* * *
'Sy
* * *
"Luci, I need to use--" I stop and stare in shock. Luci looks back at me, wide-eyed, blade in one hand, towel in the other, partially covering his face. My eyes follow the blade as he sets it down at the edge of the sink. I look at the blade, then at the golden fuzz covering the sink, mirror, and floor, then back up to Luci's face. The towel drops away, and despite all the warnings implicit in the mess, I'm shocked numb by his bare, beardless face.
I must be quite a sight, standing there with my mouth hanging open, because Luci finally giggles, running his fingertips along his naked jawline. He turns and looks in the mirror, then double-takes and laughs. He fluffs his hair as he turns back to me, and I'm startled anew by how wide his grin looks on that bare face.
"I needed a change," he says.
I just nod.
"Not to mention my hair needed a good trim. Three months took a toll!"
I nod again. He's obviously taken a leave of his already rare senses.
... Three?
Luci looks away, smiling sheepishly. "I needed more time than we had, 'Sy. We're still short on it, but I had to stop Theos." His smile melts. "Or at least slow him down."
I tilt my head, letting the question of his poor sense of time slide for now. "From?"
"Doing something stupid." He waves a hand, scowling. "I couldn't figure out the particulars, only that if he had succeeded, something bad was going to happen." He catches my expression and sighs. "Yes, I know, something bad is always happening. The difference here is where bad things happen for good reason and so we let it happen, and Theos's wanton destruction of anything resembling balance." He throws down the towel and brushes past me, talking over his shoulder. "Creating more Archo and expanding his idea of order is only going to make things worse. Mostly for us." He picks up a shirt, sniffs it, then throws it towards me. I step out of the way, watching it crumple in a heap on the floor. "I can't stop him entirely, but I can try to keep us out of the line of fire. Hopefully long enough to..." He blinks. "Rhia?"
I had forgotten about her. She's standing next to Val, both wearing expressions that must be rather close kin to the one I wore earlier. "He needed a change," I offer.
Rhia looks at me like this is somehow my fault. "And he had to do that?"
Val scratches his own dark growth, eying Luci's baby-smooth face. I shrug and pointedly turn my attention back to Luci. He's still looking at Rhia, one eyebrow up. I wonder if he realizes yet that he doesn't have a beard to hide that tiny smirk anymore. "Is there something wrong?"
Rhia narrows her eyes. "I'm just curious as to how mutilating yourself counts as change. You look like a child! How is anyone going to take you seriously?"
"They'll have to learn to." He shrugs into a shirt, then fiddles with the buttons. "Sooner or later, they all will have to get used to things not going the way they used to."
"Some of us already have started doing just that." I turn, something in the pit of my stomach knotting. If I hadn't recognized that voice, even through the new bite in it, Diyn's quiet, sadistic chuckle would have filled me in.
* * *
Mitheoni
* * *
I look at each of them in turn, marveling at how much of them I can see. There's a sense to them, though, that seems to separate them from everything around them, and a general feeling of them belonging to another domain entirely. I see 'Sy's hand curl, the suggestion of the Trident implicit in the action. I wonder if he could do anything, now. They are, after all, in my territory.
I would suggest not testing that theory, the Trident responds. I try to keep my lips from twitching into a grin.
"Do you four have any idea how much trouble you've caused?" My tone is even and calm, without one drop of the laughter I feel inside coloring it. Val and Rhia look at each other, 'Sy grimaces, and Luciprochoros simply folds his arms, raising an eyebrow in return.
"Not nearly as much as the others you're looking for," he counters, matching my tone perfectly.
I crack an honest grin at that, something that I notice doesn't prompt 'Sy to relax any. If anything, the grimace on his face deepens. I raise an eyebrow, and he shakes his head.
"Diyn."
Diyn? Ah, the Trident. I debate inquiring as to why the dragon-souled weapon would be making 'Sy look like he was suffering a particularly crippling case of the trots, but there are more pressing matters to handle first. I settle for a nod, then turn my attention once more to Luciprochoros, who appears to have some idea of what events have been taking place about Chethar. "I gather you know who the responsible parties are?"
He smile is as one-sided as his shrug. "I honestly don't know, Gahalespbar-archo."
"Mitheoni-archo, please. But you knew I wasn't looking for you."
Luciprochoros meets my gaze, completely at ease. "I can know things, yes. I don't know who you're looking for, but I do know it's not us." He tilts his head, a slight frown creasing his forehead. "But you were? Now you're not. It's been resolved." His face relaxes, and he turns a bright grin at Val, who straightens at the attention. "I don't know where you got the money, brother, but thanks for taking care of leaving behind payment."
