Weapon of Vengeance (Weapon of Flesh Trilogy)

by Jackson, Chris A.

  “I think I’ll leave through another exit, Captain.”

  “There are no other—” Norwood shut his mouth as Woefler murmured an arcane phrase, stepped through a dark fissure in the air, and vanished.

  “Coward,” he muttered, turning back to the screaming match. He took three strides into the fracas and bellowed, “Quiet this instant!”

  Silence fell.

  The captain took a moment to assess the quiet but still-hostile women. Two of the young ladies, obviously well-to-do, given their stylish gowns and tasteful jewelry, merely glowered at one another. The baroness ignored them, instead glaring daggers at the other two. One, a delicate young lady wearing a low-cut saffron gown, dabbed her tear-sodden eyes, and clutched a broken parasol. The fourth took Norwood’s breath away. Her form-fitting crimson dress made her seem a rose among daisies. Stunningly beautiful, she stood with the poise of a queen, head high in defiance, hair like waves of molten chocolate tumbling over creamy shoulders and daring décolletage.

  Norwood cleared his throat. “Now, what in the Nine Hells is going on here?”

  It was obviously the wrong question. All five women immediately started screeching at him and one another. The two ladies of standing railed at one another like sailors, while the young lady in saffron simply wailed, tears streaming down her cheeks. The rose struggled to free a hand, her painted nails resembling bloody thorns.

  “Please…be…civil!” Silence fell again, and Norwood nodded to the baroness. “Lady Patino, what’s this all about?”

  “I came here to clear up a simple misunderstanding,” the baroness seethed, “and I find that my late husband has been consorting with common whores!”

  Saffron Gown wailed at an even higher-pitch, while Crimson Rose countered with a poisonous glare and taunted, “Oh, come now, Baroness, you can’t tell me you didn’t know your dear husband was diddling half the women in Twailin!”

  “Why you lascivious tramp! I should have you arrested!”

  “On what charge?” Crimson Rose countered. “Last I heard there’s no law against cuckolding a shrew!”

  “I’ll have your head!” The baroness lunged past the two intervening guards, reaching for the other woman’s throat.

  Crimson Rose broke the guardsman’s hold on her arms with a quick jerk, and dodged like a prize fighter, still taunting. “And I had your husband’s, so get over it, Baroness!”

  “You vile piece of filth!” Baroness Patino lunged again, but Norwood stepped between the two.

  “No wonder your husband went philandering if he had you to come home to!”

  The captain grabbed Crimson Rose around the waist while addressing the baroness. “Lady Patino, I must insist that you calm down this—”

  The baroness took no heed. The roundhouse swing she cast at the woman in red had real force behind it. Crimson Rose saw the blow coming and ducked. Lady Patino’s fist met squarely with Norwood’s chin, and set his ears ringing.

  A burly private relieved Norwood of the crimson-clad woman, and the captain rounded on the baroness. “Lady Patino, that is enough!”

  She took a step back, stopped short by the volume and tone of his order. He couldn’t arrest her for accidently striking him—nobles enjoyed immunity from such petty crimes—but he’d be damned if he would let this row continue.

  “Corporal! Separate them all. Put them each in a different room under guard.”

  “Aye, captain!”

  Saffron Gown wailed anew. “Why am I to be arrested? I’ve done nothing wrong. I just came to find out what happened to poor Euey!”

  “No one’s being arrested. We’re just separating everyone for your own safety until we can get things settled.” Norwood turned back to the baroness. “Lady Patino, you said you came here to clear up a misunderstanding. I would very much like you to do so.”

  “In private, Captain.” She flashed a glare at the other women as they were being taken away. “I’ll not have rumors about this spreading throughout the city.”

  “Very well.” He waved her into his office and closed the door firmly behind him.

  “Please have a seat, Baroness.” Norwood rubbed his jaw as he took his own chair. His ears had stopped ringing, but the baroness packed quite a punch. He felt better with his desk between them. “I must admit that I’m surprised at your behavior, milady. When we spoke at your home this morning, you mentioned that you knew your husband spent time with other ladies, and didn’t have a problem with his conduct.”

