by Drae Box
Pedibastet joined them on the top of the wall with ease. “Come on, Aldora,” uttered the cat.
“I’m coming,” she grumbled, pulling her torso up. She mounted the wall as if it were a horse and sat next to Raneth as she inspected the garden.
The royal official turned his gaze towards the back half of the property, where the patrolled side garden opened up into a much larger back garden. Raneth watched the progress of one inspector as he strolled down the side of the house with his back to the three Giftens. They’d have to risk it. Before he and Stonefist had seen the body snatchers for his shoulder, he hadn’t found any way to get near the back wall of the overseer’s home without being seen too early, no matter how he approached. Just as well we looked from the nearby rooftops. He looked to Aldora. “Ready? We can’t stay here for long.”
Aldora nodded, so Raneth jumped down, rolling and straightening into a stand between the wall and a perfectly square bush that towered a few inches above him. He stalked in front of Aldora and held his hands up, ready to catch her. She slipped down into his waiting arms.
Placing Aldora onto her own feet with a grimace, Raneth listened intently to the quiet garden around them. There should be at least two people moving about on the gravel paths near us. Where’s the other? He closed his eyes, striving to hear the source of the slow and measured footsteps that weren’t those of the inspector he had already spotted. Right. His blue eyes turned towards the front half of the house and he clamped his gaze onto a man in inspectors’ greys who emerged from the other side of the house and strolled down the beige gravel pathway towards them.
Raneth grabbed Aldora’s hand and pointed towards the next square bush, which had a cherry tree within it, further towards the back of the house. Without a word, Aldora sprinted to it, keeping low, and Raneth did likewise. Prince Pedibastet strolled to the new bush in matched silence.
“Another inspector,” whispered Raneth, pointing back towards the second man he had spotted.
“So what do we do?” asked Aldora, keeping her voice low.
Raneth crept closer to the edge of the bush and looked for the inspector again; he caught sight of the man on the other side of their original hiding spot. Creeping around Aldora’s hidden form, the royal official checked on the first inspector they had seen, noticing that he had turned and was heading towards the other inspector and the front of the house. That’ll leave the side of the building exposed when they both have their backs turned, unless another comes from behind. Somebody doesn’t understand patrol timing well.
Grateful for the potential opportunity to get inside, Raneth turned his attention to the side of the house. There were a few ground floor windows, two of which had internal wooden shutters fitted to them. Those will get in the way. We can’t risk using those windows. That left two others. He watched the patrolling inspectors for a moment longer. But if they turn around because we make a noise, we’ll have no choice but to go inside without getting a better look at the room first. He viewed the windows more carefully. And they’re both shut. They could be locked. Raneth ducked his head back fully behind the bush. “We may have to enter from the back of the property.”
“If I may?” said Pedibastet, the tip of his tail flicking side to side slowly. “There will likely be more of them at the back of the property. I can be a distraction – give you a greater chance to get in.”
“Or to get caught if they’re noisy enough to get those at the front to investigate,” whispered Raneth.
“What other choices do we have?” asked Aldora. “We can either sneak in the back whilst Pedi helps, or force our way through the front.”
Raneth shook his head, thinking of the twenty inspectors that had been at the front of the property when he had checked out the building earlier. The gravel opposite their bush crunched and Raneth pressed a finger to his lips. The three friends held their tongues and waited.
Pedibastet rubbed his cheek against Raneth’s knee and darted out from behind the bush, streaking into view of both the inspectors at the side of the building and running to the back of the large house.
Ruddy cat. Couldn’t he wait for me to agree? The royal official watched as the two inspectors gave chase before they rounded the corner and disappeared.
Raneth turned to Aldora. “Let’s go.”
Slowly, he crept free from the bush’s cover and prowled closer to the house, pressing his feet into the gravel path with more thought than the inspectors had. He stopped when Aldora crunched the stones under her feet; her footwork was as loud as the inspectors’. Another thing I can teach her when we get home, if she’s interested, decided Raneth, before peeking around the side of the building.
