Of Bone and Ruin

by T. A. White

  Ryu didn’t answer, the expression on his face telling Tate everything she needed to know.

  “How can that be?” Tate shouted. “They have no respect for anyone who isn’t human. They’ll just pin the murders on the first easy target they can find.”

  Ryu didn’t look like he disagreed.

  “I can’t believe this. Given how delicate this mediation is, why would you let a couple of ham-fisted, bigoted louts ruin any interspecies goodwill that Jost manages to create?”

  It made no sense. This investigation required a delicate touch. The only thing those two men were capable of was stomping all over things until they were broken beyond repair.

  Unless.

  She studied Ryu, noting the bland expression. He didn’t appear to care about the consequences.

  “You’re hoping they embarrass themselves so badly that their order is given a black eye.”

  With the visibility of this case, such a screw-up could have dire political consequences.

  There was the faintest trace of satisfaction on Ryu’s face.

  She knew it. She just knew it. Underhanded, scheming, manipulative dragon.

  “Why do you care?” Ryu asked. “You didn’t know either of the victims.”

  “That doesn’t mean they deserve to have those two idiots be the ones to put their memories to rest.”

  She also suspected the murder had something to do with her poisoning. It was too big of a coincidence. It was the equivalent of waving a flag in front of a bull. It was personal now. She had a vested interest in seeing this to the conclusion. She didn’t know much about who she was preawakening in that chamber, but she suspected she was the vengeful sort. The kind of person who did not turn the other cheek when struck but returned the damage threefold.

  Now, how to make Ryu understand that without showing just how blood thirsty the attempt on her life made her?

  “Put me in charge of the investigation. Don’t just make me the liaison.”

  “You think your poisoning had something to do with the murders,” Ryu said with a frown. He shook his head. “It didn’t.”

  “You can’t know that.”

  “It was a different methodology. It’s unlikely the two events are connected.”

  “If there’s a mastermind, it could simply be that two different people committed the acts. It would explain why the methods are different.”

  “Unlikely. Either way, you’re too close to this now.”

  “I’m just motivated.”

  He snorted. “Of that I have no doubt.”

  Tate’s sigh was angry. “Those two will never find the killer.”

  Ryu looked amused. “Good try, but my decision stands. The Black Order will head up the investigation. I’m appointing Danny as the liaison.” Tate’s response was cut short when Ryu held up one hand. “I don’t want to hear it. If you’ve found anything out during your little visit here, report what you learned to Ward.”

  Tate would rather have her nails ripped out one by one than pass along any helpful information to either of those two.

  She fixed him with a glare, but he wasn’t budging on this. Tate had worked with him enough over the last few months to be able to tell where there was some wiggle room in his decisions and where he’d stand by them until the world burned down around him. This was the latter.

  “Tate,” he said, his voice a warning.

  “Fine,” Tate said, the words wrenched out of her unwillingly.

  “Fine, what?”

  Sheesh, it was like he didn’t trust her or something. Probably a good choice since she fully intended to keep investigating. She’d just be a little more circumspect.

  “Fine, I’ll report everything I’ve found to the two annoyances.” After a lengthy period between her obtaining the information and finding the culprit.

  The smile that graced Ryu’s face had the sort of wicked intensity that could make Tate’s chest feel weird. The kind of smile that invited a person to be just a little bit bad. If she didn’t find him downright annoying half the time, and he didn’t hold her fate in his hands, she might be tempted to take up the invitation in that smile. As it stood, things were too complicated for her to even think of him in that way.

  “The Kairi will be in mourning for another day at the very least. For now, head home, eat something and get some rest. So many changes so close together will have taxed your body’s resources.”

  “What would happen if I were to keep pushing?” Tate didn’t plan to do anything too taxing, but it would be good information to have for the future.

  “Your body will begin shutting down. If you’re lucky, you’ll go into a temporary coma while it starts to repair itself. Push yourself far enough and you’ll die.”

  Words to keep in mind. Tate had to wonder how far was too far. She felt a little shaky but no worse than she would after a long run or a particularly intense session with one of the martial arts instructors.

  There was a soft knock on the door.

  Ryu answered. “Come in.”

  Gabriella poked her head through the door, her face unsure for perhaps the first time since Tate had met her.

  “Is there something you need?” Ryu asked, his voice cold.

  Tate shot him a glance. What was with the chilliness? He wasn’t always friendly but he didn’t usually sound like he was impersonating an arctic tundra either. What had happened while Ilith was gallivanting around?

  “I just wanted to check on Tate.” Gabriella’s voice was deferential, totally at odds with how she normally spoke

  “It is Lady Fisher to you.”

  Wait. What? Since when?

  Gabriella nodded stiffly, her eyes rising to Tate’s with an apology in them.

  “That’s not necessary,” Tate said. “Please don’t call me that.”

  “It is your title,” Ryu said. “It’s disrespectful of her to refer to you as anything other than Lady Fisher.”

  Tate arched one eyebrow at Ryu. “So you’re going to start referring to me as Lady Fisher?”

  Tate really hoped not. She’d never hear the end of it if Dewdrop caught wind of it.

  He looked startled. “No, of course not. We’re friends.”

