Page 95 of A Conduit of Light
Revichhas requested to stay longer, butIhave denied him.Ifsomething were to happen to me, he would need to be here, to continue on with my work and find another way to retrieve the girl.”
Hehad used theBlightto kill thousands.
Thousandsof her people were dead because this madman was so determined to bring her here, and each of them had been a channeler.Shehad not known there were so many…andPrincePhilius?He’dnever once shown her magical capabilities.
Shewished she had known whatHeimlenwas capable of because she would have come on her own.Ifshe had understood, if someone had just explained to her the need, she would have left willingly.
Instead, mass graves of the victims of theBlackFeverwere shoved in too small a place in the grasslands outside of the city.
Bilecrept to her throat and she rose from the chair by the fire to walk the room, breathing deep, trying to steady her shaking hands.
Revichdidn’t know.
Please,please, let her find thatRevichstill did not know.
Howlong had she been here?
WasRevichlooking for her now?
Shethought of taking the journals then.Shovingthem intoRevich’shands and saying “Here!Hereis all the proof you need that your mentor is a monster!”
He’dhave to believe her…but then what?
Whatwould be the punishment forHeimlen’scrimes?Whatcouncil stood to judge theBaronofFelgren?
Asfar as she knew, there wasn’t one.Whichwas part of why theTreatywas created all those years ago, to protect channelers and give them a choice.
Ifthey could get this information to theQueen, she would have the power to detain him and put him on trial for his actions which led to the murder of her people.
Allof the dead were stained on his hands.Sheknew the evidence must be there.Thegloves, the careful way he spoke, lies flowing from his mouth as his heart had tried to give reason for them.
She’dnever work with him again.She’dnever help him destroy theBlight—she andRevichcould do it.
Butnot him.
Neverwith him.
Shegrabbed a wine decanter on the table and threw it into the fire, the stack of journals falling to the floor, as the glass shattered and the fire flashed, flames hot and angry.
Shewelcomed the violence.Shewelcomed the rage.
Heremerald conduit ring glistened in the newly-fed firelight and she was tempted to throw that in too, wanting to be rid of everything and anything that man had ever given her.
Hermagic swirled around it, sparking in short bursts at the tip of her forefinger, desperate to leave the containment of her body.
Shecould kill him.Insteadof justice, she could give out his judgement herself.It’dbe poetic coming from the woman he’d done such heinous deeds to get a hold of, the woman he’d stolen, manipulated, and lied to—pretending to care for her as a daughter.
Revichwould be heartbroken when she brought him the truth.Butshe’d be there to help him heal.She’dstay by him, the only other soul who could really understandHeimlen’sbetrayal.
Shehurried back to the desk, pulling the journal dated around the time of her arrival.Shehad to be sure the proof was not only in these journals, but there all along, discolored on the tips of his bare hands.
“Ihave survived, but barely.Thecure was difficult to produce on myself in the stateIwas in.Itook life fromSylvaat least ten times that day, enough to correctly cast the cure on myself.Shecould not manage to do it alone.
Ithas left me with blackened fingers and black veins running down my hands.Ihave since then tried to cure those as well, but in vain.
Iwear gloves at all times now, unless inSylva’spresence, and yet, no one has noticed.
Revichtalks of the girl often.Iact as if he is helping me discover a cure for the disease they now call theBlackFever.Heis concerned for her safety, andIwonder if he has grown in affection for her.
