‘Be positive,’ Leana said. ‘You have your father’s possessions back, do you not? In Venyn this would have been opened long ago, the contents for sale in some market.’
‘You make a good point,’ I sighed, stepping over to the trunk.
I levered it open and stooped to peer inside. Several heavy ledgers lay underneath writing instruments, an abacus, three or four ornaments, and a smaller, polished wooden box. I lifted the latter out, opened it up. Inside were a couple of peculla coins, and a small stone that could have been used as a paperweight. What caught my eye, however, was the empty blue glass vial, which was no bigger than my thumb, and shaped with a long, thin neck. A tiny cork was stuck in the end.
‘What is that?’ Leana asked, stepping closer.
‘I saw vials similar to this at the apothecary . . .’
We held eye contact for a moment.
‘You went to one last night.’ Leana possessed a sudden look of pride.
I nodded, but wasn’t going to say any more on the subject.
‘So what do you think this was?’ she asked, nodding towards the vial.
‘I’m not entirely sure. I wonder if he was on a form of medication?’
‘Did he suffer from seizures also?’
‘No. Well, not to my knowledge – not unless he hid it.’
‘You say his heart had stopped,’ Leana continued.
‘That’s what I was told.’
‘Perhaps he used a herbal concoction to soothe his pains? It is not out of the question. Where was the box likely to be stored?’
‘Probably in a drawer,’ I replied. ‘Somewhere out of sight, where he kept a couple of coins . . .’
Leana nodded. ‘Perhaps you should go back to the apothecary and ask if they know about where such vials are sold. They might know other traders who deal in such things.’
‘That could be worth a go.’
A child looked up from smashing walnuts on the side of the kerb, shading his eyes from the sun. I said hello to him, but he either did not hear me or did not care. Behind him stood a pepper merchant dressed in fine silks, who was hawking his wares rather forcefully to passers-by.
Leana and I continued through the busy streets outside my house, and upon entering the next street saw an elderly man wearing the robes of a priest strolling serenely through the gates to my property. Was this the one Bellona had referred to in her message? There was no time to go back, but I had left firm instructions to get more details. We headed deep into the district of Regallum. Protected by armed personnel, the banking building was in fact a refurbished temple, one dedicated to a god no longer in favour with the Senate. It was an impressive structure, with eight ornate limestone columns on its front, and a brazier either side of a stairway leading up to the main entrance.
Building work was taking place along the shaded side, where a stonemason stood on a ladder making some fine adjustments higher up another column. As we approached the main door, the soldiers, whose armour was concealed by heavy black cloaks, examined us closely. I made sure my Sun Chamber badge was on full display and let it be known Leana was clearly with me. They stood back and watched us impassively, with only a quiet nod to indicate that we might continue through.
Inside the bank, on the marble floors under an ornately painted dome, where people spoke in hushed, almost spiritual tones, I cashed in my credit notes from Venyn and arranged to transfer money in coin to Veldrum Hecater. They knew him well, it seemed, and I half expected some comment as to my father’s affairs – though none came. They were curt, efficient and exceedingly dull individuals, who tried to negotiate a higher fee at every transactional opportunity.
I could not leave soon enough.
Optryx
‘Well, that’s finally dealt with,’ I said. ‘I’ve just about enough money to last a few weeks, but unless we get a salary payment delivered soon, we will be licking limestone blocks for dinner.’
‘Then you should find a way of getting more money,’ Leana said.
‘And how do we do that?’
‘I do not know,’ Leana replied. ‘You are supposed to be the thinker.’
As we walked up the gentle slope towards the king’s residence, I felt a sudden relief having put my father’s debts behind me, and the family name cleared once and for all. I imagined him trying to work, to solve the riddles of some crime with such financial problems on his mind. To have no money was bad enough, but to owe others such a fortune would have been torturous. To very nearly pay it off would have been an immense relief, and suspicious in itself.
When we arrived at Optryx and gave the day’s password, we were permitted inside the building. I spoke with the administrative staff about the king’s desire to see me this morning. While there it seemed a good idea to examine other parts of the building. These officials, who wore beautiful green and cream silk gowns, seemed more than willing to help, so it was not long before we were ushered through a double door, along a bright marble corridor, and beginning the preparation to be in the company of King Licintius once again.
We waited in a small, private room. I perched on one of four long, cushioned seats that had been arranged in a semicircle around a window overlooking the internal gardens. For a while Leana and I sat in companionable silence, enjoying the warmth of the morning sunlight on our faces, watching the tops of the plants stir in the breeze. From my casual glance, there was no henbane there.
The door opened without warning. A small armed escort from the King’s Legion led Licintius into the room and I knelt to one knee, Leana to two. His expression changed to one of surprise when he saw her, but he made no further comment.
‘Drakenfeld, please – on your feet.’ The king seemed genuinely glad to see me. His outfit was breathtakingly ornate, a cloak comprising of both blues and purple silks, and a rich yellow tunic embroidered with the black falcon of Detrata. It was luxurious, a stark contrast to the armour of the four soldiers, who took precise and slow steps to take their places along the side of the room.
