Hunter (10 page)

"Did you sell
me out to Selwyn?" he hissed.

He held her
wrists with one hand, bringing the other down and stroking her
neck.

"What? My
lord?" Pamielle stuttered. Her smile faltering.

"Did you….
Sell me out…. To Selwyn?"

Corvus's grip
tightened around Pamielle's neck. Her flesh was soft, breakable.
Her frail spine hovered just beneath his fingertips, just waiting
to be snapped.

"No, of
course not," Pamielle said, breathless.

Her eyes shot
to the door but it was on the other side of the room and her naked
body was pinned firmly under Corvus's.

"Why don't I
believe you?" Corvus said. "Let me be very clear. I have the wooden
stake which killed Laticia right here."

To
illustrate, Corvus released her neck and reached behind the
fluttering curtain. Bruises bloomed across Pamielle's neck. With
gloved hands he pulled the bloody piece of wood from behind the
curtain and pushed it right up to Pamielle's nose.

Pamielle
squealed and turned her head to the side as far as she could.
"Okay! Yes, I was in Selwyn's coven, but he forced us. Laticia was
there too!"

"Don't you
dare say her name!" Corvus lost control of his anger and shoved the
wooden stake hard against Pamielle's cheek.

She screamed
and it was like music to his ears.

He lifted the
wood away and his eyes flowed over her cheek. Where before her skin
had been flawless, it was now marred by a line of blisters. The
pustules ran from her nose, across her cheek, nearly to her
ear.

"Tell me the
truth or I'll do the other side," Corvus said.

"Yes, I'm
sorry! I sold you out to Selwyn," Pamielle sobbed. "Please let me
go. I'll leave your coven, you can banish me. Just please don't put
that wood on me again."

"Do you know
what sits below this building?" Corvus said. His tone changed and
he placed the wooden stake back behind the curtain.

"N-no, my
lord," Pamielle said.

"A forest,"
Corvus replied.

He shoved his
full weight against Pamielle's body. The glass door shattered and
they were showered with fragments. Both of their bodies were
propelled out onto the balcony.

Pamielle
stumbled backwards. Unable to gain her footing, she glanced over
her shoulder and her eyes widened with fear.

Corvus smiled
at her one last time and with one more almighty shove he pushed her
over the railing. Her back slammed into the metal bar and she
toppled straight over. He rushed to the side to watch her
fall.

She tumbled
through the air like a falling rock. She fell past the many other
balconies, screaming as she went, all the way down to the forest.
The top of a bare pine tree slammed through her body, impaling her.
Its tip protruded out of her blood-soaked stomach and the rest of
her body hung like a macabre ragdoll.

Corvus peered
down at the bloody scene. Her body twitched a few times, before
becoming still. Her naked figure glowed in the moonlight as blood
seeped out of her wounds, dribbled across her stomach and fell down
onto the branches below. Her landing was perfect; he wouldn't even
have to send someone down to make sure she was dead.

He smiled.
Sometimes things just worked.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"I've never seen the like," Officer Watkins said,
his expression grim, as Nova approached.

"Nor me. It's
a nasty business," Inspector Briggles replied.

"Best show me
then," Nova cut in.

Briggles
glanced at her and jutted his chin towards the tall tree. "Got
called in just before dawn."

They were in
the midst of a small plantation. It had been placed in the centre
of the city to give a feeling of 'getting back to nature'. The
trees were mostly hearty pines which cast shadows through the
grassy park. At this time of year much of their foliage had dropped
off and bare twigs branched out in all directions.

Nova wrapped
her jacket tighter around her shoulders. The wind was brisk with
the promise of colder weather on the way. She rubbed her hands
together and followed Briggles's gaze up the nearest tree trunk.
Her eyes traced the jagged wood until she got to the very
top.

Impaled on
the sharp tip of the trunk was a female body. Her spine was bent
backwards and her head, arms and legs hung limply towards the
ground. She was naked and the puncture hole from the tree was
surrounded by a black area of skin soaked in blood. The tree itself
was covered in dried blood. It was as if a giant hand had drizzled
the liquid over the tree like the decoration of a
dessert.

Nova's eyes
widened. "How is this related to the Corvus case?" she
said.

"Initially we
weren't going to bother you; we thought it was probably just a
jumper. But the camera drones we sent up took these." Briggles
thrust a flat computer screen into her hands.

Nova looked
down and her face dropped. To the side of the woman's mouth, out of
view from the ground, was a fat leach. It lolled out just as a
tongue would have done. The black creature was dry and shrivelled,
hanging dead across the woman's face.

The woman
looked familiar. The eyes, the shape of her face, but mostly her
hair, screamed at Nova for recognition. Her mind raced over the
last few days, searching through every face she had seen and every
file she had read.

"The attack
on the station," Nova whispered.

"Yep, facial
recognition confirmed it. This one was part of the coven which
attacked us. She was with Corvus."

"But then
what happened here? Do you think she tried to attack someone and
they managed to push her over a ledge or off the roof?"

"I don't
think so; see here," Briggles poked the picture in Nova's hand and
the image zoomed in to the woman's neck. Purple bruises in the
shape of fingers covered her skin.

"Someone
tried to strangle her," Nova said.

"Maybe. I
think that was done for pain; it was the fall which killed
her."

"Not an
accident then."

"We don't
think so."

"Lecheons
don't often have accidents," Doctor Dunwood said, ducking under the
line of police tape. "This looks much more like a coven
disagreement. She was pushed off the balcony
intentionally."