  “Yes, well…” She pressed her lips together in a hard line and looked away. “I’m afraid I wasn’t completely truthful with you this morning, Captain. I knew of two of his…acquaintances. They’re both ladies of high standing, and the affairs were discreet. Or at least, I thought they were.”

  “I’m afraid I still don’t understand.”

  “Then listen, Captain, and I will endeavor to help you understand.” Her eyes flashed back to his, and she spoke with the authority of one long used to being obeyed.

  He spread his hands in a gesture of surrender and leaned back in his chair. “I’m listening.”

  “The two ladies I refer to, Jondelee Oaks and Vurita Miles, are from good families, but not noble blood. I knew of their associations with my husband because I approved them in the first place as a means to overcome…family difficulties.”

  “Please elaborate on these difficulties.” The captain couldn’t question the baroness outright about her husband’s death without revealing to her that it was murder. Perhaps learning more about these difficulties would shed light on the crime.

  “The baron, as you know, has no heirs and, despite our best efforts, we have been unable to conceive a child.” She took a deep breath and sighed. “It was necessary to…contract the services of a surrogate.”

  “I see.” It was not unheard of for royalty to have surrogate mothers produce heirs, and Norwood instantly understood why the baroness would want to keep the issue confidential.

  “Miss Oaks and Miss Miles were candidates for that service, but neither knew of the other, or that we were interviewing more than one young lady. They both arrived at our home late this morning asking about Eusteus’ death, and instantly fell to blows when each realized why the other was there. Your guards restrained them, and insisted they be brought here to clear up the mess. I insisted on coming along.” She fixed him with another significant look. “I won’t have them spouting rumors about me. I’ve warned them, but in their current states, I had to come to make sure.”

  “Perfectly understandable.”

  “Well, I arrived and found two more…women here asking about Eusteus. One of them, the one in red, is little more than a common tramp. I’m afraid I lost my temper.” She looked away, withdrew a silk handkerchief from her handbag and dabbed it to her eyes. “I’ve just discovered that my late husband was a whoremonger, Captain. If this gets out, I’ll be a laughingstock.”

  Norwood didn’t dare tell her that he suspected it was already all over the city. He watched her closely, wondering if her tears were genuine. She had already lied to him once today, by her own admission.

  “How do you propose we resolve this situation, milady? No laws have been broken, and I can’t very well imprison any of these ladies just to keep them from spreading rumors.”

  “Jondelee and Vurita will keep their mouths shut. They know I’ll ruin them both if they start telling stories. No contracts have been signed, so they have no claim to any compensation. The other young lady, the one in that ghastly yellow dress, seems to have been honestly duped by my husband. Though I’m not pleased with her, I bear her no ill will. If she agrees to keep her affair with Eusteus a secret, I have nothing else to say. As for that whore in red…” Her face flushed, and she pressed the handkerchief to her lips. “I would see her publicly flogged if I had my way, but as you say, no law has been broken. I would blame my philandering husband if he were alive to…” She turned away, and a muffled sob escaped the handkerchief.

  Norwood wasn�
�t sure what to do to console her, so he merely waited until she pulled herself together. “We’ll issue them all warnings in the interest of preserving your reputation, milady, but nothing more can be done.”

  “I understand, Captain.”

  “Very well, then.” Rounding his desk, he extended a hand to her. “You have my most sincere condolences on your loss. I’ll do everything in my power to preserve your good name.”

  She took his hand and stood. “Thank you, Captain.”

  Norwood ushered the grieving widow out of his office and closed the door. “Well, now I’ve got five suspects instead of one.” The women had seemed quite willing to kill one another. Might one of them have turned their fury on the baron? As he returned to his desk, absently rubbing his jaw, he wondered if any of the late baron’s pugnacious paramours were associated with any of the local ecclesiastical orders.

