"Hahahahahah!"
Mendax laughed. Nola looked at him.
"Nola, are you serious?"
She was, he knew she was, but he needed to change the narrative.
"As impulsive as always, I see," he said. "We can't just murder her. What if it's connected to Nix?"
It was unlikely. They were far enough away from anyone who would connect it. That's probably why Flos ordered her to be killed as soon as she made enough distance.
The citizens of Nix weren't likely to know about it.
When the facts were in the way, it was best to state things confidently. The jab at her impetuousness also worked to distract her.
"With all that's going on, can we risk drawing any more attention to us?"
Mendax tried and succeeded in his voice not hitching on "us."
He had very little clue what was going on in Nix. With the way they passed messages changing, and the delay of anyone coming for him, it had to be something big.
Just as I was sent to deal with the most meaningless task.
It was unlikely his absence from it had been premeditated. He wasn't important enough for that.
For now, there came the staring contest as he and Nola locked eyes.
He could not look away first.
Nola was irritated, as he had intended her to be.
"Tch."
The last person who'd done that to him was Aureum. Was it common or uncommon? He'd never taken much notice of it until now.
Nola looked away first.
"So what do you want to do? I can't wait around for months like you did. Fool."
"Now that I've got my orders, I don't need months. Give me a day, and I'll give you a plan to make it look like an accident."
He walked away first. Confidence was key. A straight back and a steady gait. Even after he left her sight, he couldn't run.
Calm. Remain, calm.
Going down the steps of the old building, through the door, and into the streets. Still walking. Then he turned the corner.
He ran as fast as he could.
Aureum slept at the little nondescript inn, shoved into a corner where it could be easily overlooked. It was late. The hour was quiet.
Mendax dashed to the door and stormed through the first floor as the owner's head bobbed up from sleeping.
Thud!
The loud noise nearby jolted Aureum awake.
Slam!
This time, the door to her room burst open.
"Aureum, you need to leave."
It was Mendax speaking. Aureum sat up.
"Did the slavers find me?!"
"No—
"Is it the guards? I knew someone would report us!"
She was walking around the room at this point, clutching her wrist to her chest.
"Stop yelling!" Mendax commanded. Quieter, he continued. "The only thing you're guilty of is self-defense at worst."
Aureum clamped her mouth shut.
Mendax closed the door.
"Even if you're guilty," Mendax murmured as he came closer to her, "never talk about it. Anything they know they have to prove, anything they prove you deny. Provide excuses for everything, and when you can't deny it plausibly, keep. Your. Mouth. Shut."
Aureum swallowed.
"But we're guilty…"
"This isn't about right and wrong. The law is often made to exploit those who are right. It is right to defend yourself, especially when no one can do it for you."
"Are the guards coming?"
"No, a brute," Mendax said.
Aureum let out a sigh of relief.
"I thought it was something serious."
"Is a threat on your life not serious?"
It was too normal.
"So does the thug have a whole gang behind her?"
Yes, she's one of Nix's.
The words stuck in Mendax's throat. What could he say that wouldn't give anything away?
Now? Do I still have to do this now?
It's because it's a time like this.
He needed as much control over the situation as he could.
I need to convince her to leave.
"I… heard her asking about you."
"The thug is a woman?"
Aureum halted midstride.
"Yes. But Nola's reputation precedes her. She is brutal. Her name means bell, but it's because the victims of her greatsword look like they were crushed by one."
"So?"
It was frightening, but dying was frightening. How grotesque it was left little impact on Aureum just by hearing about it.
"If she's alone, could she take you?"
"…so it would seem…"
His voice lacked strength. Aureum felt that something was off.
"I don't get it," Aureum said. "You were willing to fight an entire organization of slavers, stand up to Aes—a seasoned sorcerer of decades—but one woman with no backing suddenly makes you tell me to run?"
"…I..."
A thought occurred to Aureum.
"Did she discover the inn?"
"She will," Mendax said. "It's not as hidden away as you seem to think."
"Then… can't we just leave the inn? Not the whole city?"
"That won't be enough."
"Can't you explain to me what has you so worried about her? Tell me."
I could just lie, Mendax thought. Instead of trying to bend the unbreakable truth.
Mendax looked away as his jaw locked. He wasn't clever enough to make a story up and stick to it forever.
"I wanted to talk to you about staying here besides. When the guards or the slavers might be looking, it was time to hide. Now, we should have already left. What's keeping you here? Is this Spesavia's reply so important you'd risk your life for it?"
I can pivot and distract instead—
"YES! HER ANSWER IS IMPORTANT!" Aureum stood back up again.
Mendax blinked as she glared at him.
The reaction was not what he had expected. She'd treated the same question dismissively before.
But the situation was different, and day to day, from moment to moment, people change. There exists no perfect manipulator.
Aureum had paused, but it was only to take a breath. As she continued to speak, she took a step forward.
"She's an ascended sorceress that agreed to teach me when I was younger, and she gave me a present for my wedding even when I rejected that chance! She's the only person who might know of a way to help me become an ascended sorceress after having a whole decade of layers wasted! And finally! She's the only person I know who might want to still help me achieve that! Her answer is important to me!"
Aureum spent, sat back down. She flushed and looked away.
I need to calm down, she thought.
Spesavia? Mendax thought.