The Prince of the Cats almost looked like he might be having fun; he raced between seven inspectors, running past them so quickly that he almost tripped a few of them over. Though some of them hadn’t cared to chase him, they did once he’d smacked their legs with his paws, claws outstretched. He’s using their irritation against them, thought Raneth.
“I didn’t know Pedi could run that fast,” murmured Aldora, as Raneth grabbed her hand.
“Come on,” he whispered, easing them both round the corner of the house, observing the inspectors carefully. Thankfully, all seven were now running after Pedibastet. He’s heading for those bushes at the back for cover. The cat darted further from the house and paused with his back to a collection of bushes and flowers at the very back of the property, tail thrashing side to side as he yowled a warning at the advancing inspectors. Raneth and Aldora reached a door just as the inspectors surrounded Pedibastet.
“Will he–”
“Shush,” whispered Raneth, grabbing the door handle and turning it. The door gave way at his touch, letting the two Giftens slip inside as Pedibastet darted into the back bushes.
The room that greeted them was well lit from two large gaslights hissing on the ceiling above a redwood dining table. There was a long mirror in a gold leaf frame on the other side of the room, nestled beside a thin doorway. Movement caught Raneth’s eye from a doorway on their left. An inspector was standing there with an apple held up to his mouth.
The inspector threw the apple as Raneth rushed him. The apple sailed past Raneth’s shoulder and the inspector spat out his mouthful to cry out, so the royal official grabbed the inspector’s head and slapped a hand over his mouth. He pinched the inspector’s nose as he dragged the resisting man away from the open doorway, further into the dining room. The inspector’s hands grabbed at Raneth as he eased closer to Aldora, who stood warily watching the two of them with the Dagger drawn. The inspector stilled in the Bayre’s hold and his head drooped against his hand. Raneth nodded at the table. “Make some room for him under that.”
She nodded, pulling some of the chairs free. Raneth shoved the inspector under the table then repositioned each of the chairs so that it wasn’t immediately obvious that someone was hidden by the legs of the chairs.
“Come on,” he whispered, taking Aldora’s free hand and easing them towards the doorway the inspector had come from. Close, he thought. If he hadn’t been biting that apple, he’d have managed to raise the alarm before I could get at him.
Beyond the dining room door was a kitchen; Raneth eyed the room. Four inspectors were gathered at a work surface, two leaning over it whilst the other two spoke. One of them took a whistling kettle off the hob behind them. The work surface was U-shaped and at the open end was the oven, which had a second work surface to its left and a sink to its right. Two wooden beams supported the roof in front of the work surface, in line with the door but not large enough to conceal him or Aldora. An open door to a hallway stood opposite the door Raneth was peeking through. He eased back, leaning against the wall in the dining room as Aldora watched him. He held up four fingers then tapped at the pommel of his blade.
Aldora frowned and then eased close. “Don’t we want to avoid them where possible?” she whispered, tickling Raneth’s ear with her breath.
“There’s no
way to slip past,” he whispered.
Aldora peeked into the kitchen then drew back. “Two of them are leaving through the other doorway.”
Raneth took his turn to sneak a peek into the room, watching as the two who had been leaning against the work surface moved down the hallway with their backs to him.
“So what do you think about the overseer’s woman?” asked one of the inspectors who had stayed in the kitchen “Not his usual choice, is she?”
“It’s not our place to think,” stated the other inspector, the one who had poured the kettle. He sipped at a drink. “If you want to last on this cushy job, you’ll remember that, otherwise he’ll have you out patrolling the city at night.”
“When’s he back from his tour of the army headquarters anyway?”
“I don’t know. I’m just a grunt like you, idiot. Drink your coffee before it gets cold.”
The one who had admonished the other stepped around the counter, heading towards Raneth and Aldora. Raneth jerked back from the doorway but the Newer spotted him.
“Dining room!” he hollered.
