Freelance Heroics (42 page)

Mazik nodded.

“It could be anyone. It depends on why Rhea’s doing this. Maybe she was paid off, and she isn’t the only one.” Gavi glanced at Hyra and Caspian. “No offense.”

Caspian waved her away. “None taken.”

“But is there a way to find out even if someone was?” Mazik’s question was greeted with frowns. He nodded. “Yeah, I thought so. I mean, if the Noble Hunt dropped off a big bag of money, that would be a good hint, but they would probably deposit it in a bank for whoever. We’d have to know which one. Actually, do Nijāst even use banks?”

“Not many,” said Hyra. “The village has accounts at several, though. The Adāst visit them for us.”

Mazik grunted. “But no way to know if anyone has a personal account without asking each bank, and they wouldn’t tell us anyway. Bad for business.”

“What about the Adāst?” asked Gavi. “They’re the ones who most often leave the village, right? Wouldn’t they be in the best position to guide someone back here?”

“Potentially, but no one person knows how to get here.” Caspian blew on his tea. “They’d need several to do it. And some of the Adāst don’t actually make it to the towns in the outside world, so they presumably wouldn’t have a chance to interact with them.”

“But Rhea would have access to them all at some point, right?” asked Mazik.

Caspian nodded. “Aye.”

“So possible, but difficult. We also have no proof, and I’m not sure how to get it, though maybe we should talk to some of them.”

The others nodded. Gavi wrote this down on her notepad. They all thought about it for longer.

“What about a grudge?” asked Mazik. “Did Rhea have a grudge against the village? Or did General Ordwinn? Or anyone else?”

“Or did anyone just want to leave the village?” asked Gavi.

“Nothing this big,” said Caspian. “No grudge, I mean. Nothing that I know about, at any rate. And if anyone wanted to leave the village, they can anytime. That’s why we have the herēst—the trip we all take into the outside world,” he added, seeing Raedren’s confusion.

Hyra raised her hand. “Not everyone can leave.” Caspian began to apologize, but she waved him into silence. “Don’t worry. I really don’t have any desire to. I knew I wouldn’t be able to leave when I took this position, and I didn’t hesitate. My point was just that there are some of us who can’t, or can’t yet. People your age or younger, for instance.”

“Yeah, but my herēst is coming up. I can’t imagine someone who would be so impatient to get out of here that they’d bring the Noble Hunt down on all their family and friends.”

“If that’s the case, then you don’t know the first thing about human nature, kid.” Mazik took a sip of his tea, trying to project his best jaded veteran visage. “Though I hope for your people’s sake that you’re right.”

Caspian didn’t look like he appreciated being talked down to. Mazik smiled to make it clear he was joking.

No one spoke for a while. Mazik tried to look like he was wracking his brain, though in truth, he wasn’t. He was hoping someone else would come up with an idea. He looked around the room. Raedren was to his right, with Hyra standing behind him, sipping at her tea. Gavi was to his left, fiddling with her arrowhead charm. Caspian was on the floor, looking at the ceiling again. He looked at the empty chair across from him where Hyra could have sat. He glanced at the open doorway behind it, and the rest of the kennel beyond.

Mazik’s eyes fell on the dark stain beside the wall, visible from where he sat. The floor had been scrubbed where the breeder had died, but not yet well enough to remove all traces. The flowers that had been there several days ago had been replaced, multiple times, but there were fewer of them now. The Noble Hunt had made it too perilous to venture into the forest to pick more.

A thought tickled the back of Mazik’s mind. He turned it over, prodding, deciding whether it bore mentioning. He decided it did.

“What about her?” Mazik pointed at the bloodstain. “Why was she killed when the other breeders weren’t?”

“Because she rang the bell,” said Caspian. “That stopped them from stealing more spellhounds, or having enough time to capture Effami.” He looked up at Hyra. “Right?”

She nodded.

“Okay, so she resisted. But wasn’t there another breeder awake at the time?”

Hyra settled into the chair across from Mazik. “Yes. Doftenya was awake.”

“Was she—she?—hurt as well?”

“Somewhat. Not as much as Velius, though.”

“Do we know if Velius was hurt more than Doftenya before she rang the bell and was killed?”