  Chapter XII

  Norwood followed the footman across the lush palace lawn, squinting at the blazing midday sun gleaming off of the white garden wall. Precisely at the center of the lawn, a colorful blue-and-white-striped awning shaded an elegant luncheon. The Duke and Duchess of Twailin sat on silk-upholstered chairs at a small table, sipping wine and enjoying the dazzling beauty of a bright and cloudless day. The captain of the Royal Guard felt a twinge of guild that he was about to ruin that day.

  “Milord Duke.” Norwood stopped ten feet from the table and bowed. “Milady.”

  “Ah, Captain Norwood.” Duke Mir regarded him with a thin smile, dropped his napkin onto his empty plate, and rose. “Punctual as always. You’re familiar with the captain, aren’t you Aerieanna?”

  “Of course.” Lady Mir shaded her eyes from the glare and smiled up at Norwood. “It’s good to see you in health, Captain. You’ll forgive me if I don’t linger to listen to matters pertaining to the Royal Guard. Such dreary topics give me a headache.”

  “I don’t blame Your Ladyship.” The captain bowed as she rose. “They often give me headaches as well.”

  An amused smile graced the duchess’ lips. Nodding to her husband, she strolled toward the palace. A footman paced in her wake, a shading parasol held high above her coif.

  “So, Norwood, what warrants an appointment on such short notice?” The duke gestured toward the rose beds that lined the wall, and Norwood fell in beside him.

  “Unfortunately, milord, murder.”

  Mir stopped mid-stride. “Murder? Who?”

  “Baron Patino, milord.”

  “You’re positive? I heard that he passed of natural causes.”

  Norwood wasn’t surprised that was what the duke had heard. He’d spread that news himself. “That’s the official explanation, milord, but Master Woefler discovered the remnants of the magic that killed him.”

  “Magic? That’s unusual, isn’t it?”

  “Quite, milord, which is why I’m approaching this cautiously. I’m spreading the news that it was natural causes to give the impression that we don’t know it was murder.” They resumed strolling.

  “You hope to put the culprit at ease and draw him out?”

  “Him or her, milord. It’s an even more unusual case than you might think. The magic, it seems, was wielded by a priest or priestess.”

  “You jest!”

  “No, milord.” Norwood shrugged helplessly. “I trust Master Woefler’s judgment when it comes to such things.”

  “Yes, as well you should.” The duke walked in silence for a while, then sighed deeply. “Damn it, I thought this violence was at an end!”

  “Violence, milord?” Norwood knew what the duke meant, and felt he needed to nip this notion in the bud. People were beginning to feel safe for the first time in more than a year, and he would try to hold back the river with a mop and bucket before he’d let that feeling be tainted. “By all accounts, the violence is at an end. There hasn’t been a single killing south of the river since the Fiveway Fountain incident, except for an occasional derelict in The Sprawls, and there’s no reason to link simple gang violence to the death of a baron. I believe this is an isolated incident.”

  “I suppose so.” Mir pursed his lips. “So how do you plan to proceed?”

  “Discreetly, milord.”

  “Yes. Yes of course, but a noble has been murdered, Captain. We must direct our resources appropriately. As you just said, that other matter seems to have burned itself out. Let the City Guard take over the investigation of the Fiveway Fountain incident.”

  Norwood bit his lip to hold back an acerbic retort. It rankled him that the life of a single baron outweighed those of nearly thirty commoners, but he had been expecting just such an order.

  “I’ll do so if you command, milord, but I think it dangerous. Shifting Royal Guard efforts may start rumors. To maintain secrecy, I planned to personally conduct the murder investigation with the help of a few select guardsmen. That’s why I came to speak with you, milord. I need your help looking into Baron Patino’s background.”

  “What kind of help?” Suspicion creased Mir’s brow.

  “I’d like to access the Royal Archives to obtain the official version of the baron’s life: financial details, the line of succession for his title and properties, religious affiliations, that kind of information. But to do so, I’ll need a writ of permission from you.”

