Kill Three Birds

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Kill Three Birds Page 10

by Nicole Kurtz


  “Please sit, Hawk Tasifa, and tell us what this is about,” Bella said, sitting down. Oliver sat beside her and, as instructed, Prentice sat in the armchair across from them.

  “I appreciate you seeing me. I have a few more questions, and I wanted to get answers to them from you without distractions,” Prentice explained. She removed her pad and pencil and scooted to the chair’s edge.

  “Okay.” Bella bit her lower lip, a habit Prentice had seen in young Rachel.

  “Is there new information you can tell us?” Oliver asked.

  “Not at this time, but I can tell you I am close to identifying who killed your daughter.” Prentice looked them in the eyes.

  Oliver gasped. “So quickly? Wow.”

  Bella narrowed her eyes at Prentice. “She said she was close, Ollie.”

  “Right. That’s where you come in.” Prentice offered a soft smile meant to put them at ease.

  “Go ahead. Ask your questions.” Bella sat back on the settee.

  “Tell me about your reaction to learning Gretchen was dating a rooster.” Prentice had to start with the hardest question. She didn’t know if they knew, but she assumed they did. Carno knew and he wouldn’t have kept it secret.

  Bella let out a long sigh. “We didn’t overreact, but we were admittedly concerned.”

  “About the relationship?”

  Bella whispered, “Yes.”

  “So, you both knew she was courting Boris?”

  Oliver said, “Yes. We didn’t agree. She knew that, but she was smitten. We believed she’d get tired of it soon and end it.”

  “Did everyone feel that way about it? That it was just a phase?” Prentice knew the answer, but she had to ask to get confirmation.

  “The girls didn’t seem to mind. I mean, we tried to focus so much of our energy on the positive,” Bella said.

  “As the goddess teaches,” Oliver interjected.

  “Hoot,” Prentice said.

  “Hoot,” the Finches echoed.

  Oliver burst into tears.

  A few quiet moments passed. He removed a handkerchief.

  “And Carno?” Prentice asked.

  “Carno’s so meticulous. He’s the opposite of Gretchen, who liked things messy and spontaneous,” Bella confessed with a chuckle. “They were polar opposites.”

  “Was it Carno who told you about Gretchen’s relationship with Boris?”

  “Yes. I was frantic. He had gone out to find her one evening when she missed her curfew. The next morning, he came down to breakfast. He had several scratches, a bite mark, I think, and other injuries. He said he fell grooming the horses, but then he told us about Boris.” Bella swallowed what sounded like tears.

  “And you believed him?”

  Bella put her head in her hands. “Yes, of course. We asked Gretchen, and she bristled underneath his strict expectations of her. As the oldest daughter, she was next in line to govern the Finch clan.”

  “That was the night before Gretchen went missing.”

  Bella nodded.

  “I suspect the gulf between Gretchen and Carno came to a head and he killed her,” Prentice said.

  Bella’s head snapped up. “No!”

  “I know it’s difficult to hear,” Prentice started.

  “Over the last few months, Carno’s been descending into something else,” Oliver said, pulling his wife into his embrace. “By the goddess, he came home like nothing had happened.”

  “I believed him completely, but I—I had a bad feeling in my stomach,” Bella said.

  Oliver hugged her tight. “Perhaps you should go, Hawk.”

  “Thank you for your time.” Prentice stood, putting away her pad and pencil as she did so.

  Oliver stood too. Like a cloud, he followed her to the library door. Seconds before he closed it after her, Bella released a horrible scream. It carried so much anguish and grief that Prentice readily fled.

  It would haunt her for years to come.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Prentice made her way back down the hallway. She made the right, into the corridor that led to the front door. Her feathers rustled in warning. Before she could turn around—a flash of pain struck her—her knees buckled. Her feet gave way. She looked up from the floor to see Carno hovering over her, gloating.

  “Can’t see everything, can you?” He laughed.

  He couldn’t help himself. His true nature showed. The pain flared at the base of her neck. She reached up to the spot, feeling a sizable knot. Her fingers touched something wet.

