Dawn of Empire (44 page)

“Why did you attack my woman, Natram - zar?”

“I meant to rob her, Noble One. I’m just a thief. I only wanted to steal her purse.” He was pleading now, fear showing in his eyes as they darted back and forth.

“Then you’re a very poor thief, Natram - zar. Her purse was still around her neck.” Esk kar stood up. “Did he have anything on him?”

Bantor stepped forward, holding a small leather pouch, much worn and repaired, that contained five copper coins as well as other odds and ends, and the man’s knife as well.

Esk kar took it, tightening his lips at the sight of Trella’s blood. A good weapon, the copper blade fit perfectly into a carved and curved wooden handle. Small and well made, it wasn’t a soldier’s weapon, but perfect to hide under a tunic for a quiet murder. Much too good a weapon for a common thief. Of course, he could have stolen it from some wealthy victim.

“Nothing else?”

“Nothing, Captain. Only this purse and the knife.”

“Stand him up, then cut off his clothes.” The man started to complain, but the guards lifted him up, ignoring his protests that quickly turned into moans of pain. In moments, they’d stripped him bare, and his clothes lay in a heap around him, including the dirty and reeking undergarment where the man had pissed himself in fear.

Using the man’s knife Esk kar poked through the clothes. He almost missed a small pocket, sewn closed, that ran lengthwise along the bottom hem of the tunic. Esk kar sliced open the threads and heard the faint clink of coins. Each coin had been wrapped in a bit of cloth to muffle the sound.

Esk kar counted ten gold coins, all flickering bright in the torchlight.

He looked at each disc, but they were all well handled and worn, with the different marks of various merchants and nobles. He checked the rest of the clothes, but found nothing. The gold told its own story—a murder for hire.

Standing, he faced Natram - zar. “You’ve lied to me once. Don’t make that mistake again. If you want to avoid the fire, you’ll speak the truth.”

Esk kar heard Gatus call his name. “What is it?”

“Many of the nobles are in the street. Nicar and the others wish to enter, but I’ve kept everyone out as you ordered. Also, the men guarding the walls heard something in the darkness. When they went to search, they found a horse tethered to a rock three hundred paces from the wall.

Whoever was with the animal disappeared in the darkness. It’s a fine beast, loaded with food and a water skin.”

I should have anticipated that. The murderer would need to escape quickly after
his deed.

Now the nobles waited outside. Esk kar wasn’t sure whether he wanted them here or not, especially when it could have been Nestor who paid the man. Nevertheless, if he didn’t have them present when the man confessed, they might not believe Esk kar’s witnesses. Damn the gods.

“Bantor, find out who knows the horse, who owns it, where it came from. I doubt if this fi lth kept a good horse stabled in the village for days, but if so, somebody will know him.”

Esk kar looked toward Gatus, still waiting. “Allow in only the heads of the Families, no one else. If they don’t want to come in, don’t make them.”

Esk kar turned back to the prisoner. “Ready to speak, Natram - zar? The time for lies is past.”

“Noble One, I’m just a thief.” His voice sounded hoarse from dryness and pain.

“Tie him between the trees and spread his legs well apart. Bring fire from the house. And plenty of wood.”

Natram - zar cried out as the men holding his arms started to drag him away. One of the guards dropped his arm for a moment, stepped in front of the prisoner, and punched him savagely in the stomach, the force of the blow doubling the prisoner over. “Keep silent, dog, or you get another.”

They secured the prisoner between the two small trees, spreading his arms wide apart and tying them to the largest branches. Then they tied the man’s ankles, spread - eagling his legs and fastening them to the base of each tree. They pulled each rope tight. When they finished, Natram - zar hung there helplessly, unable to do more than twitch.

While this went on, the heads of the Families came in, looking un-nerved, the sight of the naked man reinforcing their apprehension.

“Just in time, Nobles,” Esk kar began. “This man tried to kill Trella, and only a boy with quick wits and a loud tongue saved her life. The dog was captured in the act. His name is Natram - zar. He had those ten gold coins lying at his feet sewn in his tunic and a horse waiting for him outside the walls. Any of you know this man?”

The sight of the coins gleaming in the torchlight changed everything.

