For Want of a Fiend

by Barbara Ann Wright

  He wheezed a laugh. “Just what will the two of you do if I collapse?”

  “Cushion your fall?” Starbride said.

  “You’ll be unconscious,” Katya said, “but you’ll be comfortable.” They staggered down the street together, Brutal setting the pace. Katya tried her best not to grunt, but she couldn’t help feeling that she was trying to lug a horse down the street.

  “I can run ahead and bring someone,” Starbride said.

  Katya considered. “No, we need to stay together.”

  “They were Fiends,” Starbride said. “Fiends inside the pyramids on their foreheads.”

  “How? Like my…family’s?”

  If Starbride noticed the pause, she gave no indication. “No, not as strong. Not as smart either, or so it seemed.”

  “Plenty clever enough,” Brutal rumbled.

  “But animal clever,” Katya said. “I felt a chill, but I thought…” She didn’t know what she’d thought, maybe that it had been a breeze.

  “Fiendish energy put into corpses.” Disgust threaded Starbride’s voice. “Roland’s messed about with corpses before. But is he using his own Fiend or pulling the essence from somewhere else?”

  Brutal sighed against Katya’s shoulder. “Like Maia.”

  They limped down the alley and then turned down another street. Anyone they passed gave them curious looks. Before they’d gone far, a Watch patrol called out from up the lane. No doubt one of the pedestrians had felt alarmed enough to report them.

  Katya breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Captain Ursula. She also recognized the sergeant with her as Rhys, the man who’d examined Appleton’s body.

  “Your Highness?” Ursula asked. “What happened?”

  “My friend was stabbed by a mugger,” Katya said.

  “Several muggers,” Brutal said. “I have my pride.”

  Ursula eyed the mace hanging from his belt. The corpses they’d fought might not have had much blood, but they’d probably left something behind. “Did you get a piece of them?”

  “One or two,” he said.

  “Got a knife in his back, Cap,” Sergeant Rhys said as he walked around them.

  Ursula pointed at Brutal’s red robe. “Headed for the chapterhouse?”

  “That’s right,” Starbride said.

  Ursula sent Sergeant Rhys ahead while she helped support Brutal on Starbride’s side. “This related to what happened at the funeral?”

  “We were just at the Pyradisté Academy,” Starbride said.

  “And your friend got mugged?”

  “In a side street near the market,” Katya said.

  “They took off after I connected with two of them.” Brutal’s face had slowly drained of color as they walked. “Helped each other away before the ladies arrived.”

  “And they cut your cheek on their way, Crown Princess?” Ursula asked.

  Katya fought the urge to swear. She wondered how visible the cuts on her arms were, or the slash to Starbride’s forearm. “A separate incident.”

  “Cut herself shaving,” Brutal muttered.

  Katya and Starbride snorted laughs, but Ursula wasn’t put off. “How many muggers were there? And what were they after? I’m given to understand monks don’t carry much money.”

  “Enough,” Katya said.

  “I have to investigate crimes, Highness.”

  “He’s weak. Investigate after we get him seen to.”

  “As you wish. You should know, though, that the people’s anger from the funeral isn’t isolated. We’ve heard grumbling all over the city, and Magistrate Anthony is fanning the flames.”

  “Appleton’s boss?” Starbride asked.

  “Seems the state funeral didn’t impress him too much, especially given the more lavish nature of the queen mother’s,” Ursula said.

  Katya nearly grumbled that her grandmother had been royalty, but she kept that to herself. Brutal stumbled, and they all grunted as they held him up enough to keep going. “Should we stop, Brutal?” Katya asked.

  “No,” he said between clenched teeth.

  “That’s a yes.” Katya led the way over to the wall and made him lean against it. The rest of them leaned forward on their knees and breathed hard. Katya touched Brutal’s pale cheek. “I’m not losing you, too.”

  He grinned lopsidedly. “Best and Berth aren’t done with me yet. Think of how many people there are left to fight.”

  “Yes, think of them.”

  “Captain Ursula,” Starbride asked, “do you think Magistrate Anthony was behind the near riot at the queen mother’s funeral?”

