No. But I have noticed the Hawks keep an eye out for their own. She is alive, Kaylin. But she is an older woman, and she clearly does not care for...coddling.
Kaylin gave a little shriek in response. The small dragon whacked her face with his wing.
* * *
Marcus appeared to be looking for a suitable target for his obvious frustration. His eyes were a steady orange, and his facial fur was almost standing on end. Kaylin picked up the thrum of his growl just after she had time to reconsider the wisdom of entering the office. Of course. Leontine anger was never quiet or invisible.
She headed directly for his desk, bypassing the duty roster and anyone else who stood between themexcept for Caitlin, who waved her over.
Have you seen Moran? Kaylin demanded, as Caitlin opened her mouth.
Yes, dear.
Why is she even in the office? She should be at home recovering!
Its...complicated, the office mother replied. The tone of her voice had a dampening effect on Kaylins outrage.
Complicated how?
Given that youve seen heryou didnt start an argument with her, did you?
I didnt start the argument, no.
Caitlin sighed. It was as close as she generally came to open disapproval. If Moran didnt discuss it with you, I cant. She is having some difficulty at home.
She thinks shes going to be living here.
Her living quarters are definitely not your problem.
In the Halls, Caitlin.
Youve lived in far less optimal conditions in your life. She wont starve and she wont be hunted; shell have a solid roof over her head. The Halls were designed, in part, with Aerians in mind. She will not suffer.
I want her to live with me.
Caitlins eyes flicked briefly to the side, in Bellusdeos direction. She did not, however, tell Kaylin that she thought it was a bad idea. Let me speak with her, she said, rising. I know Marcus and Lord Grammayre have attempted to do so, but I might have better luck with a different approach. Youre certain you want this?
Kaylin nodded, trying not to look as mutinous as she felt.
She was rewarded by Caitlins smile. Good. I wouldnt have suggested itbut I think that might be for the best. Were not certain that She shook her head. Youd best speak with Marcus. Hes been waiting for youand not terribly patiently.
* * *
Marcus immediately barked Kaylins name. Or Kaylins rank, at any rate. No other private rushed to fill the space in front of his disaster of a desk.
Since Moran is back, you can stop moping around in the infirmary and get back to work.
That was unfair, but life generally was. The Sergeant growled at the mirror on his desk; it flickered instantly to life as an image began to coalesce. Corporal Korrin! Corporal Danelle!
Teela and Tain materialized almost instantly, which meant theyd been eavesdropping from a safer distance than most mortalsat least the non-Leontine onescould manage. Severn joined them before his name could also be barked.
This was two people too many for Elani beat work. Kaylin pushed thoughts of Moran aside.
There was a triple murder reported up the Winding Path. The Winding Path was both the roads official map name and an accurate description. It crossed two market areas at its lowest point and then headed toward the Southern Reach. It was not a particularly short street.
Where on the Winding Path?
At the Keffeer crossing. As he spoke, the mirror showed a clearly marked spot on the map. The bodies are to be moved to the morgue when youre done.
What are you not telling us?
I am not telling you anything other than the location. You are expected there as soon as you can make it. Take the carriage.
Kaylin glanced nervously at Teela and shook her head. Well get there faster if we walk.
Not if Im driving, Teela said.
Well get there alive if we walk.
Marcus growled, but his eyes lost a touch of their orange; Teelas driving was the stuff of legend in the office. Teela, take a mirror kit. The quartermaster is waiting with it. Private, there are Imperial mages on the property. Attempt not to offend them.
Yes, sir. She hesitated.
Yessss? He turned the full force of his gaze on the silent Dragon by Kaylins side. His exhale was rumbling. You intend to follow the private?
If that is permissible.
I dont like it. Youre not a Hawk, and this is serious Hawk work; its not patrolling fraud central.
Bellusdeo was helpful; she smiled benignly and held the Sergeants glare until he growled again. Keep an eye on her.
Kaylin tried not to bristle.
I will.
If any of the idiots in the office attempt to buy you a drink or grovel their gratitude, Id appreciate it if you ignored them.
