by John O.
“Do you have any question, suggestion, or comment before we end this session?” Yosi Sint asked.
Prisca was silent as she contemplated how to begin. After about thirty counts, she said, “Lord HN, Zach here may have told you that I ran into him at your father’s house yesterday and, as such, let me begin by telling you how sorry I am for your loss. The truth is, I passed the night there and discussed with your father this morning before I departed for the Helesp. Nothing he said intimated that he would be coming here today. This leads me to believe that he was summoned. I’ve also noticed that you do not seem to be in your best form; having studied under your father, I can tell these things.”
Unsure of how to ask in a straightforward manner, she paused before continuing. “Whatever may be wrong with you… is it serious?”
The genuine look of concern in her eyes made Yosi realize just how much she cared for him. After a moment’s consideration, he answered by saying, “There is nothing to worry about. I’ll be fine in no time. Now that you mention it, please do me a favor. If you can stop by the temple on your way back and inform the Ispri that his presence is needed here, I would very much appreciate it.”
Noticing her concern seemed to heighten at his request, he laughed and said, “It’s not because of my health. We need to ask him a few questions regarding the investigation. Nothing more. I’d like to thank you for taking out time to discuss with us, Prisca. You may now go.”
She thanked them in return and proceeded to depart from the Helesp. She knew he had lied to her about his condition and she would make sure the Ispri began praying for him as soon as she informed him. She also resolved to pray with her Aisprises upon her return to Jorraine Sint’s residence. They would stay the night once more as opposed to wasting time on a long journey.
As Yosi watched her leave, he wondered if it was the last time he would see her. If he died as a result of the poison, he knew he would die an unfulfilled man to have walked the earth on account of his failure to confess his feelings to the Ispris.
Switching his gaze to Zach Sen, he asked, “What do you think of her?”
“She’s frank and honest, and I don’t think she is our assassin. Something may have been wrong with Rahel. Since the true assassin has similar abilities, it is possible that Rahel’s instincts confused the Ispris’ aura for that of the assassin. In any case, I believe there is someone else out there.”
Yosi nodded and turned to Ron, “What do you think?”
“She talks a little too much, with all due respect to her. She could have answered the questions without revealing all that information. In any case, I don’t think she’s guilty.”
“Any ideas who we should investigate next?” Zach asked.
Yosi replied, “The Ispris remains a suspect until we find the real assassin. However, something that struck me earlier makes me believe we should investigate all living female descendants of Priess Rosento.”
“On what grounds?”
“A gut feeling, truth be told.”
“You do know that we cannot call any of them in for questioning? We have no bas−−”
“I know. I wasn’t speaking of formal investigations. We can conduct some research on our own and review information from Spyinme records. At the moment, though, please come with me to see my father.”
Switching his gaze to Ron, he added, “Please join Rosi and Surita in interrogating Loila.”
Loila Even knelt before Rosi Lite and Surita Minabi in her lowly lit cell. The pair had been at it for almost thirty minutes and so far, she had held her own well enough.
“Loila,” Surita said upon deciding to try a different approach, “I spent a lot of time thinking about why your co-conspirators wanted me and the other girls captured. At first it didn’t immediately ring a bell but now I believe I see a connection. The three of us worked shifts at Ishe Riva’s palace in the weeks leading up to his death.”
She paused to observe Loila’s reaction. She saw nothing telling and decided to continue, “I believe you and your cronies wanted to interrogate us to see if we had individually spotted blocks of evidences that could be put together to form a coherent whole. If we did, then sooner or later we would eventually discover the part you played in his assassination. Am I wrong?”
Loila ignored the question as though no one had spoken to her.
Surita proceeded to ask, “Tell me Loila, what is the Nukamchi’s aim in slaying our rulers? Are they the ones behind these inexplicable murders?”
Again, silence. Rosi Lite was fed up with the routine and decided it was time to try an alternative approach. He brought a bucket of water, and brandished it. “Let’s see how long you can hold your breath,” he said.
“That would prove ineffective,” came the voice of Ron Riten who had entered unnoticed. He proceeded to open the bars of the cell and walk in.
“These clips will get her to talk faster,” he said as he walked over to her and began loosening her robe.
“What are you doing!?” The formerly reticent Loila shrieked in fear.
“You think yourself attractive enough to provoke me to force myself on you? Please, do not flatter yourself. I only wish to see whether or not you’re more faithful to your cause than you are to your nipple.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” she screamed.
“Oh but I would,” he practiced the clipping movement as Loila watched in sheer terror.
Ron was a master at this sort of thing. His characteristic method was to begin inflicting pain before asking the first question, and Loila was about to experience firsthand why his ruthlessness had become a thing of legend. With a stoic look, Ron clipped off the nipple on her left breast, causing Loila to let out a visceral scream of raw and blinding pain. Surita was visibly shaken and even Rosi cringed. Ron on the other hand just stared as though nothing unusual had occurred.
