"At least," Felix agreed. He saw the others nod in his peripherals; they had both taken seats nearby.
"Very well. For dragging you all into that...debacle, I believe I owe you at least a few answers," Zara spread her skirts and sat in the high backed chair nearest the fire. "What do you wish to know?"
"How many made it out, safely?" Felix asked immediately. Leaving people to be arrested had been scraping him raw.
"Not enough," Zara said, clearly pained. "A few made it out of lesser known entrances, but nearly all of the other choristers were taken. Save for Siva's own, which should be no surprise."
Evie grunted. "I don't give two burnin' shits about them. I wanna know why, exactly, we were invited to that shitshow? You seem like a smart lady, mysterious an all with your spooky magic, you had to have known the redcloaks were comin'."
"You give me far too much credit, Evie Aren," Zara frowned. "If I had known the Inquisition was planning a raid, that meeting never would have happened. If I had sensed their coming, I would have warned everyone. Unfortunately, not only do the redcloaks have seers and wardbreakers, they also have experts in scriptwork. They not only bypassed our security, but they turned it against us."
"How?" Vess asked. "The layers of defenses we saw down there were numerous. To do what you're saying would take either Master level Skill or--"
"Or something else, entirely," Felix finished. He looked up into Zara's eyes, sensing her deep frustration. "The Inquisition uses your Chanter magic."
"OOh the boy is smart!"
There was a flurry of feathers and the same brilliantly-plumed kingfisher fluttered down from above. He alighted upon the edge of Zara's high-backed chair and regarded Felix with a single bright eye.
"Did--did that bird just talk?" Evie asked.
"Did the Human say something dumb?" The creature piped in a mocking tone. "See? I can point out the obvious too."
"Enough, Keru," Zara snapped. The bird closed its beak with a huff. "Yes, I suspect the Inquisition knows of and uses aspects of my art."
"Wait, wait, what's Chanter magic," Evie asked, clearly struggling to accept the reality of a talking bird. She blinked and glared her question at Zara.
"Sorcery," Vess responded quietly, and the room went silent a bit. She sat up straighter. "You are a Sorcerer."
Zara took a seated bow. "Guilty as charged."
Evie sucked in a breath through her teeth, and Felix felt a few facts falling into place. The redcloaks had kept going on about Sorcery and purity and all that, and when the Initiate sensed something happening in that back alley he had called it Sorcery too. Right before he had done something that had rung out among the harmonic vibrations Felix had become attuned to...something which illuminated a man's last living moments.
"Sorcery is...the Grand Harmony?" Felix asked. Zara tipped her head to the side in agreement.
"In part. Truly, what the Pathless calls Sorcery is a mish-mash of traditions that exist outside of the paradigm of accepted power structure." Zara smiled, her shark-like teeth flashing in the firelight. "The Grand Harmony is a large component of that, and the prime offender in most cases. It was the magic taught by the old gods, after all."
"Harmony," Vess said softly. "I have...that is familiar."
"I imagine it would be, your Grace," Zara said in the same tone. "It was a talent of your mother's."
"Come again?" Evie said, wiggling a finger in her ear. "You're saying the Duchess, famous dragon hunter and pride of the Heirocracy was a burnin' Sorcerer?"
Felix's head whipped between the three of them, trying to catch everything. Vess had leaned back, as if pressed against the chair, while Evie was all but jumping out of her seat. Zara ignored Evie and spoke to Vess once more.
"It is one of the reasons I chose to help you. I know my kind, those of us who have heard the majestic chords of creation. When I invited you to the gathering below it was to offer you a perspective that you likely had not experienced in court or the Eyrie.
"Forces move beneath this city, beneath this nation. As an heiress, you are well acquainted with many of them, but to these you are blind. As are you, Felix. I needed the both of you to understand what has been happening, and what is at stake."
Zara wet her lips and took a measured breath. The kingfisher hopped from one side of the chair to the other.
"More importantly, I need your help."