CHAPTER 7 - The Revenge Pact.
It wasn't a surprise for Effy and Isha to find themselves back in Reginald Brannons office for the second morning in a row. This time it wasn't Effy that was shouting, it was Brannon. Head of The Protection of Secrecy Department.
Effy was just listening to him ranting, doing her best to keep her mouth shut. He had threatened them with their jobs five times so far, and she was wondering if he could get into double figures before she rammed the pen he was wagging at her up his left nostril. Locking them up had been mentioned a few times too. The fact they hadn't followed his orders last night had made him just a little bit touchy.
Effy felt sorry for Isha, who had her head down next to her. This job had been a dream of hers since she was a little girl, and so far it hadn't been all plain sailing. She wanted to hold her hand, but knew this wasn't the right time. Isha was also blaming herself for the death of a nymph last night. Her name, they had learnt, was Serenity.
Effy looked over at Espin, the suspected Sun Nymph, sat in the corner, slumped and dejected. About 5 inches high when standing. Her knees drawn up to her chest. A small blanket had been summoned over her legs to cover the fact she wasn't wearing any underwear under her short green skirt. She had been Serenity's lover. She hadn't spoken a word since she came round in the early hours of the morning. Tears occasionally fell silently down her cheeks.
Even in her mourning Effy could see how incredibly beautiful she was. Her long golden blonde hair flowed straight and silkily over her slender shoulders. Her body, now currently scrunched up, was stunning. Effy couldn't quite picture how she would look if she smiled, but thought she must be something to behold.
Deilla, a blue haired Naiad stood protectively in front of her. Ready to magic the shit out of anyone who made a move towards Espin. Her small 5 inch high body was muscular and incredibly solid. She was the head of the Queens guard at the Nymph Village. Sent by the Queen to protect Espin, and she definitely looked like she was serious.
They had tried talking to Espin on numerous occasions so far, but she wasn't talking. The loss of Serenity had hit her incredibly hard. The fact that Serenity had given up her life to save her, made it even more tragic for the Sun Nymph.
Isha was the one that had opened the cage that let Serenity and the other caged nymphs out. Serenity dashing across the field and pushing Espin out the way of a killer blow, taking the hit instead. Even though it was Effy's order to free the caged Nymphs, Isha still blamed herself for Serenity's death. Espin hadn't spoken yet so they didn't know for sure if she blamed Isha, but the stares she occasionally got from Espin weren't exactly friendly ones.
A nudge from Isha woke her out of her thoughts. Brannon had asked her a question.
"Sorry sir?" Effy said. Brannon tutted.
"I said, what made you think you could ignore my order?" he repeated.
"We had to make a decision sir," Effy said. "We were the ones out there. We were the ones that had to read what was going on."
"I gave you a direct order," Brannon said. "I should have fired you for that."
"You can't," Isha said. All heads turned her way. Like Effy the threats had started to piss her off. She had waited patiently so far, but now she had to speak up.
"And what makes you think that?" Brannon said. His eyes burrowing into hers. Effy was proud of the way she held his stare.
"Section 35, sub section 7B of The Guild code," Isha said. "It states that a Hunter can override an order from above if an innocent life is in imminent danger." BOOM, Effy thought. Shove that up your pompous ass. She had to stop herself high fiving Isha. Isha was incredibly smart and had studied hard for this job.
Brannon flustered. "Well......I.....I'm not sure you can call our Sun Nymph here innocent. She was on our most wanted list."
"For questioning sir," Isha said. "She has never had charges brought against her. So currently she's innocent."
"And if she destroys our world then how innocent will she be then," Brannon said. The words slipped out before he thought them through.
"You wanted her dead!" Deilla said, realising the veiled meaning in his words. All heads now turned her way. The look on the Naiad's face was full of fury. "Would have saved you the trouble of working out what to do with her."
"Oh it's no trouble," Brannon said. "We'll jus lock her up where she can't cause any problems."
"Over my dead body," Deilla said. She looked at Effy. "We came here voluntarily. You said you would keep her safe."
"And I will," Effy said. She turned to Brannon. "We can't lock her up if there's a chance we need her. We'll be influencing what she chooses to do by treating her like a criminal."
"It's too much of a risk," Brannon said. "If there's a chance she might cause our destruction."
"We can't judge someone on what they might do sir," Effy said. "If the prophecy is right then she's just as likely to save it. We could end up fighting to save the world anyway, with even less chance to do anything about it. I'll vouch for her, keep her under supervision. If it doesn't look like it's working she's all yours."
Deilla gave Effy an angry look, but Effy gave the Nymph her best 'trust me' look, and Deilla kept quiet. Effy wondered where Sananzer was, she really needed his help right now.
"She still has other charges to face," Brannon mumbled. Resigning himself to the situation. This was exactly the reason he wanted Espin found dead. It would have been a lot easier.
"And she will," Effy said. "Once we deal with these world-ending threats we can deal with her other misdemeanours." Effy knew that Espin saving the world would help her in those cases.
Espin listened in the corner, but didn't react. She didn't care what they did to her, and this world could go fuck itself for all she cared. It had never given a shit about her so why should she care. She had been cast out from the Nymph Village some years ago because of a lie. She had spent those years since messing with normals and using their deepest desires for her own amusement. That had been far more fun to her than all the heartache. She wished she had never followed Serenity back to the village.
She heard the one called Effy continue to argue her case. "The Nymph that died, Serenity, she gave her life for her. She obviously knew she was worth saving."
"Maybe she was under her spell," Brannon said, flicking his hand in Espin's general direction. "Or delusional."
Espin looked at old Reginald and the hate rose in her body, wondering if she should just drill a hole in his pompous face. He was probably right though, she thought, Serenity was delusional. Her misplaced faith in her had cost Serenity her life. Espin felt the anger growing further, her eyes fixed on Brannons greasy forehead.
Effy felt a sudden surge of hatred wash through her. It was strange though, like it wasn't her own. The fury emanated from an outside source. She looked up and around the room, her eyes fell on Espin. She was looking at Brannon, a faint glow had appeared in her usually blue eyes. Effy tensed, unnecessarily. Espin closed her eyes, resigned to misery again, and her head dropped before anyone else noticed. The hate fell from Effy.
Effy was confused as to what had just happened. She had never felt someone's feelings before, and the strength of the hatred that had emanated from the Sun Nymph was a worrying sign. Effy made a mental note to speak to Salanzer.
"Give me time with her, sir," Effy asked. "Let me try to get through to her. There's good in her I know, I can feel it." Also a lot of hate, Effy didn't add, but she was grieving, that was to be expected.
"Don't underestimate our need for justice either," Deilla said.
"She'll want revenge," Effy agreed. "I can't imagine Espin's going to want to help this Master. He killed her friend." Effy felt the hate again emanate from Espin, but the small nymph kept her head bowed.
"Okay," Brannon said, conceding. "You've got one week. Prove to me her intentions and we'll go from there. If you can't though, she's going into custody."
