Chapter 14
“Shit!” I gasped.
Anders grabbed Drezzen by the shoulder with his left hand and reached out for the man’s lower jaw with his right.
“No!” Anders growled through clenched teeth.
It didn’t click with me what Anders was doing until Drezzen released a choking little laugh, and a bit of white foam dribbled from the corner of his mouth, but by that point, it was too late.
Drezzen’s eyes grew hazy and then rolled back in his head as his chest heaved a final breath.
“Fuck,” I sighed. “Poison?”
“Yeah,” Anders huffed. “I’m not sure what kind, but he’s dead now.”
“Looks like actaea alba,” Carissa said, and she leaned down to sniff the dead man’s open mouth.
“Not nightshade?” Anders asked.
I laughed despite the seriousness of the moment.
“Sorry,” I said. “That’s a real poison?”
“Yes, it’s quite effective,” Carissa said. “But it’s not likely to kill that fast. Actaea alba berries can stop the heart in minutes once ingested.”
“Good point.” Anders nodded.
“I’d guess…” Carissa’s eyebrows furrowed. “It looks like he took the berries before we found the note, and the poison taking effect is what made him gasp like he did. He was probably faking being unconscious.”
“I agree with Lady Carissa’s assessment,” Anders said.
“As far as I’m concerned,” I said, “that just confirms what we found is bad enough that he didn’t want to live to face the consequences of getting caught.”
“I can’t imagine Queen Sybil is the forgiving type,” Anders scoffed.
“No, me, neither,” I agreed.
“What do we do now?” Carissa asked. “His body is just as much evidence as the note.”
“We have to bring him back to camp,” I decided. “Anders, will you help me?”
“Of course, sire,” Anders said without hesitation.
We took a moment to make sure we had everything, and Anders confirmed there hadn’t been anything on Drezzen’s horse that was worth taking. Then Anders and I hauled the body up with the arms around our shoulders, and we started to haul it back toward camp.
After the first mile, Anders tried to insist on taking the entire weight so I could have a break, but I refused to let him do the work alone. Thankfully, we didn’t have to carry on that way for much longer before the rest of my security team arrived.
They appeared out of the darkness like a gathering of ghosts, but I’d become so familiar with them that I recognized them by their silhouettes alone.
“Sire,” Otto said as they approached. “Vannesh informed us of what was going on.”
“What happened?” Rubin asked as he looked at the body between Anders and me. “Who’s that?”
“A man named Drezzen,” Anders grunted.
Otto and Rubin came over and took the body from us, and I sagged with relief at the loss of literal dead weight.
“Thank you,” I said.
The two men nodded and began marching the dead man back to our encampment.
“Did you find anything?” I asked Otto. “Or learn anything about that horse?”
“Yes, sire,” Reggie answered. “The horse belonged to one of Queen Sybil’s advisors.”
“Did you speak with the advisor?” I asked.
“No, sire,” Reggie said. “We didn’t want anyone to know too much before we spoke with you.”
“Good call,” I said with a nod. “How did you learn whose horse it was?”
“The stablehand recognized it,” Reggie said. “He said the horse is very well-behaved and obedient. He seemed surprised it was out of the paddock without a rider.”
I nodded, and Carissa, Anders, and I started to explain everything that we’d been through that night since leaving Vannesh’s company.
“We followed tracks from where the ambassador was trampled,” I said. “Carissa tracked them for quite a while before they led straight back to Queen Sybil’s tent.”
“Damn,” Rubin breathed. “If you’ll beg my pardon, sire.”
“Yeah,” I chuckled.
Next, we explained the conversation between the queen and Drezzen, how he’d left her tent through the back, and his departure from camp on foot.
“I thought he was there to get a horse,” I said when we got to the part where Drezzen had stopped to look for something. “But he was searching on the ground, like he’d dropped something.”
“Should we inspect the area?” Francis asked. “In case he did drop something? It could be important.”
“Good idea.” I nodded. “We’ll point out the spot when we get closer.”
By the time I told my security guys about the note and Drezzen’s suicide, the soldiers were practically hanging on my every word.
“So Queen Sybil is working with Khorr,” Otto muttered.
“It sure as fuck sounds like it,” I snorted. “I want to have Vannesh and his people look at all the details before we bring anybody else in on this, but it’s definitely not looking good for the Silver Coast Queen.”
We walked in silence for a good long while after that, and my soldiers took turns carrying Drezzen’s dead body. I started trying to spot the area where he’d stopped earlier in the evening, and Carissa helped me with her tracking skills.
“It’s coming up soon,” she said and pointed at a tree with three trunks. “I marked that tree on my mental map. It should be another… thirty or so paces ahead and maybe three to the right.”
