Chapter 11 Part 2: A Way Forward

“You know, we should have you announce that you are a prophet.”

“Wait, what?” Jun recoiled.

“On second thought, we should hold off, at least until your faith is back in blue territory. At the very least, that would disrupt the saint’s beliefs. Nauthire and their religion are very strict on what constitutes a saint and what is a prophet. Chances are that it would change her perceptions enough so you could hold a conversation with her.

Jun pondered on it. That seemed like a reasonable consideration, but one thing irked him.

“What would my responsibilities be as a prophet? And don’t sugar coat it.”

“Heh, depends if you can handle the answer.” Jun indicated to him and Mei and Amalie shrugged. “True.” She caught the answer rather quickly. He was an adult in a teen’s body. “Well, put simply, you would be fast tracked to become a white flame and then receive special guidance to become a silver flame.”

“Why?” Mei asked.

“Because only an Alinta can be a prophet.” Amalie shrugged. Jun looked to Arnold who nodded in agreement. “And Alinta need to become at least Silver in order to protect themselves and lead.”

“So that’s what I should expect?” Jun huffed. It seemed the Silver Flame was correct on that point. Eventually, if anyone found out, he would be saddled with responsibility whether he liked it or not. While some part of him was excited at the adventure, another questioned the Silver Flame in her choice to make him a prophet.

Amalie answered more about his responsibilities, as much as she was aware. The last prophet had been over a century ago, so she hadn’t studied it. That said, she would learn about it as discreetly as she could. His orange faith, bordering on black, would be a blow to the school and the Nauthire religion. As far as she was aware, no prophet had ever been this close to becoming a black, unless it was removed from history.

‘If you become black…’ Jun’s ear tickled. ‘And somehow survived being hunted. Ellen would be unapproachable as she is now.’

“Thanks.” Jun grumbled. The thought had occurred to him, it seemed like a hassle to mend his relation with the Silver Flame, let alone his wife. But to give up on it would ruin all opportunities to reunite his family.

Amalie paused and then her lips pressed into a thin line. She seemed eager to ask him, since his word had come out of seemingly nowhere. Jun shook his head, discouraging the question. This wasn’t something she needed to hear. Just knowing that she might be paying attention to his words, soured his mood. Jun closed his eyes as he concentrated on his predicament.

However, it was short lived as someone came next to Amalie and handed her a report.

“I’ll be excusing myself for now. You two rest up in the meantime. I’ll let you know if I discover anything useful.”

Mei grinned with her eyes as she sent off Amalie. Jun only watched her go, silent and still. When she was gone, Mei looked about the room, nervous.

“Before the Jinshari return…” she began. Jun understood it. This privacy was so rare. “You can hear the Silver Flame?”

“Sure kiddo. Why?”

“I’m just… a bit jealous I guess. On top of that, what sort of things do you two talk about?”

“Nothing much. She mostly warned me about the poisons and other dangers while we lived at the estate. Then she mentioned Mom and Zeke were here at the school, but not who they were.”

Mei hummed as she listened. Both of them were attentive to their surroundings as Jun conveyed everything he couldn’t over the years. Mei also chatted about her life before they met, her training and her apology for trying to kill him when they first met.

“It’s fine, Maisie.”

“Wow, that’s been a while. Still… what are you going to do about Mom and Zeke?”

Jun sighed. Still no sign of the Jinshari. He would have to thank Amalie later.

“I’m not sure. Any stories that line up with this? Perhaps some clue?” he chuckled, though his eyes stayed dull as he looked at the situation. Mei shook her head.

“All the people who had to prove who they were… or their connection to the others, used memories, but… she thinks you stole those.”

Jun stifled a growl, leaning hard against the headboard. Mei shifted, wincing.

“You doing alright?” He reached out to her and she shooed him away.

“Oh sure. Though, Mom probably would label me a traitor if not another killer. I sort of saved your skin when she attacked.”

Jun’s eyes flew wide.

“How long have you been injured?” He reached out to her, trying to circulate his prayer. It was sluggish and cold. Jun furrowed his brow. Was this because of his lacking faith? Mei stilled before taking his hand.

“It’s been two days since the incident.” She looked to the window. “Well, more like three.”

Jun tried hard to have the prayer move through her, seeing the repairing injuries. Some were healing in a bad way, likely to leave a limp or hidden injury that would cause problems later. He gritted his teeth. Without the same strength as before he didn’t dare burn the cells and regrow them. At best he could stimulate the healthy cells to multiply rapidly, but that was draining his strength.

After a few attempts, the sounds that came out of his mouth were guttural. He was drained, a new sensation. He turned his prayer inward and realized just how injured he was which caused him to issue another growl.

“What am I doing wrong? Why… No. What even is faith?” He prayed, realizing how much he had taken the power for granted. Mei stiffened and he took note of where her eyes stared. The Jinshari had located them. Jun shifted down the bed and pulled the covers over him. He didn’t want to deal with that at the moment. As he lay there, he felt his prayer grow colder while his ear tickled.

‘Amalie did describe it. Fire and fuel.’

“That’s not what I’m asking.”

‘I’m aware. Though, some of this you are going to have to look into. I know we are treading a thin line here, but even I have laws I must follow. I will ask you to study the Runes. If it’s you, you might find the missing connection.’

Jun felt his lips curl. At least this time she was giving him a hint. And it was something he could work on. He circulated the prayer he received from talking with the Silver Flame and found it lacking. A short little prayer had been enough, but now even a conversation as long as that had very little deposits. He would need to be more cautious. Healing was, after all, a rare ability.