This I Know

by A K Clark

  “Bring them and follow me,” Stefan said before he stormed out of the room. The two men grabbed our arms, escorting us down the hall and into another room where Stefan stood.

  “Tell me, was it worth it? Killing her?” he said as he pointed to the ground. On the floor was the half-burned body of my mentor. I thought we had pulled her out before too much damage occurred, but in the light of day, I saw her hair had completely burned off. The fire ate her skin down to the bone. I looked away, trying to will the image away, but the room reeked of charred skin and meat. I heard a faint ringing noise. My eyes flitted around, searching for the source. The sound grew louder and louder.

  I opened my mouth to ask if anyone else heard the sound, but black spots dotted my vision. I tried to blink the obscurities away, but they grew larger until the blackness covered my sight. The room swayed violently before I collapsed.

  I woke in a dark room, lying atop a feather mattress on a small wooden frame. Why have the gods sent me another dream like this? I blinked slowly as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, deciding any further attempts at sleep would be wasteful. I wasn’t prepared to have another nightmare.

  I jolted out of my grogginess. These aren’t the shadows of my bedroom. I rolled over, spotting someone sitting in the opposite corner of the room holding a candle. Had I any strength left, I might have jumped up and scooted farther from the figure. But my energy was zapped. The adrenaline from yesterday was gone. It wasn’t a dream. I covered my face with my hands, trying to push the memories out of my mind.

  “Is there water?” My voice came out hoarse. The figure left the room, returning with a small cup of water. I took a few sips, eyeing the man standing in front of me. A prominent scar ran down the right side of his face. I averted my gaze, trying not to stare at it. “What time is it? Can we light more candles?” I set the cup on the floor.

  “It is almost dawn. There are more candles in the main part of the house.”

  “Almost dawn? Where is Cora?”

  The man sighed at my questions but spoke with restraint. “Cora is in another room sleeping. She is in shock. She won’t speak. After you fainted, we brought you here to rest. I’m sorry, but Stefan will want to question you since you are awake.” He looked at me, eyes filled with pity. He pushed a chiton into my hands. I gave him a questioning look. I was already dressed.

  He cleared his throat and looked away. “You stink. I thought you’d like to wear something that isn’t so offensive.”

  I blinked, realizing he had insulted me. I should be offended, but to be honest, he was right. I looked at him, too dazed to speak.

  “I’ll be waiting outside,” he said. “Meet me in the hallway when you’re finished.”

  Once he left, I tore off my filthy peplos, which reeked of death, and quickly replaced it with the chiton. The black material was soft against my skin and fell just above my knees. My face grew hot with anger as yesterday’s events flashed through my mind.

  The order had accused us of murdering our mentor, lobbing ludicrous accusations before forcing us to look at her. The tactic had been an attempt to bring forth a confession. There was nothing to confess. Why couldn’t they understand? We were innocent. Seeing Vero die then burn had been hard enough. I didn’t need to stare at her scorched body while they accused me of murder.

  As promised, the man waited in the hallway. I raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you have a name?”

  The man grunted and strutted away, no longer patient or polite. I made no move to follow. I might be a suspect in a murder, but I wouldn’t allow him to treat me like a criminal. After a few moments, he must have realized I still hadn’t moved.

  “Come, Stefan is waiting.” He turned and walked again, confident I would follow. I grew tired of them being rude when I had done nothing wrong. I planted my feet in defiance. An action maybe a bit undignified for a twenty-year-old, but every woman has her limits. The man huffed when he turned and saw me still unmoving. This time he prowled back to me.

  “Listen here, boy,” I spat the last word, “I’m sick of you all acting like I did something wrong. If you really think you can get a confession by—” …umpf… “Put. Me. Down. I demand you set me down this instant!” I screamed at him as he carried me down the hallway like a sack of potatoes. I kicked and smacked at him to no avail. He didn’t stop until we reached the interrogation room. He sat me in the chair rougher than necessary. I glared daggers at him.

  “My name is Theo,” he said with a cold smile before he left the room.

