Vim, again, brought me news that shook my soul.

“You’re sure…?” I asked carefully.

He nodded. “Coin’s letter implies it rather well, and I’d not doubt the older humans. I of course won’t believe it until I have further proof, but… I’d be lying if I said I didn’t expect it to be true,” Vim said.

Meriah was dead. Gone. Forever.

I… “I barely got to spend time with her…” I whispered.

Vim nodded gently as he reached over to the table next to us, as to grab one of the cups. We were sitting in our room alone, in one of the many smaller bedrooms underneath the Cathedral, and were sitting across from one another on the only chairs in the room.

It was honestly rather plain, the room that is. There was a table, these chairs, a nice sized bed… but that was it. One of the many functional, but basic, rooms that this location provided to any in the Society.

He had asked me to sit as to give me the bad news, and I was glad he had done so. I had simply thought he had been about to bring up Renka, not something like this.

He took a drink as I leaned back as to really consider the news.

Meriah was dead… possibly killed in cold blood. Vim didn’t know by whom, he had made it clear that although the wounds she had received were heavy they had not been so great that she couldn’t have gotten them from days away from here.

“My theory is she either got into a confrontation with one of the newcomers… or possibly just got unlucky for once. I plan to investigate local reports, since all of them get reported here one way or another. If she fought a bunch of knights, humans or what have you, there should be some kind of report on it. I can’t imagine she hadn’t been able to kill or maim many of her attackers, which would undoubtedly draw attention to the church and authorities who overlook such things,” Vim explained.

“Would she actually get in such a situation though?” I asked. Meriah was older and I had figured her to be very wise and strong. She had not liked people, but was not the type to allow herself to get into such situations I had thought…

“Mistakes happen, Renn… no matter how careful one is, the inevitable always happens. For instance a day will come you will get seen with your ears or tail and I’ll need to handle it. I don’t want it to happen, but it will. It always does,” he said.

I sighed at that. “It’s already happened before, Vim…” I reminded him. Though maybe not to the point that he had needed to shed blood or take lives because of it, there had been a few times I had nearly got noticed or seen here and there. And that was nothing to say of the times before I’d joined the Society… there had been many times I had accidentally been seen in my youth, and I had the scars to prove it.

“My point was simple, Renn… Meriah’s death may just be a sad accident. Until we have proof otherwise, we can’t make assumptions.”

I nodded as I watched him put his cup down. It wasn’t often Vim got thirsty enough to drink on his own accord… usually he only did so just to blend in, or when we were eating together and he wanted to enjoy the moment alongside me. Yet here he was… having poured drinks on his own, without even being asked to do so.

Was it related to the moment, maybe? Not only was this news about Meriah troubling… there was a lot happening recently, to say the least…

Maybe he was stressed. It was hard to imagine him not… though he looked normal right now. When he had left earlier, after getting Coin’s letter, he had been very on edge. To the point he was breaking windows and bricks around him, as he did when upset, but now…? Now he almost looked normal…

“Has… anything else happened, Vim?” I asked carefully.

He slowly shook his head. “Nothing concerning, at least… You?”

“I’ve not heard or seen anything yet, no,” I said. He had mentioned before that Renka might show herself to me while alone, since she had already done so before. But as of yet nothing had happened… I had even intentionally given her such an opportunity by walking around alone not too long ago.

“By the way, the camels are here. Or well, two of them are. Mordo and Riz.”

I perked up at that. “They are…? Really? Why?” Weren’t they amongst those who hated leaving their home?

“Riz is looking for a husband,” he said.

Ah. Right. She had sent that letter to Vim, asking to be picked up on his next visit… “I wonder why I haven’t run into them yet,” I said. I had tried to meet and greet most of the newcomers here, having asked Mapple to help me do so earlier today. There were almost a hundred of them here, scattered throughout the Cathedral and even some of the areas outside of it, living in Telmik in some of the homes the Society owned nearby.

Most had been very nice and friendly, but I had noticed pretty much all of them had seemed a bit… distant. Not in the way that made me uncomfortable but instead the kind that made me wonder if they were all doing their best to not get too involved with me on purpose. Though if that was because of the recent events, what with Renka and Casper causing drama and gossip, or another reason entirely I wasn’t sure.

“Make sure you visit them before we leave. Weren’t you going to try and help people find partners?” Vim asked.

I nodded. “I do want to… but we’ve just been so…” I hesitated to say anything, since I wasn’t sure if I should bring up the gods right now. Vim seemed to be calm and in a good mood, and I knew how quickly that changed when one spoke of certain things around him.

“Distracted? How do you think I feel,” Vim said with a soft tone.

“How… how do you feel…?” I dared to ask.

He blinked in an odd way, as if a bit stunned I’d even ask… and then gave me a small smile. “I actually plan to talk to you about it… but before we get into that, can we finish talking about Meriah first?” he asked.

Oh…? “Sure…?” What more was there to say? She was dead, we had no idea yet what or who had killed her, and until we knew more he didn’t want me to make any assumptions… so I figured he had wanted me to not spend too much time lingering on it, as to keep me from growing upset over it and questioning those around us.

