The next day, Kir was able to arrange a eting with Warmancer Cadence in the afternoon.
"You asked to see , demonkin?" Warmancer Cadence said as soon as Kir walked into her office.
"Yes, half-human, I did," Kir sat in the chair she indicated. If she was going to call out his race, then he would call out hers.
"Three-quarters human, actually, for all the ancient human secrets I can’t get," she put her feet up on her desk, which was little more than a table with a pile of papers on one side and splotches of ink all over. "I take it you aren’t here to discuss my heritage; so what do you want?"
"How is Vatima?" Kir asked.
"Recovering," Cadence replied.
"And did she ntion who kept her alive enough for that to happen?" Kir asked.
"She said sothing about being treated by a demon," Cadence replied. "What’s your point?"
"That demon’s na is Amarena, she is interested in becoming a Valrian, whatever that ans," Kir said. "I was told Vatima told her much about Valrians."
After a pause, "No," Cadence replied.
"Why?" Kir asked.
Cadence took her boots off the table and leaned onto her elbows. "A Valrian takes three vows. To follow the ways of war. To fight to better one’s self. To hold to honor in all they do. No demon has ever taken the vows; and no Warmancer in her right mind would ever accept them."
"Why?" Kir asked again, his voice rising with so challenge. "She could have killed Vatima and left, yet she stuck around to heal her."
"Evidence suggests so, and you seem to be taking the demon at her word, with so reservations. But a thousand years ago it was the demons who destroyed Tir Valria, and with that city, the greatest empire ever to stand on Ayther. The only empire to unite the four continents beneath the banners of Ayther and Heaven. To permit a demon to swear the Creed... My faith, my ancestors, and my nation would spit upon my na."
Removing her arms from the table, she sat back. "I can assu a number of things from this eting. Like the fact you spoke with the demon. That, and those criminal seals in your ears would be more than enough for to arrest you. So give a reason I shouldn’t."
"Because nothing about what you’ve said indicates that Valrians work as petty police," Kir replied.
"Police, no, but bounty hunters, plenty," Cadence said humorlessly. "Answer truthfully, boy. Why are you, student of Norneau Academy, sealed four tis beyond your average criminal? That’s more money in your ears than the Syndicate would put into even the most powerful mage slaves."
Kir shifted a bit in his seat. Sothing seed to be going on with the way the conversation was turning. He couldn’t sense any doubt from her, not about her assumptions or about her assessnt of Kir’s decision to present Amarena’s request. His reservations existed because of her contact with Maledict, but she seed to hate his father and Kir couldn’t bla her.
He decided to play a ga, to confirm his suspicions about Cadence. Two truths, one lie.
"I was sealed after a fight with a Valrian nad Halie. She used her influence to take over my test to join the Adventurer’s Guild in Norneau. I have no idea why she ca after ," Kir said.
She leaned forward again. "The Demon Breaker... now there is a na I did not expect. I find it hard to believe one of the strongest Warmancer Judges of the Order Alosia would have left you alive without purpose. And that you would not have so inkling of why."
Two truths, one lie. "I did not even know she existed until she showed up in my life. Whatever her reason for sealing , it is not because of any cris I have done, because I have never been in trouble with the law outside of rely existing. So as to why, I do not know."
"You’re lying," Cadence said.
"You have a truth-telling ability," Kir replied.
Cadence let out a short, barking laugh. "You clever demki... You’ve been feeling out."
"I’ve just been playing the ga you started," Kir said.
"Very well, boy. Let us be completely honest with each other then, since you have figured out. The reason I didn’t throw you out for suggesting I let a demon swear to the Creed was because I have already gotten the truth from Vatima. That does not change the fact that for this outpost, I must hunt the demon down. So no, I will not swear this Amarena to the Creed." She paused netting her fingers together.
"However, the Demon Breaker might. Her exile began when she cursed the Angels, but she is still Valrian, misguided though she may be. Whatever lost cause has her opposing heaven does not change the fact she still conducts herself as a Valrian, to my knowledge, which is admittedly at least a decade old."
"Last I heard she was in Aaru. For her to break her exile could shift the Valrians significantly, yet she has not contacted any Order that I am aware of." She gestured to Kir. "So please, enlighten . Why did she co for you? How did you break two of your seals?"
Kir chewed his lip. Cadence and the Valrians were a lot more complicated than he’d given credit for, that much was certain. She hadn’t denied him without giving him alternatives, which ant that Amarena still had a chance to try for what she wanted. And if Kir could keep contact with Amarena, sending her after Halie might prove mutually beneficial...
