Chapter 9 #3
I suck in a breath, sharing her impatience. The sooner I’m out of this stuffy room, the better.
“The basics you already know. The knife I described to you at the last meeting—that’s the weapon that killed her. She didn’t see who did it. She says she felt a blast of wind right before she was stabbed, so it’s possible the murderer has a gift involving weather and used it to distract her.”
“And the temple you mentioned?” Alek says.
“She was on her way to check it for signs of collusion with the scourge sorcerers when she was murdered. So she assumes it is involved somehow, that the conspirators found out she was going there and decided it was better to kill her first.”
Stavros rubs his jaw. “I gave a friend on the Crown’s Watch an excuse to have someone keeping an eye on that area the past couple of days. So far they haven’t noticed any unusual activity.”
I shrug. “I can only tell you what I know. Maybe the would-be sorcerers warned the person at the temple who’s been helping them and they’re being extra careful now. Or maybe it was something else that made them worried about Julita.”
Benedikt ambles through the room, tapping his lips in an erratic rhythm. “Did she tell anyone where she was going?”
I pause to give Julita time to answer.
Of course not. But I was working my way through all the temples on the outskirts of the city. They might have been able to predict where I was going next.
“No, but they might have guessed based on where she went before,” I supply.
“Did she notice anyone in particular nearby when she left the college?” Casimir asks.
At Julita’s No, I shake my head.
Stavros looks at me. “Did you see anyone around when you found her body?”
“No. The street was empty, and there was no one else in the alley. But I wasn’t right there. There was time for someone to have taken off down the alley before I reached her.”
Alek hesitates before speaking up again. “What happened to her body? Why hasn’t it been found?”
I can answer that one too. “I did a little poking around through my less-than-savory connections. It seems the major criminal elements in the city were concerned that the murder of a noble in their streets would bring unwanted attention, so they cleaned things up. But it sounded as if the murder was random, as far as they were concerned. Really, if any of the black-market lords were involved, there wouldn’t have been a body for me to find. ”
As Stavros grunts in response, Casimir offers me a slight but warm smile. “You know, you might not have the typical noble cadence, but you don’t sound like you’re fringe-born either.”
My jaw tightens. “I do a lot of reading. It expands one’s vocabulary, I hear.”
I’m not going to share any details of my childhood when I don’t have to.
“A well-read thief!” Stavros says. “Even better. Which specific alley did the murder happen in?”
While I tell him the nearest streets, Julita’s presence shifts restlessly. I wish there was something else I could tell them. Here I am, evidence of the most obvious crime these degenerates have committed, and I can’t even give the Crown’s Watch proof!
The men don’t seem to know what else to prod her about either. But in their momentary silence, I remember my peace offering.
I reach back through my memory for the names I got out of the Crow’s Close apothecary last night.
“I did also take the time to do some looking into the dartling eggshell powder you were trying to track down. Someone involved in underground dealings was able to give me the names of three shops that he sometimes provides a supply to for selling unofficially.”
Alek’s eyes brighten. “What were those?”
I rattle off the three names, and his gaze goes briefly distant as he must commit the information to memory. I suppose like me he has his reasons for not wanting to keep a written record of this particular endeavor.
Benedikt gives me a bemused look. “You decided to chase down that fact out of the blue?”
“Not out of the blue. Julita explained why it was significant. I was already asking around about her murder. I figured I might as well check that too, since it could make a difference.”
All at once, Casimir’s smile widens. “Yes, it could. And Inganne has blessed me with a fantastic idea.”
I look at him warily. “What?”
“Julita could pick up on all kinds of clues that we couldn’t because of her observations of her brother’s attempted rituals,” he says.
“Without her, the rest of us wouldn’t have realized the problem in the first place.
I don’t know how far we’ll get without her. But we don’t have to be without her.”
Benedikt lets out a sputter of a chuckle as he spins toward the other man. “You can’t really be suggesting—”
Casimir splays his slender hands. “Why not? She’s still here. She and Ivy are obviously getting along reasonably well. And Ivy played noble well enough that we all believed it during our first meeting. If we can set her up in the school, she can keep investigating with us.”
He glances back at me, his eyes sparkling eagerly. “You said there’s only so much you can do—but you can do this too. It could make a huge difference.”
Alek frowns. “We do need to catch the conspirators as quickly as possible. I don’t like how much the daimon are already acting up around the school. But we can’t enroll a new student out of nowhere with no credentials or family history.”
“She doesn’t have to be a student.” Casimir snaps his fingers. “Stav, you were about to put out a call for a new assistant. Take Ivy on. That gives her every excuse to roam the college.”
“I suppose I could adjust the right records so anyone else who looks would see a family with a daughter named Ivy living in Nikodi…” Alek says hesitantly.
I open my mouth to protest, but the former general beats me to it. “Hold on a second. I need an assistant who can actually assist, not some scrawny Slaughterwell street rat.”
Just like that, I’m bristling. “I’ll have you know I could have stabbed you a dozen times already if I wasn’t being nice.”
Stavros snorts. “Maybe you’d like to think so.”
If he had any idea the men twice my size I’ve had to fend off, the aim and reflexes I’ve spent years honing. He’s faced the danger of warfare, sure, but he has no clue what it’s like battling just to stay alive when you have nothing.
Er, Ivy… Julita says. You do remember he’s one of the most celebrated soldiers in the kingdom, right?
Oh, I haven’t forgotten for a second.
“You want to try me?” I retort, my fingers itching for my nearest knife.
A gleam feral enough to be unnerving lights in Stavros’s eyes. “Really? If you insist, I suppose a very brief demonstration could set the matter to rest for everyone. Let’s see you strip first.”
My jaw drops. “Excuse me?”
He flicks his hand to indicate my dress. “No one can fight at their best in a gown. And if we’re doing this, I want to have a look at what kind of muscle you’re working with. So, strip.”