  Great. Blood.

  “Immobile,” Carno said and sprinkled dirt across her body. The word flew out fast and furious.

  She tried to reach for her talons but found herself unable to move her arms or legs. All the air had been sucked from her lungs.

  “Don’t just stand there grinning like a hyena. We have to move her.”

  Prentice laughed at her own naivete.

  Carno killed Gretchen. That angle that didn’t seem plausible without help.

  He started moving, putting a blindfold over Prentice’s eyes, securing her hands and feet. A lump formed in her throat. Her mouth dried like she’d chewed cotton.

  Carno didn’t have the talent to perform the skill to hide bodies, but Geraldine Finch did. It was her voice that directed her grandson then, and it was her guidance now.

  Carno had killed Alicia Redfern and Tammy Jo Greer. Probably testing his budding magic on those who angered him and those he deemed disposable. It all came together now.

  Prentice stood up.

  His punch landed square in Prentice’s face, knocking her to the ground. He lifted her off the floor and carried her over his shoulder. Pain flooded her body.

  “This is the kind of power Gretchen rejected,” Geraldine said, her tone heavy with disgust.

  “Why kill your own granddaughter?” Prentice couldn’t see, but she could smell and hear.

  “She rejected the goddess’s teachings. You should be elated we got rid of her,” Carno said. She could hear the joy in his voice.

  A disturbing picture became clearer. Prentice could see it all happen. Carno’s frustration with Gretchen’s behavior, his whining to Geraldine, and their plan to do the forbidden ritual. It would make Gretchen obey, in theory. The more Gretchen resisted, the more unraveled he became. The bruising on Gretchen’s feet, the beating, and Gretchen’s fight back were all proof.

  “No. You tried the ritual to purge her disobedience. You failed. There’s a reason the Order forbids its practice!” Prentice said.

  She hit the ground hard, and Carno snatched off her blindfold. Judging by their expressions, she’d hit the target.

  “I wanted to cleanse her aura,” Carno started.

  “You hated the person she was becoming—an independent woman,” Prentice said.

  “Shut up!” Geraldine slapped Carno’s back. She stepped outside of his shadow.

  “You performed a brutal and unrelenting assault on a member of your own flock. What’s worse, she probably would’ve come around with time,” Prentice said, laughing. “And you two think she was out of the goddess’s will.”

  Geraldine took out a pipe and blew.

  The dirt plume knocked the breath out of Prentice. It was like a kick in the stomach. She struggled to breathe. It burned through her like wildfire. Exhausted and faint, on the brink of collapse, she struggled to stand.

  Her vision crumbled down to mere shadows. Barely breathing and rage filled, Prentice fought to move her hands. She realized she was in real danger.

  “How effective are blind hawks?” Geraldine asked with a grunt.

  Transfixed, Prentice couldn’t move. Blind. Injured. But her hands could just reach her talons. That binding spell waned. She moved to grab their handles, when suddenly, Carno came from behind and placed her in a choke hold.

  An attack like this left a mental imprint. What Carno and Geraldine didn’t know was Prentice had plenty experience being blind. She slammed her elbow into Carno’s unprot
ected ribcage. He fell back, wheezing, and let go. He wasn’t much of a fighter and barely twenty years old.

  Prentice didn’t give him a moment to breathe. She pulled her talons out of their holsters, pivoted around, and fired. She could hear his noisy attempts to get air. Using that, she tracked him and fired again. Carno grunted, but then she could feel more than see Geraldine moving toward her. The older woman was surprisingly fast on her feet. Her pipe was in her hand.

  Prentice moved to avoid her.

  Where had they taken her? She had to be on the Finch property still. But they wouldn’t take her somewhere where she’d be heard or seen by the girls or Bella. No, this little event was just for the three of them.

  “What do you think you’re going to do? Kill me? The Order will have so many hawks and condors flying over this place, you’ll be begging for mercy.” Prentice waited, talons out, listening.

  “Missed me,” Carno snarled and punched her right in the face.

