Page 63 of The Source of Storms

“How can you say you serve all people when you only serve some people?” I protested. “You have just put laws in place that oppress and demonize some of the very citizens you claim to want to protect.”

She turned that smooth, blank mask toward me. I could feel her gaze, even though I couldn’t see it. She chuckled without humor beneath her mask. “Tell me, esteemed emissaries of the Council, do you know why our realm is riddled with shadowfiends?”

“Hasn’t it been for a long time?” I asked.

“Yes, for centuries now. But did you know that their population grows? Did you know that their aggression intensifies, and that there are more attacks now than ever before? Skeioholm itself experienced one such attack, one of the worst in history.”

“What do shadowfiends have to do with outlawing Sourcery?” Byrgir asked.

“Oh, they have everything to do with it. Sourcery, the continued worship of the dead fae gods, its prayers and rituals, all call on old ties to these shadowfiends. They are part of the very fabric of the old world you worship, you see. You summon them to you from the void each time you use Source magic. Each time you worship in the so-called Old Ways.”

“That can’t be true,” El scoffed.

“Ponder it for a moment with me, Miss Elduren. Where do these shadowfiends come from? The very places the fae left behind. They multiply in the shadows of the lost fae cities, stalk our lands from the epicenter of the darkness with which the ancient fae cursed us.”

El’s fiery face went pallid at the mention of those cities and the monsters that dwelled within.

“And where do they attack?” the High Priestess went on. “Where do they rip innocents from their beds, gut travelers on the roads? Where do they sunder villages and raze crops and cattle? The smaller outlying villages like Skeioholm. The places where the Old Ways live. Places where Sourcerers like Eilith Morceran spin their wicked webs of influence. Where they practice their dark Sourcery with spells and potions and distribute their tinctures and wares. It’s a sickness, you see. A disease. A blight peddled to the simple, ignorant citizens of these villages that know no other way, that have no other protection.

“So when I tell you that my intentions are to protect the citizens and advance the society of Elvik, I do not lie. Some citizens of our fine country need to be protected from themselves. Need to be guided into the Light, shown new ways. If we are to move out of these dark ages and wipe the scourge of shadowfiends from our lands, we must leave the Old Ways behind. We must abandon Source magic, discard the practices of the fae, and save ourselves while we still can.”

“Is that what you plan to do with Eilith, then? Guide her to the light?” I asked.

“I intend to offer Eilith Morceran all the guidance and instruction I can. I will lead her out of her dark ways and bring her to the Lord of Light. And, in so doing, set a shining example of the reformation and salvation that awaits all who repent their dark pasts and join us in the luminous future.” Her hands drifted up as she spoke so that she ended her proclamation in a pose of grandeur, as if she was addressing an entire congregation instead of just the three of us.

El sighed. “So you do not intend to hold a fair trial.”

“Ah, I see my explanation has perhaps been a bit too complex to be understood by someone so clearly fae. What Ioffer your friend now is more fair than a trial: I offer her reformation. Rehabilitation without the condemnation of a legal conviction. And I offer her patience. She can stay as long as it takes. Although, if she continues to refuse my assistance, she can eventually be given a trial and convicted of her crime. But the punishments for heresy and treason are… regrettably irreversible. It is my most sincere wish that she will join us in the Light, before she is lost to the dark forever.”

“Will she be permitted any visitors?” Byrgir asked.

“Once she has renounced her ways and joined my Paragons in devotion, she is free to roam and visit whom she pleases. Until then, it is best that her only influences are those of the Light. I wouldn’t want to set back her progress with a visit from her old life.”

“Of course not.” El smiled again. Her sharp teeth flashed, a violent undertone to the beauty of her otherworldly face. “If she is to get the fair trial that she is owed by law as a citizen of Elvik, please inform us. We will gladly stand in her support.”

“Naturally,” Zisorah said with a dip of her head. The candles hissed and their flames flickered.

“We thank you for your audience, High Priestess,” El said. “You can expect a return visit. Like you, we are attentive to the wellbeing of our people.”

“You are welcome in my halls at any time,” the High Priestess answered. I felt her eyes on me as we turned to leave.

“Oh, and please, Miss Elduren, Mister Ulfarsson, Miss Latharnach?” We turned to look back at her, where she stood bathed in the circular glow of sunlight slanting down from the high window. “It is never too late. There is a place for all of you in the Light. And I can guide you there.”

I did not know it for certain, but I felt with great unease that, although she said all of our names, that statement was directed entirely at me.

∞∞∞

“What a bitch,” El said as soon as we had exited the gates of the Temple. “I’ve not dealt with someone so condescending and pompous in a long time. The Council may vex me but never, ever have I wanted to hit one of them quite as badly as I wanted to hit her.” Sparks flew off her fingers as she spoke.

“Easy, El. Put your glamour back on,” Byrgir said. “Do you think she walked like that because that mask was so heavy?”

El huffed. “I’m honestly surprised she could walk at all. Those shoes alone would be enough to take me down.”

“She clearly has no intention of giving Eilith a trial,” I said.

“No, none,” Byrgir agreed. “She said herself she intends to make an example out of her.”

“Eilith never told me she’d had orders from the king himself to stop,” I said.

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