172 The Inquisitor (1/2)

\”Um, thanks for helping with the search, my lady,\” I said to the young woman walking beside me.

\”Call me Rita,\” she insisted in a soft voice.

After bumping into the Justiciars, their leader, the young woman called Rita insisted she and her team help me in my search for the drow intruder. So, I led them back down the steps and into landing I ignored before. From here, she instructed her people to branch off and search other areas and reminded them to, \”Leave no stone unturned.\”

Some climbed back up the steps while the others went down to search the palace's courtyard. Rita remained with me. So did the tree man I'd bumped into earlier.

I think he was there to keep a watchful eye on me, and from the cold-eyed stare he sent my way, I got the feeling he didn't like me one bit.

\”And you're certain you saw this drow escape through here?\” Rita asked me again.

\”I'm sure,\” I said, pointing two fingers at my eyes. \”I've got good eyesight…\”

\”I see,\” she replied.

We continued our walk across the first landing of the palace walls in what I imagined was a leisurely stroll. It was as if she wasn't the least bit worried that our intruder might escape. Still, I couldn't exactly ask her to pick up the pace. I got the feeling her bodyguard wouldn't take kindly to that.

I sighed and hoped either Luca or Al had better luck than me.

The wind whipped at her long silver hair as it passed, forcing her to brush it back behind her ears.

I took this moment to examine my new companion some more.

She was about my height and looked to be my age, but maybe she was a little older. Her silver hair was braided at the top in a crown-like fashion but fell in waves over her chest. While her companions wore armor, Rita was dressed in a pale blue robe that hung off her shoulders and clung tightly to her sporty frame. On her neck was a silver necklace whose pendant was shaped into a silver key.

Rita was beautiful—different from Aura's fairy beauty but not quite like Ashley's girl-next-door vibe. No, her face was that of an actress in some historical epic or one of those fantasy movies that have gained popularity recently. She looked timeless and graceful with expressive eyebrows and big doe eyes the color of amber.

Her full lips were moving, speaking words I couldn't hear right away on account of my teenage boy's brain and its special brand of idiocy.

Noticing that I hadn't replied to her, Rita slowed to a stop and glanced my way.

\”Well?\” she asked. \”What do you think was the reason this drow infiltrated the summit?\”

\”I…\” I was forced to stop walking myself to think about her question. \”It could be a number of things… sabotage probably.\”

Her eyebrow rose about half an inch high.

\”Is that your best-educated guess?\” she asked.

\”Well,\” my mind flashed on the masked face of Aura's brother and the tragedy that disfigured him and killed the rest of their family, \”it could be something else… something more sinister.\”

I didn't dare say 'assassination' out loud. I didn't want to jinx it.

\”The Patriarch of the Trickster Pavilion has many enemies,\” Rita noted as she resumed our walk. \”More so now than ever before…\”

\”What does that mean?\” I asked as I trailed after her.

We were nearing the stairs that led down to the Garden of Mana. Hopefully, Al would be down there and he'd have the drow secured and ready for interrogation.

\”The buildup of military power has led other clans to guess at the Patriarch's intentions… but that speech earlier made it clear that he intends to achieve unification, doesn't he?\” she reminded me. \”That alone would be enough to alarm those who seek to maintain the status quo…\”

It was the exact same thing Chris Pint mentioned to me earlier, and it seemed everyone was paying attention to our clan now.

\”Hold on… I didn't see you inside the hall earlier,\” I said. \”You couldn't have heard his speech.\”

She pointed at her own eyes. \”Ah, yes, you did mention that you had good eyes.\”

A knowing smile played on her lips that made me more than a little uncomfortable.

Don't give yourself away just to impress a pretty girl, idiot, my brain whispered.

I chuckled nervously while scratching my head. \”Y-yeah… I would have noticed someone who looked like you.\”

There was no need to remind her about my eyesight because I could put two and two together too, and it was easy to guess who this Rita really was. After all, Aura did say the Inquisitor of the Justiciars was coming for a visit. So, no, I didn't want to reveal myself to another Sense Knight, particularly one Chris Pint warned me about.

Then I realized what I'd just said and felt the heat rise out of my cheeks.

\”You're blushing,\” Rita teased.

\”I'm not,\” I said defensively.

\”Don't worry about it… it's cute,\” she said in such a casual way that I felt dumb for feeling embarrassed.

We descended the stairs to the garden while Rita continued her explanation about the situation the clan was in.

\”Many of the smaller clans would prefer the conflict does not spread out to them, preferring instead this deadlock that's lasted for five hundred years,\” she explained. \”Whenever one of the bigger clans gets the idea for unification, these smaller clans often band together to ensure the bigger clan rethinks their lofty goal.\”

\”Sounds like cowardice to me,\” I said while feeling a surge of pride for the clan Patriarch and his vision. \”All this death and war spills out into Mudgard and causes all kinds of problems for us humans too…\”

\”That,\” she glanced at me with a curious look, \”is exactly what the Pilgrimage claims… you wouldn't happen to be a sympathizer, would you?\”

I quickly shook my head. \”No… I'm not interested in a Fayne for humans either, although I honestly don't know much about them beyond that.\”

She seemed satisfied with my response because she continued down the steps without another word regarding it.