There was no bloodline Mendax knew with an ascended sorceress hidden away of that name. Not that there weren't some hidden old monsters out there, but with the woman's connection to the university, it seemed likely she was a free sorceress.
Ascended sorcerers with no familial connections were rare, but welcomed by city-states or organizations without other guardians. However, the combination of immortality and power usually went right to the head.
Their general reputation was their indignancy from dealing with the old tyrants from resected bloodlines. All these sorcerers cared about was respect, respect, and respect. The rest of their well-known erratic behavior was usually blamed on the boredom of their long lives.
That this Spesavia will accept you after you rejected her is… unlikely.
Mendax had enough sense not to feed the unexpected fire.
But still, he kneeled in front of her.
"What do you need to become an ascended sorceress for? I hear immortality isn't all it's cracked up to be."
He tried to keep his tone light in front of her distress.
"I need power to be free," Aureum muttered, pulling her head down further.
"That's not only you," Mendax said. "Why does it have to be this way?"
Your father is rich. You should have plenty of options before you.
He kept those words back. They might urge her to return to Nix.
Although at this point it might be better than Fluentem.
It would be difficult to throw Nola off, and impossible to explain how she's alive when I get back.
Even when he should be listening, he was distracted. Luckily, Aureum took her time.
"I can't rely on someone else forever. It's not that I don't want to. I just… can't. I need to be strong on my own."
Her body folded as she sank her face into her hands. The confidence Mendax was used to her wearing was nowhere to be seen. Many times it was forced confidence, but this demeanor of defeat he hadn't seen.
Not me? Mendax thought, as a fool would.
Or your family? At least Lacuna and Sitis?
But in the end, it was all for the best. Since it was Lord Nix after all. What would they do against him?
Does she know he's after her?
If she knows, it would be easier to tell her.
If she already understood the threat, even if she fled from Mendax, it wouldn't be towards Nix.
Lord Nix. What lord? He probably hasn't once thought of her since he gave the order. All this pain caused, and he continues his ambitions without even seeing it. Without even looking for it.
He tried to look at her directly, but Aureum kept her eyes unfocused.
It was just another weight of weariness. Like the ruins of castles falling onto her soul.
I can't leave now, Aureum thought.
She could, if her life was in danger, but.
She didn't want to give up her hope of seeing Spesavia. Especially after waiting this long.
Maybe she'll return tomorrow.
Or maybe it could be a decade.
Aureum clenched her knees. Mendax's fingers brushed her hand. She glanced up at him.
She saw eyes filled with concern before she saw the marred face.
"Should I go?" She said. "It's probably for the best, isn't it?"
Dreams only belong to the living. The dead can't dream at all.
Mendax's expression froze. This close, she could see everything.
Is that horror?
It was. Being trusted with a decision like this should have made him happy, but in this moment, it only made him sick.
He looked down, giving her the view of the top of his head.
"I… If you need to stay, I'll do everything I can until you're forced to leave."
"What?"
"In return," Mendax said, "if I ask us to leave, we go. No discussion."
Aureum didn't respond.
"Well," Mendax continued, "you get to decide where we go, of course. I'm only asking for the timing."
"Thank you, Mendax," Aureum said. "But, ah, do you have a plan to go along with this? We can just leave. I like living best."
"I. Don't," Mendax said, halting on the words. "At least not yet. Got any ideas?"
"Hah. Would a tournament coming up come in handy? The university is holding one."
Mendax pulled away and stood up.
"A tournament? How would I…? No, maybe I can make it work."
He paced.
"Tell your audience," Aureum said, "all one of us is in suspense."
"I…
He stopped and faced her.
"I'm thinking maybe we could kill her."
Aureum digested that.
"Could we… not?"
"That's unlikely. Nola won't give us any courtesy."
He's pretty certain about that.
"Do you know her?"
"I know of her reputation."
The statement was true, but it was a false answer to the direct question. While Aureum didn't know the truth, it felt evasive. And Mendax knew. He couldn't quite bring himself to look her in the eyes.
"I might be demanding a lot here," Aureum said, "but I'd like to continue by demanding if murder is necessary for me to stay?"
In the end, the moment of vulnerability seemingly didn't matter. Without both sides understanding the other, they slid back to the start. No, maybe even further than that.
"If I don't kill her, she'll kill you."
"Why would she want to kill me?"
"I don't know why, but she did say she would."
Aureum's mouth closed, swallowing her early response.
"I guess you at least had a basis for waking me up in the middle of the night, but why were you talking to her at all?"
"I knew she was looking for you, so I spoke to her," Mendax said. "Is that so odd?"
"I can't say that it's odd," Aureum said. "I don't know where you're going or what you're doing most of the time, so how can I say that anything you do is odd? It's probably perfectly normal for you."
Mendax kept his mouth shut this time, despite the many answers his mind provided.
"If we're not going to be murdered, attacked, or run away tonight, could you leave? I need to get some sleep if I want to figure this out."
"I'll also sleep on it."
"Really? Alright then."
Aureum had serious doubts that he would get any sleep tonight.
She was right.
Mendax closed the door behind him. He propped the door to his room open and set a place to lie down on the floor, so he could keep watch.
The lies were wearing thin, for both of them.
If I tell her, she'll hate me.
But if he didn't tell her, this gap would widen between them.
But what does that matter, with our lives at stake?