[TLQ-B2] 12. Interrogation (Patreon)

XII

Interrogation

“Leah!” Jaeger exclaimed. “Wait! She’s—”

“I know what it looks like,” Leah sighed. “But you’ll have to trust me on this, Jaeger. This girl and her family are not what they seem.”

“I kno—”

A shadow stepping out a side entrance cut him off. Nerya hadn’t even noticed the exit before.

The man’s hair and beard were wild. It added to his rugged face, placing him south of handsome. A man like him would’ve been the dream son of every Father in their village.

If it wasn’t for the death weighing down the air around him, like he carried on his person the dreams of a dozen deceased.

The edge of his chipped blade gleamed. How often had it cleaved the head of his foes from their shoulders?

‘Often,’ the blade smiled at her. And now it was time for one more.

“Ma—” Jaeger stammered. “Malakai! You’re here, too?”

“Arrived a few hours ago. It was a hell of journey.” The man didn’t take his eyes off her as he spoke. “You should step away from her, Jaeger. We’ll give you the full story once she’d chained.”

“Why not kill her right away?” Leah said matter of fact. “The punishment her family will receive is set in stone anyway. Also, it’s less of a risk.”

Nerya swallowed. She wasn’t sure what’d she’d expected upon finding Leah, but she should’ve predicted this. Of course her disappearance had something to do with her family! The timing and context around it didn’t make any sense otherwise.

‘I need to say something and explain myself.’ But words struggled to come out. Her life was literally hanging by a thread. What could she even say to excuse herself? Every curse or accusation thrown her way would be the truth.

Yet she searched.

“Le—Levi,” she stammered.

The mana humming beside her skull paused.

“Levi and my brother are in danger,” Nerya continued quickly. “You are right to kill me. But please, please let me save them first. Afterwards, you can do with me whatever you want.”

The lazy eyes piercing through the side of her neck turned towards Jaeger. Malakai lowered his blade some and turned towards the frostguard as well.

“If you’d given me time to explain…”

“Youngin’ these days are too hasty.”

The voice made Nerya jerk.

An exasperated sigh fluttered past Malakai, and a hunched figure shuffled into view from behind him.

“You were always too kind.”

Hollow, sunken cheeks. Dark rings around the eyesockets as if she’d grown tired of living four decades prior. There was no mistaking who this was.

“Master…” Nerya breathed.

Leah raised her brow. “Master? Cranky Grandma, you know this girl?”

Master Circe flicked her finger. The mage swiped her staff, formed a barrier, and blocked the frosty projectile.

The movement stopped her from keeping Nerya an inch away from death.

“That’s what you should’ve done,” Circe said, fixing Nerya with a stare. “Created space, then tried to explain your way out of the situation. What good does stammering and crying like a newborn do?”

Nerya’s lips pressed together. It’d been more than ten years since she last saw her Master, and the first thing she did was chew her out. Not that she hadn’t given her every reason to.

“How about we all head inside before the demons find us?” Circe said. “We’ll hear what the girl has to say for herself and her family.”

There was a pause.

Leah cursed. “Can’t believe I got up for this.” She saddled back inside, rubbing her arms as she did so.

Malakai watched her pass, blinked, and also headed back in.

The chamber her Master called home was perhaps the size of Nerya’s living room. It wouldn’t have been cramped with the five of them inside, but the other frostguards were here, too.

If that had been all, it wouldn’t have been so bad.

A quintet of undead hid in the corner. One of them was the undead that Jaeger had brought with him. The other four had come with Malakai and Leah. The least conspicuous of them was a regular greenskin, but the remaining three…they raised Nerya’s hackles just by looking at them.

‘So the Warden did have more soldiers.’ Powerful ones at that.

“You mind if I take care of Durak for now?” Malakai held out a hand towards the undead as he addressed Jaeger.

Jaeger raised a brow at his companion’s gesture. “He’s all yours. I’m surprised he even listened enough to follow us.”

“Warden’s gift,” Malakai said. “She gave every undead the order to listen to our party. Especially, if she’s not around to issue commands herself.”

Air warped around Malakai’s palm as his sentence finished. Durak jerked. The undead collapsed into a shard, which flew for Malakai’s hand.

Jaeger and Nerya’s jaw disconnected. Jaeger turned to Leah, who shook her head.

“Malakai…” Jaeger uttered. “How…what…”

“Long story,” Malakai said.

“The short of it?” Jaeger chuckled beside himself.

