Leah wasn't sure why she was surprised to find Asriel's room the same size as her own.

His furniture was different, though. A table with four chairs took up most of the space, with only a small shelf along the wall to hold his books. The bed was pushed to the corner, like it was a nuisance rather than a necessity.

Leah sat on the chair Asriel pulled out for her. Her fingers never drifted far from her Hilt, her eyes never leaving his face, watching for the first sign of deceit. She knew she wasn't good at picking up lies based on gut feelings, but it made her feel like less of an idiot for walking into a room--alone--with someone who'd caught her with Kieran.

Asriel sat on the chair beside her, settling into his seat with a sigh. He still had the nervous twitch to every movement, every glance like he was expecting to find something.

"So," said Asriel. "Where do I start?" He thought about it for a moment. "I suppose Emrys is the heart of the matter. Without him, none of it would be relevant right now."

"How much did you hear?" asked Leah.

"Enough to know that you don't trust him," said Asriel. "And for good reason. I've been his second-in-command for some time now, and..." He drifted off, his eyes flicking up to meet Leah's. "Before I continue, I wish to make it perfectly clear that nothing we say leaves this room. If he even vaguely suspects, we might both find ourselves Shattered by the end of the week."

"Why trust me at all then?" said Leah. Not the best move when you still needed information, but she was curious. "It wouldn't have been hard to catch me as I came out of the research lab to turn me in, or just pretend you'd never heard anything."

Asriel glanced at her orb. "Because you're smart. You've been able to get this far on your own, and the information I have you won't be able to find anywhere else without Emrys knowing you have it. To my knowledge, there are only four people alive who know what I am about to tell you--Emrys, myself, the Human's leader and her second. That said, it wouldn't be hard to figure out where you got this information. Understand?"

Leah nodded.

Asriel's eyes drifted. "Now, first. Emrys. I'll tell you now, I don't know what his end game is. I suspect it has something to do with the homeland and the Ancient ways. It's a stretch, but he could be looking to also take land back off the humans. From what I heard you say to Kieran, I believe you already know of his ability to influence and control Radiants, correct?"

"It's all just theory," said Leah. "I've been guessing, based on the evidence I've been given. Kieran said there was something influencing him, but before Sef Shattered, it wasn't just influence. Whatever that voice was had direct control of him, enough to Shatter him before he hit zero Light. The only thing the two have in common is the white hair."

Asriel shifted in his chair. "Though I've never seen it in person, I'd believe what you said about Sef. And white hair, you say?" He frowned when Leah nodded. "White hair is usually only seen in Radiants who have mastered Light itself. Emrys himself once had hair the colour of the sky, but though I could believe he has mastered it--Sef and Kieran, I cannot. Though... it might explain..."

He trailed off, leaving Leah to lean forward. "Explain what?"

Asriel leaned back, steepling his fingers together. "The Slayers," he said. "They are under the direct control of the recognised Radiant leader, currently Emrys, and they also have white hair. This is not a new thing, but it makes me wonder if Emrys has found a way to extend that control to other Radiants. Not just Slayers."

"Kieran said they weren't normal Radiants," said Leah. "Is that true?"

"Indeed," said Asriel. "The Slayers were Radiants once, but now they are beings of pure Light. Ageless and immune to disease, they are still able to be killed, but in Ancient times the six that bore the title Slayer were the sacred protectors of the Radiant leader."

"Six?" said Leah, frowning. "I've only ever seen five."

"Because the sixth does not currently exist," said Asriel. "It was deemed too dangerous, and its power was hidden away. No one knew where it was--not until you found it."

Leah had to stop herself from looking at her orb. There was no way--

"Back in Ancient times," said Asriel in spite of Leah's reeling head. "When the Sun blessed the Radiants with its Light, six Marks were created, one for each ability of Light. Drain. Infuse. Harden. Glow. Islbai--ah, there is no word for it in this language, but it means 'to become Light'--and Preserve.

"These Marks were borne by the high priests themselves, each one a master of their aspect of Light. It gave them abilities far beyond the capabilities of any normal Radiant, and they appeared much as yours do now--an orb that stayed with them, bound to their heart by the Sun's Light. They appear, as I'm sure you know, in many of the Ancient's murals.

"But that was not all these Marks could do. If the Radiant possessing them were to Shatter, they would not die. They would ascend to become a being of Light--a Slayer. They were not called so back in Ancient times, but that is what history came to know them as. Radiants were only Shattered to ascend when the Sun's greatest protectors were needed, and once the need was gone, the Slayer would be killed and their Mark passed on to the next priest. This way, no single Radiant would bear the weight of that duty longer than necessary."

Asriel rested his chin on his knuckles. "All but one. For five of the Slayers, this cycle was sacred. But for the sixth, it was impossible."

"The Preserver, right?" said Leah quietly, staring at the floor.

"Yes," said Asriel. "It was known as the 'Mark of the Immortal', because the Slayer could not be killed. Right before death, the Mark would crystallise the Slayer, preserving them until their Light regenerated. Several times, they tried to keep the Preserver hidden from the sunlight so it would remain crystallised, but it never ended well.

"Ages passed. The Preserver endured. When it was brought forth from its crystalline slumber, it would rage and beg for release. It forgot its oaths. It attacked at random. It became dangerous--and when the Shattering took its first toll on our race, the Preserver rallied the other Slayers around it, calling for them to break their own sacred cycles. The six Slayers rampaged across the land, taking all, and nothing could stop them.

