Part 14 (2/2)
”What makes you think I have anything to do with it?” he asked as he absently brushed her arm.
Myrmeen pulled away and restrained an urge to strike the man. ”I slighted you. I insulted your religious beliefs and refused your request to unearth the remains of your ancestor. Zealots have often killed for less.”
”Do I seem like a zealot to you?”
Myrmeen looked away from the man's hypnotic gaze. ”I don't know what to make of you.”
”Of course you do. Trust your instincts. Listen to what they tell you.”
”At the moment, my instincts tell me that, despite your diplomatic status, you should be questioned about the murder in the gardens.”
”Do you suspect me of that murder?” he asked, genuinely surprised.
Myrmeen nodded. ”You or one of your people. Your gift for getting in and out of heavily secured places has certainly done little to set my concerns aside. The way the dead man was savaged certainly seems like it could have been the work of your kind.”
”Naturally you've considered that the victim may have been killed in this manner to cast suspicion upon any wild beast, not just my cats. The ploy has been successful in keeping your attention from the true murderer, if you're spending so much time worrying about me.”
”Anything is possible.”
”I don't even know this man who was killed.”
”So you say.”
He grinned, his green eyes sparkling. ”Myrmeen, I could never lie to you.”
Anger seized the n.o.blewoman. ”You seem to think you can get what you want by being charming.”
”It's always worked before.”
”Understand this, Lord Zacharius: Even if I was attracted to you-which I am not-I could make love to you tonight and order your death tomorrow.”
”I see,” the cat lord said. ”Well, with that in mind, I think the act itself would be anticlimactic. Good night.”
He walked gracefully to the door. ”I want the activities of your people curtailed,” Myrmeen called after him.
Lord Zacharius turned back and opened his hands in a solicitous gesture. ”Even if my people are responsible for the local chaos, I'm sure they're just being playful. They like it here. I don't think I'll be able to convince them to leave. If anything, I think more will come.”
”That would be unfortunate.”
”I don't think so. We cat lords know how to have a good time. We'll liven the place up.” He shrugged. ”Oh, and would you be so kind as to summon an escort for me? I seem to have forgotten the way back to my chamber....”
Myrmeen was unable to sleep that night. She left the palace under heavy guard and was on her way to the gardens when she heard the scream. Having faced the horror of death many times in the past, the n.o.blewoman knew the sound of a man facing his end. By the time she had pa.s.sed through the maze of buildings flanking the gardens and discovered the limp, staring bodies of the guardsmen left on duty, Myrmeen knew what she would find in the maze of shrubs and flowerbeds.
A second man lay murdered in the gardens. His body had been torn to pieces. Blood was splattered everywhere, particularly in the gazebo. Myrmeen advanced on the corpse in disbelief, choking back a scream of rage. She tried to understand how this could have happened a second time.
Myrmeen was barely aware of her surroundings as her soldiers congregated around the corpse. Kynan Tofte soon uncovered the victim's head, then guided Myrmeen to the spot where it rested. She was surprised to find that she recognized the dead man's face.
It was Volney, the elder mage Evon Stralana had employed to secure and investigate Penn Othmann's shop a few days earlier. Stralana arrived and seemed momentarily stricken at the sight of the mage's corpse. In a hoa.r.s.e whisper he said, ”Volney and Walcott were supervising the surveillance of Elhazir.”
”He may have learned something that made him dangerous to the sorcerer we've been after. Stralana, get a search going for Walcott. Either he's in danger, too, or he's in league with the murderer.”
”There's something else you should know,” the minister said. ”Volney's last report noted that the cats have been watching Elhazir, too.”
”Where is Lord Zacharius?”
”In his cell, conducting some kind of game with the guards. Something with dice. It seemed harmless enough, and the men were bored.”
”Get him. I want him with us when we confront Elhazir.”
Stralana broke from her and hurried to see her orders carried out. Within ten minutes, Myrmeen, Stralana, and Lord Zacharius started off in the direction of Elhazir's Exotica. A group of soldiers accompanied them, and, by the time they reached the market district, a pack of felines trailed their every move. Myrmeen noticed the jaguar and looked around for Siobhan, but the woman was nowhere to be seen.
The door to Elhazir's was open, and the warm orange glow of torchlight could be seen from within. Before anyone could react, two cats slipped inside, one with auburn fur, the other pale silver.
Myrmeen turned to her soldiers and pointed at Lord Zacharius. ”Keep him out here for now.”
”That may not be wise,” the cat lord said.
Ignoring him, Myrmeen went inside with Stralana and found that the place was a shambles, the ornate tapestries covering the walls shredded. Racks were filled with clothing that had been torn apart. Gla.s.s cases were shattered and displays had been overturned. The floors were covered in cheap, glittering costume jewelry.
The two cats were already there when Myrmeen discovered the girl, Andreana, huddled in the corner of a private room in the back. Elhazir lay at her feet. The older woman's hair was wild, her eyes staring. Her breathing was shallow.
Andreana was in tears. The moment she looked up and saw the cats approaching, she screamed something in a language Myrmeen had never heard before. Suddenly a reddish black tongue of flame erupted from her hands, covering the distance separating her from the cats in the blink of an eye. The felines leaped out of the way as the bolt struck the wall. As Andreana rose, her fists swathed in the reddish black energy, the cats raced away from her. ”Why are you here?” she sobbed at Myrmeen. ”To laugh at the halfwit?”
The n.o.blewoman stared at the child. Here was the missing mage. Elhazir didn't need to leave her shop to contact the sorcerer; she'd been at the old woman's side all along. ”Andreana? Who killed Penn Othmann?”
”He was a vile man. It's good that he died. He did things. Bad things.”
”To you?”
Her tears covered her face. The sleeves of her gown fell back, revealing a network of scars on her arms. ”Yes. Elhazir did, too. They beat me and burned me. They wanted to keep me in line.”
”Did you kill him?”
”No,” she snarled. ”But I wish I had.”
Myrmeen looked at the frightened eyes of the abused girl before her. ”You're a powerful young woman. Why did you stay here with them?”
”My family is poor. They needed the gold I sent them.”
”Was that the only reason?”
”No. Elhazir told me that my mother and father would be hurt if I disobeyed her or if any harm came to her.”
Myrmeen bit her lip. ”What happened here tonight? Was it the cats? Did they attack you? Or was it Elhazir?”
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