Chapter 471: Vague Dangers
Luke was the one who gave the circle their teleportation rings? Scarcely had the thought entered my mind, and then I swooned, suddenly feeling lightheaded. Had I been standing instead of riding Fable, I undoubtedly would have fallen.
"N-no, that can’t be..." I stammered, my voice breathless. "You don’t think he..."
"Of course not; that’s absurd," Gayron interrupted. His immediate dismissal cut through the irrational fear that gripped me. "Luke wants the utter destruction of the Circle even more than you do. It’s why we attacked Brithlite first."
I let out a pent-up breath, pressing a hand to my chest to calm my racing heart. The relief was so intense that tears welled up in my eyes. But I’d always expected Luke to betray me eventually, hadn’t I? Why was I so afraid of that possibility?
It’s probably just the entanglement. It seemed to be everywhere in my thoughts lately, holding my empathy hostage. I drew in a shaky breath and rubbed my eyes, wiping away the excess moisture.
"Do you have any idea what might have happened then?" Korra asked.
Gayron was quiet for a moment, then sighed and shook his head. His voice was a lot softer than when he spoke to me. "It’s probably Jessia, the Apostle of Secrets. She’s always done her own thing, and I wouldn’t put it past her to go behind our backs to fulfill her own agenda."
"There’s an Apostle of Secrets?" Korra asked, voice tilted in surprise. "Why so abstract? What’s wrong with a good old element every once in a while? Isn’t ice still available?"
Gayron chuckled mirthlessly. "The demons have a peculiar sense of humor. I have no idea what made them choose us, or why they gave us the powers they did. But Jessia’s dangerous, and if she has a hand in this, there’s no saying what kind of trap might be waiting for us if we try to take down the Circle."
"Is there no way to convince her? Could you somehow ask her to leave us alone?" I asked.
"Nothing’s ever easy with Jessia," Gayron said with a grunt. "And even if she’d listen to me–which she never has in the past–I don’t even have a way to contact her. I haven’t seen her for almost a year, now."