Ansee stiffened, saying, “No, it won’t bother me. I’m glad you’re feeling back to normal.”
Was that a jab at me? Reva let it go. If he was making sarcastic remarks, then everything was fine.
“I need to get a change of uniform,” she said, turning down the street. “Then we’ll go make our report about what we found tonight.”
Ansee followed, frowning. “Really? You think the First Constable will believe us?”
“It’s the truth, isn’t it?”
“Well, yes.” Ansee sounded like he didn’t believe it himself. “I just think that FC Aescel will have a hard time believing that there’s a secret cabal of dark elf sympathizers within a club that he belongs to.”
“Maybe,” Reva allowed. “But I’m sure we’ll be able to convince him once we’ve shown him the secret room.” They hurried along the dark streets. Reva was anxious to get back to New Port.
“But what we did was against the law.”
“Are you a magistrate now?”
“No, I’m a Constable. And we should hold ourselves to a higher standard.”
Reva laughed.
“Look, it just seems like what we did was wrong somehow.”
Reva shot a look at Ansee. “They broke the law first. Consorting with dark elves. Possession of a powerful dark elf weapon of mass destruction.”
“Mass destruction?! It’s just a sword.”
“You heard the dark elf. It’s a sword that turns its wielder into a blood-crazed berserker. Sounds like mass destruction to me.” She stopped walking to face Ansee. “In this job we have to take a lot of leeway in order to get to the criminals and stop them from committing their crimes. We have to be able to act on the information we have.”
“But what if the information is wrong? Don’t we have a responsibility to protect the citizens from being falsely accused of something? Doesn’t that make us no better than the Sucra?”
Reva sighed, loudly. “If you want to change the rules, then go petition the Mayor or the King. Until then, I’ll take whatever action I deem necessary in order to get the job done. If that means stepping on some people’s toes and rustling some leaves, then so be it.” She turned and started walking again.
Ansee shrugged and decided to let it go. What they’d done wasn’t really against the law—at least not for them. It was certainly better than what went on in the patrols in Nul Pfeta, where Constables planted weapons and other “evidence” on any halpbloeden that crossed them. But it still felt wrong to him in some way.
They continued on in silence. There were few people out this late at night, so they made quick time. Reaching Embankment, Reva turned to the right toward her house. They had just passed King’s Bridge and were about four houses away when there was a clatter of hooves crossing the bridge. Turning, they both watched a rider cross the bridge at a dead run, pulling hard on the horse’s reins to turn toward them. The rider passed them at a gallop, quickly glancing at them as he passed and then pulling hard on the reins. The horse skidded to a stop ten paces ahead of them.
Noticing the rider’s Constabulary uniform, Reva hurried forward. There was only one person on this street that he’d be coming for. She grabbed the reins close to the bit. The horse snorted, breathing hard. Lather covered its flanks and neck in a glossy sheen.
“What’s the matter, Constable?” Reva asked. He wore Betula Division bracers and she didn’t recognize him.
“Constable Inspector Lunaria?” The Constable asked breathlessly. Reva realized she was carrying her armor and didn’t look very much like a Constable at the moment.
“Yes, Constable, I’m CI Lunaria. What in the hells is the matter?”
“Ma’am,” he dismounted and handed the reins to her. “FC Aescel says you are to head to LCI Gania’s house. Immediately.”
“What? Why?”
“The Lord Constable Inspector has been assassinated.”
The color drained from Reva’s face. “Shit.” She tossed her armor to the Constable and then mounted the horse. The animal sidestepped a bit as she settled in the saddle. She reached down for Ansee, who grabbed her arm. With an adrenaline-fueled jerk, she pulled him up and behind her.
“Get my armor mended,” she told the Constable. He nodded absently as Reva kicked her heels into the horse’s flank. The horse took off at a run, struggling under the weight of two riders. They crossed the bridge with a clatter of hooves on the paving stones and entered Merchant Grove at a gallop.
