A Lot To Take In
"I-I don't know how to use my powers or anything like that," Emma protested as fright overtook her. "I don't even know what my powers are! I swear! I'm just a street rat! I'm nothing!"
"That's not true!" Constance challenged with a vigorous shake of her head. "You are the most powerful person in the Empire, whether you want to be or not, my love. You may not believe it right now, but someday you will come into your own, and the entire Empire will hold its breath. You will do wonderful things—I just know it."
"I-" Emma tried to protest, but Constance smiled patiently at her and patted her arm.
"You don't know how to summon your powers, or even what they can do, I understand that!" Constance's smile turned rueful. "Kiley, Eva and I all know all too well what that's like."
"It's true." Eva nodded with a shrug. Kiley said nothing, her gaze fixed on Emma's face.
"Honestly, I can't think of a single magic wielder I know who can say what the true extent of their powers actually are. We all fall into our affinities and stay there. We don't push the bounds of what we can do."
"And with good reason!" Eva interjected pointedly.
"Well, yes, the Ebb, but can you imagine what would be possible with an unlimited magic pool? Could you imagine what we could do?" Constance's eyes burned with a savage and, to Emma, frightening light. "We could bring peace to the Empire. A lasting peace—not this torturous cold war where we all walk blindly through an artillery factory waiting for the match to finally drop and blow us all to Hamistagan. We could protect the people and keep them safe from harm. No more forced Despair Batteries or executions for purely political purposes!" Constance sighed and finally shook her head before turning her gaze back to Emma. "I'm sorry."
"Uh…no, no need to be sorry." Emma waved her apology away quickly. It was clear Constance believed fervently in this idea she had of what peace meant, Emma thought. The problem on the streets with fervent believers is you were never quite sure how far they would go to enforce those beliefs.
"This whole situation has been a cauldron bubbling beneath the surface for years and I tire of it." Constance scowled. "We've all lost people to the batteries. Or to the skirmishes or the ham-handed actions of the Council as they mete out their twisted, political version of 'justice,' but I shouldn't let my emotions get the better of me. I know you're scared and feel alone and uneasy about everything. But you are not the match in the ironworks. You are the light coming through the windows. You're the promise of a new world. You have a good heart, Emma. I will protect you with my life. Not because the Empress ordered it, but because I believe in you."
"I-I hope it doesn't come to anyone dying for me," Emma managed finally, not sure what to say or do or even what she should be unsure of.
"I know things will work out." Constance squeezed her hand warmly.
"Hear, hear!" Eva enthused. "A toast! To Emma!"
"To Emma!" the assembled group shouted, Barrister and some of his men standing proudly and raising their glasses. Emma blushed fiercely. She tried to raise her head to accept their clearly misplaced adulation but gave up finally and lowered her head in an awkward nodding bow.
The tension in the room from Constance's tales and the earlier incident with Lucius seemed to drain, and soon the table was alive with eager conversation and good-natured laughter and jesting. Emma sipped the fine wine in front of her quietly, keeping her head down. Her thoughts roiled in her head like waves lashing at the shore. She searched her mind for the voice which had spoken to her earlier, but it was gone again, hidden once more.
Was it trying to warn her? Was it somehow prescient? Could it see the future? What did it know? It was the same voice which had raged through her in the alley, though seemingly calmer, she could still sense the pain and fury in it. Was that voice the source of her power? Was she possessed? If so, maybe one of the Paladins of the Gemini could be convinced to exorcise the demon and relieve her of this nightmare.
Though the voice remained frustratingly silent, her situation was clear if what Constance told her was true, and she had no reason to believe it wasn't. She was in danger and, as near as she could figure, that danger came from everywhere at once—like being in the center of a cyclone with no way to escape. She glanced around surreptitiously only to find Kiley's eyes planted firmly on her as she sat back in her chair, feet propped up on the elegant table, sipping from her glass of dusky liquid.
Kiley smiled and let herself fall forward in the chair, coming to rest so close to Emma, the girl could smell the booze on her breath. Emma wanted to pull back, but the intensity of the girl's green eyes as they stared into hers held her like a physical thing. Kiley studied her face intently, searching for something. Finally the corner of her mouth pulled up in a sad sort of smile.
"She scared ye, didn't she?" Kiley asked quietly, though it was more a statement than a question.
"No!" Emma protested a bit too quickly, waving her hands as if to ward off what Kiley was saying.
"It's ok." Kiley shrugged. "I love 'er. She's th' best part o' me, but I know what she's like. She has reasons for th' things she does. Hell, we all do, she's just got th' brains t' put those reasons inta words. But she doesn't think t' look at th' cost o' those words sometimes."
"I-I don't under-" Emma began before Kiley shook her head to cut her off.
"I know what yer thinkin', Emma. Yer asking yersel' if ye may be in the Ash Viper's den here wi' us and tha' maybe th' Archon's no' th' only one ye need t' be afraid o'. Right?" Kiley's smile broadened slightly, and she shrugged again, her accent thicker after drinking. "Ye don' need t' answer. I can see it in yer eyes."
"I'm sorry," Emma whispered, lowering her eyes in embarrassment.
"No need t' be sorry!" Kiley returned, her voice still low and nearly lost in the din of drunken conversation. "I know it's a lo' t' take in, but yer no' wrong t' be afraid, Emma. Fear's a powerful tool. Sometimes it's th' only tool we got. Ye need t' keep tha' fear. It'll serve ye well. I could tell ye we're all on yer side, o' course, but I doubt that'd make ye feel any better. Not t' mention I can't speak fer everyone here anyway, so I'll just say t' trust yer heart, yer instincts, and yer fear. I'll always do everything t' keep ye safe, an' that's a promise. But it's up t' ye if ye want t' believe it."
"Th-Thank you." Emma nodded again. "I'm feeling rather tired."
"Do ye need someone t' show ye the way?" Kiley asked.
"No, no, I know where to go." Emma smiled haltingly. Kiley nodded and patted her hand, watching as the girl excused herself and headed toward the grand staircase. She may be a light in the ironworks, Kiley thought to herself, downing the rest of her glass before refilling it, but it seemed more likely Emma could be the sun coming through the smoke after the roof was blown off, than through the windows at the moment.
Emma dressed in the nightclothes she'd been given and stood playing idly with the silver bracelet around her wrist as she stared out the window of her room, the darkness pressing close against her like a living thing. Outside, the snow fell heavily from the leaden sky. The moons were not visible, their faces hidden behind the clouds summoned by the Witch of Autumn. She sighed as she peered out the window, shivering from the cold radiating from the glass. Her body was chilled, but her face was flush, as if the thoughts in her head were heating her up somehow.
It was a lot to take in—Kiley had been right about that at least. It was like finding a giant sack of Aurei in the center of the road. Yes, it would change your life, but everyone wanted some of it. Or, in this case, all of it. Emma sighed again before scowling. Far in the distance through the falling snow, a flash of brilliant purple light erupted in the night. She peered intently into the darkness as the light burned brightly for a long moment before fading away. Emma stared for a long while in the gloomy night, but the light never flared again. Finally, her thoughts jumbled, she turned from the window and crawled beneath the warm blankets on her bed.