The Liberian

Chapter 40

Damion allowed his eyes to meet hers levelly for a moment, and she knew. He was asking for her silence with that dark gaze. She closed her eyes for half a breath and looked back at him, hoping he understood. While she had never told the prince her decision in the end, she had to assume that somehow he knew. Halle wondered if Mohned’s signature was a fake too or if the master was also stretching the truth on her behalf.

“We had actually started working with her; it would have been irresponsible of us not to. She’s been in the Tower quite a bit since her awakening. She even has a mentor.” He produced another piece of paper, and Halle realized Larel was also fighting for her. It was a relief to see that Egmun wasn’t the only one who could paint pictures with words.

“If she was in such control by the Tower, then what happened the Night of Fire and Wind?” Egmun said roughly, his annoyance showing.

“Everyone Manifests differently. There hasn’t been a Windwalker in almost one hundred fifty years. We can only operate on the best knowledge we have,” Victor said casually.

“That lax attitude may have gotten innocent people killed,” Egmun sneered.

“I believe the prince was doing his best to keep an eye on our promising apprentice and those around her. We can only make adjustments going forward. But as a point of reference, were there any confirmed deaths from the cyclone?” Victor asked.

Egmun paused.

“Quite the contrary,” an old and sagely voice called from the back of the room. All eyes turned and Halle smiled; Mohned had come. “Forgive my tardiness, good ladies and sirs of the Senate, your graces of the Empire.” He walked slowly to the edge of public seating on the left. The master stood at the short fence that blocked off the area from the central testimony dais.

“Only one witness is to speak at a time,” Egmun scolded, glaring at Mohned.

“I would like to hear what he has to say, Head Elect,” an Eastern female senator called.

Mohned turned to the Emperor. “If it would please your highness?” the master asked.

The Emperor looked to the Senate and received motions of approval, so he gave Mohned a nod. Master Mohned crossed through the gate to stand on the dais with Victor. Halle looked at him; he was hunched over and looked every year of his age.

“Please explain what you meant,” the female senator asked, taking some control from Egmun.

“I just came from the clerics. Unfortunately, one of my apprentices died in the explosion.”

Sareem, Halle breathed his name faintly, his face clouding her vision in an instant. Would she ever have a chance to mourn him? Or would she soon meet him in the Father’s realms beyond?

“But another was with him. The girl’s name is Dylan.”

“Is Dylan alive, master?” she called frantically.

The Emperor seemed to let the outburst slide, much to Egmun’s annoyance.

The master gave her a nod. “She will heal in time, the clerics say,” the master replied with a nod.

Halle didn’t try to hide her tears of joy. “I’m so glad,” she rasped.

“Well, this is just touching, but I fail to see how it is relevant.” Egmun was trying to regain control.

“Dylan, my apprentice, was discovered right next to the epicenter of the wind storm,” the master pointed out. “I have been told the storm had such force it ripped apart the attacking Northerners and tore down buildings. If she was right next to it, would she not have been tossed to shreds also?”

A murmuring coursed through the senators. Egmun looked around, his face twisting in rage.

“Now that you mention it,” Baldair joined the conversation with a thoughtful rub of his chin. “None of the bodies were moved, alive or dead. They hardly seemed touched by the wind at all. They still littered the road. I would’ve imagined them blown about.”

The murmuring became louder, and for the first time Halle breathed a little easier. Not only because it seemed like Egmun’s control was wavering, but because she realized she hadn’t hurt anyone, save for the Northerners who tried to kill her and Damion.

Egmun stomped down the stairs and up onto the dais, clutching the paper Victor had handed him earlier.

“Is this your signature, master?” He shoved the paper in Master Mohned’s face, forcing him to take a step back to try to read it. “Tell me, had it been decided that Halle Yarl would join the Tower?” The senator took another aggressive step forward thrusting his fist and the paper at Mohned.

“Let me read it.” Mohned took another step back, and the hem of his robes caught on the small lip that surrounded the inner circle of the sun dais. The master’s old, frail frame began to tumble backwards, and Egmun made no motion to stabilize the older man. Victor was too far away, and Halle saw it happen, as if ten seconds slower than everyone else. The master couldn’t correct his balance and, with pin-wheeling arms, he began to tumble backwards.

“Master!” Halle cried and thrust her hand out from between the bars, the chain of her shackles clanking loudly. She felt a tingle in her fingertips. Her magic still felt exhausted and barely strung together, but enough had replenished to heed her command.

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The master’s fall slowed with a ruffle of his robes, and he was eased onto the floor gently. Mohned turned his head and smiled at her as the rest of the room sat in a stunned silence.

She took a shaky breath as Victor helped Master Mohned carefully back onto his feet.

“Thank you, Halle,” he said gently, readjusting his stance.

She had just enough time to breathe a small sigh of relief before chaos descended upon the room.

