by S. J. Bryant
"Tell me the truth or I'll do the other side," Corvus said.
"Yes, I'm sorry! I sold you out to Selwyn," Pamielle sobbed. "Please let me go. I'll leave your coven, you can banish me. Just please don't put that wood on me again."
"Do you know what sits below this building?" Corvus said. His tone changed and he placed the wooden stake back behind the curtain.
"N-no, my lord," Pamielle said.
"A forest," Corvus replied.
He shoved his full weight against Pamielle's body. The glass door shattered and they were showered with fragments. Both of their bodies were propelled out onto the balcony.
Pamielle stumbled backwards. Unable to gain her footing, she glanced over her shoulder and her eyes widened with fear.
Corvus smiled at her one last time and with one more almighty shove he pushed her over the railing. Her back slammed into the metal bar and she toppled straight over. He rushed to the side to watch her fall.
She tumbled through the air like a falling rock. She fell past the many other balconies, screaming as she went, all the way down to the forest. The top of a bare pine tree slammed through her body, impaling her. Its tip protruded out of her blood-soaked stomach and the rest of her body hung like a macabre ragdoll.
Corvus peered down at the bloody scene. Her body twitched a few times, before becoming still. Her naked figure glowed in the moonlight as blood seeped out of her wounds, dribbled across her stomach and fell down onto the branches below. Her landing was perfect; he wouldn't even have to send someone down to make sure she was dead.
He smiled. Sometimes things just worked.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
"I've never seen the like," Officer Watkins said, his expression grim, as Nova approached.
"Nor me. It's a nasty business," Inspector Briggles replied.
"Best show me then," Nova cut in.
Briggles glanced at her and jutted his chin towards the tall tree. "Got called in just before dawn."
They were in the midst of a small plantation. It had been placed in the centre of the city to give a feeling of 'getting back to nature'. The trees were mostly hearty pines which cast shadows through the grassy park. At this time of year much of their foliage had dropped off and bare twigs branched out in all directions.
Nova wrapped her jacket tighter around her shoulders. The wind was brisk with the promise of colder weather on the way. She rubbed her hands together and followed Briggles's gaze up the nearest tree trunk. Her eyes traced the jagged wood until she got to the very top.
Impaled on the sharp tip of the trunk was a female body. Her spine was bent backwards and her head, arms and legs hung limply towards the ground. She was naked and the puncture hole from the tree was surrounded by a black area of skin soaked in blood. The tree itself was covered in dried blood. It was as if a giant hand had drizzled the liquid over the tree like the decoration of a dessert.
Nova's eyes widened. "How is this related to the Corvus case?" she said.
"Initially we weren't going to bother you; we thought it was probably just a jumper. But the camera drones we sent up took these." Briggles thrust a flat computer screen into her hands.
Nova looked down and her face dropped. To the side of the woman's mouth, out of view from the ground, was a fat leach. It lolled out just as a tongue would have done. The black creature was dry and shrivelled, hanging dead across the woman's face.
The woman looked familiar. The eyes, the shape of her face, but mostly her hair, screamed at Nova for recognition. Her mind raced over the last few days, searching through every face she had seen and every file she had read.
"The attack on the station," Nova whispered.
"Yep, facial recognition confirmed it. This one was part of the coven which attacked us. She was with Corvus."
"But then what happened here? Do you think she tried to attack someone and they managed to push her over a ledge or off the roof?"
"I don't think so; see here," Briggles poked the picture in Nova's hand and the image zoomed in to the woman's neck. Purple bruises in the shape of fingers covered her skin.
"Someone tried to strangle her," Nova said.
"Maybe. I think that was done for pain; it was the fall which killed her."
"Not an accident then."
"We don't think so."
"Lecheons don't often have accidents," Doctor Dunwood said, ducking under the line of police tape. "This looks much more like a coven disagreement. She was pushed off the balcony intentionally."
"The coven was staying here?" Nova asked.
"I've just sent – Ah, Peters, you're here. What have you found?" Briggles said, resting his hand on a young man's shoulder as he came up next to them.
"They were here sir; at least twenty of them. They have an ongoing lease of the penthouse under a false name. They snuck in sometime last night without anyone noticing. Security found video of them coming up the service stairs. The manager reckons he didn't know anything about the investigation. I wouldn't believe him though sir. They left early in the morning, probably not long after this one's time of death," Peters said, nodding towards the naked body.
"I want that penthouse cordoned off; I'll be up there in five minutes," Briggles said, rubbing his bloodshot eyes.
"Already done sir, they're waiting for you."
"Excellent, Peters."
Nova's mind raced over the conversation. Something had happened in the coven; there had been a disagreement. They were getting sloppy; a hurried escape from their penthouse could mean they'd left behind clues of their new hideout. If they could find out where it was and set up some kind of trap, then this whole thing would be over and Boullion Five would be safe again.
Inspector Briggles marched away from the forest towards the towering set of apartments. Nova stayed hot on his heels. Her ears were beginning to sting in the cold air; it would be good to get inside even if it was to a crime scene.
