85, Fire letter

“T-they are setting me up, your majesty. I haven’t seen that book before in my life,” the bishop said, looking pale as a sheet and getting to his feet. 

“Zerden, would you please make sure the bishop remains in this hall,” the king said. Zerden walked up and stood next to the bishop. Ayya kept a close eye on the bishop. It was likely he had some knowledge of magic, and she was going to make sure he didn’t get a chance to use it if he tried. “Honourable council, I am going to ask you to vote. For me to arrest the bishop to ask him questions about what we have seen here today, I need your permission and the permission of the church. Father Link and Ludi, Sister Loise, you will represent the church. Would you permit me to take the bishop into custody?” the king asked. Sister Loise stood up.

“I have no objections,” she said.

“I have no objection,” Father Link said. He looked stunned, and Ayya felt sorry for him.

“Neither do I. This needs to be sorted,” Father Ludi agreed. 

“Thank you. Council, I know we are used to discussing things, but we need to act fast. Those who agree with arresting the bishop, please raise your hand,” the king prompted them. A few hands shot up without hesitation. Then a couple of more hands. After two minutes, every council member had raised their hand. Not even the most devoted members could find a reason not to arrest the bishop. 

“Your majesty!” the bishop pleaded. 

“Quiet! You will be put into the cells, and I will personally be present when we try to sort this horrendous act out. What we have discussed here today is not to leave this room until we have performed an interrogation. Anyone found spreading this information will be seen as a traitor against the crown and will be executed, as is custom. Do I make myself clear?” the king said. The council murmured and nodded. “That’s it. You are all free to leave.” As the council made their way out of the hall, the king turned to Zerden. “I need you to use your most trusted men to guard him. I don’t want any harm to come to him from his own hands or someone else’s,” the king said. 

“Understood, your majesty,” Zerden said as he led the Bishop out of the hall. 

“Ayya,” the king said and smiled at her. “I am more than grateful for everything you have done. I am sorry to ask for more, but I find myself needing to do it,” he said. Ayya smiled at him.

“I think I’m speaking for all of us when I say that we are here to follow this through to the end,” she told him.

“Thank you. I know you said the cure is no longer a cure, as they did not make the poison in the correct way. But is there a way to neutralise the poison, or do we have to fill the wells?” he asked.

“I don’t know, your majesty. But we will look into it and I will send the question to the sanctum, and our brightest herbalists will look into it as well,” she said. 

“You truly are a blessing from God, my lady. When this is over, I have to make the journey to Salmis and thank the Lady for sending you to us. One last thing. Would you join me when I talk to the bishop? You have more knowledge about these things than I do?”

“I would very much like to be present for that, as long as Tenac can join in,” she answered. 

“I wouldn’t dream of saying no to that,” the king said. “We will let you get back to your rooms. I know you are still recovering. We will let you know when the interrogation is to take place. Again, thank you,” the king said. Ayya nodded, and they set off for the tower. As the doors closed behind them and they walked into the common room, both Firlea and Hinat let out happy shouts and drew Ayya into a hug.

“You did it,” Firlea said with a laugh. 

“We did it,” Ayya said and smiled. 

“Oh, come on. This all came together because of you,” Hinat insisted. 

“But we still have things to do,” Ayya reminded them as the riders gathered to see what was happening. Ayya decided to let the riders know the basic facts, leaving out all details. The king may have said it should stay in the council hall, but as they weren’t his subjects, she gave herself a little leeway. “Now we need to round up the last parts,” Ayya said. 

“But first, food and a nap,” Tenac insisted. 

“I am starving,” Ayya agreed. While they waited for lunch, Ayya wrote a letter to Tariana explaining what they had found, what the poison was, and that they needed help with figuring out how to neutralise it. 

“We need to get the letter to the Lady as soon as possible,” Hinat said. “Terway has showed me how to send a letter through fire,” she said. Ayya looked at her. 

“That is a possibility?” she asked.

“It is. It’s what he has been researching and the success rate is really high,” Hinat told her. 

“Let’s give it a try,” Ayya said. 

———

Tariana was sitting in her office, looking over the plans for the spring evaluation for the aspiring trainees. Kopa was pacing her office. He had been in a foul mood since Ayya had left and the only report they had got hadn’t improved his mood. 

“Can you please sit down or go into your own office?” she asked him. He was making her testy. As Kopa grunted, there was a knock on the door and a rider opened it enough to poke his head inside. 

“Lord Terway is here. He says it’s urgent. Something about a letter from Lady Ayya, but I didn’t understand the details,” the rider told her. Tariana froze and looked at Kopa. 

“Show him in,” she told the rider. Terway burst into the office. He looked like he had been running across the sanctum. His white clothes were dishevelled, his face was red and his breath heavy. 

“My lady, Hinat sent in the fire, urgent, Lady Ayya, needs help, poison,” he panted as he held a piece of paper in his hand. Tariana felt her heart stop in her chest. Had Ayya been poisoned? Kopa had snatched the paper from Terway’s hand and handed it to Tariana. She read it and then read it again, and a smile spread across her face. 

“What does it say?” Kopa asked. His panic was clear. 

“Calm down, my friend. She is safe. In fact, she is probably having a celebration right now. Your genius daughter has found the cause of the sickness,” she told him. 

“She has? Of course she has, never doubted it,” he smirked. 

“Thank you, Terway. I’m presuming this is a result of your research?” Tariana asked the still panting aari. He nodded. “Very promising. I will be very interested in reading the final paper on it,” she told him.

“Thank you, my lady,” he said. 

“You can go and take a break. You have done good,” she dismissed him and when he walked away, she turned to Kopa again. “She needs our help. We need to get all the herbalists together. Could you send word to Mildy? I will ask the council to join. They need to hear this and Mikhalie as well,” Tariana told him. He nodded and summoned three prospects to relay the messages. Tariana was stunned, but proud, at what Ayya had accomplished. She allowed herself a moment of nostalgia to remember the heartbroken young woman Ayya had been when she came to Salmis. Tariana had known there had been something special about her. She had known it the first time she met Ayya. It was the reason she had wanted her to become an aari, and it was why she wanted her to take over after Tariana as the Lady. This accomplishment would all but make that certain, she thought as she got up to talk to her herbalist and council. She felt bad for Mikhalie. It wasn’t a fair fight going up against Ayya. 

———

Hinat came walking with a piece of paper and a red rose. 

“Terway has delivered the letter to the Lady,” she told Ayya. 

“Good, and the rose?” Ayya asked, unable to resist teasing her friend. 

“Oh, just something he sent,” Hinat said.

“And does he know about the new suitor that has his eyes on you?” Firlea teased. 

“Oh shut up,” Hinat told her. 

“I don’t know. He was kind of cute. Really nice gloves,” Ayya said. Firlea laughed and Hinat rolled her eyes. 

“At least I don’t have my old boyfriend chasing me,” Hinat said, looking at Ayya. Firlea laughed even more. 

“He is not my old boyfriend,” Ayya objected. 

“And her current boyfriend will make sure he stays away,” Tenac said, kissing Ayya’s cheek.