The next morning, Alain came down the hotel stairs, only to find Sable and Heather were already seated at a table, talking to each other. He blinked in surprise at the sight of it, but hastily made his way over to them regardless.

  "Hey," he greeted, earning a nod from each of them. "What are you both talking about this morning?"

  "I was just telling your mother about how we ran into my sister the other day," Sable told him. "Since we didn't have much of a chance to discuss that before now. And she told me something curious."

  "Did you really think I'd be that cryptic, Alain?" Heather asked.

  Alain stared at her in confusion for a moment before he registered what she was trying to say, and his eyes widened in understanding. "...Truthfully? No, leaving notes behind like that is not how you usually operate. At the risk of re-opening freshly healed wounds, generally when you go off on your own, you don't tell me.., until recently, that is."

  Heather let out a slow exhale. "...You're not wrong," she admitted. "Still… did it really not occur to you that you were probably being set up?"

  "Oh no, it did," Alain confirmed. "But at the same time, we had to take whatever leads we could get. It was Colonel Stone's men who reported it to us in the first place, and we didn't have a reason to suspect them of being Thralls at the time, so…"

  "And that's another thing," Heather said to him. "How did you know how to find that place to begin with? Someone had to have told you where to look."

  At that, Alain couldn't help but wince. "Yeah, about that… it was a private detective who gave us that so-called lead. Came to see me here late one night and told me about it, and I was both desperate and dumb enough to believe it."

  Again, Heather let out a small sigh. "...At least you know better now," she stated.

  "Yeah, and I don't have to worry about you anymore, either," Alain reminded her. "Speaking of which… we never learned about what happened with your investigation into the massacre at the Freemason lodge. Did you find anything out?"

  "I did, actually," Heather stated. "Truthfully, though, I don't really know what to make of it."

  "Why is that?" Sable asked.

  "Because a lot of stuff revolving around the early American branch of the Freemasons is embellished at best, and complete bullshit at worst," Heather replied. "Seriously. The vast majority of the stories and rumors surrounding them are completely false just at face value, and that means a lot, given the kind of things we usually deal with in this line of work."

  "It can't be that bad."

  Heather gave her a pointed look. "This isn't the first time I've crossed paths with the Freemasons. Believe me, most of the stuff surrounding them is completely fabricated. In truth, they were apparently little more than a society of laborers with some admittedly pretty out-there religious beliefs, which brought them into conflict with the Catholic Church enough that the Church saw fit to institute standing orders to excommunicate anyone associated with the Masons."

  Alain's eyes widened. "Is that going to be a problem for us?"

  "Considering that most of the Freemasons in this city are now dead? I can't imagine it would."

  "Oh, that's-" Alain paused, his eyes widening. "...Hang on, you make it sound like-"

  "A few of them are alive?" Heather finished, crossing her arms. "Because they are. What, you really thought whoever attacked the lodge got them all?" She shook her head. "A few of them managed to get away. And by a few, I mean four that I'm aware of. And of those four, three of them have already left the city, and the fourth is preparing to leave shortly."

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  "I see," Sable replied. "And I take it you've already approached him to ask what he knows?"

  Heather nodded. "Indeed, I did. Unfortunately, he wasn't a high-ranking member, and therefore wasn't able to confirm much of anything for me. I was tempted to chase down the other three, despite them having already left the city, but he confirmed that none of them were any higher-up in the organization than he was, and so I figured it was best not to waste my time."

  "Hold on, hold on," Alain said, holding up a hand to stop her. "I'm a bit lost. What, exactly, was the lead you were chasing regarding the Masons?"

  Heather hesitated. "...This is going to sound crazy," she admitted. "That's partially why I didn't bother pursuing it too hard. Even for the stories about the Freemasons, this was extreme."

  "And yet, you can't seem to let it go," Sable pointed out.

  Heather let out a grunt. "Because, much as I hate to admit it, it's the only real explanation I've found for what happened at the lodge. Somebody wanted those Freemasons dead for a very good reason, and they ransacked the place on their way out, to boot. They were looking for something, and if the rumors I've heard from one of the survivors and the few notes from the lodge I was able to dig up are true, then we'd know if they had it already."

  "And what would that be?" Alain asked.

  Again, Heather paused for a few seconds before letting out another sigh. "...Again, I don't know how much of this I actually believe. It's far-fetched, I'll admit that much, and yet I can't get the idea out of my head… but anyway, to put it simply – it's entirely possible that whoever knocked over the Freemason lodge did so because they're specifically looking for the Holy Grail."

