A Warrior's Path (The Castes and the OutCastes) (34 page)

Thankfully, h
e missed the meaningful look Bree exchanged with Jaresh.

“What do we know about the victim from today?” Nanna asked.

“Her name was Aqua Oilhue, a Cherid.”  Rector turned to Bree.  “You were right.  She fought back and was not taken unawares.  A small piece of gold-threaded cloth was found beneath one of her nails – whoever killed her was wealthy.”  Rector turned back to Nanna.  “From what I could piece together of the blood trail, she was attacked on the far side of the entrance to the garden, in the shadows where no one would see or hear.  Somehow, she must have broken free and tried to escape.  The killer gave chase.  He came up from behind her and stabbed her in the back.  It was through the heart.  She died instantly.  And like Felt Barnel, the first victim, her corpse was desiccated by the time it was found.”

“I think I’m going to throw up,” Mira said, looking appalled and angry rather than sick.

Her mother frowned.  “I understand what you’re feeling, but we can’t afford such weakness right now.”

Mira flushed at
her amma’s rebuke.

Privately, Bree felt Sophy was overly critical of her daughter.  Mira was a smart, intelligent, and tough young woman with a bone deep integrity.  After all, she had earned Nanna’s trust, which should have proven to Sophy that Mira was no longe
r a child in need of scolding.

“I think you’re plenty strong,” Bree heard Jaresh whisper.

Mira flashed him a grateful smile.

Amma cleared her throat, gathering everyone’s attention.  “So, we have a wealthy Kumma who limps.”  She grimaced.  “Which means we have a list of potential suspects measuring into the hundreds.”

“True,” Sophy said.  “Most of the Trial veterans limp to some extent.”

“I think we can narrow our search somewhat,” Mira said.  “I would bet the person we are looking for is someone older and more mature.”

“Why so?” Sophy asked, a demanding and doubting tone in her voice.  “I don’t see it.”

But Mira was right.  Bree
understood immediately once Mira had pointed it out.  She was about to answer, but Nanna spoke first.

“Because the
Withering Knife is said to be an ancient and powerful relic.  Only someone with years as Sil Lor Kum would be trusted with such a weapon.”

Bree nodded.  It was how she saw it, too, and based on her nod of agreement, so did Amma.

“I agree,” Jaresh said.  “Those who choose the path of the Sil Lor Kum may be unalterably evil…”

“What do you mean ‘may be’?” Rector interrupted.  “By their works, we know they actively seek the destruction of Humanity.  They hide in the shadows working to kill us all.  How can they be anything other than unalterably evil?”

“A poor choice of words,” Jaresh replied.

Her brother looked irritated at Rector’s reprimand, but Bree agreed with the
Watcher.  They needed to clearly understand and acknowledge what they faced.  Half measures of ‘might be’ or ‘could be’ wouldn’t do in describing their enemy.  It needed to be said, and repeated over and over again if necessary: any who claimed membership in the Sil Lor Kum
were
irredeemably evil.

“The point I wanted to make is this: just like us, seniority in the ranks of the Sil Lor Kum like
ly depends on length of service.  Whoever has been entrusted with this weapon has to be someone who has risen to a position of power, which means he’s been with them for years.  He’s going to be older.”

Sophy gave Mira an approving, if a somewhat condescending nod.  “It makes sense.  We’re looking for an older and wealthy Kumma then.”

“Before we start investigating possible suspects, I believe a greater priority is confirming the probability that we face the Withering Knife,” Nanna said.  He turned to Rector.  “I’d like you to work with Jaresh in the Cellar while Mira and Bree search the…”

Amma interrupted.  “From the reports Mira and Jaresh have given, it would make more sense to keep them together for now.  They’ve developed a system and a rapport.
They
are the ones best equipped to quickly work their way through the Cellar.  Breaking them up might set us back by weeks.”

“They’ve already spent quite a lot of time together,” Nanna warned.  “Tongues might wag.”