That had Malakai chew on his thoughts. “I’m turning into some sort of fledgling necromancer…? I don’t really understand the details myself. I’m not becoming an undead at least.”

Nerya blinked. You could turn into a necromancer? She always assumed the gift was something innate. Otherwise, there were plenty more people who would’ve turned into one.

She wasn’t the only one confused. Jaeger opened his mouth, but Malakai held out his palm.

“We can speak about me some other time.” He turned to fix her in place. “Nerya Ebonfrost. I’ve heard from Leah what your Mother and Father were up to. I’ll be honest: if your explanation is not to my liking, I’m taking you into custody.” His attention flicked towards Circe. “Any complaints?”

Her master, who was stirring a pot over the fire, waved him away. “You’re part of the Warden’s Guard, aren’t you? Given the circumstances, you’re acting out your duty. I’m not about to pick a fight with the royal line over a foolish student and her family.”

Nerya bit her lips. Hearing her old teacher say that was a stab in the chest. But it was a righteous strike. ‘Who in their right mind would stick up for a criminal.’

The room waited as Nerya searched for a modicum of composure. Leah, who Nerya only now noticed was all bandaged up, sat against the wall with her eyes closed, her staff resting on her shoulder. Jaeger had a small smile on his face and gave her a hidden thumbs up. The Warden’s guard captain crossed his arms and chose to stare straight in her eyes.

She breathed in deep. “What you’ve heard about my father and mother is true…they’ve been colluding with the demons.”

Whispers rustled between the ears of the frostguards, who hadn’t heard of this yet.

“Remain quiet, boys,” Jaeger said, killing the whispers.

Nerya nodded her thanks, then continued: “From what I know, they made a promise to the demons to dig them a network of tunnels.”

“Tunnels,” Malakai said, “that would let them reach every part of the Duchy and ambush our cities?”

…“Yes,” Nerya forced out of her throat. She managed to keep her voice from cracking. “In return, they would leave Winterforge alone.”

To think her family could do such a thing…

“How long have you been aware of this?” Malakai asked.

Almost impossibly, the darkness in his gaze grew heavier. Tangible. The desire to lunge over the fire and seize her by the neck was a physical sensation that pressed down on her shoulders. He must have family in the Duchy, and here she was, telling him that her mother and father would’ve lead them to their death to save their own hide.

Nerya looked down. “I figured out yesterday. Tonight, actually.”

For a few breaths, only the crackling of the fire resounded through the chamber.

“Leah,” Malakai said, “you said the tunnel was right under their home?”

“I did.”

“And how many tunnels were there?”

The mage took a moment…and exhaled. “Too many to count. The whole of this mountain has been dug through.”

The guard captain whirled back on Nerya. “I was told you were the golem expert in your village. You mean to tell me your parents were digging passageways under your nose and you never noticed anything?”

Her hands gripped the folds of her robe in her lap. “…No.”

His voice sharpened. “Even though this would’ve been the process of years?”

She held them back as well as she could. However, a droplet escaped past her eyes and shattered on the back of her hand.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

The contents of the pot master was brewing sizzled and popped.

“I don’t need your apologies,” Malakai said. “Save them for the thousands your family would’ve and may yet kill. What I want, Nerya Ebonfrost, is proof of your innocence. That you were not complicit in this whole matter and about to lure all of us to our deaths.”

“I would never!”

Malakai didn’t respond and merely waited.

Nerya’s teeth dug into her lips. Sadness and sorrow made way for a surge of heat coming deep from within her stomach. She understood why, but having someone make her out to be some criminal still hurt!

“Look,” she snarled. “I got up in the middle of the night because I had a bad feeling and went to check on Levi. After I noticed he was gone, I tracked down his last whereabouts with the help of Botan and stumbled on Jaeger and his squad. They were all bound and gagged, so I freed them.”

Malakai turned to Jaeger.

“It’s the truth,” Jaeger said. “We would’ve still been bound in that cabin if it wasn’t for her showing up.”

‘That’s not true,’ Nerya thought. She remembered how some of the guards had already loosened their bindings. A small lie, then. One he issued in her favour.

Not that it eased up Malakai’s pressure.

“Be that as it may,” Malakai said, “your own brother captured Levi. You rushed here to keep Levi from being handed over to the demons despite your mother’s life being on the line?”

When her family had chosen to put themselves over every other person in the Duchy, he didn’t add. But it could be heard.

A bucket of ice cold water doused the flames inside Nerya. “Yes…because it’s wrong.”