"Ah, Inspector. So good of you to come." A man in an expensive suit hurried over to them. He thrust out his hand first to Briggles, then to Nova. He looked her up and down and frowned, before turning his full attention back to the inspector.
"And who are you?" Briggles said.
"I am Herman Glib, I own this particular hotel."
"Excellent. Mister Glib, if you could show us to the penthouse, we'd much appreciate it."
Herman glanced again at Nova and then his eyes darted around the rest of the hotel. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, giving him the appearance of swaying in a breeze. His face was red and he dabbed at it from time to time with a small piece of cloth.
Herman Glib was obviously fond of body modifications. His eyebrows were high up on his forehead; the look was all the rage among the business class. Nova thought it rendered the entire business profession permanently quizzical. He also had enlarged eyes and a shrunken nose, the very picture of innocence. It was common for business owners to have these mods; all the business advice books said it would make you look more trustworthy. Nova had to hide a smirk; those same advice books always came with a recommended mod agency. It was no coincidence that the author and the agency had the same bank account details.
"There's really not much to see, Inspector. They left it in such a mess, but there's nothing interesting there, I assure you."
"Hmm. Well, all the same, Herman, I'm sure you'll appreciate that we need to see it," Briggles said, his voice stern as he used the man's first name. "I'm sure you know as well as I do that a warrant is not required in matters of lecheon security."
Mister Glib flushed red and glanced around as if checking for anyone listening in. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead.
"We'll be discrete," Briggles said.
Herman's shoulders relaxed. "Of course, Inspector. Please do follow me."
His face poured with sweat and he had to dab every few seconds. He led them across the main lobby, his black shoes tapping against the tiles.
The lobby was beautifully decorated with sweeping marble pilla
rs and gilded designs. A dark rock with white veins running across it served as the administration desk. The two men behind the counter watched them with curious eyes as they strode to the elevators. Herman Glib led them into the lift and scanned his wrist.
"Penthouse," he said.
"Of course, Mister Glib," the automated lift replied.
Chips were inserted into the wrists of all members of the Human Confederacy. They functioned as identification cards and credit sticks. They were capable of tracking and other monitoring functions which Nova had disabled as soon as she was able. It had been a gruesome job, opening up her own arm and pulling out the tiny connecting wires from the chip, then sewing her skin shut with the metal chip still inside. The last thing she wanted was the Human Confederacy having a record of all of her travels. Still, the identification component came in handy from time to time.
"We have arrived," said the lift as the metal doors slid open.
Herman Glib led the way down the red-carpeted corridor. It was cream with chrome decorations. There were windows spaced to either side of the lift which looked out over the rest of the city and down to the forest below.
Nova glanced out and took note of the flying drone which was at that moment lifting the lecheon off the tree and lowering her to the waiting paramedics. They laid her body on a stretcher and covered her in a tarp before wheeling her into a waiting ship. The tree which had impaled her body was now lost amongst the many others. From this height it was impossible to see the tell-tale trickles of blood.
Glib and Briggles were already at the end of the corridor. Nova quickened her pace to catch up to them. Her footsteps swallowed by the lush carpet.
Glib pulled a key from his pocket and used it to open the door. It swung open to reveal the pandemonium beyond.
"As I said, they did leave quite a mess. I do apologise. My cleaning team haven't been able to get here yet," Glib said. His eyes were wide as he looked between Briggles and Nova.
"Rest assured that's the last thing we'd want, Mister Herman. Please leave us; we can take it from here," Briggles said.
"Of course, Inspector. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask," Herman said, hurrying away from the room.
Nova stepped into the room and her mouth dropped wide. On any other day it would have been gorgeous. It was decorated in old-century Earth décor with deep purple curtains and lush pillows.
"What isn't that man telling us?" Nova thought out loud.
"It could be any number of things," Briggles responded as he stepped through the doorway. "Although I would put my money on one of either two options. The first is that he's genuinely worried about the state of this room, that maybe we'll tell people that he keeps a bad place. The second, and more likely option, is that he knew that this room was leased by lecheons."
"Then why didn't you bring him in for questioning?" Nova asked.
"There wouldn't have been any point. You saw for yourself; the coven can make you do all kinds of things. Besides, I don't believe he saw them last night. He's probably just as surprised as we are."
"I see," said Nova.
She took a deep breath and joined Briggles deeper inside the room. It didn't get any better past the doorway. Toppled furniture was strewn across the floor. The sheets had been ripped from the beds and lay in tatters. The curtain rods had been pulled down and the elegant curtains were lying in heaps on the floor.
The television and almost every light were smashed. Glass covered the floor; tiny reflective sparkles shone across the carpet.
The kitchen was also in ruins. The utensils were scattered across the main bench and knives were lodged into the back of the overturned couch. The food generator's door was open and the inside was covered with red blood.
"I hope that's synthetic," Nova said when she stepped up to the machine and peered inside.
"Me too," Briggles replied. "I've called for them to send Doctor Dunwood up. The three of us will go over this mess before I call the boys up for a full sweep."
Nova nodded. She reached into the bag at her waist and pulled on a set of rubber gloves. She pulled out a glass vial and scooped up some of the blood from the food generator and dropped the vial into a plastic bag.
