"I'm not going to bicker about that," I said, pressing carefully on my ribs. Already the pain was diminishing.
"We have come to a decision," Disin said, gesturing toward me.
I took Theo's hand, my fingers twining through his.
"Child, come forward." Irina, the white-haired mare, nodded at me.
Disin had her mouth open, as if she was about to speak, but she snapped her teeth closed at Irina's words.
Theo and I walked to the old woman.
"You are too tall. Sit." She waved a hand gnarled by arthritis toward the grass at her feet.
We knelt before her. She took Theo's face in both her hands, peering intently into his eyes. I felt a jolt of surprise in him at her examination.
What is it? I asked.
Before he could answer, Irina nodded at Theo and released his face, only to take my chin in a surprisingly strong grip. She tilted my head back so she could look deep into my eyes.
The impact of her gaze on mine shook me to my toenails. If was as if she was seeing everything I was, stripping away all the layers of societal mores and pretenses, of protective layers, exposing my true core to her faded eyes.
"Child, you are lost," she said, still examining me. I felt like a squirming beetle pinned to a board. "Your path is hidden. You have much to do to find it, but I believe you will. You will be released to do just that."
Irina released my chin, using both hands on her cane to push herself to her feet. I wobbled forward for a moment, almost dizzy with the relief of having the soul-stripping ended. Theo grabbed my arm, and pulled me up to my feet.
The other two mare stood as well.
"It is decided that the mortal known as Portia Harding will be released," Disin said in a loud voice, her eyes cold as she turned to me. "The Hashmallim have deemed your being pure, thus you will not be held. Your behavior in this place, however, is beyond tolerance. You are hereby banned from the Court of Divine Blood."
A hundred whispered comments rippled the air behind us.
Thank them, Theo ordered.
"Thank you for your generosity," I said, trying hard to keep any trace of the sarcasm I felt from lacing my words. I turned to leave, but Disin stopped me.
"You may have passed the fifth trial, Portia Harding, but you have not satisfied us that you do not have some involvement in the death of the virtue named Hope."
"I haven't..." I shook my head, confused. "I don't understand. Doesn't passing the test prove I have a pure heart? How can I have a pure heart and have murdered Hope?"
Disin's lips tightened. "Even purity is subjective to interpretation. What we call a heartless murder, you may truly believe is for the better good. Thus, it is entirely possible that in your mind your heart is pure."
"But..."
"If you did not kill Hope, the onus is upon you to prove who did," Disin interrupted. "Should you fail to do so by the new moon, you will be stripped of the Gift given to you, and banished from the Court forever."
When's the new moon? I asked Theo, more than a little stunned by the mare's demand.
I'm not sure. A week, I think. Perhaps two.
Like we don't have enough to do, now we have to figure out what happened to Hope?
I'm afraid we're not going to have much of a choice.
"I am a physicist, not a detective," I told Disin. "Don't you people have some sort of a police force that would be better suited to investigate her death? Aren't those Hashmallim guys your security people?"
"If you are not responsible for her death, then you are in the best position to determine who did cause it," Disin said dismissively.
"But I have no experience finding murderers - "