  He didn’t retreat fast enough, and Prentice managed to slam the butt of her right talon into his face. He howled in pain. Honing in on his anguished cries, she fired again. This time her talon found its mark. He screeched.

  “Carno!” Geraldine shouted. “That’s it, you filthy bird.”

  With rapid speed, Prentice replaced her talons and ran. She couldn’t see clearly, but as she moved, she took out her pen dagger. She pricked her finger and whispered, “Cacher.”

  She felt the ground around her. Rough dirt. The scent of horses and manure hung heavy in the air. Could they be foolish enough to take her to the horse barn?

  “Where’d she go?” Geraldine asked.

  Carno groaned out an answer. “She shot me!”

  “We have to find her,” Geraldine said. Silence and then, “Your little carnival magic won’t save you, Hawk.”

  A thrumming sound blared just before the ground quaked beneath Prentice. It broke apart, and Prentice had to keep shifting to avoid falling into open fissures. One of the benefits of using the Cacher spell was her sight returned.

  Blood magic repelled weaker earth magic. A rush of energy coursed through Prentice as her ancestors’ blood magic surged. She felt like a dead person—sucking in oxygen but not alive.

  The shadowy figures sharpened as her vision cleared. Once she could see, she managed to climb up a neighboring tree, using her wings to propel her upward. She could taste blood in her mouth, and she spat it out discreetly. She found the lowest branch and rested on it. Below her, Geraldine and Carno searched the area in front of the barn, along the sides, and in the rear. Carno’s injury, in the upper shoulder, bled through his clothing. He moved sluggishly. They met back at the front of the barn.

  “She’s got to be around here somewhere.” Geraldine’s hands burned scarlet as the earth magic, pulling from the earth’s core, forced the ground to break apart.

  Unable to remain upright, Carno collapsed and lay crumpled in front of one of the stalls, bleeding where her talons had found their target.

  Horses complained at the disturbance. They whinnied and pranced around.

  “Grandmother…,” Carno cried. He reached out for her. “It’s bad. I’m bleeding.”

  “Curse you! You whining brat! Put some pressure on it.” Geraldine whirled around on him. “Bob!”

  Robert came out of a side door of the house. Not far from the front of the horse barn where they were located. As he headed toward them, Prentice had to decide what to do next. She couldn’t contact anyone on her caller without them hearing. Her fading spell would keep her hidden for only so long.

  Geraldine’s hands cooled, and the ground fissures closed back up. No doubt, Geraldine had managed to hide those bodies and then, when she wanted, had the earth belch them back up.

  Carno moaned and his body went limp.

  Below her, Robert reached them. Geraldine pointed to Carno. “He had an accident with the horses. Get him to the house and help him.”

  None of Carno’s injuries could have come from a horse, but Robert didn’t question it. He bent down to aid his grandson.

  Carno whimpered. Once he’d collected him, Geraldine turned around and searched the area. The woman never looked up. Most people didn’t. Prentice watched them head back into the house.

  Once the door slammed closed, Prentice leapt from the branches. She stretched out her wings and flew across the Finches’ landscape and landed in front of the gate.

  As her boots touched the ground, she looked around for James. Sure enough, he was brushing down the horse a few feet from the gate when she landed.

  “Hawk Tasifa, you do not look well.” He hurried over to her.

  “I’m not,” she said and stumbled toward the carriage.

  James rushed to assist her. With his help, she fell back into the seat.

  “Take me to the dove.”

  “Your face…”

  “Hurry!” Prentice shouted.

  The adrenaline had blunted the pain, but now it waned, and the anguish came roaring back. It felt horrible to be beaten.

  But she knew Carno felt worse.

  It gave her no pleasure at all.

  Chapter Fourteen

  As night fell, the carriage rushed past brush, trees, and across uneven ground. Prentice hovered between consciousness and passing out as she bounced around on the seat. The horse neighed and its feet flew.

  After some time, the carriage rolled to a stop at the church, and James clambered down. He wrenched open the door. His large hands gently roused Prentice and helped her out of the carriage.

  “I got your call. What happened? What’s wrong?” Balthazar raced up to them.