Thirty-one
Ansee was not overly fond of horses. He’d been thrown from a particularly mean horse as a child and never really got over the experience. He never felt comfortable in the saddle, always expecting even the most docile of animals to buck and throw him. He was especially uncomfortable right now, sitting behind Reva as they galloped through dark streets. He had both arms wrapped tightly around her waist and his head turned, trying to keep from eating Reva’s hair.
They rode as fast as the horse would carry them. Reva constantly pushed the animal to go faster. Ansee was afraid that the horse would die in midstride from exhaustion. Before he knew it, they were slowing. He looked up to see a crowd of people—citizens standing around in bed clothes and dozens of Constables—milling about in front of the gates of a large stone villa at the base of Poplar Hill. The front of the villa faced the main road that circled the hill, the back abutted against a small grove of trees growing up the hillside.
A Constable ran forward, grabbing the reins. The horse was coated in foamy sweat and hung its head in exhaustion. Ansee and Reva dismounted and made their way through the crowd. Ansee could see expressions of curiosity on the faces of the ordinary citizens, idly wondering what all the commotion was about. The Constables had mixed feelings. Most looked sad and angry, expressions Ansee would associate with the death of any Constable, least of all for the LCI’s death. However, they also looked excited and happy, which Ansee couldn’t explain.
Reva walked through the iron gate and was met by Constable Aemyr. She kept walking and Aemyr turned to keep pace.
“What’s up, Aemyr?” she asked.
“It’s a mad house, that’s for sure, ma’am.” His voice had an edge of excitement to it. “Everybody seems to be here. FC Aescel’s here, as is FC Betulla. First Constable Churlsleaf just arrived a few minutes before you did. I heard that the Mayor was on his way and somebody said that King Aeonis himself was coming.”
Reva gave him a questioning look, but Aemyr stepped ahead and opened the door for them. They entered a grand foyer with a red flagstone floor and walls of polished stone—maybe marble. Two side tables held large vases filled with flowers. Two sets of double doors were on the left and right, and a hallway led off the foyer that lay ahead of them.
“The First Constables are in a sitting room over there,” Aemyr pointed to the right. “The bodies are in the dining room at the back of the house.”
Reva nodded and turned to the right. Senior Constable Ghrellstone appeared from the hallway and quickly intercepted Reva.
“You’re out of uniform, Inspector.”
Reva stopped and gave him a rude gesture. The Senior Constable just laughed. “How is it that you always beat me to crime scenes, Constable?” she asked.
“Just lucky, I guess.” He jerked a thumb toward the sitting room. “You don’t want to go see them yet.”
“I don’t?” She raised an eyebrow.
Willem shook his head and started walking toward the back of the villa. “You need to see the dining room first. We have a situation.”
“Hells, Constable,” blurted Ansee. “The LCI is dead. Of course there’s a situation.”
Willem gave Ansee a look that said that he didn’t know the half of it. “It’s more complicated than that, Seeker Carya.”
He led them down the hallway, past a library and another sitting room. The odor of death—blood and offal
—filled the air as they approached the dining room. Entering the room, Reva and Ansee saw three dead bodies. At the far end of the room was the body of LCI Gania, judging by the slippered feet that were sticking out from behind the table. The second body was a male elf that Reva recognized as the LCI’s husband, slumped back in his chair at the table, a clear stab wound in his chest. The third body was the closest, lying immediately to their right.
“What in the hells!” exclaimed Reva. The body of the killer—the elf responsible for six, now eight, murders of elves and halpbloeden—lay on the floor at their feet. He was sprawled in a pool of blood, his masked face staring up at the ceiling. There was a stab wound in his chest, just about where the stomach was located.
Stepping around the body, Reva knelt, careful to avoid the blood, to get a better look. Ansee also stepped forward and looked at the killer’s mask. After a moment, they looked at each other. Ansee was about to say something, but Reva shook her head. She stood up and they walked to the end of the room.
Walking the length of the table, Reva saw that it had been set for three people. The table was a mess, with goblets and plates that had been knocked around. Food and drink had spilled over the wooden tabletop.
