Suppressing the desire to fidget, Wesley forced himself to meet Alaric’s gaze. “The only question I have is when you’re going to allow me to return home.”
“We’re going to set that one aside. That’s not up to me. Four men have already been selected to review your file once I’ve finished putting it together. They will decide your fate.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“That’s a lie and we both know it. Why did you do it, Wesley?”
“Do what?”
“Do not insult my intelligence. I hate that. Tell me why you decided to poison His Majesty.”
“I most certainly did not poison His Majesty.”
“No, you did. You paid a wizard named Oklin to do it. An interesting guy, Oklin. He’s really pissed at you.”
“I don’t know anyone by that name.”
“Wesley, there’s no point in not being truthful. I can tell when you lie to me. You’re too well-versed in Council races not to know that. You do know Oklin. You paid him to make a potion. He told you to only use one drop, but apparently you decided to put a great deal more in His Majesty’s mug. I bet you thought it was pretty slick to set Zane up to be the one to hand it to him too.”
Wesley had no idea how the Lich Sentinel knew anything about Oklin Mivorn, but they couldn’t convict him on anything based on the words of one wizard—especially a Consilium Veneficus one. The fallen knights and sentinels were many things, and one of them was incorruptible. They were honor bound to always work within the law. “I told you I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“He won’t tell me how you two met. Perhaps you could enlighten me.”
“I’m not friends with any wizard named Oklin.”
Alaric smiled. “Now that is the truth. He’s certainly not your friend. A means to an end, that’s about it.”
“I don’t have anything to say to you.”
“I’m okay with doing the talking for now. For a Consilium wizard, Oklin has a firm belief in Fate. He’s pissed that you hurt your leader. Unlike you, he likes to follow some laws, so he couldn’t contact the Sentinel Brotherhood or the Order of the Fallen Knights to tell us about you.”
“You’re trying to convince me you’ve talked to some Consilium wizard named Oklin, and then in the next breath he can’t legally speak with you. Make up your mind, Lich Sentinel.”
“I guess now that you’re no longer employed by the Office of the Emperor, you don’t feel it’s necessary to treat Council leaders with respect.”
Wesley glared. “My leave of absence is temporary.”
“I have a confession. Emperor Chrysander is right on the other side of that glass. I’ve talked to him. It’s a safe bet that you’re fired.”
“He has no cause to terminate my employment.”
“Anyway, let’s focus on our friend Oklin.” Alaric leaned back in his chair. “He didn’t want to break the law, no matter how pissed off he was at you. So, he decided to contact another Fate-born leader who had a connection to not only the Sentinel Brotherhood but to the Order of the Fallen Knights as well.”
“Why are you talking in circles, Lich Sentinel?”
“No guesses as to who I am talking about? You’re kind of taking the fun out this, Wesley. It’s the Arch Lich.”
This time Wesley did gulp. Not once had he ever considered that Oklin would contact anyone. He assumed that the laws of the Consilium would keep him far away from the sentinels and the fallen knights. Wesley wanted to curse at his own stupidity for not considering the man who stood in the middle of them both.
Arch Lich Chander Daray had resurrected every fallen knight and slept in the same bed as the Lich Sentinel. He was the perfect person to pass information to if anyone was so inclined. Still, how could Wesley have ever known that someone from the Consilium would care about what happened to Ellery?
“Nothing? No comment at all? That’s okay. I wasn’t finished anyway. Oklin sent my Chand a note claiming you were the one who orchestrated this whole fucking thing. Now, I’m not about to take some wizard’s word. I needed evidence.”
“I’ve done nothing wrong, so there’s no evidence to find.”
“I think you truly believe that you covered your tracks well enough not to get caught. You carefully figured out a way to hide the money you sent to Oklin. I’m sure somewhere there is a prepaid phone you bought with cash, unless you’ve already destroyed it. You’re intelligent, so we may never find it. If I were to guess, I’d say you went to bed each night thinking there was not a chance in hell my men or those hardworking men and women in fallen knight uniforms would ever connect you to your crime. But the thing is…there’s one minor thing you forgot to take care of.”
“Lich Sentinel, I grow weary of this conversation.”