  “We haven’t determined the ringleaders, yet, Crown Princess Consort.” She stared hard at Starbride for a few moments. “If you have any new information—”

  “We don’t,” Katya said.

  Ursula turned that hard gaze on Katya. She bowed, unpracticed and shallow, but respectful and conveying complete disbelief. “As you wish, Crown Princess.”

  Katya didn’t have time for a retort. Sergeant Rhys came up the lane, a pack of brothers and sisters of strength with him who pushed a flat cart with a single wheel on one end. The monks examined Brutal’s wound before announcing they could better treat it at the chapterhouse. They loaded him on his side on the cart.

  Brutal grabbed Katya’s arm. “Don’t wait for them to heal me. Go back to the palace.”

  Katya clamped her lips together but nodded. “I’ll see you to the chapterhouse.”

  “I can escort you to the palace,” Ursula offered.

  “Completely unnecessary,” Katya said. The last thing she wanted was to be hounded with questions for the entire trip.

  “Are you certain? After everything that’s happened…”

  “I think it’s a fine idea,” Starbride said. When Katya glanced at her, she shrugged. “The captain is right. The city’s too volatile.” Her eyes widened, as if she was trying to will Katya to see her point.

  Katya tried to see the benefit, but then she got it in a flash. If Ursula was with them and Roland tried something, they had a witness. “Fine.”

  They walked with Brutal to the gates of the chapterhouse, just two more blocks away. The huge stone archway was held up by statues of the twin spirits Best and Berth, their well-muscled backs the supports of the arches. Still, the male and female faces were serene for all the weight, as if the feat of strength came naturally to them and the fortitude to withstand it came from their bones.

  Katya clenched Brutal’s hand before they wheeled him inside. Even if she wanted to go with him, she could only go as far as the chapel. Crown princess or not, only brothers, sisters, or initiates could pass into the chapterhouse itself.

  Brutal gave her a wan smile, but it made her feel better. The walk back to the palace held fewer pitfalls than she thought. Captain Ursula didn’t ask a single question. Rather, she spoke mostly to Starbride, and her conversation leaned toward the everyday. By the end, though, Katya began to get the feeling that Ursula was trying to get a feel for their lives, for why someone might be targeting them and why they wouldn’t want help dealing with it.

  At the entrance to the palace, Katya caught Ursula’s arm, ready to give her a small test to see how far she could be trusted. “Do you believe I would turn against my own subjects, Captain? That any of my family would?”

  Ursula stared into Katya’s eyes for a moment. “I believe your brother would, Highness.”

  Katya heard Starbride’s sharp intake of breath. A few weeks ago, she would have had her own surprised reaction. Now, she just nodded. “Thank you for your honesty.”

  “But I’ve seen your Highness work for the good of the people on more than one occasion, and you made sure your brother was taken care of the night Mr. Appleton was killed before you guarded yourself. I believe you are an honorable woman.”

  “Thank you.” Katya took a deep breath before plunging on. “I think we were deliberately attacked today for who we are.”

  “I see. Not muggers, then.”

  �
�Someone either means to undermine us or kill us.”

  “And by us you mean?”

  “The Umbriels,” Starbride said.

  “And by undermine, you think this mysterious someone seeks to turn the townspeople against you?”

  “Exactly,” Starbride said. “We’re in it up to our ears, Captain.”

  Ursula smiled slightly before she swallowed the look. “It’s not surprising really, that someone would be stirring such a pot. You’re not thinking the man killed by your brother was part of this conspiracy?”

  “No,” Katya said. “That was my brother’s own stupidity.”

  “And the people who attacked you today? Did they really flee?”

  “They are gone,” Katya said.

  “Very inconvenient.” The words could have been mocking, but Ursula stared at the cobblestones and stroked her chin. “Could these ‘muggers’ have been under the influence of a pyramid?”

  Katya couldn’t help a glance at Starbride “Why?”

  “Well, you were at the academy.”

  Katya smiled her droll, courtly smile. “To secure a teacher for my consort.”

