“Be mindful, now. A spider’s fangs–” Lem whirled around and backhanded him across the face. Tenri stumbled and fell to his knees.
“Rot take you and your spiders!” he snapped, striding past Tenri. “My brothers, our plan has taken another step towards completion today. Our captives–” He paused suddenly, fixing his lilac eyes on the cavern’s entrance. He’d seen a quick flicker of movement there. There was no way they could have gotten loose this soon, was there...? His brothers shifted uneasily, glancing around. Most of them drew weapons, and Lem’s hand fell on his own saber. Tenri didn’t move.
“Whatever is the matter, my dear sir Peacekeeper?” He still sounded like a fool, but there was an unexpected tone to his voice. Lem spun around again to face him, and Tenri smiled at him placidly. “If you do keep twisting so, you shall only entrap yourself further.”
“I said, the Rot take you and your damn worthless spiders!” Lem roared, lunging at the Southerner with his saber drawn. And then something completely unexpected happened. One instant Lem was bearing down on his victim, and the next Tenri had flipped the sword out of his hand, caught it, and placed the tip against Lem’s throat.
“So spoke the fly, bound in a web.” Tenri’s bright eyes flickered over the startled rebels. “I do apologize, honorable brothers, but we have found ourselves at cross- purposes at last. You see, I shall protect his Imperial Highness with my dying breath.”
“That brat doesn’t deserve the blood that’s spilled for him,” growled one of the rebels furiously, “But traitors to the cause must be punished, no matter what!” They hadn’t taken more than a step towards Tenri and Lem, however, when a low, mechanical roar filled the air. One of the rebels cursed loudly, and a few retreated, fear evident on their faces.
Elias Tenri’s vicious smile grew until he could contain it no longer, and he began to laugh. It shook his entire body and mixed with the roar of the approaching machine until the air practically rang with dissonant notes. Behind him, a pale, dark-haired man rode into the clearing astride a machine the likes of which none present had seen before, two more schoolchildren riding behind him. The stranger assessed the situation quickly, then drew a similarly unfamiliar weapon from his belt and pointed it at Lem. With a slight quirk of his lips he addressed Tenri.
“Elias. It is always a pleasure to work with you.” His tone was cold. “I take it the Prince is safe?” Both of his companions remained at his side, tense and ready. Several of the rebels seemed to be looking for a way out.
“He is in the most capable of hands,” replied Tenri, his gaze flashing over Lem’s head towards where Linna and her students were trying to hide. He couldn’t see them, but he could see movement and draw conclusions. “But, I think there are some here who ought to be in your hands, would you not say, Luz?” The stranger nodded curtly.
“Indeed. I am Imperial Inspector Luz Vinsia, and I do believe I can make two different sets of arrests at once.”
..................
Linna had expected certain things to happen with the arrival of the Imperial Inspector. She just had not expected everything that happened. For instance, she had expected the rebels he had come after to be angry and startled. She had expected several swords to be pointed at the Inspector. She had expected him to explain that what he was holding was a quick ranged weapon, and generally she had expected someone to back him up on that, as Tenri had. She had expected Bel, meanwhile, to come running at her full speed because he was, generally and helpfully, scared of strangers. She had expected Esmine to hang back, his face as blank as ever, watching the scene unfold. She had expected Lem to argue or run, and if he ran she had expected it to be quickly and in an unplanned-for direction.
She hadn’t expected him to bolt right at her and her students, a desperate gleam in his eyes. The Imperial Inspector swore and went after him, but he was several paces behind Lem– too far back to stop him unless he shot, and he wouldn’t chance it with a moving target and civillians. Bel dropped to the ground with a high-pitched sound of terror, and after a split second Selette joined him, wrapping her arms around the boy’s shoulders. Lem paid them no heed. Of course. Linna put two and two together a little later than she would have liked. Riccio.
The Panseyan boy had frozen in fear a few paces away from her, staring wide- eyed at what was happening. Lem was running at him, a short knife in his hands. Linna saw red. It didn’t matter to her what Riccio was, really: whether he was a lost prince, a doppelganger, a pawn in some shadowy political game, any combination of the above or something else entirely, he was a child and her student, and he was presently in danger.
