Miracles Can't Mend Trust

Dwellings lined the dark alleyway streets, where cobblestone gave way to muddy gravel that crunched under Maria’s apparently too large boots. Any functional street lantern was sparse; instead, the low glow crawled from above, where residents perched simple oil lamps from window sills and tight balconies.

Kaelan stepped to her rhythm, though nothing crunched under his practiced feathered foot.

Voices echoed past the winding turns. A familiar, soothing tone among the harsh ones perked up Maria’s ears.

Thomas…

Maria remained unsure of what to say when she finally faced him. But just as the day would arrive where she’d face High Inquisitor Vane, she knew she had to face him.

The two glanced at each other before stepping forward toward the voices. They peeked around the corner. Three shadows stretched in a dead-end square where lantern light was brightest.

Tight dwellings of old wood stretched high and wide, encircling the figures. No curious eyes peeked through doors or windows; instead, the low lantern flame within some units went dark.

Maria’s eyes drifted past the rough sidings and onto the cloudy sky, where a momentary parting allowed the cool moon to filter through.

“At least it didn’t rain,” she whispered. The wind had calmed, though the chill remained.

Thomas stood out as the lone familiar face. A short silver staff rested across his shoulders like a traveler's bindle, bearing the weight of two hefty, dangling pouches. Subtle engravings of waving flames etched the length of the metal. At its peak, the staff curled into a golden ring, which held a small, encrusted sun gem.

Maria and Kaelan watched without word.

The other two figures stood tall, blocking any means of escape. Burly men with rugged features. One with a missing front tooth, like little Lily. If little Lily were a scary-looking man twice the normal size. The other man? Somehow larger than the first.

A subtle chuckle escaped their cracked lips.

Thomas narrowed his eyes. “So you two are my secret admirers?” He grinned. Putting the staff aside, he unfolded a sheet of paper he held. “Decent penmanship. Almost could pass as a kind young lady.”

The larger of the two men shifted his weight as he stood. “O-Oh… thanks,” he said, before his companion smacked the back of his head.

Thomas cleared his throat before reading out the contents of the creased sheet. It was a letter.

"I found something you lost. Meet me at the Vicina district, behind the old block." He held back a giggle between lines. “Come alone. I promise it'll be worth your while." Thomas ended it with a motioned kiss shot through the air.

The two burly men glanced at each other. They didn’t seem as amused.

Thomas snorted. “The little drawn heart at the end almost got me!”

The larger man groaned and paced toward Thomas, but the other held him back. “Yet, you still came?” the missing-tooth man asked.

“I figured I’d stop by for my parting gift.”

The missing tooth man pulled out a small, golden, engraved pendant. Thomas’ eyes flickered at the sight. “You mean this?” A scowling grin filled the man’s face.

“Ah! So you do have it?” Thomas calmly settled his bindle staff on a shoulder and walked toward the two menacing figures. “But on second thought, I’d prefer you kept it. Something to remember me by.”

His words opened a small path between the two large figures. They briefly glanced at each other as if trying to process what had occurred. Thomas walked through with a settled smile, but a thud on his open shoulder stopped him. The hefty hand ‌held him back.

“Leaving so soon?”

“You know how things are.” Thomas shrugged. “Not originally from here. Can’t overstay my welcome.” He exaggerated with a heavy sigh. “And just when I thought I was beginning to fit in.”

“But I believe you have something you owe us,” the missing-tooth man said while rubbing his calloused fingers together.

“With interest!” the larger man added.

He tossed Thomas back toward the corner like a twig. His silver staff clanked on the ground, and the two pouches flung off to the side, jingling as they rolled to a stop.

Maria stepped forward, but Kaelan ran an arm across her path.

“Don’t,” he whispered.

“But…”

“Let’s wait a bit.”

After a brief hesitation, she nodded. The two continued watching in silence.

Thomas reached for his staff and staggered up with its support.

“Making your way off with donations? You really are scum,” the missing-tooth man said.

“I learned from the best.” Thomas glared at the two. “Besides, you actually believe donated coin reaches those in need? At the end of the day, even institutions that are supposed to help will look to benefit.” His gaze drifted. “A small town clinic is no different.”

The two men stepped closer, rubbing their fists. “Makes no difference to us. As long as we get what’s ours.”

“Power. Especially magic…” Thomas said as he tightened his grip on his staff. “Something meant to be used to help ordinary people, just ends up as a political tool for influence and wealth.”

Thomas chanted. It differed from Maria’s prayers. Practiced and precise, drawing on theory, not on a connection to the gods.

A wave of warmth swept through the cool air while a red magic circle formed at the head of the staff. The sun stone shining like an ember. A crimson swirl of fire took shape in front of the magic circle.

The larger burly man cackled.

“Are you sure you wanna do that?” the missing-tooth man motioned to their surroundings.