“GUARDS!” EGMUN CRIED.

Halle glanced back at Craig and Daniel. They were frozen in place, and the odd sense of wonder on Daniel’s face as he looked at her told Halle their stillness wasn’t entirely from fear.

“Guards!” Egmun bellowed and they sprang to life, pushing her to the ground roughly, their swords drawn. The tips pressed into the back of Halle’s neck.

“Calm down!” Victor cried, his hands in the air.

“She’s a monster!” shrieked one senator.

“We’re not safe here!” wailed another.

“Halle wouldn’t hurt anyone,” the master attempted.

“It isn’t natural,” a man shouted.

“You old fool, it’s amazing,” came a lone voice, though one or two others muttered agreement.

The shouts and arguments became more heated, and Halle felt the boots of the guards on her back. She’d made a mistake. Without thinking or planning, she’d used her magic in front of everyone. Halle struggled to twist her head to see, very aware that sudden movements could be permanently detrimental to her health.

“We should kill her now,” one man bellowed.

“How can we kill such a power?” a woman snapped back. “It has utility!”

“The most important thing about power is how someone uses it!” Victor attempted, though Halle wasn’t sure if he was heard. “She can do great things!”

The Emperor began banging his staff.

“We will rue the day if we let her out of here alive,” one senator said.

“Kill her now!” screamed another.

Halle looked out at the scene; most of the senators were on their feet. Some were fighting with each other, more were arguing with Victor on the dais below. Egmun stood silently, a mad smile creeping up on his features. He’d won. He showed she didn’t have control over a different and frightening power.

“Silence!” the Emperor roared, and the whole room fell into a startled hush. Everyone realized, all at once, that they had forgotten themselves. He rose to his feet and descended from the royal platform. Mohned, Victor, and Egmun parted with a bow of their head as he walked through, but his attention was glued on her.

Halle twisted her head slightly; one eye was squinted shut against the floor, and the other was partly covered by her hair. He knelt down before her on the other side of the bars, and placed a hand on his raised knee. The Emperor regarded her curiously.

“Let her sit,” he ordered.

Halle felt Craig and Daniel remove their feet from her back. She eased up slowly, their sword points still at her neck. Halle risked a movement to pull her hair from her eyes.

“My lord, I don’t think—” Egmun started.

“Silence, Egmun.” The Emperor held up a hand. The most powerful man in the realm considered Halle for a long moment, his blue eyes searching her for something. Eventually she looked down at her hands folded in her lap, unsure what he wanted to see. “Could you strike me down where I am now?” he asked.

“My lord?” Halle couldn’t believe her ears. Was it a trick? Or a test?

“You are shackled, with swords at your throat, behind bars. Could you still strike me down?” Though his eyes looked nothing like Damion’s, she felt a familiar intensity in them and it gave her pause.

“I’ve never thought about doing something like that, and my magic seems strange right now... But I suppose I may be able to,” she answered honestly.

The Emperor nodded. “Did you try to kill my son?” he asked.

She met his eyes. “No,” Halle’s voice was small, but strong, like a finely forged rapier. “I would only ever want to save your son.”

She thought back to Damion on his knees, not unlike how she was now, with swords at his throat. It rattled her from the inside out; it fueled her resolve. Even under the Emperor’s searching gaze she did not look away. In this one moment, Halle had nothing to hide.

The Emperor nodded. “Take off her shackles.” The Emperor stood and Daniel quickly sheathed his sword to fumble with the locks on her wrists.

“My lord, we should consider—” Egmun began to protest.

“Egmun, if this girl wanted to kill any of us, she could have and would have by now.” This realization seemed to rattle some senators as much as it calmed others.

Her chains removed, Halle stood on doe-like legs and rubbed her wrists gently. Even if she was still in a prison, she felt marginally better without being cuffed and chained.

The Emperor continued to study at her. “Halle Yarl.”

She looked up; it was the first time he’d used her name.

“Have you ever conspired to harm my Empire?”

“No, of course not,” she answered directly.

“Did you conspire with the Northerners on the night of Fire and Wind?” he asked, his eyes continuing to rest heavy on her.

Halle’s mouth dropped open. “No!” she snapped, not caring to whom she spoke. “They killed my friend, they threatened my home, and they—” She stopped herself and his eyebrows raised. Halle’s eyes flicked over to Damion. “They...” she repeated again. How much would he want her to say? “They did something unforgivable.”

“What happened that night?” the Emperor asked.

“I was at the Gala,” Halle began. “I was...there when the explosion happened. I saw where it happened. My friends were near its center; I had to go help them. So I ran through the city. I found them, then the Northerners were upon me a-and...” She was struggling with leaving Damion out of her story. “I thought they would keep hurting people. They were going to kill me and I only wanted them to die.”

“And the crown prince?” the Emperor asked.