The heavens were challenging him, waiting to see if he would crumble. Leo stepped forward as the trees rustled and the rain whispered against the leaves. The flame he held hissed.
Well, let the heavens see. Let them laugh after today.
“I have called you all here to search for the truth,” he said. His eyes traveled over the orange-robed priests. “The Prophet comes, and I believe she is one of you.”
He watched their reactions. Some gasped, others froze, and a few looked down at their hands; he zeroed in on these priests.
“You. The one with the birthmark on your cheek. Come here.”
The woman looked at him and then at the others. But when Leo did not avert his gaze, she stepped forward.
“Your Majesty,” she said in a frail voice and bowed. This was the girl from before, the one who had tended the burned priest.
“Give me your hand,” he said.
The priestess looked at Saayna, but her leader said nothing. She stood, stoic, her mouth set and eyes fixed upon the horizon.
Leo took the priestess’s outstretched palm and guided it to the flame.
“Are you the Prophet?” he asked, searching her eyes.
“N-no.” Her fingers trembled.
“Prove it,” he said and forced her hand into the flame.
The priestess shrieked and tried to pull her arm away, but Leo gripped her wrist and held fast until he saw her skin redden. Only then did he release her.
The priestess stumbled back. She cradled her hand to her belly. Her shoulders shook, but she did not weep. Saayna stepped forward and placed her hands on the girl’s shoulders.
“You have done your duty,” she said and kissed her three fingers before placing them on the priestess’s forehead. “The Phoenix’s Light shines upon you.”
The priestess’s lower lip trembled, yet she bowed and retreated.
He motioned for the next priestess to step forward. And the next, and the next. They came, one after the other, a silent procession of bowed heads and neatly wrapped orange robes. He held their hands over the flame, and to Leo’s growing dismay, they all burned.
When the last one shuffled back to the crowd, cradling her hand to her chest, Leo turned sharply to Saayna. His voice cut through the air, dripping with venom.
“You’ve lied to me,” he snarled. “Where is the Prophet? Where are you hiding her?”
When the high priestess made no move to answer, Leo felt his anger grow cold. The flame danced in his hand. Slowly, he turned back to the order, to the waiting priests and burned priestesses. The flame lengthened, eager.
“I intend to burn all of you. Priest and priestess,” he announced, his voice cold. “I intend to burn you until I find this Prophet. But, if you are here, Prophet, if you know the true nature of your power, I am giving you the chance to step forward. Announce yourself, and I will spare your brethren. If you don’t, I will burn them all alive. And then you will sweep away their ashes.”
There was no sound other than the patter of raindrops against the long banyan leaves. Leo scrutinized every face. The flame pulsed. Before him, the smoke from the Eternal Fire twisted into the grey sky.
“So be it.”
He nodded, and his guards stepped forward. They formed a ring around the order as they pulled torches from their belts. One by one, the guards struck matches and ignited the torches. Fire blossomed around Leo. The flames hissed against the rain, but they held.
Majnu stalked forward, face grim, and grabbed one priest by the nape of his neck. He cried out, scratching Majnu’s arms, but the Spear forced the priest to his knees. The torch crackled. Slowly, Majnu held the priest’s face into the flame. He screamed as his eyelashes started to smoke.
The priests panicked then. They pushed and battered against the ring of guards. Some of the guards faltered, looking to Majnu, but his Spear held strong and barked orders.
Some screamed, others begged. A few managed to break the ring and ran. Majnu turned to Leo, who nodded.
“Kill them.”
The Spear unsheathed his slingsword and roared out the order. The whistle of thirty slingswords and the smell of burnt flesh filled the grove. Leo watched a priestess stumble as a blade ripped through her back. Her body crumpled and rolled into the tree line.
