I explained. “She just was a little surprised by the conversation's direction.” I lied.
My father gave me a look even as he inhaled a deep breath. Ashley managed to get Mrs. Stovall out of the chair, and onto the floor. “Should I call for a Healer?”
I knew from experience that Healing wouldn’t wake Mrs. Stovall, as I’d already tried it on my family with previous Skill impartations, but in the present situation I just nodded at Ashley’s question. I wasn’t going to be the one using Minor Heal. I’d already given away enough.