Maria's eyes widened as she watched on with Kaelan. No doubt the old wood would catch fast. Flames would engulf the entire block in minutes.

Kaelan fidgeted with a strained expression. His hand tensed over the hilt of his dagger. But before he could grab it, the fire spell dispersed. His mouth briefly drifted agape while his dark eyes softened. Still, he remained in place and silent.

Thomas clicked his tongue. He shot a piercing glare at the two men who laughed in ridicule.

“No matter.” He tossed his staff to the side along with his royal-blue coat. Without warning, he sprinted toward the missing-tooth man, tackling him with all his weight behind him. It caught the man by surprise. The two tumbled on the ground.

He landed strike after strike on the man’s face, who didn’t cease his laughter past busted lips and growing blood.

“Oh, no!” Maria held back a shout.

The larger man came up behind Thomas and swung heavily with a direct blow that sent him rolling to the side. Thomas groaned on the ground, but forced himself up.

“The old man can take a hit,” Kaelan muttered.

Maria tried to force her way in once more, but Kaelan’s words stopped her.

“Hold on… Don’t you think he deserves it a bit?”

Maria glared at Kaelan. “Maybe so. But if I can help…”

“I know. But just wait… This is his fight.”

A man’s pride? Did that really matter? But as Maria saw Thomas trading bare-fisted blows with men twice his size. As she saw that silver-tongued man toss his staff aside to face something he could’ve ultimately avoided, she understood there was more to Kaelan’s words. So, for a bit longer, she held back.

Thomas swung into flesh that seemed like brick walls and weaved past blows that would surely crack ribs, but any man has his limits.

The two burly men didn’t cease their onslaught of punches and kicks. They battered Thomas beyond bruising. Drool mixed with blood dripped from his mouth. He spat it to the side and clawed himself up, but his legs gave out from underneath. Still, the two burly men didn’t let up. They pummeled him while on the ground.

Kaelan finally tightened his grip on his blades. But Maria had already left his side.

“Enough!”

Kaelan quickly joined her side.

Past a heavily bruised, bloodshot eye, Thomas glanced their way. “You two? What are you—?”

A tremor in the air interrupted his words. Maria clasped her hands, her mana building with every prayed word. “Gods above, with true knowledge of what’s corrupt or just. Please bring a blessing upon these grounds.”

“D-Divine magic!?” the larger man staggered back.

Radiance trickled from the golden magic circle that morphed from Maria’s extended hands. It filled the area with a soft glow extending up from the ground.

Thomas lifted his battered hands with wide eyes as they healed over. The two burly men wore similar expressions as they inspected their own bruised and bloodied faces that mended before their eyes.

Wide-eyed faces peeked from windows and cracked doors. The same ones that previously hid with troubled expressions.

“Maria…” Kaelan’s words struggled out. He’d been witness to such sights before, yet he could never hide the amazement written on his face.

Finally, the glow settled along with a soothing quiet and a sense of calm.

It remained so until the two burly men finally spoke.

“I don’t know what you just did to us, but it ain’t getting you out of trouble, sweet cheeks.” The burly man flashed a toothless grin.

“W-We’ll promise to be gentle, though,” the larger man added.

Kaelan shot a piercing glare at them and stepped between them and Maria with daggers drawn.

As the three men prepared to clash, a sudden pressure came down over all, visible in their eyes.

“No more fighting,” Maria whispered.

The pressure was enough to make the two large men collapse onto their knees, and even Kaelan struggled to stay afoot.

“Y-Yes, ma’me!” the two burly men yelled in unison with stiffened postures.

Maria’s expression shifted to a smile. But one which made Kaelan stare blankly. Deceivingly kind.

“Thank you,” she said, calming her mana. A simultaneous breath of relief blew around her.

More onlookers from the surrounding residences ventured slightly past doors. And whispered breaths of what they’d witnessed rang throughout.

The two burly men staggered up. “P-Please excuse us, Sister,” one said while he ran off.

“We promise to behave from now on.” The second soon followed. “Th-Thank you for healing us!” The two disappeared into the darkness of the alley.

Maria chuckled. They reminded her of how the children in the chapel would react after being disciplined.

Kaelan dryly chuckled along.

At the foot of her feet, something twinkled. She picked up the little gold pendant.

They must’ve dropped it in the tussle.

The two finally faced Thomas, whose expression remained frozen throughout the entire ordeal.

His face settled. “You’re unbelievable…” He let out a deep sigh and glanced up at the night sky.

Maria did the same. The clouds had cleared, and stars glistened on the dark canvas with the moon. Her gaze shifted down to Thomas with a dejected look. She’d finally come face to face with the man she chose to trust. The man who betrayed her trust.

Still, she extended a hand, one that Thomas hesitated to grab. Maria grabbed it anyway.