I introduced Leana, but after that, for the rest of the conversation, he hardly acknowledged her presence. I enquired how he was coping with the matters surrounding his sister’s passing.
His expression changed and beneath the royal glamour was the look of a tired man. Licintius simply shook his head and gestured for us to take a seat on one of the couches. It was only when the sunlight reflected off his jewellery that I realized quite how much he was wearing.
‘Let us start on a more positive note,’ he sighed. ‘Tell me how your investigation is proceeding. I’ve been eagerly awaiting your report.’
I explained where my investigations had taken me so far: to the Skull and Jasmine troupe, as steered by the suspicions of many of the guests that night. I felt it had been the will of the people to send me down there to investigate the most suspicious but least likely individuals – though I did not tell him that.
‘You do not believe the actors are truly implicated in this?’ Licintius asked, gazing across his gardens. ‘I enjoyed their company very much. They seem good people, of which there is a shortage here.’
‘It’s too early to say, sir. However, the leader of their troupe, a man called Drullus . . .’ I paid close attention to the king’s expression, waiting to see just how much of what Clydia implied could be seen.
‘I know Drullus,’ the king replied. ‘What of him?’
‘He was found with his throat cut in a small hideout, further down in the city.’
I saw, briefly, the signs of distress in Licintius’ face, his creased brow, the gaze at me – right through me. ‘Oh, what a waste.’ Licintius shook his head. ‘I must see to it that his body receives an appropriate send-off.’ He waved over one of the nearby soldiers and muttered something into his ear. The man left the room, presumably to set the royal wheels in motion.
A king would not see to the funeral requirements of someone so low in the city without there being some kind of bond between the two of them.
Cont
inuing my report, ‘I had hoped Drullus could tell me more about what he saw that night, but it was not to be. If indeed he was somehow involved, that line of enquiry has been ruled out. You requested the Skull and Jasmine to perform – did you know much of their work?’
‘I saw one or two performances,’ the king said, as if still numbed by the news. ‘They occasionally show up at the larger theatres, but they possessed a genuine love of the arts not often seen in the well-known troupes. One could see the quality of their acting.’
I nodded, waiting for him to continue, but he did not say anything else. It could not have been a great time for the man, with his sister and – potentially – his supposed lover having been killed.
‘With your permission, I would like to make a more thorough examination of the residence,’ I said. ‘I’d like to look at more rooms, to get a feel for things as they may have occurred that night, to see if anything else can be found. This is a vast building and I can only cover so much at any one time. But, most of all, I would like to get an impression of what it was like for Lacanta on her final day. I’m sure a better picture might form in my mind.’
‘By all means.’ The king turned his sunken eyes towards me. ‘I will let it be known to all staff that you are granted access without question.’ After he regarded the garden again he said, ‘The Sun Chamber is very famous to educated souls, and no one knows better than we royals about the gravitas of your post. But though your dealings are more for the benefit of Vispasia, you will find whoever’s doing this, won’t you? This is a personal request. I’m sure there are wider benefits for the nation. Lacanta was well liked by people.’ There was more than an edge of desperation to his words.
‘I will do my best to find out what happened, sir,’ I replied.
‘For a man of your experience, who has seen many things throughout the world, how many murders go by without justice being issued?’
‘Honestly?’ I asked, and he nodded. ‘Very many, I’m afraid. Often in big cities lone killers are seen committing the act by witnesses, which is why I’m surprised that no one saw anything on the night Lacanta departed this world. But as I say I will do my very best to find whoever did this and bring them to swift justice.’
He clenched his fists, his manner transformed entirely like a man possessed. ‘And when you find them, I will have their bodies fayed in public and their heads will be left to rot on spikes for the rest of my days. I am of a mind to send my personal guard through the city knocking on every door until we find out who is responsible. Just tell me where to look and I’ll send them.’
There was a violence about his mood that seemed every bit the king I had expected but not yet seen: determined to show action rather than explore the calmer, more considered route.
‘I can understand your fury, sir,’ I replied. ‘But I fear soldiers tramping through the streets may do more damage than good. I suspect it would be a good thing to ensure soldiers of the City Watch keep vigilant. The Civil Cohorts have been briefed to keep an eye out. However, if you could spare the personnel, it may be prudent to send some of your staff to other nearby towns in order to find out if there are conversations going on that suggest the killer is elsewhere. One of my concerns is, if we are dealing with an assassin, then they may be far from here already.’
‘I will do this immediately,’ the king said. ‘I’ll arrange for some of my finest agents to move into all major settlements in Detrata, Maristan, Theran, and Koton to see what they can find. An act that is entirely within Vispasian laws, of course.’
‘Of course, and that would be very useful,’ I replied. ‘And in the meantime I will continue to do my best to root out any suspects here – even if they’re in the Senate. When will Lacanta’s funeral be held?’
‘Very soon,’ he sighed. ‘Which is why, in an ideal world, I would have liked her killers located and punished while her spirit was still within her body. She would more peacefully join the afterlife if that were the case. I do not like to think that her soul may stray.’