“Loila Even. May you kindly inform us what you are involved in? Do not forget you have another nipple, and a lip, and a nose, and an ear and eyes, and fingers and−−”
“I know nothing!” Loila cried as tears freely flowed down. “Nothing… to the goddess… nothing at all…”
Ron retrieved a sharp pin and attempted to insert into the bleeding hole where the nipple had been.
“Stop. Please stop. I know little of what they may be planning. All I know is they are not responsible for the murders.”
“Why capture the girls then?”
“Surita was spot on, her only error being her assumption that they were involved. They only wished to find out who was responsible, just as much as you do.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know,” Loila sobbed.
“You don’t know? Let’s see if this pin knows,” Ron suddenly inserted the pin into the aperture till it was buried halfway deep. Loila instantly went unconscious, only to be revived after inhaling from a cloth soaked with pungent vinegar.
“Dear, you’re not allowed to blackout on me now. Do you not know this?”
Surita had shut her eyes at this point, wishing the ruthless Leade to stop. She knew that she could not afford to speak out against him while Loila was present, lest they present a divided front against a cunning enemy.
Ron retrieved the pin and asked once again, “Why?”
Whispering now, Loila answered, “Because we need to make sure… make sure the culprit’s plans do not interfere with ours…”
“And what are your plans?”
Loila blanched with dread as she beheld him. He did not understand that she was bound. With a shaky voice, she pleaded, “You don’t understand Ron. If I attempt to say anything to anyone who is not in league with the plan, I die. I’m bound by a spell.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“I’m sure…”
“Let’s see how sure you are,” Ron was about to insert the pin once more when Rosi placed a hand on his shoulder.
“We can’t afford to take that risk,” Rosi said to the brutal Leade.
“On the cont
rary Rosi, I think we can. If we spare her and she tells us nothing, it’s as good as if she dies in the process of trying to tell us something.”
“It’s not the same. At the very least, we can still use her as bait if she lives,” Rosi insisted.
“This one will never willingly cooperate,” Ron thought aloud.
“Still there’s more information we can get out of her. Trust me Ron.”
Ron shook his head before saying to Loila, “It seems you’re in luck. I’ll sit by and observe if you reveal anything useful to these nice colleagues of mine. If you don’t, I’ll come in once again and of course, be assured that I won’t be half as nice.”
Loila inwardly breathed a sigh of relief that the demon had been temporarily kept at bay. She truly couldn’t inform them on the Great Cause without losing her life. She would have to come up with a creative way to deal with the situation, she realized.
As they watched Loila deal with her pain, Surita suddenly excused herself for a brief moment. The ordeal had riled up her stomach and now, the food she had eaten earlier begged in earnest to be set free. With her new role, she would have to learn to handle such horror even more, she reckoned.
33
Jorraine Sint observed his son as Yosi walked into the room. The fellow healer had briefed him on the situation and he was already coming up with a next course of action.
“Greetings Father. I believe you’re already aware of my predicament.”
“Yes I am, Yosi. Can you describe how you feel right now?”
“Light-headed. Waves of vertigo come every now and then and despite the cool weather, I’m beginning to sweat unusually.”
“Please take a seat.”
As Yosi moved to adjust the chair in order for him to sit, another wave struck, causing him to trip and fall on his behind. The two healers jumped out of their seats to Yosi’s aid, only to find his eyes rolling in his head.
“He’s having a seizure!” Jorraine shouted. “Bring that box over to me. Now!”
The less skilled healer ran to do as he was bid. Upon his return, Jorraine hurriedly opened the box and took out a red vial. He opened it and forced the contents into Yosi’s mouth and began to pray for mercy. Yosi’s seizure intensified before suddenly flagging until he lay still with a steady rhythm to his breath.
Jorraine Sint was just recovering from the trauma when Zach Sen walked in.
“What happened here!?” he asked with shock as he made his way towards the recumbent HN.
“He had a sudden seizure,” the other healer nervously replied.
“Oh my, how were you able to stabilize him?”
“I administered a potion,” Jorraine replied.
“I should have been by his side but I had to ease myself.” In actual fact, he had also used the opportunity to inquire about Rahel’s reaction to the Ispris. From what he could gather, nothing unusual had occurred, and this troubled him deeply.
Focusing his thoughts on the issue at hand, Zach asked, “Will he wake soon?”
“I honestly cannot tell. Is there an adjoining door to his room? We need to move him to a bed.”
“Unfortunately there isn’t.”
“We must move him there anyway.”
“I don’t want to cause unnecessary panic amongst the officers. Can I not have a bed brought in here?”
“That will take too long. Do not delude yourself into thinking the officers are not already whispering about what may be going on. Their panic is the least of our concerns right now.”
“We have lost too many people in the past few days. You’ll be surprised just how much damage panic can cause.”
“Leade Zach Sen!” Jorraine Sint stood to his full height before continuing, “My son’s life is at risk and I am the expert on these matters. Unless you can have a bed in here within one minute, we move him to his room this instant. I will no longer permit any back talk.”
Zach Sen turned around and walked out of the room. He proceeded down towards the Leade’s room and retrieved his bed.
