The day passed at sluggish pace until a half hour before the meeting. I wore all black clothing including a cloak. My heart seemed to be trying to beat out of my chest. I didn't like this one bit, but Alistor was right, we had a duty to try to see was in the Keltcher. I just hoped that this wasn't a trick or trap.
I met Alistor at the top of the stairs. He looked as visibly as shaken as me. He took the torch and we began our descent into the chill musky stairwell. Neither of us talked as we weaved through the corridors that had long been forgotten. What struck me as weird, we the fact there wasn't any cobwebs, or thick dust as would be expected from long periods of not being used. We had to be on the right track.
We came to a heavy wooden door with a wrought iron window that was closed by another piece of sliding wrought iron. Alistor looked at me as if asking if I thought we were in the right area and I nodded. He walked forward and knocked on the door. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until the metal plate moved and all we saw were two eyes peering out at us.
"Business?" asked the sharp voice of a man.
Alistor and I took out our envelopes showing him the wax seal. The window slid shut and we heard rustling from the other side of the door. It opened scrapping against the cobblestone. Alistor entered first and then myself. The room was pitch black say for a few torches in the corners. There was a large long oak table in the middle with at least fifteen to twenty chairs. The torture equipment had all been moved to the far walls.
"Welcome," said a honeyed man's voice.
All eyes at the table were on us. Everyone was wearing deep red cowl cloaks that hid their features especially with the limited lighting in the room.
His word did little to make us feel welcome. Alistor nudged me forward towards the table. All my hair stood on edge and for the first time in my life I wanted to flee from a fight.
I heard the door get barred behind us and I felt my anxiety about the situation grow. I didn't like this. Something told me we weren't here to learn anything about them at all. Without warning I felt a strong grip on my shoulders push me to my knees as well as someone doing the same to Alistor.
"For crimes against the Nephilium and Guardian Chivalry code, we find you guilty as a blood traitor. How do you plead?"
I squirmed in the iron grip.
"Blood traitors?" spat Alistor. "I'm not even a Nephilium and have more respect for the other races than you."
"We are not talking to you," replied the honeyed man's voice again.
"Not all Darklings are bad just because they are born with demon blood. Just not like all humans or Nephilium are good. It's how we choose to live."
My voice didn't crack once and my words came out wobbly at all. I had never spoke with such poise in my life and I was proud of myself for holding my ground even with wanting to flee.
"TRAITOR!" rang out all the others in unison. "BLOOD TRAITOR."
Without another word, I was hoisted to my feet and dragged over to the table against my will. I watched Alistor fight against his captor's grip trying to get to me. I was placed on the table and four different members held me down. I kept trying to twist out of their grasp, but I was heavily out numbered. My cloak was pulled away and my long tunic sleeve cut open with a long knife.
I looked up at the cloaked face above me trying to mask my fear. What were they planning on doing to me? With a swift cut of his knife, I felt an intense pain as he carved a marking into my arm. As soon as it was over, I was released.
"Go and let this be your last warning, blood traitor," spat the man I assumed was the leader. His voice seemed hauntingly familiar.
They let Alistor go as well and he came to my aid immediately no longer worried about his blood thirst. I held my arm as we weaved our way back up to the main door.
"What's wrong, Eve? Don't your kind heal quickly?" he asked.
"Not when they use demonic poison," I said my voice cracking.
"Demon poison?" he said seriously. "If they are so against the dark bloods why would they use their poison?"
"Blood traitors are seen as lower than the Darklings."
He said no more as he started heading up a flight of stairs.
"No," I said digging my feet into the stairs. "I can't see one the physicians here."
"And why not?"
"Trust me," I whispered. "Take me to the Lower City."
He sighed shaking his head, but did as I asked. That was something I admired about Alistor is he always trusted me without much question.
The pain was passing up my arm as we hurried to the lower city in secret.
"Now where?" he asked.
"Find... find, Sasha," I said through the pain.
We found her in the usual pub and she greeted us until Alistor showed her my arm.
"Follow me," she said.
Alistor did as I tried to keep up. The pain was the worst I had ever had to endure.
Sasha soon stopped in front of a small shack that had peculiar metal hangings outside. A tiny figure came to the door.
"What do you need?" she asked.
She was a halfling fox with silvery white hair and ears. Her skin was fair with gray green eyes that sparked with wisdom. She wore a light blue dress covered in stains with no boots.
"She's has been infected by demonic poison."
Her eyes fell on me again- cold and unfeeling.
"And why should I help a Nephilium?" she asked. "Her kind bring nothing, but suffering."
"I'm Eveline," I said weakly. "I freed Aslan from the dungeons."
Without another word, we were ushered in. I knew eventually helping the mountain lion halfling would help me. I just never thought it would save my life.
She had me sit on a cot that felt like a slab of bricks. She thumbed through a self bound leather book with pages made from scrap parchment until she found what she was looking for.
"Can you read?" she asked Sasha.
"A little."
"Try reading the herbs I need while I get some water on to boil."
Sasha walked over casting Alistor a worried glance while the Halfling fox put water on to boil. I tried to ignore the intense pain, but it was hard. I moved the torn fabric out of the way to see the marking slashed into my skin- the old symbol for blood traitor back before the treaty.
"You'll still have a nasty scar, but you will live," she said. "My name is Celestia."
It took several hours to make the serum to nullify the poison, but once she was done, she stitched my arm and bandaged it. As we were leaving, I placed ten gold nobles in her hands.
"I will never forget this, Celestia. Thank you."