No thief could have such an amount, and only the nobles and a few of the wealthier merchants could afford such a sum for a hired killing. And no thief carrying that much gold would risk his life for a slave girl’s meager purse, not even if the slave were Trella.

Esk kar watched Nestor, but the old man seemed as shocked as the rest.

Nicar, Decca, Rebba, and Corio all looked blankly at Esk kar. Nicar found his voice first. “Who paid him to do this? Why would anyone want to hurt Trella?”

“You will all wait over there and say nothing,” Esk kar ordered, his voice hard. “Not a word.”

He glanced at Gatus, who had little love for any of the nobles. “Gatus, escort the nobles to the side of the house where they can see and hear everything. Make sure they say nothing.” From there, the prisoner could not see them.

By now Natram - zar had gotten his breath back and he lifted his head.

A wide clay bowl, packed full of wood and a few chunks of coal, was placed on the ground before him. Another man came from the house, carrying three burning coals on a clay shard. He dumped them into the bowl and began building the fire, moving chunks of wood atop the coals. In moments, a small fire burned steadily.

Esk kar reached down and held his hand over the low flames. The heat rose to his hand, and he withdrew it.

“Warm him up a little.” Maldar knelt down and pushed the fire between Natram - zar’s legs. With his legs spread apart, the top of the flames reached within a foot of his testicles.

Natram - zar screamed as soon as the first warmth reached his genitals, long before the heat could have affected him. He struggled to move his body aside, but the men on either side of him used their knees to push his body back, keeping him centered over the flames. Maldar tossed more wood chips on the fire. The flames reached even higher.

Esk kar waited patiently, watching the fire’s glow, watching the man as he jerked his body back and forth in a frenzy, trying to move his groin out of the path of the heat building up beneath him, trying to pull his genitals up into his body.

But Natram - zar’s frantic exertions quickly tired him. He had to slump against the ropes, which once again positioned him directly over the low flames. In a moment, the pain made him stretch upright, twitching and jerking once again, until exhaustion brought him back to the flames and the process repeated itself.

Esk kar let it go on for a while, while Maldar made sure the flames didn’t lessen. The screams came without ceasing now and Esk kar knew the sound would be heard many streets away. From out in the lane came the sound of cheers as the crowd guessed what was happening.

When the smell of burning flesh started to rise, Esk kar nodded to Maldar, who pulled the bowl forward, removing most of the heat. The prisoner slumped limply from the ropes, the hair scorched away from his thighs, his genitals a deep red from the heat.

Esk kar stepped forward. “Who hired you to kill Trella? Talk now, or go back into the flames.”

The man moaned as pain continued to shoot through his body. Blood flowed from his mouth where he had bitten his lip. “Mercy, Noble … mercy! I’m just a thief !”

“Back into the fire.” Esk kar stepped away, and Maldar returned the bowl underneath the prisoner, bringing the flames back into position, before tossing more wood chunks on the fi re. The top of the fl ames rose up to nearly touch the man’s body.

The assassin’s screams split the night air, loud enough to be heard throughout Orak. Jerking about, his cries for mercy echoed off the walls that surrounded him. Natram - zar must have known he was going to die, but that didn’t matter anymore, only that the pain stop.

Esk kar gave the signal to stop. “Give him water, then we’ll hear what he says.” A soldier brought a ladle of water from the well and held it to the man’s lips.

“Now, talk, and if you lie, you go back into the flames. And speak up, so all can hear your words.”

Natram - zar sucked in gulps of air before he could speak, then his voice croaked with pain and fear. “It was Caldor. Caldor paid me. Caldor, son of Nicar. I was only doing what the nobles wanted.” His voice trailed off and tears streamed down his cheeks.

A murmur of disbelief ran through the men in the courtyard, while Nicar cried from the wall, “No! It can’t be true.”

Even Esk kar felt surprise. He expected the man to name Nestor as the one who hired him. That was foolish. Of course Nestor wouldn’t want Trella killed. He might want Esk kar out of the way, but he had no grudge against Trella. He’d been more than kind to her at all their meetings. But Caldor? Could he be that stupid? A wave of anger went through Esk kar.

This was his fault. He should have taken care of Caldor sooner.

“Who else, Natram - zar, who else?” Esk kar grabbed the man by the shoulder and shook him. “Speak, or I’ll put you back in the fire!”

