Chapter 4: Part 3 - A Loose Cannon

“What are you doing here?” Erin had spoken the words before she could stop herself.

Spark turned slowly. The dim light from the corridor cast eerie shadows across her gaunt, black-robed form. The archive room was in almost total darkness, except for a tiny lantern propped on a shelf.

“Spark?” Erin pressed. “Why are you here?”

Spark finally pulled a smile that made her look even more cadaverous. “Research.”

“Into Artair?” Erin cast a glance at Marta, but her expression gave nothing away.

Spark put her head on one side. “Isn’t that what you asked me to do?”

Erin realised, far too late, that she’d underestimated the charr. She’d asked Spark to look into the weapon everyone was fighting over, without knowing the trail would lead to Auri. But Spark hadn’t bothered to report in since they’d last spoken. What had she dug up in all that time?

“You know one another.” Marta folded her arms, finally letting her displeasure show.

“Spark’s a member of my guild,” Erin said, almost guiltily.

“Technically,” Oska muttered, which made everyone fall silent. Erin could feel the weight of the ties that bound them all ‒ and how likely they were to be tested.

“Erin.” Marta’s voice cut through the stillness. “Can I have a word?”

It was barely a question; a cold anger radiated off Marta in waves. Reluctantly, Erin followed the other norn down the corridor, wondering what she’d find in the archives when she got back.

Marta spun on her heel and Erin almost crashed into her. “What’s going on?” she demanded. “How many more of your guild am I going to bump into down here?”

“I didn’t know she was here,” Erin replied, trying not to sound defensive. “Spark’s a bit of a loose cannon. I thought she’d forgotten all about the research I asked her to do.”

“Apparently not.” Some of the bite faded from Marta’s tone, but not all of it. “She pulled a lot of strings to be here. Are you going to tell me what she’s looking for?”

Erin spread her hands helplessly. “I have no idea.”

Marta snorted. “Just get rid of her. And be quick in the archives yourself. I’ll escort you out when you’re done.”

Marta strode away without a backward glance. Erin watched her go with a feeling of deep resignation. So much for rekindling their relationship. Marta thought she was either incompetent or a liar. Erin didn’t know which was worse.

She made it back to the archives in half a dozen quick steps. Spark still stood inside, Oska lounging in the doorway. Neither appeared to have spoken. For once, Erin was glad of their surliness. There was a gleam in Spark’s eye that said she was on the verge of causing trouble, now that they all knew what the ‘weapon’ truly was. Erin had no idea how, but the charr was damned clever. She’d figured out exactly what Auri was.

“Oska.” Erin put a hand on his shoulder. “Will you give us a minute?”

Oska gave her a searching look, but eventually he nodded and strode away.

Erin stepped into the archives. She shut the door behind her and immediately wished she hadn’t. It was now so dark that all she could see were the single lamp, Spark’s eyes, and her gleaming, bared teeth.

“Right.” Erin pulled her shoulders back; she was taller than Spark, at least. “Tell me what you’re doing here.”

Spark didn’t immediately reply. “You asked me to look into rumours of a weapon,” she said finally.

“And did you?”

“Of course I did. I do as my guild leader commands.” If there was a hint of mockery in the words, Erin chose to ignore it.

“So you know about Auri.”

Spark’s head came up. “Turns out Ash Legion have been keeping an eye on her.”

Erin winced. Ash Legion? Just one more group to add to the list of those who had an unhealthy interest in the poor girl. “What’s that got to do with the Priory?”

“Nothing. It’s not Auri I’m here to look into.”

Of course it wasn’t. Marta had mentioned the other ‘researcher’ had been granted special permission to look into Artair’s records ‒ and now here they were, face to face.

Suddenly, Spark took a step forwards. “You’re here for the same reason I am,” she said, her voice almost a hiss. “You want to know whose hands the girl has fallen into and what he might do with her.”