The Lord Constable’s body was a bloody mess. There was no other way to describe it. She’d been cut in half, just like First magistrate Avecath and Lady Ochroma, but the wound looked wrong to her. It was ragged and messy, not a clean, single strike like the previous victims. Reva knelt and crouched next to the body, carefully examining it. Blood coated the area, soaking into the LCI’s skirt and blouse, and was starting to dry. Reva saw that the LCI’s dagger sheath was empty but, looking around, she saw no sign of the dagger.
Standing up, she looked at Ansee and Willem. “Does any of this make sense to you?”
Shaking his head, Ansee said, “No. That person over there,” he pointed at the dead elf in the mask, “is not our killer.”
“How do you know?” asked Willem, playing devil’s advocate. This whole scene felt wrong to him and he was curious what the young Seeker would say.
Ansee turned to face Willem. “The mask is wrong. It’s close, but it’s missing the two red fangs that are on the killer’s mask.”
Reva nodded. Of anybody here, Ansee would know that detail for sure. “What else?”
Willem pointed down at Gania’s body. “The wound is wrong, ma’am. It looks like she was hacked to death. If the Seeker checks, he might find an aura, but I’d bet it won’t match the other ones.”
Reva pursed her lips and walked back to the front of the room. Somebody had gone to a lot of trouble to stage this scene in order to make it look like the killer had been stopped. But they’d done such a half-assed job of it that she didn’t know if it had been done to mock them or out of spite. Either way, she wanted to know why.
“There you are!”
Reva looked up to see FC Aescel enter the dining room. With him were FCs Betulla and Churlsleaf. The three of them wore large smiles that were completely inappropriate, Reva thought, given the situation.
“Congratulations, Inspector,” Aescel beamed. He wore a blue and green vest over a white shirt instead of his uniform and Reva thought she caught a whiff of wine. He’d apparently had quite a few glasses at the memorial service earlier. He pointed down at the body in the mask. “Our mystery killer is dead. It’s a terrible shame about Lord Constable Gania, certainly. But her son managed to avenge her death!”
“Constable Gania killed the murderer?” Reva asked.
“He certainly did,” said FC Betulla. She wore a light green dress with leaves embroidered on the sleeves that tinged her light blond hair with a slight green color. An enamel pin was attached just below the left collar. She also held the killer’s sword in her right hand. The blade was a glossy black and glowed with a faint red light. After what the Syntagma had told her earlier—and she had no doubt he was telling the truth—the fact that Betulla was holding the sword was proof enough that it was not the real thing. There was no way that she’d be able to handle such a powerful weapon, Reva knew.
“I witnessed this ghastly attack and the valiant effort by the young Constable to slay this killer.”
“So you were here?” Reva asked. She was trying to put all the pieces together.
“Yes,” Betulla responded haughtily. “I was dining with Yathea and Elwynn tonight when this maniac burst into the room. He killed poor Elwynn and then cut Yathea in half. He was fleeing toward the hall when Constable Gania came in and slew him.”
Reva looked hard at FC Betulla. She had a reputation around New Port of being ruthless and vindictive in the advancement of her career, but also as somebody who didn’t like to get her own hands dirty when it came to the real work. “You didn’t stop the killer?”
Betulla’s face showed shocked indignation. “Are you accusing me of something, Inspector? How could I have stopped the killer while dressed for dinner like this?”
Reva could think of a few ways, but instead said, “Did the killer say anything?”
“Why does that matter? Are you questioning my account of what happened?”
FC Churlsleaf gave a hearty laugh. “I think the Constable Inspector is just upset because one of my lads managed to stop this maniac and she couldn’t.”
Reva ignored the comment and turned to Aescel. “Sir, this isn’t our killer,” she said, keeping her voice even and firm.
“Not the killer?” Betulla nearly exploded. “His body is right there and I’m holding the fucking murder weapon. Do you need it served to you on a silver platter?”
