20. Cal #2
High Commander Pern loomed over Sasha. “Then how did it end up in my office?”
Sasha trembled. Cal couldn’t help feeling sorry for the guy, and a sudden thought struck him—this could’ve been him, on any one of dozens of situations.
Had he been a little slower or a little more careless during a job, he might’ve found himself in exactly this sort of predicament.
It was only by the grace of the Goddess—and Griff—that he was standing here a free man instead.
“T-his man s-showed up here earlier tonight,” Sasha said, his voice shaky. “I-I’d never seen him before, but he knew all about my arrangement and the void orb. He gave it to me, along with orders to place it in your office. I…I slipped it in while you were preoccupied with your work.”
“And you didn’t think to question what a relic laced with voidflame was intended to do?” Cal demanded incredulously.
Sash’s bowed head was answer enough. Maybe at first he really had believed his actions were for the greater good and that no one would be hurt. But by the end, some part of him must’ve realized what he was doing by placing that void orb in his superior’s office. And he’d done it anyway.
The High Commander’s expression darkened with fury. He took a step closer, raising his crackling baton. Caked in blood as he was, it was a truly ominous sight.
“Traitor!” the High Commander bellowed. “You don’t deserve any mercy! You’ve betrayed everything your office ever stood for, and for what? Empty promises and a sack of gallants!”
Sasha began to sob. Griff stared down at him, pity flickering across his features. Cal reached out and rested a hand on Griff’s back. Griff flashed him a sad smile.
The High Commander remained there for a long moment, his baton raised and poised to strike. Then, he let out a low growl and spun, striding away. Cal shared a quick glance with Griff before they rose in unison and followed the High Commander back out of the sobbing protector’s earshot.
“As far as I can tell from his aura, sir, he’s telling the truth,” Griff said. He hesitated, shooting another pitying glance toward Sasha. “Or at least, the truth as he sees it.”
“We should check that drop-off point,” Cal said. “Make sure there’s nothing else there.”
Griff nodded. “I doubt we’ll find anything, but it’s worth a shot.
” Some unreadable emotion flickered across his face.
“I had a little chat with Kelsith before I came here. Best I can determine, once Sasha lost the void orb, his mysterious benefactor hired Kelsith to retrieve it and make sure it was planted here. Kelsith pretty much confirmed as much before he escaped.”
Cal clenched his jaw at the mention of his former mentor. Escaped? He fully intended to question Griff about that encounter later. For now, though, they had bigger problems.
“That means we’re no closer to figuring out who’s behind all this,” he said with a sigh.
“I know who it is.” Both Cal and Griff turned toward the High Commander as his gaze narrowed.
“High Merchant Teodoro has been blocking my efforts to build up our defenses for months, claiming it would harm trade with Nalax. All he cares about is his bottom line. He wouldn’t hesitate to get me out of the way if he thought it would fill his pockets. ”
Recalling the fight they’d seen at the gala, Cal had to admit it made sense.
Teodoro had a clear motive for wanting the High Commander dead, and someone like him would certainly have had the financial knowledge and contacts to pull something like this off.
Other than the High Commander, he’d been their prime suspect.
Griff appeared less convinced. “If the High Merchant simply wanted you dead, why use the void orb to attack you? Someone with his resources could’ve devised any number of simpler ways to take you out. Why go through all this trouble and hassle?”
Good point. Cal tapped his chin, considering. “Perhaps that’s precisely why he did it? Sure, there are easier methods, from poison in a drink to a dagger in the night. But killing someone in such an elaborate, grandiose fashion sends a clear message.”
“It also presents a clear culprit,” High Commander Pern grunted.
He sounded begrudging. “With voidflame involved, most would assume the Empty Eye cultists behind the attack. After such a high profile attack, it wouldn’t be hard to shift attention from Nalax to them.
What better way to ease tensions with one enemy than by presenting another?
” Holstering his baton, he gave Sasha one last disgusted look as he strode past him down the hall. “I’ll order Teodoro’s arrest at once.”
“Hold on, sir,” Griff said.
Cal turned and saw that he had that cute little divot he got when he was parsing a difficult problem. “What is it?”
“I’m not sure…” Griff frowned. “Something about all this just seems too easy.”
High Commander Pern gave a disbelieving snort. “Easy? We barely escaped with our lives!”
“Apologies, sir,” Griff said, bowing his head.
“I didn’t mean to make light of the danger you faced.
Still…I ask that you trust me. Call an emergency meeting of the Pentarchy, and I swear I’ll get to the bottom of this.
If all the evidence still seems to point to the High Merchant, you can order his arrest right then and there. ”
The High Commander studied him for a moment before heaving a sigh. “If it was anyone else asking me…very well, Inspector. I trust your instincts. Let us see what my fellow councilors have to say for themselves…just as soon as I find a change of clothes.”