"The coven
was staying here?" Nova asked.

"I've just
sent – Ah, Peters, you're here. What have you found?" Briggles
said, resting his hand on a young man's shoulder as he came up next
to them.

"They were
here sir; at least twenty of them. They have an ongoing lease of
the penthouse under a false name. They snuck in sometime last night
without anyone noticing. Security found video of them coming up the
service stairs. The manager reckons he didn't know anything about
the investigation. I wouldn't believe him though sir. They left
early in the morning, probably not long after this one's time of
death," Peters said, nodding towards the naked body.

"I want that
penthouse cordoned off; I'll be up there in five minutes," Briggles
said, rubbing his bloodshot eyes.

"Already done
sir, they're waiting for you."

"Excellent,
Peters."

Nova's mind
raced over the conversation. Something had happened in the coven;
there had been a disagreement. They were getting sloppy; a hurried
escape from their penthouse could mean they'd left behind clues of
their new hideout. If they could find out where it was and set up
some kind of trap, then this whole thing would be over and Boullion
Five would be safe again.

Inspector
Briggles marched away from the forest towards the towering set of
apartments. Nova stayed hot on his heels. Her ears were beginning
to sting in the cold air; it would be good to get inside even if it
was to a crime scene.

"Ah,
Inspector. So good of you to come." A man in an expensive suit
hurried over to them. He thrust out his hand first to Briggles,
then to Nova. He looked her up and down and frowned, before turning
his full attention back to the inspector.

"And who are
you?" Briggles said.

"I am Herman
Glib, I own this particular hotel."

"Excellent.
Mister Glib, if you could show us to the penthouse, we'd much
appreciate it."

Herman
glanced again at Nova and then his eyes darted around the rest of
the hotel. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, giving him the
appearance of swaying in a breeze. His face was red and he dabbed
at it from time to time with a small piece of cloth.

Herman Glib
was obviously fond of body modifications. His eyebrows were high up
on his forehead; the look was all the rage among the business
class. Nova thought it rendered the entire business profession
permanently quizzical. He also had enlarged eyes and a shrunken
nose, the very picture of innocence. It was common for business
owners to have these mods; all the business advice books said it
would make you look more trustworthy. Nova had to hide a smirk;
those same advice books always came with a recommended mod agency.
It was no coincidence that the author and the agency had the same
bank account details.

"There's
really not much to see, Inspector. They left it in such a mess, but
there's nothing interesting there, I assure you."

"Hmm. Well,
all the same, Herman, I'm sure you'll appreciate that we need to
see it," Briggles said, his voice stern as he used the man's first
name. "I'm sure you know as well as I do that a warrant is not
required in matters of lecheon security."

Mister Glib
flushed red and glanced around as if checking for anyone listening
in. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead.

"We'll be
discrete," Briggles said.

Herman's
shoulders relaxed. "Of course, Inspector. Please do follow
me."

His face
poured with sweat and he had to dab every few seconds. He led them
across the main lobby, his black shoes tapping against the
tiles.

The lobby was
beautifully decorated with sweeping marble pillars and gilded
designs. A dark rock with white veins running across it served as
the administration desk. The two men behind the counter watched
them with curious eyes as they strode to the elevators. Herman Glib
led them into the lift and scanned his wrist.

"Penthouse,"
he said.

"Of course,
Mister Glib," the automated lift replied.

Chips were
inserted into the wrists of all members of the Human Confederacy.
They functioned as identification cards and credit sticks. They
were capable of tracking and other monitoring functions which Nova
had disabled as soon as she was able. It had been a gruesome job,
opening up her own arm and pulling out the tiny connecting wires
from the chip, then sewing her skin shut with the metal chip still
inside. The last thing she wanted was the Human Confederacy having
a record of all of her travels. Still, the identification component
came in handy from time to time.

"We have
arrived," said the lift as the metal doors slid open.

Herman Glib
led the way down the red-carpeted corridor. It was cream with
chrome decorations. There were windows spaced to either side of the
lift which looked out over the rest of the city and down to the
forest below.

Nova glanced
out and took note of the flying drone which was at that moment
lifting the lecheon off the tree and lowering her to the waiting
paramedics. They laid her body on a stretcher and covered her in a
tarp before wheeling her into a waiting ship. The tree which had
impaled her body was now lost amongst the many others. From this
height it was impossible to see the tell-tale trickles of
blood.

Glib and
Briggles were already at the end of the corridor. Nova quickened
her pace to catch up to them. Her footsteps swallowed by the lush
carpet.

Glib pulled a
key from his pocket and used it to open the door. It swung open to
reveal the pandemonium beyond.

"As I said,
they did leave quite a mess. I do apologise. My cleaning team
haven't been able to get here yet," Glib said. His eyes were wide
as he looked between Briggles and Nova.

"Rest assured
that's the last thing we'd want, Mister Herman. Please leave us; we
can take it from here," Briggles said.

"Of course,
Inspector. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask,"
Herman said, hurrying away from the room.

Nova stepped
into the room and her mouth dropped wide. On any other day it would
have been gorgeous. It was decorated in old-century Earth décor
with deep purple curtains and lush pillows.

"What isn't
that man telling us?" Nova thought out loud.

"It could be
any number of things," Briggles responded as he stepped through the
doorway. "Although I would put my money on one of either two
options. The first is that he's genuinely worried about the state
of this room, that maybe we'll tell people that he keeps a bad
place. The second, and more likely option, is that he knew that
this room was leased by lecheons."