Aescel made a calming gesture. He agreed with Betulla on this one—the evidence was practically screaming at them. This would improve his standing at Pfeta fey Orung, which had taken a beating over the past few days as other members kept demanding that he do more to stop the assassin that was stalking their ranks. He’d also worked long enough with Reva to know that she didn’t say things rashly. He had to at least give her an opportunity to explain herself, even if he didn’t think that she was right this time.
“Please, Nyssa. Let Inspector Lunaria state her reasons.”
“I will not let some egotistical, self-centered, vainglorious Inspector tell me that I did not see what I witnessed with my own eyes!” Betulla’s face was turning red.
Reva’s own body was quivering with anger. She wasn’t going to take this abuse from anybody. She was about to say something that she’d certainly regret when Constable Aemyr entered the room and loudly cleared his throat.
“Excuse me, sirs.” Everyone turned to look at the Constable. With him stood another elf, wearing the red and black livery of a Royal Messenger. “This elf brings a message from his majesty, King Aeonis, for First Constable Betulla.”
The messenger stepped forward and bowed, handing a folded parchment to her. Betulla broke the wax seal and folded open the letter. She read it quickly, a smile slowly growing on her lips. Uh oh, Reva thought. This can’t be good for me.
Betulla finished and refolded the parchment. “Tell his majesty that I accept the position and will do my best to surpass his expectations.”
The messenger bowed and left to deliver the reply to the King. Betulla turned back to the group, her eyes boring into Reva, filled with vindication and triumph. Definitely not good for me, Reva thought.
“His majesty has asked that I serve as Lord Constable Inspector.”
Everybody was shocked by this news. It was FC Aescel who managed to speak first. “But the LCI is appointed by the Mayor. We don’t report to the King.” There were murmurs of ascent from the others in the room.
“The King made this decision with the approval of the Mayor as a temporary move to maintain stability within the Constabulary. The Mayor and the Alders will meet to select LCI Gania’s permanent replacement soon.” Betulla handed the message to Churlsleaf, who began reading it.
Reva an
d Aescel exchanged a look. They both knew that, with Betulla in the LCI position, the Mayor and Alders would not want to make a fight with the King. They’d approve her as the new head of the Constabulary.
Churlsleaf finished the message and looked up. “Well, congratulations, Nyssa.”
Reva heard the disappointment in his voice. She never had aspirations beyond being a Constable Inspector, but she knew that both Aescel and Churlsleaf held those aspirations. She also knew that Aescel, at least, and probably Churlsleaf too, did not like Betulla. Aescel had called her a sycophantic goblin on more than one occasion.
Betulla took back the message and turned to Reva. “This case is closed, Inspector.” Her voice was firm. “Clean this mess up and file your report.”
Reva gritted her teeth and did her best to bite her tongue. She didn’t need to start off on the wrong branch with the new LCI.
It was Ansee who spoke up. “But, ma’am, this isn’t our killer. This isn’t the elf who killed First Magistrate Avecath or Lady Ochroma, or who attacked me.”
Betulla whirled on Ansee. “This case is closed, Seeker. The murderer has been stopped. If you continue to defy my orders, I will bust you back to doing night patrols in Nul Pfeta.”
Ansee was about to say something else, which was brave, Reva thought, if also stupid. She put her hand on his shoulder and said to Aescel, “Please let us collect our evidence here, sir,” she looked at Betulla, “so we can properly close the case. LCI Gania would expect us to do no less.”
Aescel nodded, grateful that Reva had given him a way to regain control over some aspect of this fiasco. As LCI, Betulla technically now had the authority to give orders to his people, but only if he agreed with them, and he’d be damned if he’d let her grab his authority from him. “Yes, we should do no less than our best for the Lord Constable. Finish your work here at the scene.” Reva saw that Betulla was furious with rage. Aescel must have known it too, for he added, “Then file your report and close the case.”
Reva was proud that Aescel had supported her, even though it meant they’d both just earned the enmity of the new Lord Constable Inspector. Oh well, Reva thought. It probably won’t be the last time.
Wrath of the Fury Blade Page 24