  I cursed in frustration. Arrogant bastard. What right did he have to carry me like a child throwing a tantrum? Never mind I had been throwing a tantrum of sorts. Why weren’t they listening? Argos had probably already left the city. They were wasting time questioning us. Stefan rushed through the doorway and sat on the other side of the table.

  “What do you mean to accuse me of today?” I asked him in challenge.

  “Alex, please accept my apologies for our methods.” The change of attitude surprised me, so I stayed quiet, afraid it was yet another ploy for a confession. Stefan continued talking. “I couldn’t know for certain if you were innocent. I knew if I showed you the body, your reaction would tell me. Those who commit murder don’t respond the same way as those who are innocent. They feign shock but hold it together, no screams or fainting. I’m afraid no one caught you when you passed out because we were trying to settle your friend Cora. Her screams are painful to endure.”

  So that was the noise I thought I heard before fainting.

  “Is Cora okay?” I asked.

  “She’s fine. She recovered from her shock shortly after you fainted.”

  “Do you always treat people like this when you question them?” I wasn’t able to hold back the question. “I watched Vero die. I saw him crush her throat and burn her body. We pulled her from the fire!” My voice rose with every word.

  “Again, I apologize for our methods, but this is what we do. No one is accusing you of murder today. You have my word. We believe you didn’t murder Vero, but we also don’t know who did. All we know is that the man is from Larissa, his name is Argos, and he has a beard. We can’t do much with that.” Stefan paused, moving to sit next to me. “Is there anything else you can tell us?”

  I thought about the man but couldn’t come up with anything I’d left out. “No, I’m sorry. It was dark, I couldn’t see anything else.” I looked down at my clasped hands. “How will we find him?”

  “That’s where we come in.” He smiled. “Are you hungry? The cook is making breakfast.”

  “The cook?” I asked, not able to hide my curiosity.

  Stefan chuckled as he stood. “Yes, the cook. The council provides cooks for the members. Come, he makes the best breakfast I’ve ever tasted.”

  I followed Stefan down the hall and into the kitchen. The smell of freshly cooked eggs wafted through the air. A short man worked over the cook’s fire. The flames brought back memories I wasn’t ready to relive. I looked away, focusing on Stefan who gestured for me to sit at the kitchen table. Thankfully, I couldn’t see the fire from where I sat.

  “Would you like water?”

  I was still wary of this new attitude but decided to indulge him. Anything to get me out of there faster. “I’d love some.” I thanked him, taking the goblet he offered. I admired the craftsmanship of the cup, indigo on the outside and light blue on the inside.

  “You like the goblet?” Stefan asked.

  “It is beautiful. Did you make it?”

  “No. I’m not good at much besides policing. My son, Isaias, made it. He made me a few to take on the road. He says I don’t drink enough water and perhaps a pretty goblet would make me want to drink it more often.” Stefan cracked a big smile. “Between you and me, wine tastes better than anything else I’ve tried to put in those cups.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. Wine, in my opinion, was the only reason goblets were made. You could drink water with your hands, but wine? Wine was far too precious to sp
ill on the floor.

  “Here we go.” The short man set five plates around the table. Before I had a chance to ask who they were all for, the two younger members entered the room. Theo, the one with the scar, sat as far away from me as he could. I narrowed my eyes at him as the other young man took the chair next to me and smiled. Almond eyes accentuated his dimples.

  “Hi, I’m Zeus. Sorry for the rough handling yesterday. I’m not great at being the bad cop if I’m honest.” His smile faded when he saw the look on my face. “What is it?”

  “Zeus?” I asked. Was he joking?

  “Yes?” He smiled again. “Ah. Yes, Zeus. My parents did not think it through. My dad used to tell me I would grow to be as strong as the god. I grew strong, but I’m still waiting for my divine-like strength. You can just call me Z if you like.”

  I smiled. I had no plans to see these men after this day, but they didn’t need to know that. The men’s conversation was light, focused on things they needed from the market. They excluded me from their small talk, which didn’t bother me but it allowed my mind to wander back to Vero.