If her god was Trymus, as was to be expected of royals of Tryum, what the king said meant a lot to him. Trymus’ followers believed that resolved deaths were beneficial in the afterlife, otherwise their ghosts may return to the land, forever attempting to attend to unfinished matters. Murders were not just about the death but about helping people beyond that border to rest peacefully in their new world. I had to bring Lacanta’s killer to justice not just for the king, but for Lacanta herself.
His mood picked up and a new light came into his eyes. He became a proud man once again.
‘The races at the Stadium of Lentus in a couple of days, which were meant solely for General Maxant, will now also be held in her honour,’ he said. ‘This will be the moment where we formally announce her death to the people of Tryum, so we can all mourn in unison – royals, senators and the people alike. After that I will hold a more private engagement. She would prefer it to be that way.’
‘A wonderful plan.’ There was that contradiction again: even in death Lacanta seemingly led a double life as someone who appreciated the bigger stage as well as the more intimate event.
The king stood up, and we followed suit as was expected. ‘If you will excuse me, Drakenfeld, I have trade matters to attend to. I have little time to mourn, frustratingly – Tryum does not stop, even if our own lives do from time to time. In the meantime, please explore this residence as you wish. Lacanta’s body is lying in another Temple of Trymus within the city – it would be indecent to keep her in the very room where she was killed. Her room has also been cleaned since the incident – hopefully the gods will be pleased with our treatment.’
‘Do you know, sir, in the cleaning of her room, if anybody noticed that objects had gone missing?’
‘I am not aware of any.’ Licintius frowned, and looked towards me with expectation. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘Purely to be thorough.’ I remembered the shapes in the dust when I was in her room last and wondered if anyone had reported anything. ‘It would help my investigation a great deal to know that all paths have been explored. If something had been reported as missing, it might help to find whoever did this.’
‘To my knowledge nothing has been taken and, from my moments alone with her to mourn, I noticed nothing out of place.’
The king walked to the door and the guards snapped in line to follow, their armour rattling as they did so. Licintius turned to face me.
‘You are free to explore Optryx. I ask only that my private bedchamber and the meeting room in which I will greet an official from Gippoli be left in peace.’
‘If it is your wish, so be it,’ I replied, before adding a formal farewell.
The king and his soldiers departed, and I could finally relax.
The Bookshelf
Trymus looked down upon us as we entered his temple. We weren’t going to find any more clues there, especially since it had been cleaned up long since, but it still irked me that someone could be found within a locked room after having been seen only moments before outside. Perhaps a fresh look under a different light might help to ascertain some key method in spiriting Lacanta’s body in here.
Something, that is, other than the excuse of magic.
Though gods were rational beings, I could not trust magic at all. Magic was about people trying to control their own environment, rather than leaving these effects to the will of the gods. Magic was comprised of curses, charms and the like, without the divine right to use them properly. People should not play at being gods.
I had seen or heard many strange things in my time that I could not explain: I’d witnessed a regiment of skeletons march through the desert night, but was warned from stepping too close to examine it clearly; a good friend of mine was convinced that he saw a woman with snakes for arms killing a trader in Locco by strangulation, though I could not satisfy my own curiosity on the issue. But was it possible for someone to tamper with the fabric of our worlds, to transport a body through walls, and could the
gods have permitted such treacherous acts in their own temple? Sometimes I found it most difficult to bring together the mysteries of the world with my desire for reason.
All I could think was that whoever had killed Lacanta was simply very smart. That the key had been found on the inside of the door was still a problem for me.
Leana brought over the royal pontiff, the king’s private priest, who had been involved in the procession that night. A slender man with something of a goat-like face, he told me that, as a rule, there were several copies of the key so that the temple would be free for anyone to worship, whenever they liked. He told us it was well known that these copies were kept in various offices, and disappeared to find one. I recalled how there had been an urgency to open that door so that the festivities would happen at precisely the right time and that the soldiers were too impatient to wait.
The pontiff returned several minutes later in possession of two keys, but said that he had expected to find a third. ‘I have no idea where it could be. I’m always misplacing them though!’
The key was a curious point but it did not resolve the problem that it was still impossible to get Lacanta inside the temple in such a short space of time – merely a matter of minutes from when she was last seen – with so many of the guests watching the point of entry.
Was the key merely a decoy, something designed to deceive people after the murder?
Next to the temple were smaller chambers, formal reception areas, a library, and various meeting rooms. I had to request that some of the rooms be unlocked, and since no one person possessed the key to all of the rooms Leana spent just as much time finding the necessary member of staff as I did exploring the rooms. The whole process was time-consuming and took us the better part of the day. Still, as Leana commented, today was at least more relaxing, despite having been in the presence of the king.
There were fourteen rooms down one long, echoing corridor, not too far from the temple, and while we rooted around the area we frequently received many anxious or suspicious glances from the royal staff. I was impressed at the sheer number of people who passed us: clerks, servants, soldiers, priests, trading officials from around Vispasia. It was an incredibly busy building. Even on the night of the murder, there were hundreds of people present.
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