  “And what makes you think I’m not friends with Gabriella?”

  He gave her a look that said he knew what she was trying to do and it wouldn’t work. “You’ve known her for all of a day.”

  “Correction, I’ve known her for several days.” Three if you wanted to be exact about it.

  “Still not long enough to form a friendship where you can drop the formalities.”

  Tate shrugged. “I bond quickly.”

  Not true. Except in the case of Dewdrop and Night, but that was more of a bonding by fire scenario. Totally different.

  “You know what I mean,” he said.

  Did she?

  “Would you be as stuck on this if I hadn’t been poisoned under her watch?” Tate asked, getting to the root of the problem.

  A vein in his jaw ticked as he clenched his teeth. She thought so.

  While it was sort of sweet for him to want to blame everyone in a three foot radius for the poisoning, it was a problem she didn’t need. She liked Gabriella, or at least what she knew of Gabriella so far. Furthermore, she suspected there was a lot she could learn from the woman. She wouldn’t be able to do that if Ryu’s frostiness caused Gabriella to back away further.

  “Gabriella had nothing to do with the poisoning,” Tate said, her eyes steady on Ryu. “She never got anywhere near the tea or any of the cookies I ate.”

  Gabriella looked startled at that assertion from Tate.

  “I’m observant,” Tate said with a wry grin. “You were never close enough to slip poison in to any of my food or drink.”

  Ryu’s eyebrows lowered as he scowled at her. “Fine, but she’d better keep her eyes open from now on. I won’t tolerate any more incidences like this.”

  Gabriella nodded, accepting his words.

  Tate rolle
d her eyes. “You do know I’m standing right here and perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

  “Then do so,” Ryu snapped back. “Try not to get poisoned, kidnapped or tortured for the next day and maybe I won’t be prone to overreacting.”

  “Those things don’t always happen.”

  “Lucius, the red lady, this.” He gave her a sharp smile. “Should I go on?”

  He had a point. A small one, but still a point.

  She batted that point away. “I’m unlikely to encounter any nefariousness sleeping in my own bed.”

  He arched one eyebrow. “With you, one never knows.”

  Now that hurt Tate’s feelings. She didn’t always get into trouble. She’d stayed out of it for the most part for the last few months. His accusation was unjust. Really.

  He headed for the door. “I’ll call a carriage for you. You’re in no shape to try to walk down to the Lower city at the moment.”

  Tate waved a hand in acknowledgement. She’d like to argue with him, simply for the sake of arguing with him, but in this instance she would be grateful for the ride. Her legs were feeling more and more wobbly with each passing moment.

  When the door closed behind Ryu, Tate turned to Gabriella.

  “Well, you did say standing next to me would bring you excitement,” Tate said, watching the other woman carefully.

  Gabriella snorted, the laugh pulled out of her unwillingly. “For the first time ever, I’ll say I wouldn’t mind having a little less excitement.”

  “What? A dragon’s too much?”

  Gabriella held her hand up thumb and pointer finger just barely apart. “I don’t know if it was the dragon so much as the half form you got caught in. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen a lot.”

  Tate could give her that. She couldn’t imagine someone caught midway through changing into another creature was particularly easy to watch.

  “That and we were all convinced you were going to die.”

  Tate looked over her with a quizzical expression. She hadn’t realized how close she’d come. She’d certainly felt like it at the time but had wanted to think it was her mind making things worse than they were. Maybe Ryu did have a reason to be so protective.

  “Well, I didn’t,” Tate said in a crisp voice.

  “No, you didn’t. Your dragon was beautiful,” Gabriella said. “And oddly funny. She would see someone and then grumble at them until they moved out of her way. Don’t get me wrong—the first couple of times we thought she was going to try to eat them, but every time she just nudged them out of her way and then would continue on. Of course, seeing her shove herself through spaces that were too small and then yowl when she got stuck was pretty humorous too.”

  Tate wasn’t sure how she felt about that news, but she was glad Ilith hadn’t hurt anyone besides a kitchen full of beef.

  “Don’t let her fool you,” Tate said, feeling the need to defend the dragon’s reputation. “She’s a fearsome predator when called upon.”

  “I’ve no doubt of that. She demolished enough meat to feed this entire household for a week in the space of minutes.”

  Ah, Tate had forgotten that Gabriella had probably witnessed that. She didn’t know which was worse, the dragon that got stuck in tight spaces or the dragon that was a glutton.

  There was a scratch at the door. Gabriella looked at it with a tilted head before opening it. Night padded through, his golden eyes resting on Tate.

  The carriage has been pulled around. Ryu had to get back to his previous engagement, but he said you’re to go straight home and rest. No stops in between.

  Tate headed for the door with Gabriella falling in beside her.

  “Did they find anything out about the poisoning?” Gabriella asked.

  Tate shook her head. “Not that I’ve been told. The Black Order is in charge of the investigation.” Yeah, that sounded no better out loud than it did in Tate’s head.

  Gabriella blew a raspberry, the sound startling. “Those blockheads couldn’t find their asses with both hands. Because the victim wasn’t human, they’re more likely to brush it under the rug and pretend it didn’t happen.”