Hyra chewed on her lower lip. “She might have been. Doftenya said that they attacked Velius first, and Velius wasn’t weak. It would have taken some time to get past her barriers.”

Mazik leaned forward. “Here’s what I’m really curious about. Did Rhea attack any of you personally? And if so, do you know if she was the one who killed Velius?”

Hyra was clearly uncomfortable. “She did attack us, yes. I don’t know who killed Velius, though.”

Mazik scratched his chin. “So why only her . . .” He looked up from the table. “Did Rhea have a good relationship with the dead breeder?”

Hyra considered the question before answering. “As good as anyone, yes, and better than most. I never saw them fight, and Velius was one of her more senior breeders. She even went to Rhea’s house on occasion, if there was an early birth or another emergency. I always thought she trusted her.”

“I did find evidence that she had been in Rhea’s and the general’s house,” confirmed Caspian. “Her and several other breeders, along with friends and family. Nothing surprising.”

“So your traitor killed someone, or was at least complicit in killing someone, that she knew well, worked with often, and apparently liked.” Mazik swished his tea around in its cup. “That seems odd to me. Does that seem odd to anyone else?”

“She could have just been crazy,” said Caspian.

“Yeah, but that’s not helpful,” retorted Mazik.

“You’re thinking there might be a reason why Velius in particular was killed,” said Gavi.

Mazik drained the rest of his tea and stood up. “I think we should look into it, just in case.”

Gavi examined the building Caspian had led them to. From a distance it looked like every other building in the Nijāst village, but whereas the one Gavi and her friends were staying in was divided into two apartments, one on each floor, this one had six.

Velius’s next-door neighbor opened the door for them. “Here you go,” she said, stepping to the side. “Everything is still mostly as it was when—” She cleared her throat. “When she passed. Her parents have packed up a few things, but they’ve been busy.”

Gavi gave the woman a supportive smile. The neighbor was in her mid-twenties, just like the deceased breeder, not to mention Gavi herself. “We understand. Do you mind if we go in?”

Mazik paused, already two steps into the apartment. “Er, yes. Is it all right?”

The neighbor nodded. “Take your time. Fetch me when you’re finished.”

Gavi entered. The apartment had two rooms, though it might as well have had one, since there was no door separating them. First was the dining area. Gavi saw a small icebox in the corner, a table large enough for two people at best, a tiny counter, and a cabinet along one wall. The room was decorated sparingly but well, including an empty vase on the table, a basket of aromatics, and several wall scrolls.

“See anything?” asked Mazik. He peeked into a box on one of the dining chairs.

Caspian muttered a spell, and then held the patch he used to focus his magick up to his eye, so he could see through the hole in the center. He slowly turned his head, sweeping the room.

“How does that work?” asked Gavi. “I thought you needed a sample.”

“That makes it easier, but it’s not necessary.” Caspian kept sweeping the room. “This helps me uncover potential clues. It creates these colors all over the place, a different one for each potential target. If I focus on one, I can isolate the tracks of that individual.” He squinted, and then began swearing emphatically. “I wish I had thought of this earlier. Too many people have been in here since she died.”

“Maybe there’s a brush or something in her powder room.” Mazik headed for the open doorway.

“Hold on.” Gavi held a hand to his chest. She looked at Caspian. “Would it be better if you go first? Before we leave our own tracks in the room.”

“Yes, that’s a good idea. Thanks.”

While Caspian stood in the doorway and examined the room, Gavi and Mazik looked over his shoulders. The dead breeder’s bedroom was even smaller than her dining room. Her bed took up most of it, though there was a tall dresser in one corner and an empty desk under the window. There was a hastily packed box on the desk, but everything else—the scrolls, the curtains, even the bedding—remained.

“Interesting.” Caspian lowered the patch. “Could one of you get the neighbor?”

“What’d you find?” asked Mazik.

Caspian nodded at the bed. “There are two different colors on that bed. One’s there more than the other, but the second is there a lot.” He slid through the cramped room and through the doorway on the opposite side. It was the only room in the apartment with a door.

“Ah, yes.” He emerged with a brush, and put the patch to his eye. He looked between it and the bed. “Same color.” He plucked a hair off the brush and set the brush aside. He clutched the hair to his patch and chanted a spell. The patch glowed, but didn’t move. He nodded sadly. “That’s her. This magick won’t track a corpse.”

