Lockhart's Confirmation (Vespari Lockhart Book 2)

by J. Stone

  Spencer nodded and turned to Wynonna and PJ. “I’ll see you soon.”

  “Be careful out there,” she told him.

  Ambrose then closed the door on Wynonna and the occultist, and she could hear their footsteps, followed by the outer door closing shortly thereafter. Wynonna turned around to see PJ leaning back against the wooden desk at the center of the room and folding his arms.

  “How do you think that all went?” he asked.

  Wynonna shrugged. “Hard to say.”

  “Ambrose didn’t seem completely convinced by it all, but at least we know it’s not him.”

  “Yeah,” she muttered.

  PJ smiled. “You don’t like being wrong, huh?”

  “Does anyone?”

  “Fair point.”

  “I’m just worried about whether I can trust him.”

  “Trust him with what?”

  “He did just throw us in a locked room. Maybe he doesn’t believe us at all. Maybe he’s in league with Nicolae. Maybe he just went to get help to deal with us.”

  “You’re paranoid,” he told her. “You told me Rohan’s story. You know that the cultist said that the other elders didn’t know anything about it. Ambrose isn’t that guy, which means he isn’t working with Nicolae.”

  “That doesn’t leave out the possibility that he just didn’t believe us.”

  “True, but I don’t think you have to worry about that either.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I don’t know much about Ambrose, but when I cast that spell on him, I got a glimpse of who he is. I think he’s a lot like you.”

  Wynonna frowned. “In what way?”

  “Well, he’s stubborn for one.”

  “Mm.”

  “But more importantly, he seems to genuinely want to stop as many monsters as possible. He wants to do the most good he can, and he cares deeply about the vespari order.”

  “Maybe.” She actually managed to smile a little. “He did vote to confirm me, after all.”

  PJ nodded. “I think he sees your good intentions, even if you don’t always go about it the best way.”

  “What’s wrong with my ways?”

  The occultist raised a single eyebrow and stared at her. “You really want an answer to that question?”

  Wynonna thought about it for a second. “No. No, I do not.”

  ***

  The sound of a door creaking open alerted Wynonna to someone’s arrival in the elders’ chamber. She felt a mix of trepidation and excitement at the possibility of who could be there. Despite what PJ had told her, she still worried that Ambrose might not have fully believed her. All the same, she wanted nothing more than to get to the bottom of what was going on in that tower. She wanted to find Rohan’s killer. She wanted to clear her master’s name. She wanted to be a vespari, like she was meant to be.

  That meant that whatever was on the other side of that door, Wynonna would have to deal with it. She waited until she heard the sound of the chamber door closing again and for the murmurs of voices to start their inevitable conversation. Gripping the knob of the door, she looked over at PJ, and the occultist gave her a nod. With a deep breath, Wynonna pushed the door open and stepped into the next room.

  What she found on the other side was a mix somewhere between what she hoped for and what she feared. Ambrose and Spencer had indeed returned with Nicolae, but he was not alone. Bowater was there with them as well. He would complicate matters, certainly, but she wouldn’t let him stand in her way.

  The sound of the door opening and Wynonna stepping inside drew the attention of the four men situated near the center of the room. Spencer, expecting her to emerge, sidled over toward the door leaving the chamber. When he got there, he latched the lock, an attempt to stop anyone from fleeing or getting any help.

  “What is this?” Bowater asked, looking from Wynonna, to Spencer, and then finally to Ambrose.

  “Wynonna has some questions she wishes to ask,” Ambrose told them. “I’ve agreed to let them be asked.”

  “What are you talking about?” Nicolae asked. “There’s nothing left to say. We have made our decision, unfortunate that it is.”

  “She’s not a vespari,” Bowater added. “This girl doesn’t belong here.” He looked over at PJ. “And who is this?”

  Wynonna nodded toward the occultist. “This is PJ. He’s here to make sure everyone tells the truth.”

  “And how is that?” Bowater asked.

