David Mcintee - The Light of Heaven

One of the men Gabriella had fought had survived and Kamil was with him when the knights came to find her. He was lying, heavily bandaged, in a filthy cot in one corner of the dungeon. His eyes widened as soon as Gabriella came into view.

"Ah you recognise her?" Kamil asked him. "What about you, Sister DeZantez? Do you recognise this man?"

"He tried to stop me on a staircase." She had been too focussed on catching the running man to stop and see whether this one or his friend had survived. "Why did you do that?" she asked.

"Paid," he mumbled dreamily. From his pallor it was obvious he was in pain from his injuries.

"Who paid you, and why?" she asked the man.

"Dunno. A fat man gave us ten silver each to make sure that anybody chasing a man in grey on that street was stopped."

"Why?"

"He didn't say and we didn't ask. Didn't expect to see a chase. Took the money and laughed about it."

"But you did what you were asked."

"Took the money, didn't we?"

"Yes," Kamil commented, "Sadly for you, you did." She leaned in closer to Gabriella, Erak and DeBarres. "It'll be the gibbet, of course."

They all nodded; it was only natural that he should end that way.

"This fat man," Gabriella said to him, "What was his name?"

"Scar, or something."

"Scarra," she whispered thoughtfully. So Hasso's story had a bit of corroboration now.

"Do you know something?" Kamil asked, puzzled.

"Not necessarily, but maybe." She quickly told Kamil about Hasso's quest for a reward. "The mercenary says this fat man called Scarra is a member of the Brotherhood. Eminence Kesar knows the name too, from Faith records."

"So do I," DeBarres put in. "His grandfather was an Eminence, as was his mother before him. They're from Nurn, same as Erak here. There's been two generations' worth of gossip about how come our Anointed Lord's father became Anointed Lord instead of Scarra's dad. Scarra's father defected because of it. He left the service of the church and became a merchant in Pontaine."

The Confessor nodded slowly. "Suddenly we have a motive."

"Family feud," Erak agreed. "If that's true, it won't stop with one attempt."

Gabriella shook her head. "It'll stop. Whether they want to or not. Confessor, will you hear Hasso's confession? Everything he knows about the Scarra, we need to know." Kamil nodded and Gabriella suddenly remembered there was one other source of information. "The assassin that Erak killed… Do we know anything about him?"

"No-one recognizes the face, so he isn't local. The body had a Brotherhood tattoo on its collarbone."

"Necromancers?"

Kamil grimaced. "Not with the head severed. They always go mad when they're that way." Gabriella glared at Erak, who responded with a hangdog look.

"All right," DeBarres said decisively. "I'll have this Hasso come down to you. Find out everything he knows about Scarra and Kell, and any other Brotherhood connections he might have witnessed or been involved in." He smiled thinly. "Also find out whether he deserves that reward, or to have to atone for his sins."

Later that day, Gabriella was summoned to the lushly-appointed room in which Rodrigo Kesar sat on a chair that wasn't far off being a regal throne. Gabriella sat on a simple stool before him. Two silent servants stood in the corners, awaiting their master's commands.

"Sister DeZantez," he began. "I gather you've been throwing yourself into the work of getting to the bottom of this vile attack on Eminence Rhodon."

"Yes, Eminence. As a matter of fact I'd like — " Gabriella hesitated, suddenly feeling that she had overstepped her mark. Then it occurred to her that if she had done so already, it was too late to back down. "I'd like to be a part of the hunt for Kell and Scarra."

"Would you, indeed?" Kesar's smile was faintly mocking.

"Yes." She met his gaze as evenly as she could. "We know from his defecting mercenary that Karel Scarra is making for a vineyard near Andon. We know he is a ranking member of the Brotherhood and we know the bowman who made the shot was a member of the Brotherhood. We also know that Scarra met a Brotherhood Bishop named Kell not far from here, at around the time of the attack."

To her surprise, his smile warmed somewhat, becoming more genuine. "And will you define 'a part of' for me?"

She flushed. "I know I haven't the rank to lead the hunt," she said at last, "but I'd like to do whatever I can to help."

"Of course." Kesar paused. "You acknowledge that you are not ranked to lead this hunt, and yet you bring the concept into our conversation."

"Eminence?" She inwardly cursed, for making herself look a fool.

"The question of leadership needed no mention here, least of all by someone who acknowledges that she is not the one to lead. So why mention it all, other than to put the word 'lead' into connection with yourself?" Gabriella could feel her face growing ever redder. "Don't worry, Sister DeZantez; the ambition to do one's best in the name of the Lord Of All is not a sin. And nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about." He sniffed. "Very few people ever became leaders, who did not first seek to put themselves in that position."

"Eminence, if I were to ask to lead the hunt… Forget it, it would never happen."

"Perhaps not. I'm sure Preceptor DeBarres has many eminently qualified and suitable Knights who he can assign to the task. Then again, perhaps you are one of that number. I wouldn't know."

"Thank you, Eminence." She wasn't sure whether she had done herself any good or not, but the discussion itself had been more than she expected. He extended a hand so that she could kiss his signet ring once more before leaving.

When she had gone, Kesar gestured to one of the servants. "Have Preceptor DeBarres sent to me without delay."

A rap at the Eminence's door a few minutes later proved to herald the arrival of Preceptor DeBarres. He had shed his armour and now wore robes and the tabard of the Order.

"I'm ready to present my report," DeBarres said without preamble. He gave Kesar a scroll.

"I'm sure it makes interesting reading." Kesar laid the scroll on the table. "I didn't invite you here just to read a report, Raul."

"Raul?" DeBarres echoed. "Is this an off-the-record meeting, then?" Kesar nodded. "Then I'll take a seat."

"What think you of Sister DeZantez?" Kesar asked.

DeBarres raised an eyebrow. "In what way?"

"As a soldier."

"She's a fine soldier," DeBarres said proudly. "Strong, well-skilled, can take hits that would floor me. She has a good grasp of tactics and works well both on her own initiative and in any team arrangement."

"As an Enlightened One?"

DeBarres smiled, still proud. "She's devout, well-read… There's a touch of Heaven in all of us, but she has more than most."

"And as a person?"

DeBarres thought for a moment. "It would be a cliche to say 'the daughter I wish I had,' but I'm damned if I can think of a better answer to your question, Rodrigo."

"Raul, what would you say if I told you she wants to hunt for Scarra and Kell."

DeBarres grinned. "I'd say she wouldn't be the Knight of the Swords I think she is if she didn't want that."

"Would you let her?"

DeBarres closed his eyes for a moment and a shadow seemed to pass across his pockmarked features. "As the Preceptor of a Knight of the Swords, yes. As a man with a near-daughter… I don't know." He chuckled. "If I said that in front of her, she wouldn't be very happy."

"At being protected?"

"Exactly." DeBarres let out a long breath. "I'd regret it — not in the sense of fearing she'd fail, but in the sense of feeling guilty at sending her into danger, but yes, I'd let her go after Scarra and Kell. It'd be a damned harder thing to stop her from going."

"Of course there will be a hunt, that's not in question. But who do you have in mind to lead such a hunt?"