“Whoops,” grumbled Raneth, pulling his sword free.
He glanced at Aldora then grabbed her hand and ran through the doorway by the mirror, emerging underneath a wide staircase that faced the front door of the overseer’s home. Raneth skidded to a stop and Aldora bumped into his back. The marble green floor of the large entrance hall shone the morning sun into Raneth’s and Aldora’s eyes, and beyond the gleam were two inspectors looking back at them.
“Giften’s soil,” murmured Aldora, watching the two inspectors advancing on them cautiously.
“Hands on your heads!” barked the older looking of the two inspectors.
The four inspectors from the kitchen squeaked and skidded into the room behind Aldora and Raneth.
Now what? Raneth glanced quickly at Aldora, watching as she sheathed the Dagger of Protection. She’s behaving, but should we? Sweeping his gaze around the six inspectors advancing on them, Raneth tried to determine which one was the biggest threat. Each had a varying amount of muscle, and though two looked young enough to have barely any experience, the other four carried themselves with confidence, even whilst being wary. I could use my Common Gift of Ice, but I don’t have any advantages, especially with Aldora doing what they want.
Reluctantly, Raneth placed his hands on his head, feeling as calloused hands grabbed his forearms and yanked his hands behind him. Another pair of hands relieved him of his weapons and patted him down. Another did the same to Aldora and held the Dagger of Protection out to the older of the two inspectors in the entrance hall. Thank you. Now I know who’s in charge here, at least. But where’s Lodema?
The senior inspector frowned at Aldora as he took the gold blade and wiggled it.
“Miss Arusha told us to look out for this on any intruders. Said you would be accompanied by an incredibly dangerous man.”
Raneth glared at the inspector as the man’s brown, almost black eyes ran up and down his body and he gave a disgusted grunt.
“Seems as dangerous as an old man’s fart. And you,” continued the inspector as he slipped the Dagger into his belt. “She said you would rely on him more than your own skill. One out of two isn’t bad, I suppose.”
How does she know that? Who has she been talking to? Raneth growled furiously. Did she know I was coming to Newer before I did? It wasn’t the first time he and Aldora had been betrayed by loose lips, but whoever they were, they usually shared information with Thane Frey, not a random royal detective.
The inspector with the Dagger looked to his men. “Take them to the kitchen, and two of you hold the royal official. Just in case.”
The hands holding Raneth shifted to his upper arms, gripping him so tightly it hurt. Aldora audibly winced beside him. They could at least be a little more gentle with Aldora!
Raneth just had time to watch the older inspector head up the wide staircase before he was jostled around to face the way he and Aldora had come. Without ceremony, they were shoved through the dining room and into the kitchen.
“On your knees,” growled one of the inspectors holding Raneth, and he kicked the back of Raneth’s right knee. Raneth’s leg buckled, forcing him to his knees, the hands of the inspectors still firmly holding his arms. He glanced at Aldora. They hadn’t forced her onto her knees in the same manner; she knelt of her own choice and glanced his way. She didn’t look as worried as Raneth had expected.
“Plan?” she mouthed to him.
Raneth glanced up at the inspectors behind her; they were watching him, so he couldn’t respond visibly. He looked down and shook his head ever so slightly. We wait, he thought, lifting his eyes to Aldora to see if she had understood. She frowned back at him, but didn’t try to communicate further. Hopefully she understands.
The royal official took stock of the room more carefully. Saucepans by the oven can be weapons. Knife rack’s there. Where are the cups? I can use those as weapons if needed too. Curiously, he looked at the cupboards above the work surface that ran either side of the oven. Must be in there. Worst case scenario, I can yank free any drawers and smash those in their faces, if our gifts can’t help.
The minutes ticked by and Raneth’s knees began to go numb, but he ignored the chill of the hard floor seeping through his trousers. I’ll be fine once I’m up, as long as we’re not waiting for much longer. It’s just the cold.
Heavy, measured footsteps came from behind them and Raneth tried to look past his captors’ legs, but they jostled him in response, one of the men bashing his knee into the royal official’s cheek.
