James Islington - The Shadow Of What Was Lost

“So. These are the people you will be working with,” he said eventually. “Ashalia – this is Kol, Fessi, and Erran. Perhaps the most important people in Ilin Illan right now.”

Asha felt her brow furrow as she turned to the three, all of whom wore the simple clothing of serving folk. Erran she recognised as being the mousy-haired boy from earlier that day, the servant who had been with Elocien in Tol Athian. The one called Kol was enormous, all muscle; even sitting down he seemed to loom over everyone else in the room. Still, when he looked at Asha his expression was more anxious than anything else.

The last of them, Fessi, was a girl about Asha’s age, maybe a year older. She had dark, straight hair and a plump figure.

In all, they seemed entirely unremarkable.

“It’s nice to meet you,” said Asha politely, knowing her confusion was probably evident on her face.

There was a short, slightly uncomfortable silence, and then Erran gave an awkward cough. “We’re like your friend Davian,” he explained. “We’re Augurs.”

The silence was longer this time as Asha stared between the three and Elocien in disbelief.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. It had to be some sort of trick. It had to be.

Elocien gave her an apologetic smile. “Yes, you do. Erran Read you, back at the Tol. I wouldn’t have risked telling you about Torin or any of this otherwise.”

“Sorry,” said Erran, sounding sincere.

Asha shook her head, perhaps more dazed now than she had been after learning about Wirr. The duke was using Augurs ? “But you’re the Northwarden - an Administrator! I thought….” She trailed off.

Elocien’s smile slipped, and he sighed. “You thought that I must want the Augurs dead. I understand. I helped write the Tenets and the Treaty, and I’ve done things in my past I’m not proud of. But I’m trying to make up for that now, Ashalia - particularly with what we are doing here." He grimaced. "As for the other Administrators, I rein them in where I can. Truly. If I hear about abuses of the Treaty, I punish those responsible as harshly as the law allows. But the types of people who are attracted to the job… well, I’m sure you’ve met enough of them. Let’s just say it is an uphill battle.”

Asha indicated her provisional acceptance of Elocien’s explanation with a bemused nod, turning her attention to the three Augurs. The people she was going to be working with. They were so… young.

Erran glanced sideways at Elocien, who gave him a grim nod.

"You’re not sure whether to believe us," observed Erran quietly. "Allow me to demonstrate."

Before Asha could react he took two quick steps forward, placing his hand against her forehead.

The building was quiet.

Asha frowned. Even at this early hour, before dawn, Administration’s main building should have been humming with activity. There were lights flickering cheerfully in the windows, but no movement, no noise.

Something was wrong.

She walked inside, going cold as she saw the body. The young man who had been at the front desk twisted slightly as the breeze swept in the open front door. His face was purple and black, swollen, bloated folds of skin almost hiding the noose around his neck.

Asha touched the sword at her side, bile and unease swirling in her stomach. The motion was mostly for self-reassurance; whoever had done this, had done it hours ago. She headed towards the stairs, feet leaden, the utter silence feeding her dread.

Even after what she’d seen below, she was still unprepared for the sight that met her as she reached the second floor passageway.

The hallway was lined with bug-eyed corpses, each one shifting and turning gently in an eerie, slow-motion dance as they hung from the rafters. Some of the distended faces stared blankly at her as she steadied herself against the wall, light-headed for a moment. Eventually, she took a deep breath and started through the gauntlet of the dead, wincing whenever she had to push a limp, cold limb out of her path.

Most of the rooms she passed had more hangings. Men and women she knew, some little more than children - all of whom had been so eager to take the Oath, to come here and serve. She wondered what they’d thought in those last moments… or if they’d even known what was happening. There were no signs of struggle, no indication that any of them had put up a fight. Not anywhere.

Finally Asha reached her office. Her assistant, Genia, swung listlessly in front of the door. Bile threatened to rise in Asha’s throat again as she remembered asking the young girl to work late last night.

She looked away, collecting herself before entering.

At first glance, her office seemed untouched… until she saw the slip of paper, out of place on the always-tidy desk. A note.

Hands shaking, she picked it up. There was only one word on it.

Stop.

She crumpled the piece of paper and shoved it in her pocket, fear and horror melting away beneath sudden, white-hot rage. She should have known he was responsible for this.

The Shadraehin had gone too far this time.

Asha gasped as the scene faded and the room snapped back into focus.

Erran lowered his hand, giving her an apologetic look before retreating to the other side of the room. She stared at him.

"What was that?" she whispered.

"A memory," said the duke. "My memory, from not more than a month ago. The Shadraehin’s reaction to our trying to cut off his food supply."

He watched her expectantly.

Asha stared at him in disbelief for a long few seconds, heart pounding as she suddenly understood.

Erran had Read her at the Tol. They knew.

"How can I believe you?" she asked, trying not to let her hands shake. "How do I know you’re not making this up, or that the Shadraehin was even behind it?" She shook her head. "How could a Shadow, or even a group of Shadows, do what you just showed me?"

"We don’t know, but it happened. Memories aren’t something Erran can create," the duke replied quietly. "It’s not just that attack, though. Since we first heard of the Shadraehin a year ago, more and more Administrators have been turning up dead. Regular folk, too, sometimes. Each body is left with a note, explaining why the Shadraehin believed they had to die." He looked her in the eye. "I can show them to you. Or you can read the reports, if you need something further."

Asha stared at them for a few seconds, stomach churning. "Why are you telling me this?"

"You know the answer. When Erran Read you, he saw your deal with the Shadraehin. But he convinced me that you’d entered into the agreement without understanding the man you were dealing with - that you are, in fact, someone worth trusting." Elocien shrugged. "That, your history of keeping an Augur’s secret, and the fact you were friends with my son convinced me to let you come this far."

"And now?"

"Now you know the truth, and you have a choice. Us, or him." Elocien’s expression was grave. "I’m hoping that after what you just saw, you’re not going to want to have anything more to do with him. I’m hoping that now you know about Torin, about what I’m trying to do for the Gifted, you wouldn’t consider letting the Shadraehin use him as leverage. I’m hoping that my arranging such a prestigious position for you here will give you another avenue to help the Shadows, one that is less violent than the alternative he offers."

He sighed. "Under better circumstances I would ask you to help me capture him, too, but that isn’t a game I have time to play at the moment. The deal is simple: you stay away from him and his people. You tell them nothing. You have complete loyalty to us."