Erin’s heart sank. That was, if she was honest, the heart of this whole trip. She might hint at looking for ways to defeat Artair, but what she really wanted was to understand him. Not so she could cut him down, as Oska had suggested, but so she could make a more educated guess at what fate lay ahead for Auri.

She swallowed. “What conclusions have you drawn?”

Spark gave a soft, dark laugh. “I don’t think he’ll kill her, if that’s what you’re worried about. The girl’s too valuable for that.”

Erin nodded slowly.

“Artair wants power,” Spark went on. “He always has. In his early days, he could only throw his weight around by ordering Priory recruits to undertake dangerous missions. But things are different now. He has a weapon even Ash Legion is worried about. Who knows what he’ll do with it?”

“But you don’t think he’ll hurt her.” Erin’s voice was hoarse.

“No. He’ll manipulate her, lie to her, push her to the limit of her strength, but he won’t hurt her.”

Erin let out the breath she’d been holding, but her relief was short-lived. Spark, she realised, had absolutely no reason to care about Auri’s well-being ‒ so what was she doing here?

“It’s not Auri you’re worried about,” Erin said slowly.

There was just enough light to see the guilt that flashed across Spark’s face, though it was quickly hidden. “You came to me because you feared a weapon and now it’s fallen into Artair’s hands. You can’t protect Auri any longer.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“If I was holding a gun right now, what would you do? What about if I waved it at your head? What if I said I was giving it to Artair?”

“I’d try to take it off you,” Erin said uneasily.

“Of course you would.” Spark’s grin wasn’t reassuring. “Now imagine I told you the gun could kill thousands with a single shot. What then?”

“I’d still take it off you,” Erin said, but she could see where Spark’s argument was going. “And I’d… I’d destroy it.”

“There you go. That’s exactly what Artair’s been given: a weapon of untold power. We all know elemental magic can be used to heal and protect, but we also know that isn’t what Artair wants it for. He has a weapon and it needs to be destroyed.”

It took several heartbeats for the true horror of Spark’s words to sink into Erin’s head. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do.”

“You’re talking about killing an innocent girl.”

“She might not be innocent much longer‒”

“She’s a child!”

“She’s a weapon.” Spark was implacable. “That’s how Artair is going to treat her. The sooner you do the same, the sooner we can end this war.”

A thousand arguments sprang to Erin’s lips, but before she could voice them, the door swung open. Erin glanced over her shoulder, ready to tell the hapless researcher who’d interrupted to mind their own business ‒ but the silhouette in the doorway was small, hunched, and bristling with weapons.

“No one’s killing Auri,” Oska said. “If you try, I’ll stop you.”

It didn’t sound like a threat, but rather a statement of fact. That, at least, Erin knew to be true: Oska would give up every breath in his body to protect his sister. It was, for him, like protecting the other half of his soul.

“Auri would never hurt anyone, no matter what Artair tells her to do.” Oska’s gaze was still fixed on Spark. “And if you doubt that, I think you should leave.”

Spark grunted, but she didn’t seem to be in the mood to argue. “You can bury your head in the sand all you want, Erin,” she said, pointedly ignoring Oska, “but you’re going to see I’m right. You know where to find me when you do.”

She left in a swish of robes, the door swinging shut behind her and once again plunging them into darkness. Erin crossed to the lantern still sitting on the shelf and turned up the flame, allowing her to see the glitter of Oska’s eyes.

“I won’t let anyone harm Auri,” she said, conviction making her voice rough.

Oska actually smiled. “I know you won’t. You’ll keep your promise.”

His faith would have been alarming, if Erin hadn’t been so determined to live up to it. “Looks like Artair isn’t the only danger now, though. Spark could easily make our lives very difficult.”

“I did get that impression.” Oska had a dagger in his hand, one Erin hadn’t seen him draw. He twirled it across his knuckles, the blade catching the light in flashes of silver and gold. “Which is why I think we need a different approach.”