The Sinner's Banquet

Face to Face

Lily held a golden ring up to the light, turning it slowly between her fingers. A small red gem on the band pulsed with a faint light every time the carriage bumped against the stone street.

"This artifact tracks the exact mana signatures of everyone who leaves the lower tunnels," Lily said, her voice completely smooth as she looked directly at my fake face. "But for some reason, Julian, your magic flow looks completely different right now. It is rougher. Why is that?"

The countdown timer at the edge of my vision flashed. Twelve minutes left.

My right hand, hidden completely beneath the long silk sleeve, remained tight. The shadow fingers were ready to form a blade at any second. Sitting three feet away from my own sister inside this small, moving box was the hardest thing I had ever done. She looked beautiful in her new black dress, a massive contrast to the ragged clothes she had worn just yesterday morning. Her betrayal had purchased this luxury.

"The ghouls attacked my guards," I said, forcing Julian's light, arrogant tone into my voice. "I had to use an explosive magic scroll to kill them. It threw my internal mana into a bit of a mess. Do you intend to question me all day, or can we talk about the money?"

Lily stared at me for three long seconds. Her sharp, dark eyes were totally unreadable. Finally, she lowered her hand, and the red gem stopped pulsing.

"The money is the only thing that matters," Lily said, leaning back against the leather seat. "High Priest Malakai agreed to give us sixty percent of the Lower Ward properties now that my brother is dead. The common people are too afraid of the demon curse to stay there. We can buy the entire neighborhood for a few gold coins, tear down the shacks, and build new solar shops."

Hearing her plan made a knot of hot rage form in my stomach. She was talking about our home. She was talking about the people who had shared their bread with us when we were starving.

"Your brother just died today," I said, keeping my fake voice flat. "You do not seem to care very much."

Lily let out a short, cold laugh. She looked out the glass window as the carriage began to climb the steep hill toward the grand estates of the upper city.

"Ethan was a fool," she said, her expression turning totally cold. "He thought that if he followed every rule, worked himself to the bone, and prayed to the statues, the holy rulers would reward him. He wanted to keep us safe by staying small and weak. But in the Ascendancy, the weak are just fuel for the strong. I used his useless life to get a meeting with Malakai. Now, I have a real position in the government. I am finally a player in this city, not a victim."

"And if he somehow survived?" I asked, leaning slightly forward.

Lily turned her gaze back to me, her eyes narrowing into slits. "He fell into the Great Maw with a severed hand and broken mana veins. Nobody survives that. Even if a miracle happened and he crawled out, I would kill him myself to protect my new position. I am never going back to the mud, Julian."

Every single word she spoke sliced through my chest like a knife. The sweet little sister I had starved myself to protect did not exist. This person across from me was a master manipulator, a cold stranger who valued gold and power over blood.

"Good," I said, clenching my hidden left fist. "I like people who are realistic."

"We are here," Lily stated as the carriage came to a smooth stop.

The driver opened the door, and I stepped out onto the polished white pavement of the high priest's estate. Massive golden pillars held up a towering roof, and elite guards stood at every entrance. My timer showed exactly seven minutes. If I stayed out here in the open light, my illusion would break right in front of Malakai's personal army.

"Go inside to the main hall," Lily said, adjusting her silver collar. "Malakai is finishing his evening prayer. I need to collect the property deeds from the carriage vault. Do not keep him waiting."

She walked toward the back of the vehicle, leaving me alone on the grand steps.

"Kid, your mana is leaking," Kaelen’s voice rasped in my mind, sounding highly alarmed. "The illusion is pulling too much energy because your emotions are unstable. If you don't calm down right now, your fake face is going to melt off your skull."

I forced myself to take a slow, deep breath. I focused on the cold void energy in my core, pulling it back down into my stomach until the purple screen stopped shaking.

[Illusion Stabilized. Time Remaining: 5 minutes.]

I turned and walked through the giant golden doors of the main hall. The floor was made of pure white marble that reflected the light from the massive glass ceiling above. At the far end of the long room, High Priest Malakai stood with his back to me, looking up at a giant golden statue of the Sun King.

"Julian," Malakai spoke without turning around, his deep voice echoing through the quiet hall. "You took longer than expected. Did the slave give you trouble?"

I walked forward, keeping my boots clicking evenly against the floor. "The matter is settled, Your Holiness."

Malakai turned around slowly. His golden robes swept across the marble floor. He looked at me with that same warm, fake smile he had used before cutting off my hand. But as he stepped closer, his smile vanished. His eyes locked onto my right arm.

"Julian always carries his magic staff in his right hand," Malakai said, his tone suddenly dropping into absolute stillness. "And his mana flow does not possess a freezing, dark signature like yours."

Before I could move, Malakai raised his hand, and a blinding spear of golden light materialized in the air right above my head.

"Who are you?" Malakai demanded, the light growing brighter. "And what did you do to Julian?"