"Excellent!" Voldemort nodded in satisfaction. "Circe, you're far more sincere than Herpo."
He stared at the tense Circe. "As a sincere guest, I hope you can give me a reason..."
"Tell me... why, at such a critical time today, when Severus needed you, weren't you here?"
Circe felt sweat soaking her back, as though it would drench her robes.
"Because... because over in Canaan..." She swallowed hard and answered with some difficulty, "there were some matters that required my attention..."
"I was inciting those Muggles... making them slaughter one another... throwing the whole world into chaos... Handling this properly... took some time."
"Oh, so that was it..." Voldemort nodded. "Circe, you truly are sincere."
"If you were handling proper business, then being late... could be considered understandable. Don't you think?"
"Of course!" Circe agreed without hesitation. "The moment I learned that you needed me, that your servant needed me, I came back immediately!"
"Oh?" Voldemort raised an eyebrow. "How did you know about this?"
"I recall..." As he toyed with his wand, he thought back over what had happened earlier. "Herpo seemed perfectly normal the entire time. When did he contact you?"
Since Voldemort had pressed this far, Circe could only continue. "It was not long ago..."
Her gaze fell upon Voldemort's wand as she weighed what she should do next.
She soon had her answer. Rather than let herself be tortured by the Cruciatus Curse, she might as well reveal the secret.
"It was not long ago..." She took a deep breath and continued, "He communicated with me through a certain kind of magic. This magic can transmit thoughts directly, without any need for verbal communication."
After saying that, she actually felt much more at ease.
After all, Herpo was the "Shepherd" of the Isaiah Society. These matters had