The Broken Halo

"You have a lot of explaining to do."

The Voice tried to keep her tone cold, but Simon heard the anger beneath it. Her breathing was slightly heavier, and the words came out faster than they had during their first conversation.

Simon remained against the cracked wall.

"About what?"

A brief silence followed.

"One of my subordinates called the Fifth Needle is dead."

"Is that so?"

"An underground shelter was filled with corpses."

"And?"

The Voice’s restraint slipped slightly.

"Is that all you have to say?"

Simon’s fingers moved slowly across the curved surface of the Murmur Bone.

"You already know what happened. Repeating it will not bring your demons back."

The red lines flared.

"You were given one task. Find the vice-leader, discover whether he spoke, and kill him. You were not told to slaughter everyone you encountered."

"The demons inside the shelter attacked me."

"You entered their shelter carrying one of their leaders!"

"They expected the Fifth Needle. When they saw me instead, one reached for a communication orb while the others drew their weapons."

Simon’s voice remained calm.

"What did you expect me to do? Ask them to wait while I explained myself?"

The Voice did not answer immediately.

Simon continued before she could regain control of the conversation.

"The vice-leader is dead. He did not speak to Black Horn. Your mission was completed."

"Did he speak to you?"

There it was.

Simon’s lips curled faintly.

"That was not one of the questions you paid me to answer."

The Voice became silent.

She had noticed the wording of his report.

He had not spoken to Black Horn.

Simon never claimed the vice-leader died without speaking to anyone else.

"What did he tell you?" she asked.

Simon said nothing.

"Did he mention the eastern cells?"

Silence.

"Our plans?"

Simon remained still.

The Voice exhaled sharply.

She was throwing questions into the darkness, hoping his breathing, hesitation, or choice of response would reveal which one had reached him.

Simon gave her nothing.

When she spoke again, the anger in her voice had become colder.

"What did you take from the Fifth Needle?"

"Whatever he carried."

"Those items belong to Black Banner."

"They belonged to a corpse."

"Like I said, his things do not belong to you."

Simon tilted his head slightly..

"Is that what you tell the Black Horn officials or Darkness Kingdom soldiers when they kill your subordiantes?"

The Voice went silent, and Simon chuckled softly.

"I was also not told that you had already sent another assassin toward the same target."

The Murmur Bone became quiet, and the Voice could not deny it.

She assigned Simon the mission while the Fifth Needle was already moving through Black Horn. One of them could have succeeded while the other attracted attention. If Simon died, the Needle could search his corpse and recover the Third Warden’s possessions.

It was a sensible move, and Simon had no issues with it. But sensible decisions still carried consequences.

"You used me as a distraction," Simon said. "Your Needle tried to kill me afterward. I killed him first."

"He was carrying out his duty."

"So was I."

The Voice gave a humourless laugh.

"You speak as though you were one of us."

"I’m not."

The answer came without hesitation.

"And that is the reason this conversation should continue."

The Voice paused.

Simon could almost feel her attention sharpen through the Murmur Bone.

"You killed a Warden’s men, one of our Needles, and every demon inside an emergency shelter," she said. "Explain why I should continue speaking to you and why you should not be blacklisted by Black Banner this instance."

Simon had been waiting for that question.

"Because your Warden failed."

The lines beneath the Bone flashed once.

"His cell was exposed. The convoy survived. His vice-leader was captured. Your internal route into Black Horn was discovered, and the Sleeping Commander’s agent was already watching your agents."

The Voice did not interrupt.

Simon continued.

"Despite all of that, the vice-leader died without speaking to Black Horn."

His sky-blue eyes became colder.

"I entered their Office during a containment breach. I passed their formations without them knowing. I reached a prisoner guarded beneath three lower levels, removed him, and escaped."

The Voice remained quiet.

"Black Horn is now questioning its guards, its internal officials, and every demon connected to the Fourth Shroud. They no longer trust their own procedures."

Simon tilted his head slightly.