Vim sighed and nodded as he gestured gently at the ceiling. “She told them that she had left the answers in a place I would know where to look… likely one of the spots where we exchanged letters, but it doesn’t seem to be any of the places around here. There aren’t many locations nearby though, so I’m wondering if maybe she had left something elsewhere and then suffered her injuries at a later time afterward… Nevi for instance?” Vim wondered as he frowned in thought.

Oh…? Hm… “Have you checked the tomb?” I asked.

His frown deepened. “Which one?”

“Celine’s…?” Did he not remember?

“Why would…?” he mumbled softly, seemingly not remembering at first but then he did. “Ah…! She did ask about it, didn’t she?” he said as he remembered.

I nodded. “She did say she wanted to see it. To uh… spit on it,” I said. I had partly thought it a joke, but Vim had told me afterward that she had likely been serious. She had wanted to spit on Celine’s grave.

Vim crossed his arms in thought. “That’s… a possibility. But I never showed her where it was, and as far as I’m aware no one else here knows where it is either. Unless…”

“Unless?” I asked. Why’d he suddenly look annoyed.

“It’s… possible one of the returnees knows where it is and had told her, or showed her. See? This is why I hate being distracted, I overlook important details,” he complained.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Wait… explain what you mean.”

Vim sighed and gestured lightly at me. “Meriah was originally a member of the Singing Sisters. Because of that, although she was at odds with them, she still had a certain connection with them… and although I don’t have proof of it yet, I suspect a few of those original members returned with Light and the rest. And amongst them could have been one of the few who know where Celine’s resting place is,” he said.

“Could… that person also be the one to have hurt her? Killer her?” I asked, and corrected myself at the end.

“Possibly. I don’t want to admit that Meriah’s killer is one of us, but the sad reality is that it’s possible. Though at the moment I’d bet against such a thing… right now Light and the rest of them are doing all they can to make you and I happy… Not only would I become furious over them doing such a thing, you too would awaken to anger if they harmed or killed one of your friends. I can’t see them willingly taking that risk, not right now at least.”

“Because they have such big plans for me,” I said, nodding in agreement. I’d already experienced and noticed a few instances of others going out of their way to try and be nice to me, or keep me happy, not because they wanted to but for greater reasons. I think it was one of the reason’s Light had been so willing to become my friend originally, not so much because she wanted me to like her for her own goals… but because she had not expected me to genuinely like her. She had hinted that in her prophecies her and I had not been too close, so had been excited when I had been willing to become her friend.

One could argue, someone like Vim especially, that such a thing was only further proof that their prophecies were flawed… but I rather preferred to think it simply meant we simply had choices. And we were making better ones than the future had planned for us.

“In theory it’s likely the same reason Renka and the others haven’t done anything yet either,” Vim then said.

My tail went stiff as I tried not to let my shock at Vim’s willingness to bring such a thing up so easily, and willingly. He had a moment ago said he was going to speak about such things, but for it to happen so quickly was shocking to say the least.

“Do… do you really think that’s what’s going on?” I asked carefully, trying to further the topic he willingly brought up while also being gentle while doing so.

Vim jaw tightened a little, but not so much it made him frown. “It has to be, Renn… if their only goal was to hurt me, or try to get to me, then outright kidnapping or killing you would be the best methods to use. The fact their focused on you might mean that could come in the future, if they can’t get whatever they want out of us the way they’re doing it… but at the moment…?” he said and shrugged a little as he finished.

“Do… do you have an idea? Of what they want?” I asked.

“I…” Vim hesitated, glanced around our little room, and then nodded. “I do,” he then said, a bit quietly.

He had answered that in a way that told me clearly that he’d not tell me. At least not yet… so instead of asking for clarification, I instead pointed at myself and asked something else. “Is there… anything I can do? To protect myself? To fight back?” I asked.

Vim’s eyes softened a little as he shook his head. “No, Renn… not this time.”

My tail curled around one of the legs of the chair. I had expected such an answer, but… “Not even with that?” I asked with a glance to the spear resting against the wall nearby.

“That would hurt them, but… you’d not be able to use it enough to finish the job. You holding it might make them hesitate, for if but a moment, and so I do ask you to keep hold of it… but…” Vim slowly shook his head as he finished, telling me all I needed to know.

“Fighting them would be like fighting you,” I said plainly.

“Worse, Renn… Far worse.”

Hard to believe, but I suppose I needed to. “Renka didn’t seem like she wanted to hurt me,” I said.

“They’re insane Renn. All of them. You can’t trust anything they say or do, particularly Renka. She wraps the world around her in fake illusions, she is… was the source of Tor’s abilities. She warps reality to her will, and as such defies the natural order. She has no respect for it.”

I wanted to smile at the way he so easily spoke ill of her, especially since he sounded so confident as he did so… but I made sure not to do so. Especially since he seemed to be taking this conversation very seriously.

