“Fine, forget I ever said anything.” I waved my hand around casually, dismissing the topic. “Let’s talk about the healers you and Tarak invited into the prison without telling anyone.”
“As I told Korey and the Tribunal, they are unrelated to this. I vetted them personally. When Tarak came to me, disappointed Mygi could do nothing to help Wesley, I reached out to several smaller groups, traveling healer teams. The one I chose seemed to understand the best and were willing to help, even at risk to themselves, where no one else was.” He was pissed off now, which was okay with me. “They are a non-issue, and I will take the reprimand the Tribunal decides to give.”
“You let this healer and his team see other inmates,” I reminded him. “Any reason for that?”
“I wanted to see if he could help the therapy we did with many of our patients. I’ve spent years trying to help the supernaturals here by finding the root of their problems and using that to put them on the right path. Years, Kaliya. Have you ever been so dedicated to something, you would take risks?”
“Oh, yes.” I nodded slowly. “I’m one of nine living naga. I know all too well about risking everything to protect an ideal. I do it every day, out here in the real world instead of a naga compound. I do it every time I go on an assignment. Every time I perform an execution for the Tribunal, upholding the Law that also protects my people. I do it to put the fear of the gods into anyone who might try their luck, toying with me or any other of my kind.”
He went very still.
“What did he blackmail you with?” I asked gently. “What was it, Eliphas?”
“He paid me to see some of the patients. We kept it very quiet. He would go in, perform a couple of blood tests, take samples. That was all. Nothing more.”
“And yet, it broke rules, didn’t it? You were subjecting prisoners to medical procedures against their will, and they could tell people you were corrupt. He could tell people you were corrupt.”
“How…how did you know?” He slowly stood and brought his hands together, pleading. “You must understand. He was going to stop all the good work he was doing with Wesley, and I knew that would hurt Tarak. Wesley didn’t belong here, and we all wanted to help him. He just wanted more access in exchange for that help. It started small and…”
I didn’t need a werewolf’s nose to know that was a lie. He got greedy. A little money, and no one would have to know. He was too smart to get caught. Eliphas was always fucking full of himself, and his attempt earlier to throw his political might at me only proved it.
“Then it grew bigger and got out of your control,” I finished. “I get it. So, things escalated. You kept it from Tarak and the others in the prison. You couldn’t stop it, right? You thought what he wanted was harmless, so why not? Those prisoners would probably never see the light of day, or no one would ever believe them.”
“He manipulated their memories. They didn’t know.”
“Even worse,” I said. “You know, for years, I walked into this prison and had no sympathy for any of the inmates. None at all. I knew they would all end up on the wrong end of me or some other Executioner, eventually. They never cleaned up their act for long, and we don’t often get second chances. But you know what this entire thing has taught me? Or rather, reminded me of since it really is a lesson I should have already known.”
“What?”
“The monsters aren’t always the ones in the cage,” I finished coolly. “Now, let’s stop with the lies, and I’ll tell you my version of the story.”
He scowled, but I wasn’t shaken. The wheels were turning in his mind to find a way to talk himself out of this. He wouldn’t give up hope until the very last moment. In his mind, it would be easier to talk me out of killing than it would be explaining my death to the Tribunal.
“You brought this guy in to help Wesley. Sure, we can run with that. Tarak would have never agreed to help keep him a secret otherwise.” I touched something on one of his shelves, looking over the odd little figurine. Something from a distant land I wasn’t completely familiar with—human in