Chapter 113: Jamie
The next morning, Sir Ross and his Templars began their door-to-door inquiry.
Father Anchi accompanied them the entire way, a practiced, benevolent smile fixed on his face as he introduced each townsman. Old Tom the blacksmith—a piously devoted soul who never missed a Sunday mass. Auntie Mary from the bakery—her loaves were the pride of Orlando, and her donations to the chapel were regular as the tides. Peter the shepherd—whose flock had miraculously survived last year's blight, purely through the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Ross listened to these introductions, nodding rhythmically. The inspection was proceeding with boring, clinical efficiency.
No one had journeyed to the Evernight Empire. No one had consorted with the dead. No one had uttered a syllable of heresy.
Anchi's heart began to slowly descend from his throat. It's almost over. We've passed the trial.
Just as Ross was preparing to bid Anchi farewell at the street corner, a group of children came running around the bend.
"Let's go to the chapel and find Sister Danica!"
"Yeah! She said she'd teach us how to bake star-bread today!"
"Sister Danica is the best!"
The children's voices were bright and piercing in the morning air.
Anchi's smile froze, turning into a brittle mask. Sir Ross stopped mid-stride. He turned around slowly, his gaze locking onto Anchi. The other Templars shifted their weight, fanning out until Anchi was centered in a ring of cold steel.
"Father Anchi," Ross said, his voice a flat, dangerous calm. "Who is Danica?"
Anchi's mind became a whirlwind. An explanation? A lie? No. At this distance, with those eyes on him, any fabrication would be a death sentence. To be caught in a lie by the Inquisition was to invite immediate "purification."
Anchi kept his mouth shut. He didn't say a word.
Ross stared at him for several seconds before turning toward the children. "Children, come here."
Ross knelt, bringing his eyes level with theirs. He wore a smile of manufactured warmth. "This 'Sister Danica' you mentioned... who is she?"
The children looked at each other, then began to compete for the chance to speak.
"She's the Sister at the chapel!"
"She tells us the best stories!"
"She makes the tastiest candies!"
"And she plays hide-and-seek with us!"
Ross kept his smile in place. "And what does she do during the day?"
"She sits in the confessional and listens to everyone!"
"She scrubs the floors!"
"And she's a really good cook!"
Ross nodded slowly. "She sounds like an exemplary Sister."
The children nodded vigorously. "Uh-huh! Sister Danica is the greatest!"
Ross stood up, his face hardening as he turned back to Anchi. The Father's face was now ashen.
"Father Anchi," Ross said, stepping into the priest's personal space. "A nun so beloved by the children, so integrated into the town... and yet, during our census this morning, not a single adult mentioned her name."
"Why is that?"
Anchi's jaw worked, but no sound came out.
"As a Presiding Father," Ross continued, "you have the authority to appoint novices or even full sisters without reporting to the Capital. But you went through a great deal of effort to strike her existence from the town's collective testimony."
Ross's hand rested on the hilt of his claymore. "Tell me: Who exactly is Danica?"
Anchi gritted his teeth. It's over. I've failed.
Ross turned back to the children for one final inquiry. "Children, one last thing. Has Sister Danica done anything... strange recently?"
The children tilted their heads, thinking hard.
"No, not really."
"She's always been nice."
Ross began to frown, losing interest. But then, a little girl piped up.
"Oh! I remember! Last time we played hide-and-seek, Sister Danica took a really, really long time to find Jamie!"
"That's right!" a boy added. "She usually finds us fast, but she was gone with Jamie for ages!"
"And when they finally came back, Jamie looked like he'd seen a ghost, but he was really happy!"
Ross's eyes narrowed into slits. "Jamie?"
"Yeah! Jamie!"
Ross turned to his men. "Bring the boy named Jamie to me. Immediately."
"Understood!" Two Templars broke off and sprinted into the town.
Anchi felt his soul wither. Jamie. Of all the children in Orlando, it had to be the one with the biggest mouth in the province.
At that moment, Jamie was being held by the ear by his mother.
"You brat! How many times do I have to tell you to keep your mouth shut?!" she screamed, her face flushed with fury. "Auntie Mary came by today! She said you told half the town her flour is cut with bean-meal! Her business is in the gutter because of your loose tongue!"
Jamie kept his head down, tears pooling in his eyes. "I... I didn't mean to..."
"You never mean to!" She raised her hand to deliver a swat, but the front gate was kicked open.
Two fully armed Templars marched into the yard. Jamie's mother froze, her anger replaced by a sudden, chilling dread. "My Lords... how may we serve the Church?"
"We are taking this child to see Commander Ross," the Templar said, pointing a gauntleted finger at Jamie.
The mother's face went pale. "My son? What has he done?"
"Just a few questions." The Templar didn't wait for a reply, seizing Jamie by the arm. "Move."
Jamie was hauled out of the yard. He looked back at his mother, seeing the sheer terror on her face, and for the first time, his own "resolve" began to waver.
The Prayer Hall.
Jamie was thrust before Sir Ross. The Paladin knelt, staring into the red-rimmed eyes of the small boy.
"Your name is Jamie?"
Jamie gave a shaky nod.
"Don't be afraid. I only have a few questions for you," Ross said, his voice a honeyed poison. "You know Sister Danica, don't you?"
Jamie nodded again.
"Is she kind to you?"
"Yes," Jamie whispered.
"Then tell me: during that game of hide-and-seek... what happened? Why did it take her so long to find you?"
Jamie looked up at Ross. Then his eyes drifted to Father Anchi, who was standing nearby, drenched in a cold sweat.
Jamie remembered that afternoon. The sunlight through the leaves. The snagged branch. The fallen habit. Sister Danica's panicked, beautiful face. And the pinky-promise they had shared.
It was his and Sister Danica's most precious treasure.
"I..." Jamie's mouth opened.
Ross waited with predatory patience.
A tear rolled down Jamie's cheek. "I... I don't know..."
"You don't know?" Ross's tone lost its warmth, turning sharp. "Child, to lie to the Inquisition is a sin against the Spirits. The Great Dragon is watching you."
"I really don't know!" Jamie stammered, his voice climbing in pitch. "I... I was just hidden really well! It took her a long time to find the spot! That's all!"
Ross leaned in, his eyes boring into Jamie's. Jamie stared back, his vision blurring with tears, but he didn't look away. The silence stretched, heavy and suffocating.
"I will ask you one final time," Ross hissed. "What did you see? Tell the truth, and you remain a good child of the faith. If you continue to hide the truth, you are an accomplice to Heresy. You and your entire family will be fed to the Holy Flames for purification!"
Ross's roar echoed through the prayer hall. Jamie's body shook so hard his teeth rattled, but he squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head with a frantic, desperate violence.
Just then—
CRASH!
The heavy stone slab in the corner of the room was violently thrust upward from below.
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