The Broken Halo

Simon did not answer immediately.

His gaze remained on the trembling Murmur Bone as he considered the demoness’s question.

’When the seventh road drowned, which of the Second Claw’s fingers remained above the blood?’

It was clearly a code, but there was no way to determine what kind.

The seventh road could refer to an actual route, a failed operation, a rebel cell, or something that had never existed. The Second Claw’s fingers could be subordinates, locations, or parts of another code known only to the Third Warden.

There was also a possibility that the expected response had nothing to do with the question.

A wrong answer might simply expose an impostor. Or worse, Black Banner could have different answers for different situations. One response might mean the Warden was safe, while another silently warned that he had been captured or was speaking under pressure.

Simon did not possess enough information to tell the difference.

Pretending to be the dead Warden would be foolish.

Even if he somehow guessed the correct answer, he knew nothing about the Warden’s voice, habits, manner of speaking, or relationship with the demoness on the other side.

One successful lie would only lead to another question.

Then another.

Sooner or later, he would make a mistake.

The Murmur Bone trembled again, and the red lines beneath its surface slowly dimmed. Whoever was on the other end was waiting, but not patiently.

Simon shifted his attention to the command seal.

The demoness had told the Third Warden to turn its wounded face toward the setting moon.

The seal had two sides. One contained the torn-banner symbol, while three short lines were carved into the other. Simon examined both objects with his mental energy and found a shallow crescent-shaped groove near one end of the Murmur Bone.

There were no tracking runes or destructive formations connected to the instruction.

It was only a way to prove that the genuine command seal was present.

Simon stretched out one finger but did not touch either object. A thin current of wind lifted the seal and turned the torn-banner side toward the crescent groove.

Hum!

The three lines on the seal released a dull red glow.

A pulse moved from it into the Murmur Bone, and the red lines beneath the bone’s surface brightened again.

The demoness spoke after a short pause.

"The banner survived."

Her voice remained cold, but the faint sharpness underneath it had become clearer.

"Now answer the question."

Simon released a thin stream of air around the holes of the Murmur Bone. It altered the vibration of his voice before it entered the communication artifact, making it deeper and slightly rougher than normal.

"The Third Warden is dead."

The red lines stopped moving.

Silence followed.

It lasted for several seconds before the demoness spoke again.

"Who are you?"

"Someone who was not part of his cell," Simon said indifferently.

Her tone became colder.

"Did you kill him?"

"No."

Simon had no reason to lie about that.

The demoness became silent again, perhaps studying his answer or deciding whether she believed it.

"Who did?"

"That demon is not part of this conversation."

A faint sound escaped the Murmur Bone. Simon could not tell whether it was a quiet laugh or an irritated breath.

"What else did you take from the Warden?"

Simon looked at the sealed dark hide containing the contents of Operation Crownless Dawn on the table.

"The bone and the torn banner are already in front of you."

"That was not what I asked."

"No," Simon replied calmly. "But it is the answer that matters."

The Murmur Bone remained quiet for a moment.

Then the demoness asked a more direct question.

"Did the black hide survive?"

Simon’s expression did not change.

That question confirmed she knew about the protected letter, but answering it would tell her exactly how much of the Warden’s hidden possessions had been compromised.

He allowed several seconds to pass.

"Nothing recovered from him has entered the Black Horn Office."

The demoness did not speak immediately, and Simon could almost imagine her reconsidering every word he had said.

"You avoided my question again."

Simon tilted his head slightly.

"Who knows. But my response has given you more information and relief than you had before contacting this bone."

A cold pressure seemed to travel through the demoness’s voice.

"Return the Murmur Bone, the torn banner, and everything else taken from the Third Warden."

"No."

Simon’s answer came without hesitation.

The red lines beneath the bone flared, almost reflecting the anger and irritation of the speaker.

"You do not understand what you are holding."

"Then it should not have been left with a demon who died beneath an abandoned bathhouse," Simon said with a faint tone of amusement.

The demoness became completely silent.

Simon leaned back in his chair and waited.

He knew she could end the connection, change whatever codes were connected to the Third Warden, and warn the eastern faction that the command seal had fallen into unknown hands.

However, doing so would leave several questions unanswered.

She did not know who Simon was.

She did not know where he was.

She did not know whether the protected letter survived, whether he opened it, or whether somebody else had already seen it.

Most importantly, she did not know whether he was connected to Velmora.

"Every demon can be found by us. Do not think your identity can remain hidden forever or that you’re safe," the demoness eventually said.

"Perhaps."

Simon’s fingers lightly tapped the arm of his chair.

"But if finding me were simple, you would not still be speaking."

The red light beneath the Murmur Bone remained steady.

The eastern faction possessed forces capable of killing Simon, but overwhelming strength meant little when it did not know where to strike.

For now, uncertainty protected him.

"What do you want?" the demoness asked.

Simon’s lips curled into a smile the moment he heard the demoness’ words.

He could either kick things up a notch or ruin everything from this point on.

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