I fight the urge to hide my face behind my hand. "Almost, Luciprochoros. Almost. The innkeeper whose stores you raided tried to hide the payment you threw behind you as you fled. I missed that the first time around, but after returning, it was clear to me how things happened."
Rhia sighs, crossing her arms. "We'll apologize."
'Sy's lips flatten in a near-frown as I reply, as if he had anticipated my response ahead of me. Perhaps he has -- he was the Law. "There is nobody to apologize to." As expected, Rhia's mouth opens to protest. Unlike Jerithea, she snaps it shut once more, and looks away. "The man tried to mislead the Law, tried to wrongfully claim what wasn't his."
"He didn't deserve to die for that," she snaps.
I shrug, even though she's not looking at me. 'Sy's fingers raise slightly in her direction, then fall back to his side. "He violated the Law," I say, softening my voice for her. "There is no alternate punishment for such blatant disregard."
Her frown deepens, but she remains silent. I smother a sigh. Advocates. I could comprehend the necessity of their participation in less clear-cut cases, but why did they always feel the need to trip up the blatantly guilty as well?
Luciprochoros clears his throat. "You're here for something else, then."
I nod, happy to leave the Advocate's typical discomfort for strict rule-adherence behind. "There have been incidents." I take a deep breath. "The changed Archo... the Archo-ne. They... you are being hunted, hunted and destroyed." Luciprochoros pales as I speak, nodding. For some reason, it draws attention to the curious fact that he is now lacking a beard. I make a note to ask about it later. "Several of the unchanged Archo have been destroyed as well in an attempt to hide what was happening, and to cast blame in the direction of the Archo-ne. I..." I swallow against the lump in my throat. "I have discovered the responsible parties, and..." I close my eyes.
"And?" 'Sy's voice sounds unusually rough. I look into his gold eyes and see understanding in them.
"The Advocate is with them now." I fail to keep the bitter note from my voice.
'Sy's eyes close, and he shakes his head. Behind him, Rhia glances towards the wall, in the direction of the palace.
I hear Luciprochoros take a deep breath. Val touches his elbow, frowning. "Luci, if we leave now, we'll look guilty. We haven't done anything wrong. Surely the Emperor..."
Luciprochoros shakes his head, looking at me. I frown, looking at them both. "What do you mean? You haven't --" I stumble, then swallow reflexively at the wave of nausea that follows the wave of dizziness. When I raise my eyes, I see it written there, on all four of them. Luciprochoros meets my eyes. They're sad, perhaps regretful. They remind me of my Father's, the way they're staring into me, knowing me. For some reason, I want to stab that look out of his eyes. It does not belong there, on one such as him.
"We're already guilty," he murmurs.
Val's eyes go wide, and he looks at me. "Mitheoni-archo?"
I straighten, my hand reflexively finding the hilt of my sword as the Emperor's Will rolls through me, calling me to my Duty. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Diyn appear in 'Sy's hand. The sight of the other symbol of the Law gives me pause.
"It's too early." Luciprochoros looks at Val, then 'Sy and Rhia, then once more to me, panic building in his eyes. "He's acted too soon." His voice takes on a pleading note, his eyes begging me to pay heed. "I saw this coming, Mitheoni-archo, I swear I did. You know what has changed, and I swear we were supposed to be gone before this happened --"
"I know," I say, holding up a hand. I grimace against the powerful urge to Judge them now. "I can remember the way things stood a few moments ago, Luciprochoros." He regains a touch of color at the censure in my voice. "I can see..." My teeth grind together as I shut my eyes, remembering the new perspective granted me by the Chozeh and turning it inward. My insides curl sickeningly on themselves as I examine the situation with new eyes, seeing the Emperor's game in motion. There's my orders, but then there's the overarching Duty...
"I cannot help you, Song." I look at him, silently pleading with him to understand what I want to say, but can't. "The Emperor has spoken. All those outside his Law but within his lands must swear to him or be sentenced to death. I have no room to maneuver, no provision for staying my hand." I close my eyes, fighting a wave of nausea that has nothing to do with my call to Duty. "And Jerithea is not here to intercede."
Luciprochoros grimaces, then looks at 'Sy. I catch the barest whisper of conversation between them, and then 'Sy nods. He takes a few steps towards me, stops, and then bows. I nearly hold my breath, waiting to hear him speak.
"I've wanted to do this for a while now," he says. Before I can so much as raise an eyebrow, the world goes black behind the metallic sound of my skull greeting the Trident.
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