Chapter 193

Chapter 193<~> Chapter 193

The walk through the capital was eerie, to say the least. I had just been through this part of town earlier but now it was deserted. It wasn't even sunset yet but most of the people that had been out on the streets were confined to their homes and only guards were patrolling the streets. There were some clues as to how the riot had gone based on the patches of blood on the stone walkways that hadn't been cleaned up yet.

I turned to the guard who was escorting the three of us to the guard captain's office. "Were there a lot of people killed in the riot?"

He glanced at me and shrugged. "I'm not sure, I know that a few citizens and rioters were killed but no one from the guard has died as far as I'm aware. I'm not sure about the paladins or priests from the Tamin church though, some of them were targeted in the chaos."

I nodded and we returned to silence. The situation didn't really call for levity or more questions. The town had been completely shut down and the quiet was infectious. Even the other guards and soldiers we passed by didn't speak much as they patrolled the streets. Some of them were leading people back to their homes or cleaning up some of the damage from the riot.

Looking over at Talis, I was a little confused as to why he was joining us. I was aware that he had been the one to inform the guard captain that we were in the Great Library but I had assumed he would return there once we met up with the guard that was escorting us. I wondered if there was more to him joining us than that.

I assumed that Sir Noreth wanted me to help with the demon problem considering they had discovered it was the cult of Amphores behind the collar suppression in the city, though I'm not entirely sure about that. I was still a little unsure what they needed from me in particular, the Tamin church probably knows significantly more about them than I do. All I knew about them was what Nathaniel in Goldenhearth had told me in his letter and the things I discovered from the ledgers, all things I'm sure were already shared with him.

Near the eastern gates of the city, we were being led toward a large unmarked building made of the same utilitarian shaped stone most of the walls were built from. The building was notable for its size and nothing else, it didn't even have any markings, flags, or signs. Something about the building gave me the creeps but I didn't really know why.

"Are you alright, Lilith?" Silva whispered to me. I looked over at her, she looked calm and collected. She stood tall and her large rabbit ears flicked and turned to nearby sounds but her eyes were focused entirely on me.

"Nervous," I replied.

"It will be alright. I'll protect you if anything happens." She turned back ahead toward the building as we got closer. The confidence and reliability with which she spoke those words made my gut twist in guilt. I was conflicted with her, I had only brought her with me because I didn't trust her, but here she was confidently saying that she would protect me without any hesitation.

The guard opened the door and let the three of us through before following us in after. The building looked empty right now, the only signs that anyone was here at all were the quiet voices I could hear through the door to the left of the empty reception desk.

"Do not speak until you're addressed. Sir Noreth is an impatient man and our guest is... well... you'll see. Leave your weapons here on the table." I nodded and undid my belt before placing my sword on the table next to Silva's spear and Talis's pair of thin sabers.

After he did a quick inspection of our armor and gear he opened the door and we walked into what looked like a long dining room without the table. The room was dark, only lit by a handful of candles since the building had no windows. There were five men, all human, three were normal looking human guards, a tall man wearing full plate mail stood near the end of the room and a young man with blond hair and fine looking clothes was seated on a chair next to him. The guard that escorted us closed the door behind us and stood to the side of it.

Talis's grip tightened on his sword. "How am I supposed to trust you at your word? I just watched you rip your slave collar off and kill a king! Even if this meeting were secret you just put all of us at tremendous risk!"

Silva's eyes met mine again. "That's a risk that I believe Lilith and I are willing to take to free our lovers from slavery. I wouldn't do it if I thought we couldn't get away with it though. This isn't the first noble I've killed and I suspect it won't be my last."

I gulped. The young king of Torlimal is dead and he had no heirs. That means his bloodline has ended too. Does that mean Morrigan and Torien's collars are already gone?

"You cannot trust this woman. She left you to die when her attack blinded you. Her collar must have been suppressed, she must be in league with Amphores," Talis said.

Silva's eyes looked back at Talis. "I told you before this, I serve Lilith of my own will. I've been able to remove my collar this entire time but I chose to accompany her and watch over her." She looked back at me and smiled. "Who else was going to keep this fledgling demon hunter from getting herself killed?"

The man's grip tightened on his sword again. He looked like he could attack her at any moment. "Swear it," he spat out. "Sorsette is watching us right now, I know it. Swear on her name that you wish Lilith Baphomet no harm."

Silva relaxed her posture a little, letting her sword down. "I swear on Sorsette's name that I have no intention to harm Lilith Baphomet, now or ever."

In the center of the room a pulse of magic identical to the [Zone of Truth] passed through the three of us. Truth. As if a switch had been flipped Talis completely turned around. "We need to hurry. I'm not sure how long it will take to escape here without anyone noticing." He began to pull off his purple robes indicating his relationship with Sorsette and stole one of the guard's surcoats to disguise himself with.

Silva relaxed and tossed the sword to the ground in front of her, leaving her unarmed. Well, as unarmed as she could be. It seems the fighter has had hidden electricity magic up her sleeve this entire time. She kept her trump card secret, wearing her slave collar as some kind of disguise. I knew it was real, I remember how it looked the first time I had given her an order and when she had been transferred to me. But it felt fake after finding out she could have removed it all of this time. I didn't know whether to be happy my friend was free from slavery or scared of her now.

"Before we go," I rasped. "How much of what you've told me is a lie? Was the story about your parents a lie? Something to tug at my heartstrings and manipulate me?"

Silva frowned. "I don't think I've told you many lies, I mostly just withheld some details." She shifted her weight. "All of the stuff that happened with my parents was real. It was why I started training in the first place. It just wasn't the noble I told you it was."

I shook my head. "Who are you? I heard you talking with Lorriene this morning, I didn't catch all of it but I know you've been keeping things from me. I'm missing something, how do you two know each other?"

She sighed. "You heard some of that huh? Probably not the most important bits then, otherwise we probably would have had this conversation sooner." Silva crossed her arms and took a breath. "I'm an assassin, Lilith. I've trained since I left my dead family's farm to infiltrate and kill targets for The Order of Lilith."