  “Of course. I’ll investigate everything you’ve said.” It sounded both a promise and a threat, but it was exactly what Katya wanted.

  “I know you will.”

  After another bow, deeper this time, Ursula headed into the city.

  Chapter Twenty-six: Starbride

  Starbride and Katya had to split up again after only a quick good-bye. Both had work to do, and Starbride couldn’t get the faces of the Fiendish corpses out of her mind. She promised Katya she’d go through Crowe’s books to look for more information, but that would have to give way at the moment for another investigation.

  She and her mother had invited a snake to tea. Luckily, they’d invited many people to cover their true purpose.

  Starbride returned to her apartment shortly before her guests, leaving Dawnmother only a few moments to bind the wound on her arm and hide it behind fresh clothes. Starbride quickly told her what had happened.

  “I should have been there,” Dawnmother said. “Better there than laying out teacups and fetching cake.”

  “There was nothing you could have done. We have work to do, and tea and cake are our weapons.”

  Her mother’s entrance saved them from an argument. “They’re right behind me. Places.”

  Unlike the first time she and Lady Hilda had dined together, Starbride was armed with allies well versed in Lady Hilda’s tricks. When Starbride told her mother that Lady Hilda might also be a traitor, she’d gotten a gleam in her eye. Even if they didn’t uncover evidence at their tea party, she might find some eventually.

  Lady Hilda entered Starbride’s sitting room in a gown that plunged straight to her impressive cleavage and kept going.

  As Starbride stared at the obviousness, her mother whispered in her ear, “Be smarter than to fall for that. You’re not a man.”

  “I’m not leering, Mother! I’m…amazed.”

  Her mother gave her a look. Starbride almost asked her if she desired every man she saw, but the thought of her outlining her sexual appetites quashed that notion. Starbride moved away instead and nodded as Countess Nadia entered along with the other guests.

  As everyone began to mingle in babbling little groups, Starbride worked her way over to her prey. “Lady Hilda, always a pleasure.”

  Lady Hilda bowed the appropriate number of inches and not a hair more. “Princess Consort. Or do you prefer Crown Princess Consort? Is there really such a position? I didn’t think consorts ever got to put the crown before their titles.”

  Starbride’s back teeth ached; she relaxed her jaw and held up the wrist with the consort’s cuff as she stroked her chin. “Let me think. You may use crown if it pleases you. What does it really matter? The position is the same.”

  “It matters a great deal. Why, if the unthinkable happened, you stand to be queen.”

  “Yes, that is unthinkable.”

  “Positively tragic.” Lady Hilda flashed a beautiful smile.

  Starbride sought to change the subject before her spleen curdled. “We’ve had a lot of tragedy lately. What with the death of Appleton, then the king’s pyradisté, and of course, the queen mother.”

  Lady Hilda’s frown increased as if unsure where Starbride was going. “Quite.”

  “Then again, weren’t you gone from court for the first funeral?”

  “Yes, Hilda.” Countess Nadia moved to Starbride’s side. “Where did you run off to? You missed Lord Ferguson’s fall party, and that’s not like you at all.”

  Lady Hilda dipped her head as she bowed. “Countess. I do love a party, but I had some unfortunate estate business to take care of.”

  “Now that is odd,” Countess Nadia said, “because my late husband’s relatives didn’t mention that you’d returned to your estate, and an appearance by the local nobility is always such an affair in the townships.”

  Lady Hilda’s eye twitched. “I came in very discreetly, didn’t need the invitations pouring in for a lot of provincial parties and fetes, not when I wanted to finish my business and get back to court.”

  “Well, that’s it, then. They will be sorry they missed you.”

  Before Lady Hilda could finish her bow, Countess Nadia said, “Still, I do wonder how you went home under cover of darkness, as it were. No matter how ‘discreet’ I try to be when traveling to my own estate, someone always spots me. A carriage train is hard to conceal when traveling past lonely farms or, spirits above, through a township.”

  Starbride chuckled with her. Lady Hilda had lost her smile and whisked a glance toward the door. “I went home on horseback.”

  Countess Nadia’s face was the perfect mix of innocent confusion. “Without your clothes, your jewels, your servants? I would be lost without all my pretty baubles.”