  “Hopefully it won’t come to that, but for the moment, you’re not who I want to ask questions of.”

  “Then, who is?” Nicolae asked.

  “You,” she replied, pointing her finger at the portly vespari.

  “Me? What would you want from me?”

  “Answers.”

  He frowned and shrugged his shoulders. “Alright. I’ll play along. What is it you would like to know?”

  “Azus,” she began. “Tell me about Azus.”

  “What?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. “Why would you want to know of such things?”

  “Because his name keeps popping up.”

  “What do you mean? He’s long since dead. I killed him myself.”

  Wynonna pulled the sketch of herself and the note she’d found in Rohan’s pocket and place both pieces of paper on the table before the elders. Nicolae pulled a pair of spectacles from his pocket and leaned over them. Behind him, Bowater did the same, and Wynonna gave them a minute to look them both over.

  “I don’t understand,” Nicolae said, standing upright again with a groan and holding his back.

  “Nor do I,” Bowater added. “What does any of this have to do with us?”

  “One of you is a traitor,” Wynonna replied, all too calmly.

  The two elders new to the conversation looked to each other then back to Ambrose.

  “What is this delusional girl talking about?” Bowater asked.

  “Just listen to her,” he replied. “Start at the beginning, Wynonna. Tell them everything you know.”

  “I suppose the beginning as far as I’m aware would be Kaelan Lockhart,” she began.

  “Yes, and your deviant of a master killed him,” Bowater said.

  “I’ve seen the evidence,” she continued. “There is next to zero proof that Cory killed him. The only witness is standing right in this room.” Wynonna stared at Nicolae.

  The old man shrugged and gave her an apologetic expression. “I couldn’t help but tell the others what I saw,” Nicolae said. “But, you’re right. There wasn’t much proof that Corrigan was the murderer, but no one else had motive. Why would anyone else want to kill Kaelan? As for Corrigan, the two of them always had a rather antagonistic relationship. It surprised no one, when he was the suspect. Given the lack of evidence though, we only banished Corrigan. Normally, we would have executed him for taking another vespari’s life.”

  “Why would anyone else want to kill Kaelan?” she asked, repeating his question. “I don’t know, but if I were to hazard a guess, I would say that he stumbled upon something he wasn’t supposed to. I’d say that Kaelan found out who or what you really are.”

  Nicolae chuckled. “It’s quite the story, my dear, but I fear you may have gone too far in trying to redeem your master.”

  “Nicolae is right,” Bowater said, turning and moving away from the table. “This is all nonsense and a waste of time. I’m leaving.”

  Wynonna drew her revolver faster than she knew she could. “You’re not going anywhere,” she told him. “Not until this is resolved.”

  “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked. “You dare draw your weapon on me? An elder?”

  “We’re not done, until I say we’re done.” She gestured her revolver back toward the center of the room, and with a glare on his face, he reluctantly obliged.

  “When this is over, girl…”

  She ignored his vague threat and continued. “My master’s banishment is not the only concern that brought me here. When I first arrived at the tow
er, I was given a challenge to prove myself, to kill Rohan Dowd, a supposed oathbreaker.”

  “He was an oathbreaker,” Bowater said. “He shot at us and then fled.”

  “He shot at something, but it wasn’t other vespari.”

  “What are you talking about, Wynonna?” Nicolae asked, eyes cut into slits.

  “I didn’t kill Rohan,” she continued. “I spared him, and he explained what really happened to him that night.”

  “We know what happened,” Bowater said with an exasperated sigh.

  “Listen to her, Albert,” Ambrose said from behind him.

  “Rohan came back to the tower that night and saw someone in this very chamber,” Wynonna continued. “He saw two robed figures performing a ritual.”

  “Madness,” Bowater said. “The girl is insane, Ambrose. What are we doing here?”

  “It was one of you!” Wynonna told them. “One of the elders. The other cultist said as much, but Rohan couldn’t tell who it was. All he knew was that they claimed they were an elder.”

