Chapter 2 #2
“Wendos was very clear about Ster. Torstem’s involvement before he even knew I was there to overhear,” Ivy says, her tone mild but firm.
“He was threatening one of the sacrificial accomplices that Torstem would take her back to where he’d hidden some of them away if she couldn’t pull her weight.
You’ll be able to ask him yourself when he comes to. ”
The king’s gaze swerves back to me. “This criminal is still alive, Stavros? Hasn’t he already been questioned?”
“He’s currently unconscious,” I reply immediately. “The Crown’s Watch took him into custody and are guarding him while medics see to his recovery.”
Benedikt pipes up again before anyone else can speak. “If he clams up once he’s awake, I could see what I can wheedle out of him. Disarm him in my own way, so to speak.”
With another adjustment of my eyes, I make out Konram’s faint grimace of distaste in the moment before he replies. “Were you there when the confrontation took place, Benedikt?”
The royal bastard hesitates. “Well, I—the commanding officer was in the middle of gathering troops when we got the summons. I volunteered to lead the way for the soldiers while Stavros and the others hurried ahead. It was lucky we weren’t needed.”
“If you didn’t see anything there, then why exactly are you here?”
A hint of exasperation has crept into the king’s even tone. Benedikt lets out a nervous laugh, as if he shouldn’t have been able to predict that his “influence” over the half-uncle who’s barely acknowledged his existence would amount to nothing more than hot air.
Before he can come up with a suitable answer, Konram focuses on Ivy. “Let’s hear the whole story from you. Everything from what made you check the All-Giver’s tower in the first place to interrupting Wendos’s magic. As succinctly as you can manage.”
Ivy folds her arms over her chest, gripping her cloak. “I’ll do my best.”
I watch her blurred form with occasional ticks of my gaze to catch a clearer glimpse, my gut knotting. She’s the only one who can tell him this part of the story—and I want to hear it too, even if the thought of what she’s leaving out unsettles me.
With a quick glance toward me that might be apologetic, the thief explains how she left my quarters when she saw the Quadring starting to crumble, how she overheard a professor mentioning that the dorms would be unlocked and realized she could check Wendos’s room, and the notes she found there that led to her deciding he must be using the tower for his spell.
My muscles tense more when she gets to the confrontation itself. How is she going to spin that story without revealing her own deviant magic?
“Once I realized what Wendos was trying to accomplish, I did everything I could to stop him,” she says.
“But he had quite a few daimon under his control protecting him. They stopped me from tackling him, and I was unlucky with the one knife I managed to throw—it only hit him in the shoulder. After that, the spirit-creatures pinned me down.”
Konram motions for her to continue. “It sounds as though you fought valiantly.”
Ivy’s small smile doesn’t reach her bright blue eyes.
“The accomplices whose power he was stealing were more valiant. In the end, they broke free from the scourge sorcerers’ influence and sacrificed themselves to stop him.
They jumped off the tower and died when they hit the roof of the lower temple below—and the power of their sacrifice hit him hard.
That’s what knocked him out. They must have tried to fix the tower too, because vines grew over the steps the daimon broke. ”
I stare hazily at her for a second before yanking my attention back to the king. Her story sounds impressively reasonable… but I know a significant part of it is falsehood.
What really happened with the mutilated accomplices?
Konram is nodding. “I’ve heard reports of the bodies and the vines from the temple staff. Once we can identify the victims, they’ll be given honorable funerals.”
“How would you like us to move forward from here?” I have to ask. “If you plan to arrest Ster. Torstem, I may be able to—”
The king cuts me off with a shake of his head. “I don’t think we can proceed to that step yet.”
I will my tone to stay cool and collected. “No? Are Ivy’s observations not enough?”
“They’re enough for me that I wouldn’t let the man within striking distance of me or my family, but she’s also said she believes he has many other allies.
He’s the only one we can identify. There’s no guarantee he’ll reveal anything else to us if we attempt to force him to talk.
” Konram sighs. “From consultation with my chief magical advisor, I’ve gathered that there’s no definite method to confirm a person has carried out scourge sorcery after the fact.
Removing him does us little good if there are several others who’ll continue attacking the city. ”
Ivy hasn’t tempered her reaction quite as well as I have, her voice taut with disbelief.
“Then they will keep attacking the city—or sending the daimon they’ve harnessed to do it.
They’ve already tried to kill your younger son, and for all we know they were responsible for Prince Dunstam’s death years ago too. ”
My gaze flicks from her to Konram in time to catch the subtle tensing of his shoulders.
I haven’t mentioned the death of his eldest son and former heir in connection with the scourge sorcerers before.
We haven’t found any evidence they were involved in the illness that struck down Dunstam just a few days before his twelfth birthday.
