weakened her. She must have been the one who had kept Lindon alive and taught him powerful new sacred arts, and now she was vulnerable.
An easy target.
Yerin’s foot pressed down on the back of Teris’ skull. “You’re a spineless pack of rotten rat leavings, aren’t you?”
Teris thrashed, trying to free himself.
[Can he breathe?] Dross wondered. [It doesn’t look like he can breathe.]
Lindon crouched next to the Iron, speaking into his ear. “Do you feel the ground shaking?”
The Iron’s scream was muffled by dirt.
“That means we don’t have much time,” Lindon went on. “I don’t want to have to continually prove myself to everyone who sees my badge, so here’s what I would prefer. Would you like to be my guide?”
Yerin eased up on his head, and Teris’ muddy face came up into a gasp. “Yes! Yes! I’ll do it!”
“Gratitude. I would be grateful if you could lead me to the First Elder, and if anyone else stops us, you can explain to them what a bad idea that would be. Do you agree?”
Teris nodded furiously.
“Perfect.”
Yerin moved her foot off, and Lindon pulled him to his feet. He helped brush dirt from Teris’ outer robe. “Now, where is the Elder?”
Teris shakily pointed up the hill to the house right in front of them.
“…really? He’s really in there?”
“I told you, ah, this one told you, honored…guests. The First Elder is visiting the Eighth.”
Yerin looked more offended now than when he’d pulled a weapon on her. “You pulled blades on us in bright sunlight ten steps from your clan elder’s house?”
“Do not harm this one,” Teris pleaded, bowing in half. “This one has a little girl.”
Yerin turned to Lindon. “Did you get the only spine in your whole clan?”
Lindon wasn’t listening.
“You have a daughter?” he asked.
Teris’ eyes bounced around, but he answered warily, “This one is honored to have a daughter that will soon see her second year.”
That was a bigger surprise to Lindon than when Teris had betrayed them. Teris was a year younger than Lindon himself.
A girl of eleven or twelve peeked her head out of the gate and saw them, shouting back inside that there was a fight going on outside. Yerin slapped Teris on the back.
“Your turn to guide.”
Teris preceded them through the gate, and Lindon and Yerin followed. As soon as they crossed through the compound wall, Lindon knew something was wrong.
The script around the outer wall had blocked his spiritual perception, which was already weaker here in Sacred Valley, so he hadn’t sensed much. But the outer courtyard of the Eighth Elder’s property was packed with people.
Wei clan members wearing iron or copper badges milled around in small groups, chatting nervously. They all turned to watch Lindon and Yerin enter, but they didn’t seem too interested.
As an Underlord, Lindon’s hearing was second only to Yerin’s. He caught snatches of conversation without trying.
They were waiting for the decision of the elders.
If it was just the Eighth Elder meeting with the First, there wouldn’t be so many people here. And they wouldn’t expect a unified clan decision.
That was when Lindon recognized another familiar face.
Wei Jin Amon’s hair was even longer and more luxurious than Lindon remembered. He stood proudly, a spear strapped to his back, and he reassured several Irons that his grandfather would sort things out.
Lindon extended his perception into the main house.
He didn’t scan anyone specifically, but he still felt the presence of Jades. At least ten, probably twelve or thirteen, close together in the same room.
All the clan elders and the Patriarch were gathered together. Well, all the human elders. Elder Whisper was nowhere to be seen.
Teris was passionately explaining that Yerin must be a Jade with no badge, but he stiffened as Lindon rested a hand on his shoulder.
“Cousin Teris, did you know that all the elders were gathered?”
Teris didn’t turn around, but he stammered an answer. “Th—this one didn’t know for sure.”
“That’s perfect. Gratitude.”
Lindon walked up to the outer house, where three guards waited for him. One of them was a gray-haired man with a jade badge: the Tenth Elder, the youngest and least of the clan’s ruling council.
Finally. A Jade, at least, would be able to sense his power.
Lindon pressed his fists together. “Honored Elder, my name is Wei Shi Lindon. I would like to address the elders about the shaking of the earth.”
With that, he removed his veil.
The elder looked from Lindon to Yerin suspiciously, then reached out with his own spiritual sense. The touch of his perception was slow and clumsy,