“Where are you taking that?” a surprised Sly, who happened to be present in the room, asked.
“The healers need it,” Zach replied tacitly as he dashed out.
He entered the consultation room and laid it on the floor. “I believe that took less than a minute.”
Jorraine ignored the cheeky comment as they joined hands in moving the unconscious HN to the bed.
“What happens next?” Zach asked as he switched his gaze between the two healers.
“Immediately after HN Ruki Sen informed me that he had been poisoned, I took samples of his blood and feces in order to conduct certain experiments with. You see, his symptoms were similar to those of his father, and I decided to make an attempt towards developing an antidote once and for all. My son’s symptoms are similar. The dizzying spells are just the beginning. In time he would heat up, lose strength, become bedridden and then die. This could endure for as long as a few days.”
The healer dipped into his box and retrieved a green vial before continuing, “Before my wife passed, we were able to develop a recipe for this potion using various ingredients, the key one being the Astragalus. We had a high level of confidence that it will prove effective. I was in the process of mixing the recipe when the assassin struck my wife and daughter. The reason I arrived late, despite your summon, was because I decided to complete it before coming.”
A flicker of hope caused Zach Sen’s face to brighten up, “You wish to administer it now?”
“Not yet. While there is only a marginal chance that this antidote will have detrimental effects, it is still one that exists. I choose not to administer this until he gains consciousness. That way he can make any final decrees, including…” The man steeled himself before continuing “…including nominating a successor should he die in the process.”
“Die?”
“It is as I explained earlier. Antidotes are by themselves toxins. The potion Jorraine has developed is a toxin that has a high probability of neutralizing the one that is taking root within the HN as we speak. Should he be wrong, for whatever reason, and the toxin within the HN is different from what he expects, there’s no telling as to what the side effects may be,” the other healer replied.
“He’s correct,” Jorraine replied.
“So, the next step is to wait until he regains consciousness. Once he does and he pronounces his will in front of witnesses, you administer the potion.”
“Yes. Unlike the case of HN Ruki Sen, where he deliberately took a death potion, we are not certain that my son will pass on. If anything, I feel more certain that he will be cured. As a result, only the minimum number of witnesses required should be present. There is no need to summon so many officers as I hear HN Ruki did.”
“Understood,” Zach replied with a hidden note of fear. Could history be repeating itself so soon? Only a mere five days had passed since such a ceremony was witnessed.
Raiden Ni, who had been riding on the Outer Main Road, was about to detour into the East Shore Road when he noticed a fast-traveling arrow from the woods make its way towards him. With the dexterity of man who had faced the perils of war, he twisted his body such that the arrow only grazed him as it flew past. Before he could regain his posture, he saw three arrows approach towards his abdomen. He immediately fell backwards off his horse and landed on his back. While he survived, his horse wasn’t as lucky.
“Show yourself!” he commanded as he looked around, oblivious to the beautiful Raci Even who watched from a tree. She was out of arrows and could do nothing but smile at the luck of her prey. Raiden Ni dashed into the woods from whence the arrows had come. As he inspected the trees, he heard the voice of the strange woman that had evaded him at the inn.
“This is far from over, Raiden Ni. You shall die before nightfall.”
“Is that so?” Raiden teased. “Then I’m really going to miss you. With a voice so sweet, I bet you would be more than gratifying in bed.”
The thin air sp
oke once again as Raci replied, “Nice attempt, but you’ll need to do more than that to make me lose my composure.”
“I only spoke the truth. The sound of your voice is simply arousing,” he replied as he tried to locate the exact source of her voice. He would continue to try for more than thirty minutes before proceeding to make his way home on foot. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that this mystery woman would tail him home.
The three interrogators emerged from the dungeons with less information than they had hoped for. They had decided to adjourn for the day in order to focus on other matters. Upon entering the hall, it was immediately evident that the occupants were deep in speculation. Eyes flickered towards the HN’s room as they whispered, while others regarded the trio with questioning looks as to what had occurred down in the dungeons.
Mila Thorne was among those who were present in the hall. She had been piecing together all she had seen as she came to a fearful conclusion.
“The HN may have been poisoned,” she said to Rahel who sat beside her
“Why do you think so?”
“It’s the only thing that justifies why he had a healer on standby through the night. Why else would Zach Sen take a bed into that room? If someone needed to lie down, why didn’t they change locations to the HN’s room which is just next door? It can only mean that someone within that room is incapacitated, and I think it is the HN.”
Rahel stared in disbelief as she asked, “You make a strong case but isn’t it a bit outlandish?”
“It’s been over four hours since the Sun’s Hour, yet the HN has not taken his midday meal. Doesn’t that strike you as odd? I believe that Surita is in the know of whatever may be happening. Since we share the same position, shouldn’t she inform me of what transpires?”
“How could she, when you’ve been brooding over your beloved HN ever since?” Rahel replied sarcastically.
“In any case, we all should be worried. The rate at which our rulers are dying is alarming. When the traitors have eliminated them all, there’s no telling what they would do with us.”