She scanned around the floor. Aside from the glass, there wasn't much else; no blood-soaked footprints or any other giveaways.
"This is where the crime happened," Briggles called from the adjoining room.
Nova tiptoed around the upturned furniture and shards of glass into the bedroom. The blankets and sheets were torn to shreds and the pillows were pulled to pieces. The door to the balcony was smashed across the floor and the glass shards had droplets of red blood dried to their tips.
"What happened through the rest of the place then?" Nova asked. "Did they suddenly all turn on one another?"
"Doubtful," said Doctor Dunwood, stepping up behind them. "Covens are usually tightly knit. There are very few times when they would all turn against one another."
"Then why was there a woman impaled on a tree and why does it look like the Battle of Brukzel happened in this apartment?"
"The woman I would have said was condemned to death by Corvus. As their coven leader it's his right to cast judgement. It doesn't happen very often but she must have done something extremely bad to offend him. However, the rest of the room suggests a bigger story. There's no mention in the history books of a coven turning on their leader. The only thing I can think of is another coven attacking Corvus's."
"Another coven?" Nova asked, her jaw clenched.
Dunwood shrugged. "They will fight for territory from time to time, or just for title. Corvus is a well-known and highly ranked lecheon. If someone were to overthrow him and take over his coven they would be highly respected in lecheon society."
Nova nodded. Not that different from the politics of the Human Confederacy, although that was usually done with poison and assassins rather than full blown attacks.
"If they're staying in fancy hotels can't we just put out a message to the public, to be on the lookout?" Nova asked.
"It won't do any good," said Briggles.
"He's right," added Doctor Dunwood. "With their powers of persuasion they could convince someone to rent them a room and then make them forget they were ever there. All a public message would do is send the humans of Boullion Five into a panic."
"I see," said Nova, frowning.
"If they were under attack, they may have been in a hurry to leave," Briggles said. "Perhaps they left some clue of where they were headed? I can bring up more deputies."
"I think it would be better to keep it small," Nova said. "The crime scene has been disturbed enough as it is."
She turned back to the apartment. It was a complete and utter mess, a nightmare to sort through. It took them a good hour of all three of them searching before they could safely say that every square inch had been explored.
They gathered around the kitchen bench which was scattered with utensils.
"What have we found?" Briggles asked.
"I've got a bit of blood from the food generator, the blood from the glass shards in the bedroom and a torn piece of paper which could be a receipt but I'm not sure," said Nova.
"I've also got blood samples from some of the glass. I'll have the lab techs compare it against the samples we've got and see if we get any matches. I also found one of these behind the door," Briggles said, holding up a leather glove. . Extending from where the knuckles of each finger would be were sharpened pieces of wood, stained with blood. The wood looked harder than any Nova had seen and it was sharpened to a fine point.
"What is that?" Nova asked, leaning in closer for a better look.
"The perfect weapon for hand-to-hand combat with a lecheon," Dunwood explained.
"Someone came here deliberately to kill the coven?"
"It looks that way, there's a lot of blood spattered around the place, once you look."
"Humans?" Nova asked.
"It's possible but I'd expec
t there to be bloodless bodies left here. If humans had attacked, even with this kind of weaponry, they would have been overwhelmed. The lecheons would have drained them dry and left the bodies behind."
"So they were attacked by ghosts because there are no bodies?" Nova asked, rolling her eyes.
"No. If you ask me, this has all the hallmarks of a coven war," Dunwood said.
"You still think there are two covens?"
"I'm almost sure of it. Lecheons don't like to leave their dead behind. Both covens would have taken any fallen with them, hence no bodies."
"Great," Nova sighed. "Was there anything that might help us find out where they've gone?"
"Well, I don't want to get your hopes up, but I did find this," Briggles said. He held up a scrap of paper with spidery numbers scrawled across it.
"That looks like a phone number," Nova said.
"My thoughts exactly. I've already had my people trace it. It belongs to another hotel not far from here. It's even more posh than this one, if you can believe it."
"Lecheons have always been known for their expensive taste," Dunwood said, holding up his tattered old-world book as proof. "I would never have even looked for them in the tunnels under the city. Usually that would be far too dark for lecheon taste."
"Great!" said Nova, "Why aren't we over at this other hotel?"
"We don't want to jump to any conclusions," Briggles said, "And we have some time, if they've just been attacked, they'll be weak and worried. On top of that, it's daytime; I doubt they'll be going anywhere."
"But that means that it's the perfect time to move on them." Nova frowned.
Frustration rose in her chest, what were they waiting for? The space-race was only a few days away and she wanted to be done with this lecheon mess by then.
"It's not as simple as that. This particular hotel is more like an embassy. It caters to the very rich and very famous and is considered outside of our normal jurisdiction. Without a formal warrant we can't touch it," Briggles said.
"Then get the warrant," Nova said through clenched teeth.
"It's in process as we speak. However, it could take days. In the meantime, we can't do anything that might spook them. They're just where we want them to be and as long as they think they're safe they'll lower their guard."
