Chapter 6
The Price of Truth
Desperate for answers, Bishop contacts Sarai Toho, the notorious information broker whose network stretches into the darkest corners. Their meeting is clandestine, the air thick with unspoken transactions. Sarai, cool and calculating, possesses the intel Bishop needs – names, dates, motives. But her price is steep, demanding not just coin, but a significant 'skin payment.' Bishop, accustomed to such exchanges, agrees, the information’s value outweighing the personal cost. He leaves with fragmented truths, the full scope of the conspiracy still shrouded in dangerous mystery.
Bishop Dark found himself staring at the rain-slicked cobblestones of Whisper, the drizzle doing little to wash away the lingering scent of fear and something far more primal. The werewolves, or what he’d assumed were werewolves, were a puzzle, a snarling, misplaced piece in the grand tapestry of evil he was paid to keep tidy. Grimm, the alpha, was a creature of instinct and fierce loyalty, not the slavering monstrosity the Church’s reports had painted. And the villagers? Their eyes held a different kind of darkness, a flicker of something smug and self-serving that made Bishop’s gut twist more than any lycanthrope’s fang ever could.
He needed answers, and in his line of work, answers rarely came without a price. His usual contacts were either too far away or too squeamish for the kind of dirt he was digging for. That left only one name, a name whispered in hushed tones even by those who dealt in shadows: Sarai Toho. Information broker, dealer in secrets, and a woman whose ledger balanced with more than just gold.
The rendezvous was set for the dead of night, in a forgotten alcove behind the town’s abandoned tannery. The air hung heavy with the stench of decay, a fitting backdrop for the transaction about to take place. Bishop, cloaked and hooded, leaned against the damp brickwork, the Soul Sun blade a comforting weight at his hip. He’d traded with Sarai before, always for information that was too hot, too dangerous, or too inconvenient for the Church to acquire through official channels. And always, the price had been steep.
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