Oh?
Theyre grateful for your intervention. Theyre not idiots. Theyre aware that the Emperor wasnt.
Bellusdeos face stiffened. Had Kaylin been on the other side of the desk, she wouldve kicked him. She wouldve regretted it, of courseif hed even noticed, that was.
But theyre impressed, anyway. Private, are you going to stand around all day gaping like a new recruit?
No, sir.
Good. Head out.
Going, sir.
Good. He ran a claw through what was fast becoming a collection of loosely connected splinters. If you can talk sense into Sergeant Carafel, Ill send your rank request up to the Tower immediately. Seeing the change in her expression at the mention of Moran, he added, No, I did not bring this up.
Youre at least the same rank
And the Hawklord outranks her. She is not listening to either of us.
Kaylin shrugged. Caitlin went to talk to her. I want her to move in with me.
He growled his way through a Leontine phrase for which there was no Elantran equivalent. Teela caught Kaylins arm and dragged her toward the nearest exit.
Kaylin shook her off as soon as theyd made it out the doors. If its all the same to you, Id rather not let the quartermaster see my face. Hes pissed off at Jenkins at the moment, and Id like him to stay that way.
Jenkins has offended you? Hes a bit green, but
No, he hasnt. But its the first time in months that someone else has been the quartermasters official problem child. Jenkins had recently lost a sword. Id just as soon not remind him that I exist.
* * *
The Winding Path met Keffeer about a third of the way up the gentle incline on which the southern part of the city was built. It was well away from the Ablayne, although one small stream trickled down from the rocky heights of the unoccupied reach and fed into it.
The homes were not as fine as they were in the expensive districts around the Imperial Palace, but they werent as run-down as the buildings in the fiefs, either. There were fences and gates that fronted the street, but they werent uniform.
Did he even give us an address? Kaylin asked, as Keffeer came into view.
You were there. You heard just as much as we did, Teela said. She was, as Mandoran had said earlier, in a mood.
Yes, but I remember less clearly.
No, he didnt.
Tain, silent, cast a sidelong glance at Bellusdeo. You might want to sit this one out, he told her.
She raised a golden brow. The line of the arch was almost identical to the line of the Arkons when he did the same thing. Do you feel that I am in marked danger in this investigation?
Its a distinct possibility.
And you think that I am likely to fall prey to this theoretical danger when two mortals will not? She glanced pointedly at Kaylin and Severn, neither of whom were stupid enough to say anything.
Teela grinned. Give it up, she told her partner before turning to Bellusdeo. The reason hes attempting to be cautious is the lack of information weve been given. It impliesheavilythat the star of this leg of the investigation is going to be Kaylin.
Kaylin? Why?
Thanks, Kaylin interjected.
Kaylin is particularly sensitive to magic and its remnants. Youve probably heard her whining about door wards?
Im breathing, so yes, Bellusdeo replied.
Its not just door wards. Any use of normal magic
How are we defining normal?
Magic that might be used by a mage of the Imperial Order and most of the Arcanum. The Arcanum does have some branches You know what, never mind. We can discuss this in a tavern on an off-night. The point is, Kaylins sensitive enough to see magic without using any of her ownthat we can detect, anyway. The Sergeant doesnt wish to influence what she mightor might notsee. Hell have some inkling of what the Imperial mages discovered.
Inkling?
Theyll write a report, but it wont come in until tomorrow at the earliest.
Is everything in your city reliant on reports of this nature?
Yes. Paper is easier to lose than Records. She turned to Kaylin. What are you looking at?
Kaylin swore under her breath. Mostly. I think I know where were heading.
* * *
Magic gave Kaylin hives. Shed gotten used to this in the West March, though the magic of the green didnt cause the same reaction as the magic on the streets here did. The Imperial roads, such as they were, were well kept, from the merchant gates to the citys economic center.
But the stones on the Winding Path were cracked.
Kaylin knelt.
Did we get any witness reports? she asked, as she touched the cracks she could see.