“That was more than seven years ago,” he says tersely.
I step in to draw his attention back to me. “We’ve traced Ster. Torstem’s questionable activities farther back than that. It appears the conspiracy has been growing for more than a decade in the shadows.”
Konram lifts his chin imperiously. “The gravity of the situation is clear. I’m not saying we’ll do nothing.
As soon as the medics are able to revive Wendos, he’ll be questioned and given every reason to reveal his associates.
And I’ll have the Crown’s Watch pursue our other leads.
You said Ster. Torstem has been conscribing orphans into the conspiracy? ”
“Yes. We’ve identified one orphanage where he’s given funds and spoken to the wards, but there may be others.”
Ivy clears her throat. “I know he was hiding at least some of the sacrificial accomplices at a brothel not far from there. That might be a common tactic of his. Anyone who’d see one of the victims would know immediately it wasn’t a typical dedication sacrifice.”
The king folds his arms over his chest. “Then we’ll make arrangements for raiding brothels and monitoring this orphanage and others in the city.
In the meantime, you three and your companions have proven yourselves adept at uncovering the conspiracy bit by bit.
Ferret out whatever other information you can about their intentions.
Ster. Torstem will reveal more if he doesn’t know you suspect him. ”
It will be easier for us to investigate, being sure of Torstem’s involvement and his connection to Wendos. But I can’t help raising a careful protest of my own. “The daimon have already been rampaging. The students at the college may be afraid to—”
“We can rebuild the damage done quickly. I’m bringing in several clerics who are skilled at working with unsettled spirit-creatures to counteract the effects on the daimon—they should arrive tomorrow.
I’ll be traveling with most of the court for several days on a scheduled tour, but I plan to keep in close contact with my people here.
If the situation escalates, I’ll revise my strategy. ”
A little relief trickles through me with the knowledge that the royal family will be somewhat distant from the threat while we continue to grapple with it.
I don’t like this situation any more than Ivy appears to. Skulking around hoping we can dig up more intelligence on the miscreants while the one we know of for certain walks free…
But at the same time, I can’t deny the wisdom of Konram’s approach. Scourge sorcerers build their magic by maiming and killing others. They’re no strangers to sacrifice.
If we arrest Torstem, the odds of him lashing out to force his murder or simply offing himself seem far too high. Then we’d be left with no solid trail to follow at all.
Of course, the conspirators will know that someone foiled their plan tonight. I don’t intend to let down anyone under my watch.
Konram sweeps his gaze over us with an even more commanding air than before. “You have your orders. I trust you can get on with them?”
I speak up before he officially dismisses us. “It’s become increasingly difficult for us to meet and discuss our findings without our association being discovered. If you could offer any resources to allow greater ease of communication, that would be an immense help.”
Konram rubs his chin. “I might be able to arrange just the thing. I’ll confirm with you as soon as I have it ready.”
I incline my head. “Thank you, Your Highness. We will do our best.”
“We’ll bring all the scourge sorcerers down,” Benedikt puts in. After the king’s earlier dismissal, his vigor sounds forced.
Ivy remains silent, but I can almost feel her stewing. She’s smart enough not to voice any of her concerns in front of the man who rules over us all, though.
The king pauses, his gaze focused on me. “You seem even grimmer than I’d expect given the progress we’ve made and the disaster averted, Stavros. Is there another problem I’m not aware of?”
The woman next to me stiffens just slightly.
This is my opening, the time to tell him what she is if I’m going to. To send her off to the gallows where all the riven belong.
If nothing else, don’t I owe my king my honesty?
In the instant when I teeter in indecision, the memory of Kosmel’s sigil glowing on Ivy’s chest flashes through my mind. My previous sense of resolve hardens.
I can’t serve both my king and my gods, and I know which holds the higher authority.
“No, Your Highness,” I say. “I’m merely frustrated that we weren’t able to arrest more of the conspirators despite the crimes they’ve already committed.”
Konram lets out a low chuckle. “I trust you’ll remedy that shortly.”
His image vanishes from the mirror. Gathering myself, I beckon the others to follow me out of the room.
We hustle along the discreet hall and then out into the passage through the hedges that obscure our departure from view. We’ve almost reached the wall when a familiar giggle tinkles out into the air.
My legs stall of their own accord. My head swings around, my gaze finding a narrow gap between the bushes.
I only have a clear view for an instant before everything fogs over, but that’s enough. Enough to make out Neela’s face in the glow of lantern light from the carriage she’s just stepped out of.
Enough to notice her hand clasped around that of the courtier whose arm she then tucks herself beneath with another giggle.
I wrench my gaze away, my jaw clenching. My voice comes out harsher than I intend it. “Let’s move along. There’s nothing for us here.”
And I won’t let myself make another catastrophic mistake.