Free Web NovelChapter 22: Siren Stronghold [ 18 ]
Nacho tilted his head. "Hmm, honestly? It looks like you got into a bar fight and got beat up. I wouldn’t be able to tell that you were fighting against some mighty kraken or something."
"Good enough." She reached for her armor, which he’d left on the table after cleaning the blood off it. The chest piece was still cracked, but she pulled it on anyway and fastened the working clasps. "The crack will be visible. I’ll tell them the kraken landed a hit before I killed it. Makes me look tougher, not weaker."
"What about me? Do I need to look like anything specific?"
Sera paused, studying him. Her pale eyes swept from his silver hair to his bare feet.
"You need to look dangerous. And no, I don’t mean aggressive. You have this feral aura around you, and it makes you seem generous so long as you don’t direct it at anybody in particular. So keep it up."
"So... You just want me to be myself?"
She pulled her sword belt on and adjusted it until the blue blade sat exactly where she wanted it, ignoring his reply. "The Elders will try to read you. They’ll look for tells, weaknesses, anything they can exploit. Try to give them nothing."
Nacho thought about that. He’d spent two years collecting debts from people who didn’t want to pay. Half of that job had been looking like someone you didn’t want to mess with. The other half had been actually being someone you didn’t want to mess with.
I guess the vibe is the same. The stakes are definitely higher though.
"I can do that."
"Good." She moved toward the door, then stopped. "One more thing. Don’t speak unless I address you directly or unless one of the Elders asks you a question. And when you do speak, keep it short. The more words you use, the more rope they have to hang you with."
"Got it. Be scary, be quiet, don’t get enslaved."
The corner of her mouth twitched. Almost a smile.
"That’s the spirit."
They left the inn through the back entrance. The streets were still mostly empty, just a few early vendors setting up stalls and some bleary-eyed workers shuffling toward the docks. Sera moved at a pace that looked casual but covered ground fast. Nacho matched her, keeping his posture loose and his expression blank.
Looks like I still have some of my old habits, he thought. Walk like you belong. Look like you’ve got somewhere to be. Never make eye contact unless you want something.
The Council Hall rose from the center of Lumen like a spear aimed at the surface world above. It was taller than the other buildings, with spiraling columns of pale stone and windows that glowed with bioluminescent light. Two guards flanked the main entrance, both women in armor that made Sera’s cracked set look like scrap metal.
They saluted as Sera approached.
"Grand General. The Elders are waiting."
"I’m aware." She didn’t slow down, and the guards didn’t try to stop her. Nacho followed half a step behind, feeling their eyes on his back as he passed.
The interior of the hall was even more impressive than the exterior. Vaulted ceilings stretched overhead, covered in murals depicting what looked like Siren history. Battles against sea monsters, ships sailing through storms, figures in armor raising swords against creatures made of shadow. The floor was polished to a mirror shine, and their footsteps echoed with each step.
Sera led him through a maze of corridors until they reached a set of double doors carved with the same shark emblem he’d seen on the guard uniforms. She paused with her hand on the handle.
"Last chance to back out."
Nacho considered it for exactly one second.
"I’m gonna pass." freewebnσvel.cѳm
She pushed the doors open.
The chamber beyond was circular, with five raised seats arranged in a semicircle facing the entrance. Each seat held an Elder, and each Elder looked exactly like what Nacho had expected. Old. Severe. Dressed in robes that probably cost more than Lizbeth’s entire inn.
Four women and one man. The women ranged from middle-aged to ancient, with the kind of faces that suggested they’d been frowning professionally for decades. The man was the oldest of the bunch, with a white beard that reached his chest and eyes that had the milky quality of someone who’d seen too much and stopped caring about any of it.
One of the women was different. Younger, maybe fifty, with dark hair streaked with silver and a posture that suggested she was paying attention to everything while pretending to pay attention to nothing. Elder Maren, probably. The one Sera said was on their side.
Sera walked to the center of the room and stopped. Nacho took position beside her, keeping his hands visible and his expression empty.
"Grand General Sera." The oldest woman spoke first. Her voice was thin and reedy, like paper rubbing against itself. "You were expected at dawn. The sun has been up for nearly an hour."
"I was recovering from injuries sustained during the mission you assigned me." Sera’s voice was level. Not defensive, not aggressive. Just stating facts. "A kraken attacked the ship. My squad was killed. I eliminated the threat and returned to report."
"A convenient story." The speaker was one of the middle-aged Elders, a woman with sharp cheekbones and sharper eyes. "You claim a kraken attacked a routine patrol?"
"I claim nothing. I state what happened. The creature’s corpse is currently being processed by the Dockmaster’s Guild. You’re welcome to verify."
Silence. Nacho watched the Elders exchange glances. The old man in the center hadn’t moved or spoken since they entered. His milky eyes were fixed on Nacho with an intensity that suggested the blindness was either fake or irrelevant.
"Let’s cut the small talk. We are not here to discuss the mission," the reedy-voiced Elder said. "We are here to discuss the entity you have brought before this council."
Sera nodded. "This is my military asset. The one I mentioned in my preliminary report."
"It has a name?"
"Ask him yourself."