  “Alex? Are you okay?”

  I wiped away hot tears, narrowing my eyes at Stefan. Why does everyone keep asking that stupid question? Of course I’m not okay.

  “Yes. I’m sorry.” The apology felt silly. I had nothing to be sorry for. “When can I go home?” Word traveled fast in Delphi. My parents no doubt knew of my whereabouts, but the thought of worrying them bothered me.

  “We have a few more questions, then you can go. We’ll start after breakfast.” Stefan gave a sympathetic smile and squeezed my hand.

  Cora cleared her throat as she entered the kitchen. Theo rushed over, offering his arm to her. Zeus and I shared a curious look when Cora accepted it. He led her to the table. It didn‘t surprise me that Theo liked Cora. Everyone liked her. What shocked me was that she seemed to like Theo well enough to accept his escort.

  “Do you feel better, Cora?” I asked.

  She smiled and nodded. “Yes, I needed the rest.” She picked at her food before leveling her gaze at Stefan. “You will send us home. We are innocent. The gods have shown me you know this. I will not sit through further questioning about a murder we did not commit.” Cora’s voice shook but I smiled, happy her spunk had returned overnight. Few would dare issue a command to a member.

  “You can leave today.” Theo quickly explained what Stefan had told me earlier. “So, we just need to ask a few more questions, and then you are free to leave.” He gave Cora a smile which she ignored, waving away his response. It seemed she didn’t like him as much as he thought she did. I smirked.

  “A few more questions about what?” Cora asked, not giving in to his smile.

  “A few questions regarding Alex’s ability to render a man twice her size immobile and give him a black eye.”

  Everyone turned to look at me. Gods, could this day get any worse?

  5

  I finished eating before the others. Cora leaned closer when Theo described a scene from a show he had once seen. It was almost as if Vero hadn’t died. Almost. Even though my friend smiled encouragingly at Theo, her shoulders sagged with a deep sadness that a few funny stories couldn’t erase.

  “Can you explain those two? He wasn’t exactly a ray of sunshine when he saw me this morning,” I whispered to Zeus.

  Zeus faced me and shrugged. “After you fainted last night, Cora was stuck with all of us. We talked about the Pythia selection. We thought you were lying about being in the candidacy for the Pythia position, but when we checked with the speaker, he confirmed it.”

  He smirked. “One thing led to another and we asked Cora to divine for us. Nothing fancy, just some tea leaf reading. It went on for a while before Stefan and I went to bed. Theo stayed up with Cora.” He looked at them. Cora laughed as Theo acted out another scene. “I guess they became friends.”

  Envy clawed at me. Cora found happiness in the midst of a murder investigation. I would hold it together until I was home, far away from these members. I didn’t want to cry more than I already had in front of them. Theo finished his recounting of the show, turning his attention to the remaining food on his plate.

  I shared an anxious look with Cora, who had barely touched her food. Deciding to take the lead, I stood, waiting for her to join me. Together we walked to the interrogation room. Stefan sat at the table with his head in his hands. We shuffled into the room and sat, waiting for him to acknowledge us.

  Cora cleared her throat. “Stefan? Are you all right?” When he didn’t answer right away, she placed a hand on his arm.

  Stefan sighed heavily before looking up. He creased his brow in frustration.

  “Is there no more you can tell me about Argos?” Stefan asked me.

  “I’m sorry. I’ve told you all I remember.”

  Cora fidgeted in her seat when we looked at her. She had said nothing yesterday in her shocked state.

  “I can’t tell you anything Alex hasn’t already told you. He was tall, around six feet, and he had a beard. I asked the gods more about this man, but they showed me nothing useful. I’m sorry,” she said.

  Stefan blew out a long breath. “All right then. I can’t be certain his name is Argos, but since you said the Pythia called him that, we will assume it to be true. I had another question for Alex.”

  I straightened in my chair, trying to settle the nerves fluttering in my stomach.

  “How did you take down a man by yourself?” Cora scoffed at his question. I wasn’t the only one offended by his tone.