"The high priests rallied. Together, they created a seventh Mark--the Mark of Command. It would call to all Radiant blood, to all beings that wielded Light, but its true purpose was to control the Slayers. Because this seventh Mark was not of the Sun, the high priests did not tell the people what they had done. The Command Mark remained a secret, given to the Radiant leader each time, their control over the Slayers enough proof to the people that their claim was true, but the Shattering took its toll and our people were forced to flee to the humans lands to hide."

Leah ran her tongue along the back of her teeth. "And you think Emrys has figured out how to extend that control to other Radiants," she said, once again staring at the orb floating beside her shoulder. "Would I be wrong to assume Emrys wants the Preserver Slayer under his control too?"

"I can't say for sure, but it would certainly be a possibility."

Leah itched to write this new information down. It processed in her head well enough, but not quite the same way as it did when she scrawled it across a page. If Asriel's story was correct, Emrys would Shatter her and turn her into the new Preserver Slayer. So why hadn't he? Was it--It clicked.

"He's not sure if he could control me," said Leah. "When he took over Sef, he said something about my Teridian blood preventing him from taking me instead. That's what he's been trying to work out. But wait, if I've got the Preserver Mark now, how did the last one die?"

Asriel shrugged. "I don't know. That's one thing I've never been able to figure out. The only way to drop a Mark is for its carrier--Slayer or Radiant--to die. It's why the Preserver was so dangerous."

Leah wasn't stupid. She knew what Asriel was leading up to. "And what about Kieran? I figured the ritual was some kind of more Light-efficient way of controlling a Radiant. Do you have any idea if it's reversible?"

"I'm not sure," said Asriel. "The Slayers were the ones to conduct it, I had limited information on it."

"Kieran said there was a lot of Light involved," said Leah. Her mind was racing, jumping from one point to another, and she was struggling to hold on to it all. "So it's only fair to assume the Command Mark works off Light--if we keep Kieran from the sun for a few days, it should break that, right? He's already been Lightless once, he can clearly survive the Shatter."

Her excitement was cut short by the look on Asriel's face. Faster than she could read it, it was gone.

"I suppose," said Asriel, a strange note to his voice. "But I wouldn't be so hasty. We don't know what Emrys did. It's far beyond the range of normal Light, so it's possible this time around might Shatter him. We need to move carefully. I wouldn't do anything without consulting me first."

Leah took the plunge. "What would you suggest, then?"

Asriel leaned forward.

"We can't oppose Emrys directly," he said. "The Slayers would take us down, even if we had the entire League behind us, which will never happen. Plus, Emrys could just control them, too. I don't suppose you have any other Lightless friends?"

Leah shook her head. Even though Kieran had told her their secondary base, she was not dragging them into this.

Asriel clucked his tongue. "In that case, there's only one option. We catch Emrys alone, and we take him out."

Leah gave him a few seconds to clarify the 'we' before she did it for him. "You mean me. You want me to do it."

Asriel blinked, surprised. "Well, now that you've suggested it, it does make sense, doesn't it? He can't hurt you, not with the Preserver Mark. Even if you Shatter, I don't think he's sure that he can even control you, and the last thing he needs is a new Preserver Slayer immune to the Command Mark. In theory, you're the best chance we have to save Kieran."

Leah couldn't wrap her head around it. The Marks, the Slayers, Kieran. Everything was running away in her thoughts, dragging her down. She knew Asriel was blatantly trying to sway her with Kieran. But even so, there was something in the back of her mind that didn't quite fit into the overall picture. With her head fuzzy from lack of sleep, it refused to make itself known.

"I'll need to think about all this," said Leah, standing up from her chair, running one hand through her hair. "I feel like I'm missing something right now, though I can't figure out for the Light of me what it is. Is there any way that's easiest to contact you if need be?"

Asriel thought about it for a moment. "Get a message to Illiya, preferably of the written kind. I'd rather not get her directly involved in case this goes south."

Leah nodded. "I'll see what I can come up with in the morning."

As she reached for the door, Asriel called out after her.

"Leah," he said, rising to his feet. "Remember what I said about nothing leaving this room. Emrys is checking your notebooks, so I don't suggest you write anything down unless you are certain he won't find it." He paused. "I also don't think we have a lot of time if you want to save Kieran's mind. The ritual is stronger in sunlight, but its influence will grow until it no longer needs the daylight to be effective, and if he proves a successful trial, I don't doubt the other Lightless will be next."

"I know," said Leah. She turned, offering him a small smile. "Thank you for the help, Asriel. I'll keep in touch."

With that, she slipped out of the room.

Outside, she walked a corridor before she had to stop and force herself to breathe. She curled up against a corner, hugging her knees to her forehead.

She wasn't a fighter. She never had been. Sef had been a life-or-death situation, and even then, the orb--the Preserver Mark--had been the one to take his Shattered remains down. Leah knew that, deep down, she didn't have it in her to kill another Radiant.

Not even for Kieran's sake.

*+*+*+*

A/N - I have no idea if any of that makes sense, but hey! Go team, wew! ORBY HAS A NAME KINDA. 

Also: 4 chapters left. ^_^ (plus my usual super long A/N of death, you know how it goes) 

ALSOALSO: Updates will now be twice a week (yaaay!) Monday and Thursday, probably super early in the morning Australia time ^_^ 

ALSOALSOALSO: Please remember to vote/comment if you're enjoying things so far =D See if we can crack rank #20? =>