"You have a lot of explaining to do."
The Voice tried to keep her tone cold, but Simon heard the anger beneath it. Her breathing was slightly heavier, and the words came out faster than they had during their first conversation.
Simon remained against the cracked wall.
"About what?"
A brief silence followed.
"One of my subordinates called the Fifth Needle is dead."
"Is that so?"
"An underground shelter was filled with corpses."
"And?"
The Voice's restraint slipped slightly.
"Is that all you have to say?"
Simon's fingers moved slowly across the curved surface of the Murmur Bone.
"You already know what happened. Repeating it will not bring your demons back."
The red lines flared.
"You were given one task. Find the vice-leader, discover whether he spoke, and kill him. You were not told to slaughter everyone you encountered."
"The demons inside the shelter attacked me."
"You entered their shelter carrying one of their leaders!"