I was glad for it. I’d been waiting for this… we had talked, roughly and shortly, about Renka and the rest after she had appeared and after the event with Casper but those conversations had not felt proper. They had neither been detailed enough or comforting enough in my opinion… so I was glad for this moment. Even if it meant I was now ignoring the fact that one of my friends, Meriah, was now dead and her killers were on the loose.

“Is it possible Renka killed Meriah?” I asked since I had her on my mind.

Vim was about to answer, but then hesitated… and then after another moment of pondering he shook his head. “I’d… wager no.”

“Why did you hesitate?” I asked. He had been about to immediately deny the idea, but then realized there was a chance. Wonder why?

“Because my first instinct is to say no… since that’s been their whole prerogative this whole time, I think. To lay low. To not bring attention to themselves, and harming or interfering with anyone in the Society or the world around it would go against that… But of course that’s not entirely true. So I took a moment to consider alternatives, and if it was something they’d do. If Renka would do it. I concluded, for now at least, that no… none of them would risk our ire in that way just yet.”

“Perogative?” I asked.

He blinked, and then gave me a small smile. “I used it as a term for their desires. In reality it was used slightly wrong, since it more so means one’s right. I had basically said it was their right as gods to harm or interfere in the world, or rather their right to try and not to do so… which makes no sense. My father had been the one to use words like that in slightly weird ways, on purpose to annoy mother, and occasionally I slip up and do the same.”

Wait… “Are you saying you’ve used words incorrectly before…?”

“Of course? Everyone does, it happens,” Vim said with a frown that told me he was a little surprised I’d even ask such a thing.

I sighed at him. “So you could have taught me a word wrongly…?”

“Ah. No. I’ve tried my best to teach you honestly. As I said, that had been a slip up on my part. I had been thinking of my father a few seconds ago, so…” he said with a shrug.

“You had been…?” I asked.

Vim shifted a little in his chair but it didn’t creak or break… nor did anything else. “I had… yes. You see… well…”

“Was Renka his old lover or something?” I asked, doing my best to not smirk at the statement. It would explain why she’d call herself his mother’s dear friend and yet at the same time have Vim deny it. Maybe they had issues such as that.

My husband’s face contorted into an odd look as he tried to decide if he wanted to smile or scowl at me. He scoffed a tiny laugh, and ended up smirking. “No… not even close. What gave you that idea? Did she say something like that?” he asked.

“No… I was just wondering how your mind went to your father in this moment, I guess…”

“Ah… and you couldn’t think of any other reason for me to do so while speaking of Renka? Funny… no, my father had not been good enough for my mother. He would have never even considered cheating on her, and as far as I’m aware he hadn’t had anyone before her in his heart. Though I’ll admit I… don’t know a whole lot of their lives before…”

Before…? I waited a moment, to see if he’d finish his statement… but he didn’t. So I went ahead and asked another question, as to keep him from going quiet. “So you think they’d not do anything to draw your wrath towards them, or your attention more so… but what about now? Now that they’re willingly showing themselves to you?” I asked.

“Yes… it’s a possibility. But I still don’t think they’d try anything until our so-called negotiations break down. Which by the way, will ultimately happen. I…” Vim went quiet again, but only for a moment. He leaned a bit forward… and I sat up a bit as he took in a deep breath, as if to steel himself, and he gave me a heavy nod. “Renn, I love you. Truly.”

I blinked. “I… I know. Yes,” I said softly. My chest felt a little tight suddenly as his eyes bored into me.

“Know that I’d do anything… genuinely anything for your happiness. I’d even go against many of my own rules… but here, in this instance… concerning them…”

He went quiet as his eyes narrowed… and I hesitantly awaited the rest of his statement. One I already knew, and had known for a long time.

The air in the room which had been heavy ever since he had brought up Meriah’s fate somehow got lighter… as if suddenly we weren’t talking about important things. As if instead we were flirting, or just making small talk… as he then nodded and sighed.

“I will not give in to them, Rennalee. I will not give them anything. Not even for you.”

My jaw tightened for a moment… and did so to such a degree my teeth made noises. I calmed down half a moment later… and nodded. “I understand, Vim,” I said softly.

He shook his head. “You shouldn’t. You shouldn’t have to. I’m sorry.”

“But… I do. You told me. Before. Before this all began… that you’d put others over me. That you’d not hesitate to sacrifice my life, or my heart and love, for even those who didn’t deserve it… so I know. I knew. I know,” I said, repeating myself a little as I did.

Vim’s eyes softened as he held my own… and then he nodded. “I had… though I admit I had not expected it to ever mean this, in this way.”

“To be honest I’d prefer it this way. At least in this context it’s concerning something super important. I mean… gods? Really? I should be honored!” I said lightly.

He smiled at that but shook his head and sighed. “We need to talk about that too, by the way…”

“Hm?”

“They’re not gods Renn. Not like you think.”

“Well… I figured, Vim… but they still are, in a way? Right?”

Vim hesitated a moment, but then nodded. “Yes… in a way.”

“So I’m not too wrong, right?”

“Right…” he begrudgingly admitted.

I smiled at that and nodded. “Good. Because if my love is being sacrificed for anything less than something as momentous as that, I’ll not allow it.”

“Noted…”

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