He looked to Sophy, who didn’t look happy.  “In our world, a woman’s reputation is her only armor,” she said.

“And Mira’s reputation will remain
untarnished.  I’ll make sure of it,” Jaresh said.  “We’ll take a chaperone if we have to.”

“As can Rector and I,” Bree says.

“No chaperones.  I want this information sealed.  The less people involved, the less chance our prey will learn they are stalked.”  He glanced at Sophy.  “Assuming you’ll allow Mira to continue working with my son?”

When put like that, Sophy had little choice but to agree, although she remained reluctant.  “I’ll hold you to your promise,” she said to Jaresh.  “Mira’s reputation must not suffer.”

“You have my word,” Jaresh said.

“What about Amma and Sophy?”  Bree asked.  “What will they be doing?”

“They’ll be busy as well, looking through the records of House Shektan and House Primase…assuming you will be granted access to your birth House’s historical vaults, Sophy.”

She nodded.  “I have a good relationship with Tor’El,” Sophy replied.  “I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”

“Good.  Then we’ll put the word out.  I’ve already let others know that Jaresh and Mira are researching a topic integral to House Shektan.  I’ll confirm Bree and Rector’s work is in the same vein.”

“How much longer until you finish with the works in the Library?” Amma asked.

“Five or six weeks,” Mira answered.  “If we don’t find anything by then, we’ll have to expand the search beyond our initial parameters.”

“In that case, Bree and Rector will work their way through the larger secondary Libraries, such as the one
s at Verchow and Alminius Medical Colleges.  I want weekly reports.”

“And when will Garnet and Durmer be informed?” Bree asked.  The older Kummas would
be certain to have advice critical to the search.

Dar’El hesitated.  “Not yet.  They both fit the profile of the killer.”

Jaresh frowned in disagreement.  “I have trouble believing either of them would be involved in any of this.”

“They are our honored elders,” Rector protested.

“If we’re correct, this killer is almost certain to be
someone’s
honored elder,” Dar’El countered.  “The killer is hiding in plain sight, a respected member of our community, and until we know whether this truly is Sil Lor Kum, we keep this information quiet.  Until I say otherwise, it’s restricted to the seven of us in this room.”

Bree
’s shoulders slumped.  She felt tired and beat down.  How much worse could this day get?  Learning of the foundational lie of her House, another gruesome murder, and now this: two of her most honored teachers, Garnet Bosde or Durmer Vulk, might be the very killer they sought.

Having her childhood teachers named as possible suspects brought home the reality and immediacy of the problem they faced.

“Suwraith’s spit,” Rector murmured.

“My sentiments exactly,” Bree replied.

*****

M
ira sighed and rubbed her aching back.  For the past three hours, she had been hunched over an
extremely
long and overly descriptive manuscript written by a nameless historian shortly after the Days of Desolation.  The man had blathered on in exhaustive detail about everything related to Suwraith, everything from the sound of Her thunderous voice – a horrifying thought to actually hear the Queen speak – to the reasons for Her hatred of Humanity.  All of it had turned out to be base conjecture.  A waste of time.  The author went so far as to state that Suwraith’s birth arose from Her murder of the First Mother and the First Father, the Queen’s supposed parents.  It was a patently absurd and blasphemous claim.  Like most Kummas, Mira wasn’t particularly religious, but she also didn’t go out of her way to insult the beliefs of those who were.

She set the book aside and yawned.  It had been a long day.  Once more she and Jaresh were huddled over their pile of books and various manuscripts deep in the dankness of the Cellar.  The light from the chandelier with its dim firefly lamps did
little to remove the melancholy nature of the place.  But with all the time she and Jaresh had spent down here, she hardly even noticed the gloom any more.  It had been three weeks since the last murder, which meant it had been three more weeks with nothing to show for their effort.  The search for this mythical Withering Knife was growing increasingly frustrating.