“Stay still!”
“It’s alright. If you caught them, I doubt they pose me much danger after all,” stated a woman’s voice. She strode in front of Raneth, carefully out of reach in case he slipped his arms free, and folded her arms. The inspector that had taken the Dagger followed her and stood near Lodema. “I had heard you were more formidable, Captain.”
“Don’t believe everything you read in The Giften Daily, Lodema,” replied Raneth. “Do these inspectors know you’re a Giften too?”
“Of course they do.”
Lodema’s face matched the photograph Drigoe had given them. Her brown hair framed her face, shining in the morning light from a window opposite the oven. Her blue eyes fixed onto the royal official, whilst her right hand toyed with a leather case at her hip. She’s right-handed, determined Raneth.
“But I am Mr Shale’s right-hand woman now. They take orders from me until he comes back.”
Raneth glanced at Aldora; she was looking at him, an uncertain frown across her features. She’s probably wondering what I’m doing. What am I doing? I need to win Lodema’s confidence, get her to tell the inspectors to shove off too. He cleared his throat.
“Lodema, I understand. I know about Rocco.”
The Giften detective’s lower lip trembled as she looked at him, and then sharply up towards the ceiling. She inhaled harshly, her breath catching.
“Who told you about Rocco?”
She lowered her gaze back to the royal official, her eyes already reddening and turning glassy with tears. She’s hurting. Whatever happened, it’s fresh.
“He’s why you took unscheduled leave in Aleesa and came here, isn’t he? I heard you thought the overseer caused his death.”
She glanced warily at the inspectors. He looked up at the two holding him, noting suspicious looks passing between them.
“Shut up, Captain Bayre.” She turned to the inspector who had returned with her. “Where’s the Dagger?”
“Here.” The inspector strode past Aldora and placed the Dagger of Protection into Lodema’s waiting hand.
She placed the Dagger of Protection onto the counter. “Grab a bucket and come back.”
A bucket?
“Cuff him to the support beam.” Lodema pointed at one of the beams in front of the free-standing work surface and the strong hands holding Raneth pulled him towards it.
“
Lodema, holding a representative of the law against their will is illegal,” warned Raneth. “In all kingdoms.”
“I know. I’m a royal detective. Or was.”
The inspectors shoved Raneth’s back hard against the wood of the beam and yanked his arms behind him. The kiss of cold metal against his wrists warned the royal official that one of the inspectors had slapped cuffs on him. I can ice those up if I have to, but that’s not always effective.
“Get their weapons and dump them by the door,” instructed Lodema to the two who had been holding Raneth. One strode towards the Dagger. “Not that one. That stays with me.”
The two inspectors left the room, retreating to the entrance hall.
“Lodema, what actually happened to your son?” pressed Raneth.
The royal detective glanced at the Newers holding Aldora. “Tie her up and get out.”
They did as asked, leaving the two Giftens alone with Lodema. That evens out the odds a little, thought Raneth.
“The overseer murdered him to protect Koyla. Shale took him from school. He posed as Rocco’s uncle – Rocco doesn’t even have an uncle!”
Who’s Koyla? Raneth gave the Giften detective a soft smile, hoping it would encourage her to tell him more. I need to make her feel we’re on her team, whether she’s right about Rocco or not.
“Alright, Lodema. The school messed up.” He gave a confirming nod. “What happened next? Why do you think he took Rocco?”
“It’s not think, I know,” snapped Lodema. She strode to stand in front of Aldora. “I found out. The detectives who were assigned Rocco’s case were idiots.” She slipped her hand into the leather case at her hip and withdrew a silver sphere the size of an orange. She gripped it tightly, the ends of her fingers turning white. “And I know why you’re here, Captain. This.” She held the Shotput forwards and wiggled her hand. “It’s mine. I was given it.”
Hang on a second.
“What do you mean?” asked Raneth. “Who gave it to you?”