Part 19 (1/2)
Red was punctual. Since Severn was absolutely true to his word and had shown up with food at the crack of dawn-if you could call something as dark as that dawn-so was Kaylin. Her sleep had been the usual broken affair. It was why she valued exhaustion so highly; if she fell over face-first the minute she hit the bed, she was likely to sleep like the dead for at least four hours. It was seldom that she slept for longer without waking from dream or nightmare.
On the other hand, the last week had pretty much been one waking nightmare after another; if this kept up, her dreams wouldn't have the power to terrify her.
”Here,” Red said, handing Kaylin one very heavy leather bag. Its handles were worn and s.h.i.+ny. ”Be useful.”
Some minor changes in Red's uniform were hastily made before they picked up the carriage in the yards and headed toward the bridge that led to Tiamaris.
”Sergeant Ka.s.san requested that we mirror the Halls when we arrive. I take it we can mirror the Halls from wherever it is we're going?”
”We can.”
”Good. I think his sleep has been poor enough that he regretted yesterday's decision; I thought I wouldn't make it out the doors. We're to mirror when I arrive, when I leave, and if I find anything significant. If there's trouble crossing, he'll send Swords to meet us on the way out.”
Kaylin groaned. ”Just what we need.”
”He also asked me to remind you that you have an etiquette lesson tonight. He doesn't care if we discover the probable end of the world-Corporal Handred and I can stay. You can't.”
Tara was gardening. Morse was standing a couple of yards away from where Tara was moving clods of dirt around, trying to look useful. She even looked grateful at the arrival of the carriage, because it gave her something to do.
”Lord Tiamaris is waiting for you. Lord Sanabalis arrived half an hour ago.”
”Was he supposed to be here? He told me he doesn't enter the Tower-”
”He doesn't. I didn't ask.” Morse gave Red the once-over, but didn't give him trouble; instead, she sauntered toward the Tower's door. Red, to his credit, didn't spend much time gawking. He walked up to the door, lifted his hand, and looked confused. Kaylin wanted to laugh.
”This door doesn't have wards,” she told him.
”I...can see that.”
”Tiamaris's a Dragon; no one's going to waltz in and steal stuff. Even if they did, they wouldn't get far; the Tower would probably eat them before Tiamaris could.”
Tara suddenly poked her head up from whatever patch of dirt held her attention. ”Oh, I would never do that,” she said as she unfolded and began to wipe her hands on an ap.r.o.n that was already mostly dirt. ”Not without my Lord's permission.”
”Red,” Kaylin said. ”This is Tara. She's the Avatar of the Tower. Tara, this is Red.”
”He's the coroner?”
”Yes.” To Red, she said, ”She can sort of read stray thoughts, so you'll probably want to keep yours relatively clean.”
”Relative to what?”
”Oh, Morse's.”
Morse told them all what they could do as Tara laughed. She made her way to the doors-which were still closed-and offered Red a not very clean hand. Red enveloped it, anyway. ”I don't meet many friends of Kaylin's,” she told him. ”Besides Severn, I think you're the first family member she's brought to visit.”
”Uh, we're not exactly related-”
”You're a Hawk, no?”
”Yes, but-”
”Tara's just confused about family,” Kaylin said in a rush. The doors began to roll open, which would hopefully save her any other embarra.s.sment.
Tiamaris stood ten feet from the doors. He wore armor- Dragon scale-and a tabard; he was prepared to fight. But he raised a brow. ”Red.”
”Lord Tiamaris.” Red didn't skip a beat. ”Lord Sanabalis?”
”He is in the morgue. Follow.”
”Is there a mirror I can use there?”
”Yes. Briefly.”
Marcus couldn't actually be seen when the mirror activated, but he could be clearly heard; he was growling around syllables.
”Seven bodies, Sergeant. This may be awhile. But there were no incidents on the way.”
”Good. Mirror before you leave. If you need any a.s.sistance-”
Lord Sanabalis lifted a hand, and then let it drop, since Marcus couldn't see it anyway. ”Sergeant Ka.s.san,” he said in a deep rumble that was probably the Dragon equivalent of growling, ”I will personally escort your coroner back across the Ablayne when he has finished his duties here to my satisfaction. The Emperor expresses his grat.i.tude at your understanding during this difficult time.”
After which, Marcus had very little to say. The mirror went flat, s.h.i.+vered for a second, and then became reflective. Sanabalis then turned to the coroner. ”The Emperor also wishes to convey his approval of funds to hire-and train-appropriately skilled apprentices to work in the morgue in the Halls of Law. While he understands the pressures facing the Halls at this time, he requests that such training be expedited.”
Red bowed. He didn't, however, respond.
Instead, he began to set up in Tiamaris's morgue, opening his bag and spreading his tools across the only flat surface that wasn't a slab. He almost never left the Halls, but it wasn't the first time Kaylin had seen him do off-site inspections. In general, though, Red went off-site when there wasn't enough of a body to bring back to the Halls. This was clearly not one of those times. He donned a large, white ap.r.o.n, tying it loosely behind his back.
He frowned as he began to walk down the small aisle made by two large slabs and seven bodies. He paused in front of one body, and took a mirror out of one of his generous pockets. ”Records.” The mirror was a very small one. It wasn't generally useful for communication, except in extreme emergencies, but it could record conversation and small images, which would later be archived in the Halls.
”Magical scans have already been done,” Tiamaris told him.
”Who was the investigating mage?”
”I was,” Tiamaris replied.
Red nodded. ”The results?”
”The only enchantment indicated involved the eyes.”
”How so?”
”The color of the eyes.”
”Preservative?”
Tiamaris shook his head. ”Illusion.”
”On a corpse? Why?”