Two preparations in place.
I reached into my bag, adjusting the position of my return bell to make it easier to grab. Vera, Jin, and Sera were all close enough to be in the bell’s range.
Professor Orden turned toward the large group of us by the spider room’s door. “I believe that if we’ve discovered the location of a stairway, it would be prudent for the veterans among us to go handle the spire guardian and proceed.”
I shook my head. “Even if Sera needs to wait here, I really should go along. Jin can stay here with her and make sure her condition doesn’t get any worse, but I should really be there for the meeting with Katashi.”
“I’m sorry, Corin, but it’s just not safe for you to come along. I insist. You agree, don’t you, Derek?”
“Yes, Professor Orden.”
That confirmed it in my mind. She was actively trying to edge me out of completing this assignment. I folded my arms. “His agreement doesn’t exactly count for much when you’re controlling him, Professor.”
She folded her hands in front of her. “That’s quite an accusation, Corin.” A grin spread across her face. “But I’ll admit, it’s an accurate one.”
Derek’s hand moved — but not quickly enough.
“Derek, stop,” Orden commanded.
He froze in place. After a moment, he visibly trembled, his hand already atop the ring.
Orden casually gestured at him with her right hand. “Derek, withdraw your hand from the ring. Then freeze in place.”
He straightened his spine, moving his hand away from the ring, and then stopped moving entirely.
Near me, Jin and Sera had both drawn weapons, but they didn’t seem to know who to point them at.
“Now, everyone be calm,” Orden began. Derek visibly slumped, and Orden frowned. “I didn’t mean you, Derek. Bah.” She shook her head, turning toward me. “Now, Corin. I commend your observation, but you should have simply said something to me in private if you had concerns. Derek is under my control for all of our safety. You are, after all, the one who told me that you suspected he’d been involved in Tenjin’s capture.”
I sighed. “I was suspicious of him, yes, but this doesn’t seem like an appropriate response.”
Orden raised an eyebrow. “How so? Too extreme of a precaution? I do remind you that he’s an Emerald.”
Vera frowned. “She’s got a point, Corin. You think he’s the swordsman I saw before?”
I shook my head. “I was considering it, but I’m finding it less likely now. Professor, I’m not worried that it’s too extreme of a precaution. My problem is that if you can control his actions, you could have determined if he was guilty the moment he slipped on the ring — and you chose not to use it for that purpose.”
Orden opened her hands upward in a gesture of concession. “True, but I was trying to be subtle. I didn’t want anyone to have undue suspicions of Derek if it wasn’t necessary. Moreover, now that he’s aware of the ring, he’s undoubtedly going to try to find a way to break out. Difficult, to be sure. The ring is directly on his skin, so his shroud can’t help. Still, I would have rather kept him unaware of the ring except for emergency situations.”
“Well,” I began, “Now that he knows, there’s a simple way to resolve some of this. Order him to answer all of my questions directly and honestly, and I’ll ask him if he was involved.”
“Why the extra layer? I could simply ask him myself.”
“Because you’ve already been manipulating him to support your arguments. Like, for example, to leave me behind. I don’t trust you not to phrase questions in a way that forces him to reply the way you want him to.”
“Very well, I’ll humor you.” Orden turned to Derek. “Derek, answer Corin’s questions completely honestly.”
I backed up a bit, putting my back to the door to the spider room, so I could easily look to see both Derek and Orden on opposite sides of the chamber. “Derek, were you involved in the disappearance of visage Tenjin?”
He shivered. I braced myself, my hand going to the sword at my side, but his reply was simple:
“No.”
I nodded, relaxing my grip on the weapon. “Okay. Have you ever attacked Visage Tenjin or any other visage?”
“No.”
“When you entered this tower, did you do so with the intent of causing harm to anyone here?”
“Not if it was avoidable.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Elaborate.”
He didn’t reply.
Ah, I didn’t ask him a question. Gotta rephrase.
“Under what circumstances would you have caused harm to a member of this group?”
Derek focused his eyes on me. “If someone attempted to stop you from fulfilling your mission, I would have intervened on your behalf.”
I glanced back to Orden, worried that she might try something drastic, but she didn’t seem to be making any moves just yet.
I turned back to Derek. “Are you aware of anything related to Tenjin’s disappearance?”
“Yes.”
There we go.
“What do you know about it?”
His eyes shifted to Orden, then back to me. “I have a pretty good idea of who was involved and why.”
I nodded. “Who was involved and what do you know about their motives?”
“The initial group that entered the tower consisted of Vera, my friend Carter, Elora Theas, and some others from Caelford that I didn’t know. Carter and Elora were working with some kind of secret society. I don’t know all the details, but when Tenjin showed up with his attendants, Carter and Elora started a fight. Tenjin’s attendants stabbed him in the back, and I’m pretty sure they were—”
“Derek, stop.” Orden clapped her hands, and Derek shut his jaw. Orden smiled. “Well, this is all quite interesting. It’s obvious Derek wasn’t responsible.”
I turned back to her. “What are the odds that one of the names he was about to say was ‘Professor Orden’?”
“Quite high, I’d say, although my friends usually call me Lyras. Yes, yes, I had Tenjin kidnapped. I was truly hoping to avoid this conversation, but I suppose it’s inevitable now.”
Jin raised a pistol, not quite pointing it at Orden, but keeping it at the ready. “We may be having a bit more than a ‘conversation’.”
She looked at Jin with a hint of surprise, like she was seeing him for the first time. Then, blinking, she continued. “Oh, don’t be so eager for violence, Jin. I believe you’ll agree with me when you hear my motives — but even if not, I would urge you not to attempt any violence. After all, Derek was the only one of you who presented any threat to me, and he’s quite thoroughly under my control.” Orden rubbed her forehead. “Really, this is such a bother.”
Sera glanced at me, then meaningfully shifted her eyes toward Derek.
I shook my head just slightly.
Not yet, Sera, but I’m glad you’re ready.
“Okay, Professor.” I waved a hand at her. “Tell us why you kidnapped a visage.”
Orden chuckled. “Oh, it’s so much more than that, Corin. You’re thinking too small. Why don’t you ask Vera what she was doing in the tower in the first place?”
I didn’t take the bait, so I just shrugged. “Research. Artificial attunements or something like them.”
Vera winced. “That…may be a slight understatement.”
Oh, goddess curse it, Vera. What now?
Without looking away from Orden, I said, “Okay, Vera. Fill us in.”
Vera nodded. “Guess there’s no point to keeping it a secret now. You met Echion, yeah? Well, he’s the result of a joint defense project between Caelford and Valia. An extremely important project; one we’ve been working on for decades. Something that could have helped keep us safe from Edria for generations.”