Citadels of Fire

by L.K. Hill

  ***

  The next day, Taras and Nikolai went to find the old woman’s daughter, the only one who could tell them the name of the woman on duty the day Taras’s mother died. When they arrived, the old woman’s daughter had disappeared. The mistress of the kitchens labeled her a runaway and said if she ever came back, she’d be hung. Another cold trail.

  Nikolai asked around. He had contacts in both high and low places. If the old woman’s daughter had been murdered, there were people who would know. No one knew anything about the secret disposal of a scullery maid, so Nikolai concluded she must be alive. She'd simply been relocated.