A rasping chuckle, like sandpaper scraping, rose from the crow's throat. Then the aged, dry voice of an old woman rang clearly through the room:
"Of course, Ms. Hope. We are not like those lofty gods who demand faith while turning a blind eye to their believers' suffering. We value... transactions. Pay the price and do what we ask, and naturally, you will receive the... reward you deserve. That is fair, is it not?"
Any ordinary student who witnessed this would have been astonished. The crow had actually spoken!
But if Greg had been there, his only response would have been: Sorry, my cat says she's hungry. If there's nothing else, I'll be going.
This clearly was not the first time Audrey had witnessed such a scene. Even so, her body shuddered violently, as though the voice carried icy needles.
She squeezed her eyes shut, then forced them open again, turmoil churning in their depths.
"But... Sylvia Lorraine... that girl..."
Audrey's voice dropped even lower, carrying the instinctive reverence and fear of a believer speaking of her deity:
"The light magic she used during the class placement assessment... that pure power... anyone with eyes could tell that she must be... someone blessed by the goddess. I... as a believer in the Goddess of Light, I would be attacking someone who might have her divine favor... that would be the greatest blasphemy against the goddess! A betrayal of my faith! According to the teachings, my soul would..."
"Faith? Your soul?"
The voice inside the crow's head gave a short, scornful scoff.
"Has your faith freed your son from being branded useless? Have your devout prayers persuaded that supposedly merciful goddess to spare even a single pitying glance for him? Audrey Hope, you know better than anyone what it means to have