  Drained, Prentice leaned on James for the support to stand. Her life-force still battled the double dousing of earth magic, but despite being weakened, she wanted to get back up there.

  As Balthazar took in her condition, he became ashen, his eyes wide with concern. “Prentice…”

  “I was attacked by Carno and Geraldine. They used earth magic,” Prentice explained, adjusting her belt around her waist.

  “What?” Balthazar grabbed her shoulders and searched her face as if trying to detect if she was joking or not.

  “They killed Gretchen, Dove, and they tried to kill me. Carno has killed two other birds…”

  “Slow down. You reek of magic,” Balthazar said, guiding her toward the church.

  “Send the eagles. Now,” Prentice coughed out. There was a tinge of exasperation in her voice, and she repeated herself. “They attacked me. They should be detained at once.”

  Balthazar blinked, and then ran for his office.

  Prentice watched him run ahead. Her knees buckled, but James caught her before she hit the pavement. He carried her into the office, where Balthazar spoke to Eagle Jamison.

  “Get up there. I’ll explain later,” Balthazar shouted. “They attacked Hawk Tasifa. Yes, Carno and Geraldine. Do not make me repeat myself.”

  “All right, Dove. Keep your cloak on.” Eagle Jamison ended the transmission.

  Balthazar turned to Prentice. James placed her in a chair. Prentice looked up at him.

  “Thank you, James. Sweet milk, please.”

  James frowned at her, clearly confused.

  Balthazar huffed. “Go tell Molly the hawk needs sweet milk. She’ll know what to give you.”

  James nodded and hurried from the room.

  Balthazar sat in the opposite chair, hovering on the edge of the seat. “You’ve been busy.”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell me everything.”

  Prentice tried to stand up, but he pushed her gently back down.

  “The eagles are on their way to the Finch home. No one is going anywhere, so relax. Take your time and tell me what your investigation has discovered and what happened this afternoon.”

  Prentice sighed and she did.

  When she finished, Balthazar stood, his face solemn, his hands in fists.

  “This is horrible. I can’t believe it.”

  “I k
now, but they’re responsible for the deaths of three people, maybe five. We haven’t found Boris or Brian Greer, yet. They had no qualms about hurting me. I’m proof of that, but remember, I see the unseen.”

  At the creak of the door opening, Prentice jumped, one of her talons out in an instant and pointed at the entrance.

  James held up one hand and offered the glass of sweet milk in the other.

  “Sorry.” Prentice put the talon away.

  James came into the study and handed her the glass. She smelled it before drinking a long gulp.

  “Let me make sure I understand. You discovered Carno had access to both women, the roosters, prior to their bodies being identified on the church green. You believe Geraldine and Carno Finch killed Gretchen attempting the ritual and buried her here as well.”

  “Yes.”

  “Geraldine used earth magic to hide the bodies on the green. They used the path between the Finch residence and the church to transport the bodies, and then for some reason you don’t know, the bodies were coughed up,” Balthazar said.

  “Yes. I think Geraldine wanted Gretchen found, and when she removed the spell from her body, the others came up as well. It’s possible she didn’t even know about them. I suspect they were all Carno.” Prentice drank another long gulp.

  “Evidence?”

  She winced as she rubbed the knot at the base of her neck. “Witness statements, Alicia Redfern’s bones and teeth located in the ashes, and Tammy Jo’s hair recovered from her skeleton. Gretchen’s body and Carno’s broken fingernail snared in her hair. Plus, they literally just attacked me and confessed to having killed her. They tried to kill me because I discovered their sins.”

  Balthazar sat stunned. Prentice watched the information sink in and the dove process it.

  After several minutes, he rose. “I’m going to the Finches’ home.” Balthazar, already dressed in his ceremonial cloak, put his hat on and nodded at James. “Fetch the carriage. Midnight may be too exhausted for the ride out, so let’s get Lightning.”

  It took Prentice a few seconds to realize he referred to the horses.

  Balthazar believed her, and a huge weight lifted from her shoulders. Still feeling antsy, she rubbed her legs.

 

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