"Your mission succeeded. Their Office was humiliated. And the only demon involved who cannot be traced through one of your cells, Wardens, Needles, or hidden routes is the demon you’re currently threatening."

The silence lasted longer this time.

Simon knew better than to fill it.

The Voice was intelligent enough to understand the value he was offering.

Every Black Banner operative belonged to a chain.

Sorn had a position inside Black Horn, the Fifth Needle answered to the Second Claw, the Eastern Warden controlled several cells, and even Ossik’s movements could eventually lead toward the Sleeping Commander.

Simon belonged to none of them.

Black Horn had no idea that he was the culprit, they don’t know his methods, or where he had gone to after leaving the Office.

The Voice did not know those things either.

Her ignorance made him dangerous, and it also made him useful.

"You expect me to trust a demon I cannot identify?" she finally asked.

"No."

Simon answered calmly.

"Trust would make you careless."

A hint of irritation returned to her voice.

"Then what exactly are you asking for?"

"A different arrangement."

"You are in no position to dictate terms."

Simon began withdrawing his demonic energy from the Murmur Bone.

The red lines started to dim.

"Then we have nothing else to discuss."

"Wait."

The word escaped her more quickly than she intended.

Simon stopped.

Neither of them spoke for several seconds.

When the Voice continued, her tone had regained some control.

"What arrangement?"

"From now on, you offer me work. I decide whether to accept it and I give you the price of that work."

"You’re doing this for hell stones and resources?"

Simon shook his head slightly.

"No. Information."

"What information?"

"I’ll tell you when there is another task worth accepting."

The Voice laughed softly.

"You expect me to promise answers before knowing the questions?"

"No."

Simon looked toward the windowless wall of the dye workshop.

"When you offer a task, I’ll name my price. You can refuse. If you refuse, I do nothing."

"And if we decide to send someone else?"

"Then send them."

His indifference made the answer more convincing than any threat.

Simon did not need every assignment. He only needed opportunities connected to Crownless Dawn.

The Voice became quiet again.

Simon added one final condition.

"If you place another Needle in my path without warning me, I will assume that demon was sent to kill me."

"And?"

"Isn’t that obvioud? I’ll kill them and keep whatever they carry."

The Voice’s breathing changed.

"You seem very confident after surviving once."

"Your Warden failed."

Simon’s tone remained flat.

"Your Needle failed."

He lightly tapped the Murmur Bone with one finger.

"I did not."

The red lines brightened violently. For a moment, Simon thought she might end the connection immediately.

Instead, she asked,

"Are you working for the Sleeping Commander?"

"No."

"Black Horn?"

Simon almost smiled.

"I entered their headquarters, killed their officers, and stole their prisoner. Decide for yourself."

"You had help."

"Believe that if it makes the situation easier to understand."

"How many demons were with you?"

Simon did not answer.

"What race are you?"

Silence.

"Were you already inside Black Horn before the breach?"

Nothing.

The Voice stopped questioning him.

Each unanswered question only reminded her how little she knew. Simon had no reason to correct any false possibilities forming in her mind. Let her search for accomplices, unknown races, hidden officials, and powerful artifacts.

Every wrong path would just be a waste of her time and energy.

Eventually, the Voice spoke again.

"You may keep the Bone."

Simon’s eyes flickered.

She still did not accept his terms, but she had not ended their connection permanently either.

"The next time it speaks," she continued, "you can name your price. I will decide whether you are worth it."

"That is all I require."

"Do not misunderstand me."

Her voice became quieter, and the anger beneath it hardened into something more dangerous.

"You can keep pretending this is an equal arrangement. But the moment you become more trouble than value, I will stop talking and start looking."

The connection ended.

The red lines beneath the Murmur Bone faded until the curved bone became dark once again.

Simon stared at it for several seconds, then a faint, amused smile appeared on his face.

The Voice had ended the conversation with a threat because openly accepting his terms would have sounded too much like surrender.

But she had told him to name his price next time.

That was enough for now.

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