  “I punched him in the groin. It wasn’t hard to take him down after that.” I lifted a shoulder.

  Stefan didn’t look convinced. “I know they require you to take defense classes, but I’m surprised by your abilities.”

  “I’ve practiced for several years. It isn’t uncommon for a woman to defend herself when her life is on the line.” I snapped the last part. I didn’t mean to be defensive, but his comment had upset me. I’d never been good at keeping my mouth shut when men made silly assumptions about women. I clasped my shaking hands in my lap.

  “Alex is being shy. She’s one of the better students and has taken down more than a few men since we started the class,” Cora said, her voice filled with indignation.

  “I apologize for my doubt, but you understand women rarely study defense?”

  I said nothing but nodded in acknowledgment. He was right; besides those of us in the candidacy, only a few other women took the class.

  “Did you get far enough in the lessons to specialize in anything?” he asked.

  “I prefer sparring with fighting sticks, but hand-to-hand is a close second.” Stefan raised his eyebrows in surprise. Another response I’d grown used to—the few women who took defense classes wouldn’t pick hand-to-hand combat as one of their favorites. Cora and Ilinor despised it, repulsed by the possibility of ruining their faces.

  “Well, you didn’t injure the man too badly. You stopped before you did any real damage.”

  “I realized it wasn’t Argos when he rolled over.” I wouldn’t say I fully regretted hurting the man; after all, he accused me of murder.

  “If you don’t mind, I’d like you to come with me.” Stefan stood and led us outside. Cryptic requests seemed to be his specialty. I hoped he wasn’t planning on showing me another dead body. Still, I followed him as he walked around the side of the house, sharing a look of confusion with Cora. I tried not to think of the nefarious things he might have planned.

  A tall brick fence—almost as tall as Stefan—lined the yard. We walked through the gate and into a combat yard. Rocks outlined a circular arena in the middle. Excitement filled me as I looked around. I had always hoped to see a real training yard. The ones used for my defense classes were mediocre at best, thrown together haphazardly. But this one was organized perfection.

  On the right side of the arena, I noticed a combat cart like the ones in my classes, overflowing with weapons: swords, hammers, fighting sticks,
throwing knives, a bow with arrows, and a few other weapons I didn’t recognize. My feet propelled me to the wagon. I gently, if not a little greedily, touched the fighting sticks. I recalled the way my stomach fluttered and tightened before striking out at an opponent.

  Theo stepped into the arena. “Come, show me how you were able to take the man down,” he said with a mocking smile.

  “You want me to fight him?” I looked to Stefan standing outside the arena, hoping this was a tasteless joke, but Stefan stared at me unsmiling. They didn’t seriously expect me to fight a formally trained member?

  Zeus smiled at me, raising an eyebrow when I looked to him for help. “Cora also talked a lot about your fighting abilities last night. Can you blame us for wanting to see your skills?”

  Cora backed away from the combat cart slowly when I turned to glare at her. “Come on. It won’t be that bad, you’ve taken on guys like Theo before,” she said, her voice meek.

  “I’ve never fought a professionally trained member of the order!” I whispered to her, my words pointed like daggers. I didn’t want Theo to hear. He was already smiling like he’d won. The least I could do was knock his cocky look off his face. Cautiously, I walked to the edge of the arena. Theo’s stupid smile widened as I neared.

  “Don’t worry, Alex,” Theo attempted a soothing voice, “I won’t hurt you too badly.” He laughed a little too loud at his own insincerity. His words made me angry. He assumed, as men always do, that I was weak. My fighting abilities were a joke to him. Cora, Stefan, and Zeus came to stand next to me, outside the arena.

  “Don’t worry, Alex,” Zeus spoke with the same mocking tone Theo had just used. “I’ll make sure we have a healer come after you kick his ass.” He winked at me and I smiled at him. I didn’t know if he truly believed in my ability, but he supported me. I was beginning to rethink never seeing any of them again. Zeus and I were well on our way to becoming good friends. Theo paced the circular arena, stretching his arms above his head. I took a deep breath before stepping inside.