The words poured from Natram - zar. Now he would do anything to avoid the flames. “Nobody else … only Caldor … and his servant, Loki.

They approached me in the tavern … asked what I would do for gold, a lot of gold. He offered me … ten gold coins to kill her. I told him I’d need a horse … to escape, so he gave me twelve silver coins for that as well.”

“Where did you buy the horse? Who sold it to you?”

The wretched man mumbled the name of Zanar, a liveryman. “Send someone for him, Gatus. Hold him in the street outside and have him describe the man who bought the horse, when he bought it, and how much he paid.”

Esk kar turned back to the would - be assassin, who trembled uncontrollably. The smell of Natram - zar’s burning flesh hung in the air. “If the liveryman’s story differs from yours I’ll put every part of your body in the flames, piece by piece. Now tell me! Why did Caldor want Trella killed?”

“He said it was for the good of Orak. I don’t know why.” Natram - zar saw the black look on Esk kar’s face and screamed again. “I don’t know! I asked, but that’s all he would tell me. I swear it.” The man began to sob.

Esk kar had no doubt that he spoke the truth. “When did all this happen?” He had to shake the man hard to stop the sobbing. “Tell me the day and the hour!”

“Three days ago, Noble … in the tavern of Dadaius. I swear it. He gave me the gold and told me never speak to him again. Only Loki, when he brought the silver for the horse.”

Esk kar asked a few more questions. The man had lived in Orak for less than two months, avoiding the work gangs and living off his wits and his knife.

Leaving Natram - zar hanging there, Esk kar walked over to the nobles.

They looked ashen - faced after watching the torture, their fear plainly visible. Their guards remained in the street outside. The nobles were at Eskkar’s mercy. He could kill all of them, and no man would protest.

“Not pleasant to watch, is it, Nobles? A man tortured for information.

It’s easy to sit in a tavern and pay someone to murder, but not to watch death take a man. And it takes a special coward to pay for the murder of a woman.”

They flinched at his words, but he no longer cared what they thought of him. He stepped in front of Nicar. “Where is Caldor, Nicar?”

Nicar appeared incapable of speech, just shaking his head.

Esk kar turned to Sisuthros. “Find Caldor. If he’s not in the street outside, he’s probably at home. And the servant, Loki. Make sure you search Nicar’s house thoroughly. There may be hiding places within the walls or floors. Tear it down if you have to, but find him.”

Nicar tried to protest, stepping toward Esk kar, but Gatus shoved him back so hard that he bounced off the side of the house. “Stay where you are, Noble. Unless you wish to join your friend over there.”

Esk kar knew how fond Gatus was of Trella. The old soldier would be more than willing to kill anyone who’d tried to hurt her.

“Bantor, make sure nobody leaves the village, and keep the extra guards on the walls all night. I want a horse patrol to ride out first thing in the morning to run down whoever held the horse. We’ll get his name from Natram - zar. I want him caught. Have the trackers ride out at first light.”

“Well, Nobles,” Esk kar faced them again, “is there anyone else who knows anything about this among you?” He stood directly in front of Corio. “Answer me!”

“Captain, I swear I know nothing about this. I like Trella, you know that. I would never try to hurt her.”

Esk kar repeated the question before the others, getting the same answer, until he came to Nestor. “Well, Noble Nestor, what of you? Do you know anything about this?”

Nestor shook his head. “Captain, I know nothing about this. Nothing, I swear it by all the gods. I would never harm Trella.”

Staring into Nestor’s eyes and trying to read his thoughts, Esk kar felt tempted to believe him. The man hadn’t said anything to deny that he might bribe a man to kill the captain of the guard, but Trella was a different story.

Disgusted with them all, Esk kar stepped away. He wanted to think, and it would take a while before they found Caldor. He turned to his men.

“Keep them here. Gatus, come with me.”

Esk kar left the nobles standing there while he went into the house, Gatus following. Inside, he stopped and gripped the old soldier’s arm. “Watch them, Gatus. I don’t want any of them speaking to each other or sending messages to anyone. Have your men with them at all times.”

Gatus nodded and returned to watch over the nobles.

Inside the house, Esk kar found the big dining table cleared. The servants had finished washing it down, and now they scrubbed the blood from the floor. They looked up as Esk kar entered but his grim face turned their eyes quickly back to their work.