* * *
A sigil and a dagger from Lord Coswain, surely that would be convincing enough.
Some words of reassurance from the guard, words that were confident but did little to calm the nerves that were beginning to build inside.
And then silence.
Nothing but the cold winter wind and the gentle creaking of the trees as they swayed within it.
Suddenly Katherine felt very alone. Exposed. If the murderer wanted to strike again, he could do it from any angle and there would be no way to see it coming. Her eyes flicked around her surroundings as Aliseth finally disappeared from her sight. There was nothing, not even a stray raven or curious rabbit.
I hope you didn’t think I was truly gone, Inquisitor. You know what you have to do.
The words echoed in her head and sent a chill down her spine.
Fuck you.
Katherine choked on her breath as the invisible collar around her neck tightened viciously. She clawed at her neck as her throat tightened completely. The silence was almost deafening, now that not even her breathing interrupted it.
Ah ah ah. That’s not the proper way to address your superior, Sorrowind.
The collar loosened and Katherine gasped in the icy cold air, quenching the fiery pain raging in her lungs.
Consider it your first official order of this assignment. Interrogate the dead man. You must ensure the safety of our beloved Princess.
The last words echoed mockingly in her head as the sensation of her collar disappeared.
Alone once more.
Fine.
With a quick twirl, Katherine removed her fur cloak and laid it on the ground, kneeling down onto it before the faceless and body-less head. Her heart pounded in her chest, knowing damn-well what she was about to attempt just might get her arrested for real. It would certainly be one way to make one hell of a first impression. She stifled a nervous laugh, shaking her head.
The priestess bowed her head at the moon in the sky and put her hands together palm-to-palm. A very traditional position for prayer that she had not assumed in a very long time. Her hope was to provide every reason for her goddess to show mercy in the judgement Katherine knew was coming. Whether or not it would work was a completely different question.
Seluna, forgive me for what I am about to do. Know that I do this for the protection of others and not for my own gain. Know that once again, I do this against my will and against my better judgement.
Katherine’s deep brown eyes flicked open and she placed her hands firmly into the snow before her. With a single thought, a sickly green mist began to escape from beneath her palms. It was slow at first, barely visible in the moonlight. Her entire body screamed at her in protest of what she was attempting. Almost immediately, her muscles began to ache and her heart threatened to launch itself from her chest.
The green mist quickly became more prominent, forming into many thin columns that approached the faceless head before her and entering it from any and every orifice it could find.
She lifted her head and groaned as the pain progressively worsened, from aches to needles.
Why is this so much harder than before…
Willing herself to do better, the priestess closed her eyes and steeled her mind once more.
Come on… let me in… LET ME IN.
Katherine gritted her teeth, the combination of pain and the knowledge that she was still on a leash bringing out a newfound rage from inside. With a deep, shaky breath, she used this rage to fuel her magic just shy of her breaking point.
And in a moment, everything gave way. The vile green mist flooded the remains of the main—both body and head—causing it to subtly convulse.
Flashes of memories whipped before her eyes. Split-second images of what was presumably the moments leading up to this man’s death, barely visible and barely recognizable. Emotions ripped through her like a knife; Suspicion, then fear, then absolute terror. Then, a final image of an almost-unhinged jaw before pain shot through her head.
Katherine’s hands rushed up to clutch her head, falling to the side and writhing in pain. Her breath repeatedly caught in her throat, her mind barely able to focus enough to keep breathing while she relived the most powerful sensation of Sir Abel’s final moments.
M-my lady of s-silver have mercy… … … make it stop. Make the pain… stop.
The sickening sound of tearing flesh and a blood curdling scream overwhelmed every other sensation she’d felt up till this moment. No longer was it the silence that was deafening.
Laying in agony, Katherine reached a desperate hand out towards the faceless head.
With a single touch, the green mist of her necromancy tore itself from her subject and rushed back to her.
And then there was silence once more.
* * *
A few moments later, Katherine found her vision filled with a view of the night sky. Clouds floated by overhead and the snow gently fell, flakes melting against the exposed skin of her face. She could feel the cold ground underneath and slowly deduced that she was laying on her back. Her heart still pounded in her chest, her breaths still shaky, but the pain was gone. The screaming, the gut-wrenching tearing of flesh, gone. The silence of the forest had returned.
With trembling limbs, Katherine slowly maneuvered herself upwards. First, to all fours, where she stayed as her head spun and spots flew across her vision. It was also here that she noticed the sensation of fresh blood running from her nose, quickly changing from warm to cold in the winter air. Then, when the priestess finally felt relatively stable, she pushed herself to her feet and wrapped herself in the fur cloak.
Voices in the distance caught her attention. She was able to pick out at least a few distinct different people before she noticed the glow of torchlight coming down the path.
Fuck.
The priestess turned her back to the nearing group before raising a hand out towards the murder scene. Her entire body shook as she focused on a silent blessing, just enough to be visible to those approaching. The silvery symbol of Seluna gently appeared, hovering low above Sir Abel’s body just as she heard Flynn’s voice call out behind her.
Her heart raced once more and spots flew across her vision, panic filling her mind.
“L-lord Coswain and I… heard a scream. We got here and t-there was only a s-single guard that remained here.” Katherine tried her best to hide her shaky voice, a difficult task considering her entire body was trembling. Whether from cold, or from exhaustion, she had no idea.
“The lord and guard went off t-that way, I remained here to k-keep the scene untouched.” She pointed towards where the pair’s footsteps trailed off into the snow. “T-they went looking for… the princess, I b-believe.”
There was no lie that she could weave in the moment to explain her current state. She hoped it would either be overlooked, or just due to the cold. She was Lunarian, so the latter was a pretty slim hope to hold. Barring either of those, she was at the mercy of whatever wicked sense of humor the universe had. The darkness would only be on her side for as long as the newfound company stayed at a distance. In the torchlight, her now-pallid skin and generally unwell-looking appearance would be easy to spot. And that was assuming no one bothered to comment on the very evident crimson stain on her upper lip.
Looking across the group, she noted Ayel’s face, which only served to worsen her already shaky nerves.
I need to sell this more or he’ll have my head.
“T-this man here…he w-was gruesomely murdered. I’ve been trying to g-give him a proper blessing while I w-waited for the guards. I didn’t want to move the b-body for final rites until they were able to see it.”