Chapter 3 - Divine Apostasy Book 2

Chapter 3

The Worker’s Lodge had half the crowd that Ruwen had seen in it yesterday, but it seemed almost as noisy, and it was filling quickly. As soon as Officer Kaleb dropped them off safely inside the Lodge, Hamma pulled Ruwen and Sift to an empty table.

“Spill it,” Hamma said.

Ruwen froze as what seemed like the million secrets he kept all rushed into his thoughts.

Ruwen’s throat went dry. “Spill what?”

“Let’s start with him,” Hamma said, pointing at Sift.

“Me? Why do we have to start with me?” Sift asked.

“He’s had a lot of head trauma,” Ruwen said.

“Hey!” Sift said.

Hamma slashed the air with her hand. “No, joking.”

Ruwen and Sift lost their smiles and faced Hamma.

“The bolt you pulled from Sift’s heart was bent like it had struck a rock, his visible stats are false, his tattoo is a piece of art, and his clothes look like they just came from the laundry, not an ambush,” Hamma said.

Sift bit his lip.

Ruwen rubbed his temples. “Hamma, I don’t understand the arrow either, and I’m just as curious. But, right now is not the time for that conversation.”

“Is it the right time to explain how you have a cloak that stopped three bolts, a magical centipede that bites people’s faces and –”

“It bit my face!” Sift screamed and rubbed his cheeks.

Ruwen winced at the volume of Sift’s comment and because he’d interrupted Hamma.

Hamma gritted her teeth and continued. “The Rod Spider Webbing is fantastic. I’ve never seen a better material for bleeding. Where did that come from? And while we didn’t use the Minor Swabs, I saw who made them. You. Last night. Did your safehouse have an alchemy lab? And let's not forget the two rings.” Hamma lifted Sift’s hand and pulled them off. “These are powerful magic items. Certainly not something you would get from around here. And you didn’t have them yesterday.”

Hamma held out the rings and dropped them in Ruwen’s hand. He slid them back on his fingers and took a few moments to collect his thoughts. He didn’t see an easy way out of this situation. The clock read 7:03 AM. He was already late.

Hamma stood up straight. “Before you decide what to say, I’ll tell you this. It’s been fun and terrifying hanging out with you. But I won’t tolerate a liar. If you lie to me, then this is goodbye.”

Ruwen’s stomach clenched. Uru had told him he’d have to swim in a sea of lies, which hadn’t seemed so bad at the time. Now, confronted with the reality of lying to a friend, he felt like puking.

Ruwen locked eyes with Hamma. “The truth is, I can’t tell you everything right now. Some secrets aren’t mine to tell, some are too dangerous to speak out loud here, some I don’t know, and some might get you killed.”

“How many secrets do you have?” Hamma asked.

“He snores,” Sift said. “Don’t let him leave that one out.”

Hamma frowned at Sift.

Ruwen stepped closer to Sift and Hamma met Ruwen’s eyes again.

“I don’t want to lie to you,” Ruwen said. “Give me a little time to figure out what I can say, and ask permission to tell you the others. I hate secrets. In fact, here is one I can share. I know who tried to kill me just now.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell Officer Kaleb?” Hamma asked.

“Because they’re rich and I have no proof and half this town thinks I’m a traitor,” Ruwen said his voice rising as he spoke. He took a deep breath. “Sorry. I recognized Slib’s mom, Annul Strongspell. I’m sure she is just trying to protect Slib from the dangers of this outing.”

“That turd pile from yesterday?” Hamma asked.

Ruwen nodded.

“High Priest Futsil, the Strongspell family, you really know how to find powerful enemies,” Hamma said.

“You have no idea,” Ruwen said.

“Okay, I’ll let this go for a bit, but not forever. If you lie to me, I’ll revive you as a dog,” Hamma said.

“You can do that?” Sift asked.

Ruwen shook his head while Hamma nodded at Sift.

“Or, maybe I’ll just revive him without all his parts,” Hamma said as she raised her eyebrows.

Sift’s eyes got huge, and Ruwen rubbed his forehead. Maybe he needed to research what exactly the Order Class had control over during revival. He could never tell when Hamma was kidding.

They walked toward the center of the Lodge and Big D. Thinking about her reminded Ruwen of the spell and ability she’d given him yesterday. She had also said learning advanced ones would get harder. But all of Ruwen’s spells and abilities had come easily to him. Maybe he’d just misinterpreted how hard Big D thought it would be.

Ruwen looked at Hamma. “When you learn a new spell or ability, how long does it take? Level five ones, I mean, not the first ones.”

“Well, that channeled healing spell I used took a day of praying at the temple. I didn’t think it was ever going to crystallize in my mind.”

“So it’s like the spell is already in your head, you just can’t see it clearly enough to cast it?” Ruwen asked.

Hamma nodded. “I never thought about it like that, but yes. In fact, it feels like I’m pulling the spell symbol up from a deep well. After enough effort, the symbol is clear. After that, I can hold it in my head long enough to cast it.”

Which wasn’t what Ruwen had experienced at all. It appeared to him like all the spells and abilities were an inch underwater, only a little blurry, and could be brought up into the clear with little effort. It wasn’t because of his Intelligence because Big D had known that already when she told him what to expect. That probably meant it was related to him being the Root Class.

“Thanks,” Ruwen said.

Big D came into view, and Ruwen was surprised to see Bliz standing next to her. The two held mugs and Big D laughed at something Bliz had said. The clock read: 7:10 AM.

“You two stay here until I see how much trouble I’m in,” Ruwen said.

Sift and Hamma stopped.

“Hamma, could you bring someone back as a bird? One that can fly,” Sift asked.

Ruwen shook his head and walked the last ten feet to Big D.

Big D and Bliz faced Ruwen as he approached.

Big D held out her arm, and Ruwen shook it. Then repeated the process with Bliz.

“I’m sorry for being late,” Ruwen said.

“A Worker is only as good as their word,” Big D said. “And you told me you’d be here at seven.”

Ruwen thought about bringing up the attack, which was an excellent excuse. But his parents had taught him to take responsibility for his circumstances. Excuses were a crutch, they would say, and too often used to justify failures. Part of becoming an adult was taking responsibility for things that were sometimes out of your control.

“I did tell you that, and I apologize. I’ll work harder next time,” Ruwen said.

“Is that all you have to say?” Big D asked.

Ruwen sighed. “Yes.”

“I told you he wouldn’t mention it,” Bliz said to Big D.

Big D smiled. “Well, we were bound to get a good one eventually. Our current Bands are a lazy and irresponsible lot.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. We’re not lazy,” Bliz said.

Big D rolled her eyes and then faced Ruwen. “The lodge has its own Sketcher because Order calls us to clean up the messes others make. So we know you got ambushed this morning, and I’m sorry. Only the City Council had your identity. I honestly thought you’d be safe until you got here. That is my fault, and I take responsibility for that.”

“Thank you,” Ruwen said.

Big D turned to Bliz. “Take him to the vault and do the transfer. Today is going to be a mess, and I’d like to get started.”

“Follow me,” Bliz said.

Ruwen looked at his friends. Hamma and Sift were watching him, and Ruwen signaled to Sift in Shade Speak. The gestures were small and casual, difficult to detect unless you were looking for it.

Return. Soon. Ruwen signed.

Understood. Sift replied.

Ruwen turned and followed Bliz.