  Bowater continued to shake his head, but Nicolae stared at her with an intensity that unsettled her. Wynonna could feel the sweat on her brow, and her hands had begun to shake against her will. To hide this, she slid the revolver back in its holster for the moment. PJ must’ve seen this, and he put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

  “Go on,” he told her.

  “The cultist created an illusion that chased Rohan from the room,” Wynonna said. “He fired his revolver at it, but the bullets just passed through. When he was in the hall and the other vespari had come to investigate, he continued to shoot, making it appear like he was firing upon them. Given what he had done and what he had seen, all Rohan could think to do was run.”

  “It is a compelling story,” Nicolae told her, “but I suspect it was simply a ploy he devised to convince you of his innocence. The boy was an oathbreaker. Nothing he said could be trusted.”

  “Rohan was many things but never a liar,” Ambrose said.

  The portly vespari shook his head with a dismissive smile. “You’re too close to this, Ambrose. Is this why you brought Wynonna here? Did you hope to clear your apprentice’s name and bring him back into the fold?”

  “No,” the elder replied. “Because Rohan is dead.”

  “Killed by Azus,” Wynonna added, pointing to the second slip of paper lying on the table. “That’s what I pulled from Rohan’s pocket when I found his body.”

  “Azus is dead, child,” Nicolae told her. “Whoever this is cannot be the same man who died all those years ago.”

  “But you’re the one who killed him, right?”

  “That’s right.”

  Spencer stepped forward. “Then, why has your name been marked out from all the records about Azus?”

  Nicolae turned toward the librarian. “How would I know, Spencer? The historical records are your concern.”

  “These date back before I even came to the tower.”

  “Then, your predecessor must’ve had something to do with it. I still couldn’t say as to what happened. If you’d like I can recount what I remember of that night. You could update your records.”

  Spencer shook his head. “I don’t think that will be--”

  Wynonna raised her hand to stop him. “No, no, Spencer. I think I’d like to hear this.”

  “As you wish,” Nicolae said with a little nod. “Though, I’m not sure what value it has for this inquisition of yours.”

  “Just talk,” she said.

  “Very well. Azus had killed a number of innocent people in Alexandria. We believed that they had some value in the rituals he performed, but we didn’t ever know the specifics of them. Regardless, I discovered a pattern in his rituals and tracked him to an abandoned building on the south side of the city. There were two other vespari with me that night. Both died when we faced the cultist.

  “We interrupted Azus’s ritual, but his victim still perished during the fight that resulted. The ritual opened a portal, and it dragged my two comrades through. I never saw them again. I managed to shoot Azus, and then whatever was on the other side of the portal pulled his body through as well. The portal closed as the ancient dragged Azus through, and his head actually severed from his body. I brought the head back as proof of his death, and that was the end of Azus.”

  “That’s it?” Wynonna asked.

  He smiled and nodded. “What more do you want?”

  “What happened to the head?” Spencer asked.

  Nicolae turned to him, folded his hands over his stomach, and said, “I assume it was destroyed. I certainly didn’t keep it as some grisly trophy.”

  “Are we done here?” Bowater asked. “This has all been very educational, but what’s the point of all this?”

  “I don’t think that’s all there is to Azus,” Wynonna said. “I don’t think Nicolae has been completely honest with us. I think something happened that night and that Azus is still alive in some form.” She pointed at the portly vespari elder. “I think he lives on thanks to you.”

  He frowned. “That’s simply ridiculous, Wynonna. The runes on my chest alone would prevent anything like what you’re suggesting.”

  “I don’t claim to know how it happened, but everything ties back to you. You’re the one who killed Azus. You’re the witness tying Cory to Kaelan’s death. You’re the one who wanted Rohan dead. You’re the one who sent me to fight the nagas in the sewer. And, you’re the one who denied my confirmation to the vespari order.”

  “Wynonna, what must I do to convince you that all of this is simply untrue?”

  “I told you before,” she said, putting her hand on the occultist’s shoulder. “I brought PJ to make sure you’re honest.”