  Tate agreed. “I don’t think Ryu is going to let that happen.”

  “If he pushes it, they’ll just point the finger at the easiest person to convict. Someone without the power to protect themselves or protest their innocence. I bet you that person is dead before they even spend a night in the Order’s cells.”

  “I’m sure they’ll do the best they can.” Tate was sure of no such thing.

  I doubt that. Night padded along by their sides. They tried to have me muzzled and chained because I was, and I quote, ‘a wild animal prone to snapping unexpectedly.’

  Tate winced. Yeah, she was not a fan of those men.

  Gabriella pointed at Night and raised her eyebrows as if to say ‘see.’ “Like I said, what’s our next move?”

  By this time they were on the outside stairs leading down the cobblestone street where a black and green carriage waited.

  “For now, heading home and sleeping until I feel less like a sailor on a three day bender and more like a normal human being.”

  Gabriella sighed. “You win, for now.”

  Tate gave her a cocky smile, exhaustion tugging at the corners of her eyes. “I’ll see you when talks resume.”

  Night padded by her side as she walked down the stairs and climbed into the carriage. He leapt in after her. The door thudded shut and the carriage took off.

  “Tate, so glad we could meet again,” Lucius said from the other side of the carriage.

  Tate sighed. Ryu was never going to let her live this down.

  Chapter Twelve

  Night snarled next to Tate, his legs bunching beneath him as he prepared to spring.

  “Ah, ah, kitty.” Lucius held up a rod. Blue fire ran up and down its length. “Just settle down over there. I’m not trying to hurt either one of you at the moment, but I will if you try to attack me.”

  The sound that came out of Night was deep and guttural.

  “It’s fine, Night. Let’s hear what our nice kidnapper has to say.”

  Lucius Two favored his passengers with a pleased smile. “Why thank you. I do so appreciate skipping the histrionics and screaming. It makes everything go so much more smoothly.”

  “Because we live to make our kidnapper’s life easier.” She gave him her best simpering expression.

  She called him Lucius Two because he was the second one she met. He and Lucius One acted as one Night Lord, using the confusion of their identical names to throw off would-be assassins. She didn’t know which one was the real Lucius, or which came first, and doubted it mattered at this point. Both were prepared to step fully into the role should the other fall.

  Despite having similar names, the two couldn’t look any more different. Lucius Two had blonde hair and the sort of face that said he would make the best of friends. Lucius One, by contrast, had piercing eyes and brown hair and looked like someone you would want to avoid running into after dark, or any time of the day really.

  She supposed it was a good sign that they’d sent Lucius Two. He’d been almost cordial the last time they’d kidnapped her.

  “What do you want Lucius?” Tate asked, tired of the games. She just wanted to find the nearest horizontal surface and get friendly with it.

  “Me? Want something?” He spread his hands, a playful expression on his face.

  “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t. Get to it. I’m tired and want to go home.”

  “You make negotiating with you so easy, Tate. I’m a little disappointed. You were much more entertaining last time.”

  “I can’t tell you how much that just stabs at my heart.”

  “Careful, Tate. I’m not as enamored with you as your would-be dragon suitor is. I’m a Night Lord and due a certain level of respect.” The amusement dropped from Lucius’s face as if he’d removed a mask. For the first time, he seemed intimidating. Sh
e could see why he made up one half of the Lucius duo. Then it was like the sun came out as his face broke into a charming smile. “But I’ll let it slide since I do like you.”

  “Gracious of you,” Tate murmured.

  The carriage rocked to a stop and Blade popped open the door, climbing inside to join them. The door shut and the carriage took off again.

  “I should have known you’d be lurking about somewhere,” Tate told Blade as he took a seat next to Lucius.

  Half Kairi, Blade had some of their coloring with the jet black hair cut so close to the head that it was mostly stubble, and the all black eyes with the faintest edge of blue around the iris. What he was missing were the visible scales.

  Blade gave Tate a small smile.

  Night pulled his lips back exposing his teeth, his ears pinned back to his head.

  “Your friend doesn’t look too happy to see us,” Blade said with his eyes on Night.

  Tate shrugged. “He’s not a fan of surprises or people dropping in unexpectedly.”

  “That’s a shame. He probably won’t last long in your company then.” Blade’s lips quirked.

  She gave him a dirty look. Surprises didn’t always pop up around her. Just occasionally.

  “I assume you two will get to the part about why you’re kidnapping us soon,” Tate said in a dry voice.

  “Kidnapping? Who said anything about kidnapping?” Lucius asked with fake outrage. “We’re simply catching a ride with you.”

  “And going in the opposite direction of our destination.” From what Tate could see, they weren’t heading for the Lower. It was surprising, since access to the Night Court was usually obtained near one of the markets in the Lower city, but perhaps there was an entrance near here too.

  “Hasn’t anybody ever told you that the scenic route is always better?”

  “No, somehow they’ve failed to mention it.”

  “So serious,” Lucius said with a teasing glint in his eye.

  “Again, what are you doing here?”

  “A little birdie told me that your current work might place you in an advantageous spot to do us a favor,” Lucius said.

  “No.”

  “You haven’t even heard what I want.”