Alessandria allowed a small smile to break her serious expression as she remembered Hellen’s shocked expression at being summoned by the grumpy Ares.
“Nemesio, how would Ares get twenty assassins in the castle?”
Nemesio shook his head slowly.
“Hypothetica
lly, one of my jobs in the Inquisition was to examine places and find all weak points,”
“And let me guess hypothetically, it’s easy to sneak people and supplies into the castle?”
“Yes,”
Alessandria made a note of that on her desk to make sure these weak points were strengthened. Anything to protect her family... and the Queen, of course.
“Okay. Someone in security was involved, but who were the attackers? The Procurators say they were hired blades,”
“I agree. My contact added they were probably in the employ of The Serpent Guild,”
“Really? The Serpent Guild?”
“Yes, you know the biggest criminal gang in Ordericous. You must know them as a Dominicus Procurator?”
“I have heard of them, but they stay away from Fireheart Land. I’ve never investigated them, but I hear they’re great at controlling the underworld,”
Nemesio nodded.
“Wait, doesn’t the Inquisition have some sort of agreement with them?”
The Former Inquisitor’s face paled.
“Not the Inquisition per say. The Order of the Sacred Fire, before we thankfully destroyed it, did have an agreement. Saying they must inform us of all activity, or we would slaughter them and burn their families alive,”
Alessandria’s eyes widened and she nodded. Even after seeing the extremes of the Inquisitorial Order, Alessandria was still amazed at the horrors and butchery the Inquisition was prepared to commit in the name of their so-called divine missions.
“Any other Orders?”
“No, the Guilds tend to stay away from the Inquisitorial Orders,”
“For good reasons?”
Nemesio smiled and nodded.
Looking around to see if she had forgotten anything, Alessandria headed towards the door and said: “Right then, let’s go and see the Head of The Serpent’s Guild,”
Nemesio touched her back quickly.
Alessandria wished he would do more.
“Alessandria, your brother. Does he still hate me?”
Slowly, she turned to face him. Seeing the conflict and sadness in his eyes. Maybe he did truly regret his actions?
“Hate is a strong word. He is trying. Give him time and he might forgive you. But you must remember what you did to him, or what you caused,”
Nemesio’s eyes fell to the floor.
“I hate myself every day for what I caused him to go through,”