  “Are you not lost without your baubles, Lady Hilda?” Starbride asked.

  “I’ve learned to do without.”

  “The servants you leave at your estate must have been working nonstop to replace what you had to leave behind,” Countess Nadia said. “I’ll tell my husband’s relatives to send them some help, maybe some extra food to make up for what they used while you were there.” She looked skyward. “In fact, I believe that some of my relatives’ servants are related to those in your township. It’s a simple thing to figure out how you stayed out of their sight so well. I really must learn your tricks so I won’t be bothered the next time I’m home.”

  “You needn’t bother, Countess, with the food or the help. We managed quite well. As for my secrets, they’re nothing of consequence. Just a few sharp orders, not to mention a whip for those who disobeyed.”

  “Tsk, so heavy-handed, Lady Hilda,” Countess Nadia said. “Whipping the servants went out before my day.”

  Lady Hilda cast a glance in Starbride’s direction. “Maybe some traditions should come back, such as…” She gestured around. “Well, such as nobility mingling strictly with nobility.”

  Starbride smiled. “Or such as a noblewoman traveling alone seeking solace with a traveling nobleman.”

  Lady Hilda’s nostrils flared.

  “Too true, my dear,” Countess Nadia said, “though that one was going out of vogue when I was young as well. Still, I used it now and again just after my husband died if there was a handsome nobleman passing my estate.” She winked. “I’m sure you must have used that one once or twice, Hilda.”

  “I can take care of myself, Countess, begging your pardon.”

  “Well, that’s not really the point, is it? You’re just making them think you need their protection.” She snapped her fingers. “Now I know how you did it.”

  Lady Hilda froze. Starbride wondered if she even breathed. “Did it, Countess?”

  “Sneaked away from your estate! Duke Robert was traveling to court at exactly the same time to return his daughter. You could have easily blended with his caravan.”

  Lady Hilda’s smile
had an edge of panic. She could deny it, leading the conversation back to how she’d sneaked into and away from her estate. She could say yes, ending the conversation, but connecting herself to Duke Robert’s caravan, somewhere she wouldn’t want Katya to place her after what had happened to Crowe.

  “Yes, that’s where I was.” She sipped her drink, covering her expression and clearly hoping Starbride and Countess Nadia didn’t know enough to connect her to Brom and the pyramid.

  “That poor man,” Countess Nadia said. “First his daughter is disgraced, and then she takes her own life just as the king allows her marry again. They say she was just so brokenhearted about what she’d done, what she’d lost.” Countess Nadia’s face took on hardness. “It really is something the way someone on top of the world can be brought low just by the company they keep.”

  Lady Hilda met that unblinking stare with one of her own. “Yes, that is something.”

  “Did you talk to her?” Starbride asked.

  Lady Hilda blinked as if she’d forgotten Starbride was there. “Did I…What? Who?”

  “The former crown princess. When you were part of the duke’s caravan, did you speak to Brom?”

  “Briefly.”

  “I was just wondering what would prompt someone to take her own life. We don’t have many suicides in Allusia. It’s considered bad luck for the rest of your family. I wondered if she gave any indication of…what she meant to do.”

  “Yes,” Countess Nadia said, “and such a shame that the strain caused poor Cimerion Crowe’s heart to give out.” She turned to Starbride. “Why, just like you said, my dear. Poor Brom’s suicide caused bad luck for those left behind.”

  Starbride didn’t stop staring at Lady Hilda. “Almost as if one caused the other.”

  Lady Hilda snorted a laugh. “I suppose it would seem that way if you believed in superstition.”

  “I wasn’t talking about superstition.”

  “Seems you’re at the crux of more than one mystery, my dear Hilda.” Countess Nadia patted Lady Hilda’s wrist. “We’ll find out your secrets one day, though never all of them, I’m sure.”

  Lady Hilda bowed again, but she couldn’t leave, not while Countess Nadia and Starbride were taking an interest in her, not until relieved by a bigger fish. Starbride almost laughed at the thought that it would take Katya—at least—to rescue her.