The Broken Halo

Sonya approached the tablet and took the stylus, then she cut the tip of her left thumb without hesitation.

A drop of dark blood fell onto the tablet.

The moment it touched the surface, the crimson runes came alive.

Hum!

The tablet absorbed the blood, and a dark red light climbed from it into Sonya’s hand.

Her body stiffened.

The light moved beneath her skin, travelled through her arm, and disappeared into her chest. A black horned-beast symbol appeared above her Demon Heart.

Then it faded.

"Your demonic energy," the rune-carver said.

Sonya placed her palm against the tablet and released a controlled stream of demonic energy.

The runes flashed once.

"I accept the oath," she said with a flat tone.

The tablet released a low pulse.

The oath was formed.

Akaza went next. He cut his palm, allowed the tablet to absorb his blood and demonic energy, then accepted the same terms.

Simon was last.

When his blood touched the tablet, the runes trembled before absorbing it, almost like it was absorbing something heavy and beyond it. Korran noticed, but the reaction disappeared too quickly for him to understand.

After Simon accepted the oath, three small marks appeared beneath the horned-beast symbol.

The rune-carver returned the tablet to its case and locked it.

Korran looked at Sonya.

"You will come to the Black Horn Office tomorrow to give your complete statement."

Sonya rubbed the thumb she cut.

"As long as it doesn’t take all day."

Korran ignored her.

He turned toward Simon.

"The terms were carved exactly as you requested. Do not give me a reason to regret agreeing to them."

Simon met his gaze calmly.

"That depends on the orders you give."

Korran stared at him for a second, then turned away.

The officials followed him out of the room, and the door closed behind them.

Simon did not move immediately.

His ShadowSense spread through the walls and floor of Pipeline Inn. He followed Korran and the officials down the corridor, down the stairs, and through the ground floor. Their auras left the inn and moved along the street.

Simon continued watching until they passed beyond several buildings and finally disappeared from the range of his ShadowSense.

Only then did he look at Sonya.

"The ring."

Sonya reached inside her cloak and removed the protected spatial ring she had taken from the rebel leader.

She placed it on the table.

Simon’s sky-blue eyes settled on it.

The war oath with Korran was finished.

Now it was time to see what was inside the ring.

Simon placed two fingers against the ring and sent a thin strand of demonic energy into its surface.

The protection reacted immediately.

Several dark red runes appeared around the ring, locking together like the teeth of a beast. A faint tremor passed through the metal, and Sonya leaned closer with an interested expression.

"Can you open it?"

Simon nodded and studied the movement of the runes.

The formation was not weak, but it was also not beyond him. Its main purpose was to prevent anybody from forcing their perception into the internal space. Beneath that layer was another formation that would damage the space inside if the protection was broken carelessly.

Simon traced the formation with his mental energy and slowly followed every rune to its foundation.

After several minutes, he found the point where the protection and destruction runes were connected.

His finger moved across the surface of the ring.

A thin line of demonic energy followed it, entering one rune before splitting toward two others. Simon altered the direction of the energy, then cut off the flow feeding the runes that were responsible for destroying the internal space of the spatial ring.

The ring shook.

Sonya’s brows rose.

"You didn’t break it, right?"

"If I broke it, you would know."

"That doesn’t answer my question."

"It does."

Akaza stood beside the table with his arms folded. He watched Simon work silently, but his gaze occasionally moved toward Sonya as though he still found it difficult to believe that she had destroyed part of Velmora because of a stolen ring.

Simon pressed his thumb against the final rune.

Crack

The dark red symbols shattered into tiny sparks and disappeared.

The protection was gone.

Simon waited for a few seconds before sending his perception into the ring. The internal space remained stable, and only three objects were inside.

He brought out the first one.

It was a curved piece of black bone, about the length of a hand. Thin red lines moved beneath its surface, while several small holes covered one end.

Simon turned it slightly and looked at it with a baffled expression.

He had never seen such an object.

"What is this?"

Akaza’s expression changed slightly.

He stepped closer and examined the bone without touching it.

"It’s a Murmur Bone."

Simon looked at him.

"You’ve seen one before?"

"The Shadowgrave Clan had something similar," Akaza replied. "A store was selling it in the clan, and some clan members used them to send messages without relying on the Grave Mark."

Sonya picked up the bone before either of them could stop her.

"How does it work?"

"You feed it demonic energy," Akaza said. "If it is connected to another Murmur Bone, the message will travel between them. Some can only receive messages. Others can send them too."

Sonya raised it close to her ear.

"It’s quiet."

"Because nobody is speaking to it obviously." Akaza said while giving her a strange look.

She clicked her tongue and returned it to the table.

Simon looked at the moving red lines.

A communication device hidden inside a protected ring was useful. More importantly, whoever was connected to it might not know that the rebel leader was dead yet.

He stored the thought away and brought out the second object.

It was a small black seal carved from a piece of horn. The symbol of a torn banner was engraved on one side, while three short lines were carved beneath it.

A faint pressure came from the seal.

Sonya tilted her head.

"What’s that?"

Simon examined the runes around its edge.

"A command seal, most likely."

Akaza raised a brow.

"You’re not certain?"

"No. But the runes are related to authority and recognition."

Simon turned the seal over.

"The three lines probably represent the owner’s standing inside Black Banner. The leader you killed was a Half-Step Greater Demon, and I believe this should be high enough to command ordinary cells of the rebels, but not important enough to reach their main leaders."

The seal was valuable, but using it carelessly would bring about troubles he was not yet prepared to deal with.

Simon placed it beside the Murmur Bone and reached into the spatial ring again.

The final object was a tightly rolled sheet of dark hide bound with a red cord.

Unlike the other two objects, several sealing runes covered it.

Two words were written across the outside in black ink.

[Operation Crownless Dawn]

Simon’s sky-blue eyes narrowed slightly.

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