  Norwood had already received much of this information from Lady Patino, but he didn’t know if he could trust her. By imperial law, the baron’s title, properties, and most of his wealth would go to his heir. The baroness would retain her title and receive a stipend, but only until she remarried. Unless she married another noble, any subsequent children would be commoners, since the baroness had held no title prior to her marriage. The captain had to admit that this soured her motive for killing her husband, but jealousy was still a huge motivator, and Baroness Patino topped his list of suspects.

  “The Royal Archives are in Tsing, Norwood. I’m not about to have you away from Twailin for a month!”

  “No, milord, but I can ask questions by correspondence. A fast messenger takes little more than a week one way.” Which will give me time to finish with the Fiveway Fountain investigation.

  “But to wait weeks for the information you need will give the killer time to flee.”

  “Which is another reason I want to keep this investigation as small and secret as possible, milord. If we don’t shout from the rooftops that this was murder, why should the killer flee?”

  Mir chewed his lip for a moment, and then shook his head. “No. No we must pursue this with all alacrity. I’ll send an immediate appeal for the information you need. You should have an answer tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?” Norwood stopped short, staring at his liege in puzzlement. “How…”

  “After that…difficulty a few years back, I asked Master Woefler to devise a means of magically corresponding with Tsing.” Mir looked sternly at Norwood. “This is a secret means of communication, mind you. No one is to know of it.”

  “Or course, milord!” Norwood could see the advantages to such a boon, not the least of which was military.

  “Good. Give a list of the information you need to Master Woefler, but don’t ask for the man’s entire life history. I can make the request high priority, but the more you want, the longer it will take.”

  “I’ll have a list to Master Woefler this afternoon, milord! Thank you.” This would speed up his investigation immeasurably.

  “Find whoever killed Baron Patino, Norwood. That will be thanks enough.”

  “I’ll do my best, milord.”

  Lad drew the black silk scarf up to secure it just below his eyes as he watched the coach lurched away from the curb in front of the Royal Guard headquarters. If you want something done right, do it yourself, he thought.

  Bemrin’s report had been worse than dismal. The Master Inquisitor had deployed his operative before he received Lad’s warning that Patino’s widow knew about his mistresses. Consequently, not only had his spy obtained no information about the baron
’s death beyond “natural causes”, but she had planted herself smack in the Royal Guard’s sights. Captain Norwood had questioned her himself. Fortunately, the talented young Inquisitor’s cover story, along with copious tears, seemed to have satisfied him. Unfortunately, the Royal Guard would be checking up on her to ensure that she kept her alleged affair with the baron a secret. She was effectively out of commission until they lost interest, just when Lad needed all the operatives he had combing the streets.

  Lad didn’t believe Patino died of natural causes, but how could Kiesha have killed him to make it look natural? Her previous methods had not been particularly subtle. She did favor poison, however, so perhaps an envenomed needle. An inconspicuous wound might be overlooked by a hasty investigator.

  But not Norwood. The captain was known for his diligence. And there was only one way to find out exactly what the captain of the Royal Guard knew.

  “So here I am…”

  Lad had first gone to Norwood’s townhouse, but discovered some changes since his previous visit. All the windows were now barred, and instead of one huge mastiff on the back porch, there were two, both in the captain’s bedroom. Neither precaution posed an impervious barrier to Lad, but he balked at killing the man’s dogs just to ask a few questions.

  Instead, he’d come to the Royal Guard headquarters. Peering into the captain’s office window from a nearby rooftop, Lad devised a better plan to get him alone for a chat. It was no great distance between Norwood’s work and home, and a Royal Guard carriage always transported the captain to and fro. Lad would simply share the ride.

  The coachman’s whip cracked and the carriage accelerated. Lad tensed as it approached the line of shadow where he waited, gauging the rocking of the carriage as it rumbled over the cobblestones.

  Noise and motion mask your movements. Use them to your advantage. Remember! The moment the vehicle passed into the gloom, Lad moved.