"I’m waiting, demki. Don’t waste my ti," Cadence interrupted his thoughts.
Kir made up his mind. Standing, he let out his wings. All four of them. They filled the small office behind him, their tips brushing the walls and floor, and he felt a surge of mana as he stretched them slightly.
Cadence stood rapidly, surprise in her eyes, knocking her chair over.
"What are you?" Her eyes were wide, trying to take him in.
"I’m the son of Maledict, Duke of Heresy, and Aelaes, Daughter of Heaven. A hybrid... of angel and demon." Kir heard footsteps and stored his wings.
A short mont later an assistant opened the door.
"I heard a noise. Is everything alright, Warmancer?" the mouse beastkin asked.
"Yes Prilla, go." Cadence said.
"I have a request from Mr. Brooker-"
"Go," Cadence ordered.
The door clicked shut a mont later, leaving them alone.
"Thank you for keeping confidence with ," he said as soon as she settled back into her seat. He followed suit.
"Well, you certainly believe you are what you say you are," she said. "I can feel it in your heartbeat. But I have to wonder... Angels barely deign to join with Aytherian royalty, much less demons. Just by existing, I can see a number of problems you represent... Gods, you must be one of a kind. The most lost of causes, stuck between Heaven and Hell..."
"The Black Sheep don’t know," Kir said, then reached into his storage. "I was almost killed just for being a hybrid, and if they knew they would be in danger. No doubt you see why I wish to return to Norneau quickly. I have people I care about who I need to get back to."
Tilting his palm over her desk, he allowed the pieces of one of his broken seals to co to rest in a small pile. "You asked how I broke two of my seals, the truth is I don’t know. One broke when I fell into the dungeon, the other was broken when I awoke to find myself stuck in my war form, also in the dungeon. I think Halie is... testing sohow."
Cadence prodded at the small discs of tal. "This artifice is more intricate than anything I have ever seen," she said. "I can see nothing Valrian in it... the text is..."
"Angelic script," Kir said. "The Chancellor of Norneau’s Academy could not decipher it either. Were you expecting sothing else?"
"Valrian mages sotis receive seals when they begin their training, but those are tattoos, easily removed with a bit of skinning and healing magic. The act is ant to help them learn self-sufficiency. To not rely on magic by keeping them from casting in the first place."
"These don’t stop from casting," Kir said, scraping the broken seal back into storage. "They just make it debilitatingly painful. A strong enough spell will knock out." He took a breath.
"I see..." Cadence drumd her fingers as she thought. "I will need so ti to think on everything you have revealed... It will remain in my confidence unless you prove to be a threat, but one thing is certain..."
She reached into her pile, lifting the stack until she could pull a clean sheet of paper from the bottom. Grabbing her quill, she started to fill it out in a cramped, jagged script.
"What is certain?" Kir asked.
"The sooner I get you away from this camp, the sooner I can get back to finishing this survey before the Heavenswar starts." She tore away the top third of the paper she’d written on, before inking a seal and stamping it. "Take this to the quartermaster. He will issue the paynt for the information on the dungeon, and provide you a strider and cart."
"That’s... it?" Kir asked. "I was hoping you’d have more help to offer since Halie is a Valrian."
"Were you expecting to move Heaven and Hell for you, boy? I have my mission here, and I have acted within what my honor allows. If you want to be the Demon Breaker’s problem, find a Warmancer from one of the Justice orders. Whatever is going on, you’ll run into her eventually if you do that."
"What about getting a ssage to Norneau?" Kir asked. "I’d like to at least let my friends know I’m safe."
Reaching into her pile once more, Cadence eventually produced a watermarked piece of paper with lines on it. This she stamped at the bottom before handing it to Kir. "Write your ssage on that and give it to the scribe when you get to Darlbridge. Shouldn’t take more than a day to get a ssage to and from Norneau, long as you’re not sending entire maps."
"Thank you," Kir said.
She gave him a dismissive wave and he stood, walking out the door. As he left, a trio of darkly dressed n walked past him, the one in the center staring at Kir with narrowed eyes until entering the Warmancer’s office required his attention.
All of them had a grey symbol on the back of their blouses: a chain-wrapped coin with a brand on one diagonal and a scythe on the other. The coin’s face was embossed with the runes for C and S. Behind them, the mousy assistant followed, her ears flattened with fear.
Kir left the building with a feeling like lead in his gut.
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