“So now you’re choosing morals over selfish gain?” Malakai chuckled.

The heat surged back up. “Levi and I are well-acquainted!”

At that, the guard laughed wholeheartedly. “Well-acquainted? You’ve known him for a few days.”

Her arms crossed. “He visited my office. That same night, we went out to the quarry together. We. Are. Well-acquainted.”

“Two lovebirds, huh,” He snorted. “How romantic. I suppose there’s no one who can vouch for that?”

Nerya’s throat contracted. Who’d seen Levi visit her office? Botan, maybe, but his words wouldn’t count since he was on her side. The quarry had also happened in the middle of the night, when everyone else was asleep.

“Well?” Malakai’s head tilted.

She balled her fists. There was no—

“…I can.”

Except for Master Circe, who kept stirring her pot, the room collectively turned towards Leah.

“You can?” Malakai’s brow raised.

Leah gave a small nod. “I was trailing them before I discovered Eirwen. I suppose I don’t know where exactly they went, but they were at least together in the middle of the night.”

“You were following us?” Nerya’s lips formed a line. Though it worked in her favour now, that was quite rude to say the least.

The mage rolled her eyes. “Forgive me for wanting to know what a priest and maiden were doing sneaking off together at night.”

One of the frostguards coughed in his palm, and more than a few traded looks. Botan, who’d been sitting mostly quietly behind her the entire time, mumbled something under his breath.

Heat gathered in Nerya’s cheeks. Her finger whipped out. “We didn’t do anything untoward!”

“I never suggested such,” Leah shrugged.

“You—”

“So,” Malakai’s voice rose above her own, “no one can confirm whether you and Levi went to the quarry, but you were definitely out doing something together.”

Nerya bit down on her desire to correct any possible misconceptions. “Yes.”

Blue light flashed, drawing all of their gazes. Master Circe filled a set of bowls crafted from ice with soup. “Feel free to partake.”

Despite being in the heat of an argument, everyone’s stomach was on the verge of collapse.

“Thank you.” Malakai and Nerya both accepted a bowl.

The guard stared her down from above the rim of his cup. “I’ll be honest.”

She paused before scarfing down her meal.

“I don’t trust you,” he said. “Taking you with us is too much of a risk. I’d much prefer for you to be put to sleep and carried out of here by an undead. A tribunal can decided whether you’re innocent or not.”

There was a but shaping up at the end of that sentence.

“I’m not the only one who’ll be risking their life,” he said, then turned to the others. “We can have a vote. Lady Circe, I hope you understand when I request you refrain from voting.”

The old woman nodded and continued handing out meals.

The guard captain spun on Jaeger. “You’ll vote for your squad members as well.”

So, in the end, it came down to three votes.

Malakai’s vote was already known. But what about the others?

Jaeger stared into the flames flickering underneath the pot. “You know, despite what he’s doing right now, I never got the sense that your brother was a bad person.” He regarded her. “He didn’t speak much, sure. However, when he spoke of you, it was with the genuine pride of a brother in his voice.”

The guard captain stopped slurping for a heartbeat before he continued.

“The Black Pearl of Winterforge, huh,” Leah muttered. Her eyes grew distant like she was looking at a faraway place.

A fresh batch of moisture threatened to slip past Nerya’s eyes. Of course, he’d told them about that. He knew how embarrassing she thought that nickname was.

“You saved me and my men, too,” Jaeger continued. “You have my vote.”

That left one. It took a while before Leah returned from the memory she was visiting and spoke up.

“Your master, though she’s a crone through and through—” she ducked underneath the frost shard rushing for her temple “—saved my life. But that doesn’t mean I trust you.”

Nerya refrained from speaking and allowed the quiet to settle between them.

The mage eventually sighed. “I only hate you because of the state your parents put me in. If anything, I hate that useless Warden more.”

“Leah…” Malakai said.

“‘Leah,‘ what?” she cried. “If her undead had worked as it damned should’ve, I wouldn’t have been here right now.”

“I already told you her network was likely out of range,” Malakai muttered.

“I don’t care!” she swiped her arm. “This woman has been working me to the bone! The least she can do is make sure the undead she gave me works when I need it!”

A white cloud shot out of her nose at the end of her venting.

Malakai merely shook his head. “The two of you can fight it out yourselves. Your vote?”

Leah side-eyed Nerya. A faint spark of lightning threaded through her eyes, then she said: “Don’t make me regret my decision. One wrong move, and I’m putting you under.”

And with that, a massive weight fell off Nerya’s chest.