Adrianna raised her eyebrows and said with a chuckle, "Inyanga, a cult means that there are very few people who like that belief. So I am sure that even if what you are saying is correct, there are very few people who might be following it. Also, having a tattoo is very common amongst the wizards. In fact I have seen several in this kingdom who have all their bodies covered in tattoos." She scoffed, "It is nothing new. It is possible that these two must have gone to a tattoo parlor together and got it carved on their skins." Adrianna shrugged her shoulders. "I cannot take decisions on the basis that two spies have the same trident tattoo as humans." She sounded irritated thinking how childish Inyanga was. There were more pressing matters to handle. Especially Niiya's removal as the Council Head and the fact that in all the excitement that took place at his house, she forgot to ask him about water purification of the lake. Adrianna pinched the skin in the middle of her eyebrows, a mild headache was beginning to form.
But Inyanga continued. She got up from her place and walked to the window to look at the mountains far in the distance. Her black eyes were focused beyond those when she said, "You see trident is the weapon of Poseidon, the God of Sea. He used it to kill his enemies. Not only that, trident is a weapon of many Gods and deities in mythologies across the world. Its spears symbolize magical powers, wisdom and dominance. It is a symbol of power that is associated with seas and waters and thunderstorms." She paused and twirled a loose strand of her hair. "Now imagine this in a malevolent sense."
Dmitri and Haldir immediately stiffened. Inyanga's theory was getting too dark.
"What do you mean?" asked Dmitri.
"What I am saying is why was the trident inked inverted in these four? Usually, if people ink it on their skin, they get the one, which is pointing up. That is the symbol of power," she emphasized on 'symbol of power'. "It doesn't make sense to draw it upside down!"
She walked up to Adrianna's sofa, made a circle and walked past it. She sat back in her place and looked at her intensely. "A cult has few people not because few people like it, but because those few like to keep things mysterious. They can't go around in public talking about their beliefs. The trident does represent all those powers but those powers can also be associated with a person who actually has magical powers and thinks that he or she is powerful."
Adrianna was getting a headache now. She just wanted to stop it. "This is nothing Inyanga. You are reading a lot between the lines. There are many people who have that inked on their skin," Adrianna said with indifference. She was expecting more intricate information. A group of people with trident tattoos was not important. "I can't understand the importance of your cult theory." She was on the edge and wanted to dismiss her completely. She wanted to know where Shang Kui and Enya were.
But Inyanga overlooked her statement. "The thing is that often cults have this rule. In order to recognize each other, they will have similar tattoos—a kind of a brotherhood tattoo. And amongst the cult members also there is a hierarchy. So while the element of the tattoos is going to be the same, it will have variations in depictions. In this case the tridents were all the same. They all had three lines on the staff but there was a variation. In two members, it was just an inverted trident on the back of their necks, while two others, the same trident was stabbing the beast's neck."
Adrianna shook her head and sighed. She was wondering how to tackle exposing her pregnancy. She remembered how Niiya's mother had seen Dr. Tanaka talking about her condition to someone. This meant that the news must have been already floating there. So if the spies knew about her pregnancy, it was fine because as spies they were supposed to know a lot of things. But it was something else that bothered. Who in the human realm knew about it?
The cult theory had its effect on Dmitri who was horror-struck by now. He interjected, "This is very unpleasant, Inyanga. I am worried about the fact that the two wizards were still quiet about Adrianna's pregnancy? They knew it for some time now."
"Of course, they were quiet. If the Queen hasn't declared that she is pregnant, then how can they say," Inyanga reasoned. "But that's not the thing." She paused to rub her chin. "If they knew about your pregnancy, I feel that there is someone out there who will definitely try to harm you and your baby."
"Then what should we do?" Dmitri was panic-struck.
"First, you cannot move out of the Wizard Kingdom. Second, suppress your enemy at all costs," Inyanga replied like a ruler.
Dmitri looked at Adrianna. "You should've entered the cells of all who were present in Niiya's home." He chided her, "And from now on you are not allowed to go out of the Wizard Realm."
Adrianna rolled her eyes.
"Oh! I entered," said Inyanga excitedly.
Everyone was shocked that she did that in such less time.
Inyanga pursed her lips. "I couldn't help it."
"Did you find anything?" Dmitri asked.
"Yes," she nodded watching Adrianna's agitated looks. "I didn't find anything in the cells but my gaze flickered to a girl standing close to Adrianna who had a similar tattoo on the back of her neck, only this time a man was holding the trident with the beast's neck impaled."
Dmitri's eyes bulged larger than a football field. "Who was this girl?" he asked in a cracked voice.
"I don't know, but her back was turned to Adrianna. I saw the tattoo when she removed her hair aside."
There was silence in the hall.
Adrianna shifted in her place. This was enough. Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked at the garden from the window. The sound of water falling from the fountainhead was audible. She exhaled deeply and said, "Thanks Inyanga. I will take it from here now." That statement stopped Inyanga from speaking any further and she lowered her head.
"Adri, I think that you should take this theory seriously. Even if it is nothing, there is no harm in investigating it," said Dmitri with a grave expression.
"Dmitri, I don't have time to work on theories. I need proof! Has there been any killing associated with the cult members? Has any abduction taken place?" She lashed at him. "Maybe all of us are overthinking a lot after the war. Maybe we should just relax!" Then almost on an impulse, Adrianna summoned Isidorus. He came there within a minute. "Yes, my Queen."
"Arrange a grand feast for all the subjects as victory celebrations. Make sure that each and every wizard and witch visits."
Everyone was stunned. This was a precarious thing she was ordering. What if someone attacked her?
But Adrianna was determined. "This celebration should take place in two days."
"Yes, my Queen," Isidorus replied. Then he asked slowly, "The position of the Military General is lying vacant. I was in a meeting with the ministry people and they were asking about it."
"I will announce it during the grand feast," she said with a poker face.
There are many ministry members who are interested in talking to you regarding the position.
"Let them."
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