  “And just what is it that you’re proposing?”

  “He’s going to see exactly what and who you’ve killed.”

  One of Nicolae’s eyebrows shot up. “How?”

  PJ held up the silver round with Petronila stored within. “This,” he told them all.

  “And what is that?” Bowater asked, stepping forward.

  “I bound a soul eater within that round,” Wynonna explained. “And, PJ is going to harness its energy to expose every creature or person Nicolae has killed.”

  “An occultist?” Bowater asked. “You brought an occultist into this tower?”

  “Not this again,” Wynonna muttered. “PJ isn’t evil. He’s not going to hurt anyone.”

  “This is nonsense. I won’t stand for this.”

  With this, she slipped the revolver from its holster once again. Bowater said nothing, glaring at Wynonna.

  “This is happening,” she told him. “We’re getting to the truth of this.”

  “I will not be subjected to this,” Nicolae said. “I have humored you long enough. I’m not consenting to an occultist using a soul eater’s magic on me. It is… abhorrent.”

  “No one is asking for your permission,” Ambrose said from behind him.

  Nicolae turned around, shaking his head. “Ambrose, this has to end. I know you saw something in this girl. I did too for a time, but clearly, she is not suited to this. She couldn’t withstand simple rejection, and so, she turned to this? She does not belong in our ranks.”

  “This isn’t about her,” he replied.

  “Then, what? Rohan? He made his own bed. I know she told you a story that would abolish him of any crime, but he was an oathbreaker. He abandoned his duty.”

  “Someone drove him off and then had him killed. I mean to find out the truth of the matter.”

  Nicolae pointed at Wynonna. “There’s Rohan’s killer. We’re the ones who told her to do it. Your conscience has got the better of you, my old friend.”

  “No,” Ambrose said, shaking his head. “I believe Wynonna, and there are too many coincidences for me to ignore.”

  “I’ve seen nothing to make me believe anything the girl has said,” Bowater interjected, folding his arms at his chest. “We denied her a place in the vespar
i, and she’s clearly just out to sully our name, to drive a wedge between us.”

  “The wedge was already there,” Ambrose replied. “It’s been there for years, only I never noticed it until now. We’ve been bleeding vespari. The monsters have been winning. The people have lost faith in us, and I can’t blame them. Our world is dying, and maybe it’s because we haven’t done our jobs. Maybe the suffering throughout the world is related to the cultists of the Eternal Night or the writhing ancients or something else, and maybe one of us isn’t who they say they are.” He turned to Nicolae. “The occultist will be examining you, the same as he did to me.”

  “You allowed this to be done to you?” Bowater asked.

  “I did.”

  “That’s it then,” Nicolae said, as if coming to some conclusion. “He’s warped your mind.”

  “My mind is perfectly fine.”

  “No,” Bowater said, shaking his head. “Nicolae is right. The occultist is controlling you. He’s trying to destroy the order.”

  “You’re both being ridiculous,” Ambrose replied.

  Bowater turned to Spencer. “What about you? Have they warped your mind as well?”

  The librarian frowned at him. “My mind is perfectly fine.”

  “How can we trust you?” Looking to Ambrose, he added, “Or you?”

  “Trust this,” Wynonna said, lifting her revolver. “It’s all you need to worry about.”

  Bowater looked as if he wanted to make a move against her, but before he could, Nicolae stepped forward.

  Putting his hand on Bowater’s shoulder, the portly elder said, “It’s alright. I will not put lives at risk. If proof is necessary of my innocence, then I will oblige.” He paused a moment and adjusted himself a little bit. When he was ready, he moved to the side by himself and faced Wynonna and PJ. “I’m ready. Do what you must.”

  Wynonna nodded to PJ, who raised his hand, fingers still clenched around the silver round.

  “You’d do best not to move too much,” PJ told the elder. “It could hurt a little more than it needs to.”

  “I won’t move,” Nicolae replied, situating his feet how he wanted them.