“You would think something so important would merit
at least
some
kind of mention,” Mira complained.  “But in all the books, manuscripts, and scrolls pertaining to the Sil Lor Kum, I’ve yet to come across even the vaguest of references to the Knife.”

“You would think, but then you would be wrong,” Jaresh said with a chuckle.  “Supposing, of course, anyone else knew about it.”

Mira grimaced.  “They knew about it.  They just kept it to themselves, so our search would be even more difficult than it otherwise would be.”

“Yes, I’m sure it was their intention all along: join the Sil Lor Kum.  Check.  Learn all about the
Withering Knife.  Check.  Hide all the information, so centuries later, Mira and Jaresh will search fruitlessly for it.  Check and double check.”

Mira punched him lightly in the shoulder, evoking a patently false squawk of pain.

“Heh!” Jaresh protested.

“You deserved it,” Mira said.

“You’re lucky I’m a gentleman, or I might hit you back,” Jaresh said.

“And if you did, I’d hit you back even harder,” Mira replied.  “And you’d just break if I did.”

“Well then.  I suppose I’ll just have to mock you from a distance from now on.”

Mira laughed.  “I’d still find a way to return the favor,” she said.

“You know, for such a supposedly gentle flower of Kumma womanhood, you sure have a dogged determination to cause me pain.”

“After all the
time we’ve been stuck down here in the Cellar, how is it you haven’t realized the truth about me: I am the utter, diametric opposite of a gentle Kumma woman.”

“So, you’re a violent, non-Kumma man?” Jaresh asked, glancing Mira over.  “You hide it well.”

She hit him again.  This time, much harder, and eliciting another more sincere squawk.

“I can
keep this up all day,” Mira advised.

“Why don’t we get back to work?  I don’t think my shoulder can take anymore of our conversating.”

“Conversating?  Interesting made up description of what you think we were doing?” Mira said.  “Sounded to me like you were making fun of me.”

“Maybe a little bit, but it sure s
ounded funnier in my mind than when I spoke it out loud and you punched me.”  He yawned and stretched mightily.  “How many more texts are there before we have to expand our search?” he asked.

Mira looked at their master list of topics
, subtopics, comparing it to their catalog of books and manuscripts to review.  The list had been her idea, but Jaresh had been the one to put it together.  His methodical, systematic Sentya mind allowed him to bring order to the chaos of what she had originally proposed.  And thank Devesh they hadn’t followed her directions.  If they had, they would be weeks behind where they were right now.

“Only a few hundred more,” Mira said.

“About two weeks of work then,” Jaresh said.  “Which would bring us in on time for what we promised Nanna.”

While no one else had died since the second murder, Mira and Jaresh both felt the press of the passing days.  It was only a matter of time before the killer struck again, and if they exhausted their current list, they would have to greatly expand their search
.  It was something neither of them was looking forward to.

Mira sighed.  She still had trouble reconciling herself to the truth of what they hunted: the Sil Lor Kum.  How could anyone be so wicked as to join Suwraith’s cult?  Evil fools.  If all the
members of the Sil Lor Kum spontaneously caught fire and burned for eternity – or just a very long time – Mira would have considered it their just rewards.  She hated the presence of such depravity in her city, or any city for that matter.  Hunting the Sil Lor Kum had been a task she would willingly do over and over again, but she still didn’t like having to do it.

In fact, the only good thing to come about over the past few months was getting to know Jaresh.  She now understood why Dar’El trusted him so much.  He was smart
, hard-working, and did his job without complaint, but he wasn’t stiff and joyless like Rector Bryce.  She pitied Bree having to spend so much time with such a bore.  Jaresh was clever and amusing in his own Sentya way.  Mira smiled.  In fact, without his wry sense of humor, their time in the Cellar would have been far less pleasant.  Sure, his mocking tone could grate on her nerves, but all in all, she enjoyed spending time with him.  He made her laugh.