I arched an eyebrow at her in surprise, and when we followed her directions, we ended up in the exact right spot.
“Damn,” I murmured. “That’s impressive.”
“Thank you.” Carissa gave me a proud but tired smile.
“What are we looking for, sire?” Otto asked.
“I’m not sure.” I huffed a breath. “Anything that doesn’t belong here. A weapon, tools, a journal, or a book. Maybe a bag? Keep your mind open for possibilities.”
“Yes, sire.” Rubin nodded. “Everyone, spread out. King Ken said the suspect was searching on his hands and knees, so we can assume we’re looking for something below knee height.”
“Let’s have a rest,” Anders said. “We’ve expended a lot of energy this evening. We can’t have you passing out before we return to camp.”
“I’m alright,” I said. “A little thirsty, but I’m nowhere near passing out.”
“Nor am I,” Carissa said.
“Regardless,” Anders said with a friendly smile. “It’s my job to ensure your well-being, and I insist on sitting while the men conduct their search.”
“Hey,” I chuckled. “If you need to sit down, I’m not complaining.”
Anders smiled at me, and we watched my soldiers as they shuffled around in the grass and under the bushes.
They looked like huge kids trying to complete a disproportionately difficult Easter Egg hunt.
It had to be at least midnight by that point, and I was tired enough that I could easily imagine fluffy bunny ears on each of my men.
I had to look away before I embarrassed myself by laughing out loud at the idea. That wouldn’t have done much to comfort Anders about my current state.
So I leaned back on my hands and closed my eyes for a bit.
I focused on the gentle breeze. The slightest scent of woodsmoke filled my nostrils, and I tried to confirm the wind’s direction without opening my eyes.
Obviously, the smell of smoke was coming from camp, but I kept my mind awake by trying to detect the wind’s direction in relation to where I knew the camp was.
“Sire!” Francis suddenly shouted. “I found something!”
My heart leaped into my throat, and my eyes flew open as I pushed myself to my feet. I searched for Francis and spotted him easily as he waved one arm in the air.
“Over here!” he called.
Carissa, Anders, and I all started to jog over from our spot, and the rest of my team closed in from every direction. We gathered around Francis in a loose circle, and he held something up with both hands.
“I can’t see what it is,” I said.
“Everyone step back,” Otto instructed. “Hold it up to the moonlight, Francis.”
“Yes, sir.” Francis did as he was told.
The object was lifted out of our collective shadow and into the moonlight, and I got my first look at it.
It was a short block of wood. It was about the dimensions of a four-by-four and maybe twenty inches long. One end of the short block of wood had been carved down, almost like an attempt at the handle of a cricket bat, but the most alarming part of the weird thing was nailed onto the other end.
“Is that what I think it is?” Carissa breathed.
“Yes, my lady,” Francis answered.
“A horseshoe,” I muttered.
Nailed to the bottom of the clunky, bat-shaped four-by-four was a horseshoe that was covered in dried blood. Francis tilted it slightly, and the moonlight shone down on a small bit of black hair caught under one of the nails that held the shoe to the wood.
“Oh, god.” Carissa shuddered.
“That looks an awful lot like a murder weapon to me,” I said and turned to Anders. “What do you think?”
“I think we need to wake up Vannesh and Palchur,” Anders replied.
“Good work, Francis,” I praised the soldier.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Francis bowed deeply, and he couldn’t keep the look of pride from his eyes.
“You’ve all done well tonight…” I spoke to all of my soldiers and turned to acknowledge them all.
“Your loyalty and dedication do not go unnoticed, and I value each of you. Thank you. Now, let’s get back to camp so we can let someone else do some work, and we can all get the sleep we’ve truly earned. ”
“Hear, hear,” Reggie chuckled, and then he stifled a yawn. “Beggin’ your pardon, sire.”
“No, no.” I shook my head. “I’m tired, too. Come on, we’re close to camp now.”
“This way,” Otto said, and he started to lead us the rest of the way.
We circled around the backside of the tents and stayed at a distance to keep anyone from spotting the dead body we had with us and raising any alarms. Once we were close, Anders headed off to wake up my Master of War and Master of Spies.
As it turned out, neither of them was asleep. They appeared together, already fully dressed and wide awake. The pair had been poring over their maps, notes, and reports from spies and generals.
“Sire, I hear we have–” Palchur’s words ended when his eyes landed on Drezzen’s body.
“I see there has been quite the development,” Vannesh remarked. “Curious. Who is he?”
“A man named Drezzen,” I answered. “He was working for Queen Sybil.”