  A heavy silence fell over the room as Alain and Sable both stared at her, the words hanging in the air. Finally, Alain broke the silence.

  "You're kidding," he deadpanned.

  Heather shook her head. "I'm not. I wish I was, but that's the only thing I was able to find between both the few notes I retrieved from the lodge, as well as the rumors from the one survivor. And even he didn't seem to believe it himself; he only threw it out there as a possibility when I pressed him on reasons why someone would want to massacre the lodge."

  "Pardon me, but I'm not sure I understand," Sable said, confused. "What even is the Holy Grail?"

  "You don't know?" Alain asked.

  Sable shook her head. "Christianity is not exactly welcoming to my kind… or, rather, not until recently. I know bits and pieces of its lore, but the smaller parts are lost on me."

  "Right, right… to put it simply, the Holy Grail is believed to be the cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper."

  "As well as the cup used to collect his blood at his crucifixion," Heather added.

  "I see…" Sable answered. "And why would someone want it?"

  "And, for that matter, why would it be here, in the United States of America?" Alain questioned. "Because last I checked, we're a long way from Jerusalem."

  "Both questions have the same answer, unfortunately – I don't know for sure," Heather said, crossing her arms. "From what I've been able to pick up, nobody knows what the Grail is supposed to actually be capable of for sure, and that's assuming it still exists and hasn't been completely lost to history by now. And as for why it would be here, in the United States… the short story I got was that the Knights Templar were in charge of guarding the Grail. However, the Knights Templar was destroyed 500 years ago, and its members either killed or scattered to the winds. Assuming the Grail still exists, it's entirely possible, though admittedly unlikely, that one of the surviving Templars could have seen fit to bring it to the New World. And from there, well… I suppose it's also possible that their descendants would be in charge of guarding it now."

  "So we're going off a story we're not even sure is anything more than a rumor to find an object that may or may not still exist, and if it does, it could quite literally be hidden anywhere in the entire known United States, because it could have been here since the New World was initially discovered several hundred years ago," Alain surmised. "Well, that's just fucking perfect, isn't it?"

  "Yes, I'm sure you understand why I was reluctant to bring this up," Heather told him. "Unfortunately, as you can tell, my investigation hasn't exactly been helpful. I wish I had something more concrete to go off of, but this is all I have for now."

  "Don't feel bad about it," Sable urged. "You did more than anyone could have been expected to do. Besides, like you said, the entire story is far-fetched to begin with. It's certainly possible, I suppose, but it doesn't seem likely to me."

  Alain nodded in agreement, then looked around. "Say, where are Az and Father Michaelson, and Danielle?"

  "Danielle is still asleep," Sable reported. "Az and Father Michaelson are off having another of their talks, as per usual. They have been gone for a while, though – longer than usual, in any case."

  "Hm…" Alain turned to look out a nearby window. "I think we're due in Congress in a bit. Mother, we can fill them in on what you just told us along the way. I know it's a long shot, but they should at least be aware of it."

  Heather and Sable both nodded in agreement, and Alain let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair and fished his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.

  They still had a few minutes before they needed to get going, and he intended to make the most of it all.

  XXX

  As expected, the others had reacted to Heather's story in much the same way Alain himself had. Even Father Michaelson had been incredulous, though he had expressed some excitement at the prospect of the Holy Grail possibly being in the United States, and it had only grown when Az himself had eventually confirmed that the story was possible, though unlikely.

  His excitement had quickly been dashed when Heather had reminded him that if it were true, then whoever was hunting for it was almost certainly closer to obtaining it than they were, but still.

  In any case, they all came filing into the Congressional chambers and settled into their seats together. A short while later, the various Congressmen followed suit, and eventually, Senator Davis and Senator Harding came out and took their seats as well.

  "Let us begin," Senator Harding said. He cleared his throat.

  "Cleo Sable, please approach the stand."

  Alain's eyes widened in shock, as did Sable's. At that moment, the doors to the Congressional chambers opened, and Cleo came striding in, that same smug look on her face as she marched past the Congressmen and the other witnesses. Thorne and the other Tribunal members eyed her with no small amount of trepidation, and Cleo flashed them a predatory grin as she approached the stand.

  "Alain," Sable breathed. "What is she-"

  "I don't know," Alain answered. "But it can't be anything good."

  They all watched as Cleo approached the stand, and then paused. To Alain's surprise, she held up her hand, and Harding began to speak.

  "Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony that you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"