I find that Kaya is full of surprises, a genuine treasure trove when it comes to my little problem. The need to pick her brain rears inside me and she hands it over easily, without so much as a question.
" My mother was a part of the order in her youth but once she married my father, she stepped away. I never understood why but if I have to guess it is because of my father. Anyway, as far as I know, their leader, the High Kallah is a bloodthirsty bastard who has a penchant for young girls, really young,"
It is so, so disturbing that I struggle to find my words at the notion.
" Every member of the covenant is born and raised in the temple. So, they are indoctrinated to their bone. Word is that there are some that have left it behind but they still obey the High Kallah to some extent when they are called upon," I knew that they were crazy cult people but this is beyond my wildest imagination. Do I even want to know what happens within the walls of the temple? I push that thought out of my mind, because it carries with it memories of a time when I was chained to a grimy floor, sitting in my own filth. There is a time and a place for certain things and this wasn't it. My main focus is to get as much information as possible on the Kallah to level the playing field. Kaya seems to hold a fair amount of knowledge while the other two legacies seem to know just as much as I do. Which is almost next to nothing.
" Do you know who is the High Kallah?" I ask, but I already know the answer, because it couldn't be anyone else other than Micah.
" A man named Oren. Or at least it was when my mother was in the order. A lot of things have changed in the past twenty years or so," Very true.
We all listen with rapt attention while Kaya shares more insights on the covenant. The High Kallah is the most powerful of them all, but I haven't seen what Micah can do, so far has only sent his hunting dogs after me, and mostly it was only Lissete and Eagan. Fairly decent in a fight one-on-one but, when it came to facing each other there have been interruptions. So, I'm not leaning heavily on that assessment.
There are four echelons within the covenant. High Kallah, the council which is governed by a High J'aar, T' aresy and the V'asay which is probably the lowest echelons doing all the grunt work. They have been around for as long as anyone can remember, hiding in plain sight. According to Kaya, they are everywhere, it could be your next-door neighbour or the nice lady at the cake shop. That thought sends a cold shiver down my spine. I was fairly well known in the Quarter, and the thought that I have spoken to any of them, and been none of the wiser makes me swallow thickly the dread creeping up my throat. Shit.
But T'aethi had mentioned it to me before I left Helej Norun but I didn't think it was to such a degree. This is bad.
Does Mason know? Does Graham know?
Mason might be reluctant to share anything with me at the moment, but I might be able to squeeze something out of Graham once we get past our issues. Plus, he would be quite easy to find and far more approachable than Mason. Angst unfurls at the thought of him, and I can't help the little leap my heart makes whenever I think of him, but it also comes with an immense amount of grief and sorrow. My two best friends and I, are once again reunited. Not sure we ever parted ways, to be honest.
" So we have a bunch of crazy cult people running around killing people. Why does none know about this?" Laira is the one to interrupt Kaya, from rambling about her mother's adventures. I'm surprised that Riley and Frederick had no input in the story but they don't seem surprised either to hear the story. There was no shock, nor horror, just a mild sense of disinterest in the whole situation. Probably because they are not the ones being hunted down.
That would make perfect sense.
" The order is very good at cleaning up and keeping this out of the public eye. That is all they pretty much have done for a while now. Or so my mother says. When Peter died, and Eric didn't carry forward his legacy, they began running out of people to dispatch to deal with the issue. So, now all they do is clean up, and move on," Mason had said something along those lines. Peter must be turning over in his grave to see all that he has worked for, brushed under the mat and forgotten about.
Laira claps her hands, now sober and clear as the day dawning on us," Does anyone want to go hunting? David and I can crop up some pretty neat gear for us," David raises a hand to stop Laira from speaking and I find myself lacking the proper words to express my shock at Laira's proposal.
" We are not doing anything of the sort. Is that understood?" David looks each and every one of us in the eyes until, Riley caves in and nods in agreement. Even though she didn't really comment on anything that has been said so far. She would probably tag along just to feel like she has a place in the academy. None of them seem fit to fight, whatever Frederick knows is not good enough to go against the V'asay if it took me less than ten seconds to swipe his feet from under him. Going against the V'asay it will be a death sentence that neither of them have signed up for, and I find myself in need to side with David.
" For fuck sake, you can barely eat lunch without stabbing yourself in the eye with the fork, and you want to go against people that would slit your throat without as much as a second thought. Nevermind dangerous but it is also incredibly stupid," I can't help but agree with David on that one. I know Laira suggested it for my sake but also I'm all for keeping everyone out of this mess. If it wasn't for me, the Kallah would have just done whatever they had been doing for the past couple of millennia, plod in the darkness where they belong.
A deep breath. " David is right. Let's not poke our noses where we don't belong. I'm sure that the order will do their best to keep things under control," It is a lie. I know for a fact that things will get out of hand pretty quickly the moment I step beyond those gates, but there is no point in endangering clueless children.
At least I have the means to defend myself. They don't. It is not arrogance that makes me put forward such a bold statement, it is the fact that I've gone against them and I know that we will become food for the worms if we are stupid enough to cross paths with the V'asay.
" But it doesn't mean we cannot prepare ourselves for the worst. So, I stand by Laira and I think we should begin cropping up gizmos like back in the day. And, maybe with a little persuasion, Eric would grant us access to Zareen," It is the best compromise that I could think of on a moment's notice.
For once David seems pleased with it and so is everyone else. Laira is skilled at engineering and I know Kaya and Frederick will do whatever David tells them to do. David has grown to be quite the leader, and I find myself taken aback at the shift that has occurred so swiftly in him.
He meets my eyes from across the room and nods at me, drawing Laira closer to him. David has made it pretty clear that Laira's safety is his priority and I don't blame him for that, I can't.
Once everyone has gotten the message loud and clear we shift onto a more easy subject to digest, dispelling the cloud of gloom that has settled in the room.