Let me access Records, Teela replied, and did so. Kaylin felt a twinge as the pocket mirror came to life in the Barrani Hawks hand. Yes.
What did they say?
Marcus has put a hold on that information until you tender your first report.
Kaylin was annoyed, but she tempered her reaction. Do these cracks look strange to you? she asked.
What cracks?
Which answered that question. You know, when I first started training with the two of you, we had normal cases.
Technically, yes. Your first case
Dont mention it. I wasnt a Hawk then. She rose. The street, in her view, was cracked, the stones listing toward the crack as if something very large or very heavy had recently traveled on this road. But the cracks themselves felt odd. She stopped a yard up the path and knelt again.
At her back, she heard the familiar clink of metal against metal. Severn was unwinding his weapon chain. Neither Teela nor Tain told him to stop. What does the road look like to you? she asked him.
Flat, for the most part. Its a relatively smooth incline; there are patches of weeds to either side. You dont see that. It wasnt a question, but Kaylin answered it as if it were, describing what she could see.
This isnt your usual paradigm, Teela said.
No. And I see no magical sigils, either. Its not strong magic, but its definitely there.
Records, Teela said. Record.
Kaylin described what she saw for a third time, and Teela moved the mirror so that it captured the street. She then handed the tiny captured image to Kaylin. Kaylin, well aware that her head would be on a pike if she dropped or damaged this mirror, took it gingerly. The image in the mirror was what Severn had described. She handed it back to Teela.
What do you normally see? Bellusdeo asked, as Kaylin rose again.
Sigils and words, Kaylin replied. Theyre often splashed against walls or doors like random paint. The larger the sigil, the greater the magic that produced it.
Not cracks.
Not usually, no. I think one or two of the mages in the Imperium look at magic as dimensionality, though. They see containers. Where magic has been cast, they see the type of shards youd see if you dropped a vase. The greater the shattering, the larger the magic that caused it. One of them sees particular colors of glass or glazehis version of my sigils.
The crackits mostly oneveers at the gate three houses to the left of where were standing.
The short, wooden gate?
Kaylin nodded. Why are you making that face?
Severn coughed. I dont think that thats the house with the bodies, he said.
Sometimes Kaylins entire life felt like a game of gotcha. Which house is it?
Three down, he replied, and on the other side of the street.
* * *
Teela didnt head to the aforementioned dwelling immediately. She began to cast instead. Her spell was much stronger than the afterimage of magic left on the road; Kaylins skin goose-bumped in protest. The Barrani Hawk handed the mirror to Tain as she knelt in the center of the road.
Honestly, kitling, she said, passing her hands over the crack that Kaylin could still see. How bad a teacher can Lord Sanabalis be?
Hed say the quality of the student is the determining factor, Kaylin replied. Are you getting anything?
My initial response would usually be no.
Kaylin, having worked with Teela for years, waited as the Barrani Hawk rose and retraced Kaylins exact steps. She was frowning; her eyes, which had been as green as they ever got at work, were shading toward blue. It was a green blue, so she was concerned, but not overly worried. Tain, on the other hand, was definitely worried.
Kaylin raised her brows at him, and he shook his head. If you teach me nothing else in your short life, he said, you have forced me to reevaluate boredom as a concept. There is definitely such a thing as too much excitement.
This isnt too much excitement, Kaylin quite reasonably pointed out.
Not yet. Are you betting?
Is she breathing? Teela cut in. Shut up, both of you. I cant concentrate. Severnmuch more quietlyasked Tain what the bet, stakes and odds were. Teela did not tell Severn to shut up.
The Barrani Hawk straightened. There is something. I wouldnt have noticed itIm only barely detecting it now. She glanced at Tain, who shrugged.
Magic was never one of my strengths.
Bellusdeo?
Yes, it was considered one of mine. The Dragon was frowning. She looked at Kaylin. Or rather, at the small dragon sitting on her shoulder. Well?
The small dragon was silent.
Bodies, or house across the street from the bodies first? Tain asked.