“Did she have a boyfriend?” asked Gavi.

“Not to my knowledge. Hence why I want to talk to her neighbor.”

“Don’t be getting snippy on us now, kid. We’re onto something!” Mazik ducked back into the dining room and pounded on the wall.

“Other wall, Maz,” Gavi said over her shoulder.

“Oh. Whoops.”

While Mazik went to get the correct neighbor, Gavi entered the room. She opened the wardrobe and ran her hand through the hanging clothes. She checked the shelves and floor. Nothing suspicious. She moved to the desk. It had no drawers, and the desktop was empty save for the box. She opened it and sifted through its contents. There were paperweights, pencil cups, scrap paper, small statues . . .

Mazik returned with the neighbor. His clothing rustled as he bowed to Caspian. “I’ve brought her, master.”

Gavi spoke before Caspian could retort. “Sorry for dragging you over here again.” Gavi remained where she was, her back to the others, staring into the opened box. “I apologize if this is too invasive, but do you know if Velius had a boyfriend or a fiancé?”

The neighbor hesitated. Gavi turned in time to see Mazik’s back straighten. Probably because he had recognized, as Gavi had, what that pause meant. “What is it?” he asked gently. “Please, tell us. It could be important.”

Still, the neighbor hesitated. She looked between them, finally stopping on Caspian. He nodded.

“No, she didn’t have an official boyfriend. She did have a . . . regular visitor, though.” The neighbor paused, seemingly searching for the right words. “They were trying to keep it quiet, I realized. I asked her about it once, early on, and she was evasive. She asked why I thought she was dating anyone.” The neighbor smiled sadly and tapped the wall. “The walls are thin. But I didn’t tell her that. I said I was just making conversation.”

“Iiiiinteresting.” Mazik looked like he was suppressing a triumphant grin. “Caspian my friend, what do you say we use that marvelous little magick of yours to find out who she was sleeping with? I have a feeling it might lead us someplace interesting.”

Gavi looked into the box, and at the two ornate, lacquered bells she had uncovered. “I think you’re right.”

It didn’t take long for Mazik, Gavi, and Caspian to once again find themselves standing in front of General Ordwinn’s house. Despite the noon sun high overhead, it suddenly looked menacing.

Caspian stepped from side to side, testing to see if the spell was pointing at one of the guards, but it didn’t appear to be. No matter where he moved, the glowing patch pointed inside the building.

“You know, suddenly I’m reconsidering my stance on how he probably didn’t do it.” Mazik adjusted his belt, making sure the black dagger sheathed there could be drawn easily. “Potential motive has been established.”

Gavi didn’t say anything. But Caspian, who was practically vibrating with self-righteous anger, was already storming up to the door. They followed.

Mazik muscled his way past the guards and entered the house first. “General Ordwinn! We’d like to have a word with you.”

The general looked up from his book. He was seated at the dining table, wearing a pair of reading glasses. He set them aside. “What can I do for you?”

Mazik opened his mouth, and almost bit off his tongue when Caspian tried to shove past him. Mazik clamped his hand over Caspian’s face and flashed General Ordwinn a sticky sweet smile. “One moment, please.”

He spun and got within centimeters of Caspian’s nose. Mazik hissed. “Will you calm down? I’ll do the questioning. You’re too riled up.”

Caspian looked like he wanted to argue, but a warning hand from Gavi calmed him down enough to stop his struggling. Instead, the young Nijāst raised his glowing patch and strafed from side to side. No matter where he went, the patch pointed at Ordwinn. His lips curled.

“General,” said Mazik, with a voice he hoped was calm and a grin he hoped was thoroughly aggravating. “You were sleeping with Velius, the breeder who was killed in the initial attack. Would you like to tell us anything about that?”

Despite his seeming confidence, Mazik hadn’t been sure how this confrontation would go. That’s why he had a spell ready to fire, and Gavi’s hand was on her sword. But the general didn’t attack, nor did he try to run. Instead he froze for a heartbeat, and then collapsed into his chair. He took a long, shuddering breath and covered his face with his hands.

Gavi relaxed as the general’s shoulders shook, but Mazik stayed alert. “It could be an act,” he hissed to her. He raised his voice. “General?”