Path Of The Broken

27. Lockdown-3

As Kevin had thought, it didn't take long for an out-of-breath healer trainee to find him. Breathlessly, he imparted his message that the Grand Guild Master requested Kevin to attend the Council. He thanked the boy, who barely paused before continuing on his way to find more of the people he had been tasked to find and give his message to.

Kevin felt his mood darken even further; it showed the gravity of the situation that he'd been called to Council. He couldn't remember anything that had happened previously that could be serious enough for the Guild to be on lockdown. The last time that had occurred was when a contagion had broken out. There was no contagion this time; if there had been, he would already know about it.

Kevin continued on his way, although he didn't change his pace. It was not customary for him to run and he wasn't about to start now. Turning the corner, he made his way over to the rather ornate staircase that led to the upper floors, the home of most of the Guild Masters, their offices and the boardroom. He kept his pace measured as he climbed up the stairs, twenty of them. He didn't even have to count, he’d climbed them so many times. On both sides leading up the staircase were portraits of the previous Grand Guild Masters that had served the Healers’ Guild. It was an impressive display, showing exactly how long the Healers’ Guild had been around. A Grand Guild Master’s portrait was never placed on these walls until after he was dead. Kevin wondered idly, where the next paintings were going to go since there were already forty portraits, twenty on each wall, evenly spaced all the way up.

Kevin admired the view from the expansive windows that looked over the healers' grounds as he walked down towards the boardroom. The well-manicured gardens could rival the ones at the Royal Palaces. It was a soothing sight, yet today it did not have that effect. He was way too agitated, wondering what had gone wrong and hoping that it was nothing to do with his plans. At least he couldn’t see any of the King’s Guard out in the gardens. It was important to find the positives when things went wrong; that was a fundamental lesson he’d learned long ago.

Kevin smiled and nodded at the youngsters on the doors as they acknowledged him and pulled the doors open. He entered the room without pausing, walking down the side of the table to take his usual seat, noting that those already present turned to stare at him as he entered. They all looked flustered and slightly panicked. He had never seen any of these men and women look like this before; they were generally a confident bunch of people. As Kevin took his seat, the Grand Guild Master cleared his throat.

"To fill you in, Kevin, the Guild is on lockdown by order of the Crown." The ageing Grand Guild Master stared around the table before looking back at him. "The king's Master Healer, Aaron, advises us that healers have been implicated in attacks on people, and in somehow using the Sundered."

Kevin felt his heart sink—it was worse than he’d thought. He felt his anger starting to burn, and with effort pushed it down. It would not help for these men and women to see how much this information got to him. How the king’s healer had learned of his journeyman healers’ involvement in running the Sundered he could not even begin to imagine. It should not have been possible for the man to find out about the plot.

"Grand Guild Master, surely there is some mistake. If this is true, then my journeymen would be at risk. I cannot stay here safely within these walls. I must seek them out and check on their welfare."

The Grand Guild Master shook his head. "The instructions from the king are clear: we are on lockdown until we have checked every member here to ensure their healer’s bonds remain intact."

Kevin carefully kept his face blank. He knew he couldn't afford to allow the Grand Guild Master or anyone else into his mind, he’d have to kill them. It was too soon, he was not ready to leave his position here at the Healers’ Guild. If he couldn't divert their attention elsewhere, he was going to have to kill his latest recruit and get rid of the body before they found out.

“If you will allow a suggestion, Grand Guild Master?” Kevin made sure to keep an appropriate expression of concern on his face.

“Of course, Kevin, anything that may help in this situation.” The Grand Guild Master turned to give him his full attention.

“This will take some time to clear the whole Guild. In the interest of expediency, you could start with those Masters who have smaller departments to look after. The rest of us could go back to our offices and as heads of our departments muster our people so they are ready. Once you have finished clearing, say, Master Darius, he can then in turn come and clear me. Once I’m cleared I can in turn start checking those who look to me.” Kevin looked up, a pleased smile on his face as he saw the Grand Guild Master nod.

“Ah, excellent suggestion, Kevin. It makes sense. Well, you might as all go to prepare your people. I’ll start with Master Darius and we’ll then move around to check you all. Remember, don’t start checking your own people until you’ve been cleared by either myself or Darius.”

Kevin stood, careful to keep the relief off his face as the Grand Guild Master turned to Master Darius. He thought furiously as he walked back to his own domain. Hopefully it would be old Darius who came to clear him. The doddering old fool would be easier to deal with than some of his other fellow Council members.