Before she had processed action, she had jammed her elbow under Lem’s ribs, making him turn towards her. When he did, she punched him in the face with as much strength as she could muster, and then kicked him for good measure. Linna didn’t know she could move that fast. Lem, evidently, had similarly underestimated her capabilities, because he was reeling from her attack, stumbling back. She shoved Riccio behind her, and glanced around to see how the Inspector was doing.
By this point, Vinsia and Tenri had disarmed all of the rebels, and Tenri was binding their hands, likely as per the Inspector’s orders. The Inspector, in turn, was still aiming his weapon at them, but was following Lem with his bright blue eyes, tense and ready to attack.
“Now, Peacekeeper Karz Lem, surrender yourself. You and your brothers have been outmatched.” Tenri had finished up his work, so the Inspector now trained his weapon on Lem. “Keep your hands where I can see them, and come over here.”
Lem obeyed, slowly and silently, seething with hatred and fury. He made it most of the way up to them, close enough for the Inspector to relax his guard a fraction, at least, before a mad grin split his face.
“The Rot on you, dear sir Inspector,” Lem’s Imperial was accented and mocking. “And the Rot on my foolish, honorable brothers!” Lem went for the Inspector’s weapon, and the man jerked back, making it go off with a loud bang. The metal ball grazed Lem’s cheek, leaving a raw, red line like a burn and after a split second of shock Lem cursed and elbowed the Inspector in the gut. Vinsia doubled over, and Lem ran. Linna’s first thought was that he was going to run down the mountain, but instead he fell upon the machine Vinsia had ridden and hit the ignition furiously until the machine roared to life. Tenri and Vinsia had given chase for a few paces, but he was moving too quickly for them now, escaping down the mountain with the papers—
“Bel. More than a minute?” Esmine’s voice cut through her thoughts. He seemed more amused than anything else. Bel shook his head shakily, and before Linna could even try to ask, a loud crash and explosion answered her. Imperial Inspector Luz Vinsia took a deep breath and pinched his nose.
“Elias, would you go and see what is left of that rat and my precious Rider?”
“Certainly, and I shall return whatever I can carry, enshrouded in–” Vinsia cut his monologuing off with a glare.
“Elias. Just go, and come back. You do not want me to hunt for you, now do you?”
“Very well, then.” Tenri threw up his hands in an exaggerated gesture of surrender. “Would you care to accompany me, dear lady Professor?” She could not think of a reason not to, and quite honestly she wanted to make sure Lem had not escaped, so she nodded and hesitantly took his proffered arm.
“Esmine, mind the others. No wandering off now.” Esmine nodded. Bel was hanging onto the back of his coat, Selette was within arm’s reach of her brother, and Riccio was hanging back a little, watching them. She would have to deal with Riccio later.
..................
Karz Lem lay sprawled in the snow a few meters from the smoldering remains of Vinsia’s machine. The latter was utterly beyond help, but the former was breathing shallowly. One of his legs was at an odd angle, he was bleeding, and Linna could smell singed hair and skin. Tenri knelt beside him, frowning.
“Is he... will he survive?” Linna asked. As much as she wanted Lem dead by this point, she felt as tho
ugh the cause of justice rather deserved a living man. Tenri half- lifted him for a moment, then made a derisive noise.
“I am a doctor, you know.” With a bit of effort, he lifted Lem up and started back up the trail. “Rest assured, dear lady Professor: he shall not die before we are quite through with him.”
“... I am glad.” She was glad of a number of things, ranging from some vague feeling about justice being done, more or less, to the very concrete happiness of being alive with the murderer captured and nothing else crime-related to worry about for the time being. Tenri smiled softly at her, and she thought he understood.
“There are stories about ladies in Haz, who are as cold and beautiful as the glaciers, with minds as quick and strong as the North Wind,” said Elias Tenri quietly. “I am honored to know they are true, at least in one case.” Linna laughed despite herself.
“You must introduce me to this lady, then, dear sir Doctor. I have yet to meet anyone worthy of such similes.” For some reason, that seemed to be the correct response, because the smile that formed on Tenri’s lips was honest enough to warm his eyes.
“As far as I know, she is above such similes. A true pity, I fear. Some poetry may do us all more good than harm in tiring times.”
“Perhaps you could teach my students as much.”
“Perhaps I shall, then. Perhaps I shall.”
..................
Everyone actually getting down from Mount Yad was a blur for Riccio. His secret had been revealed, the secret that he had been told time and time again he would be killed for, people who weren’t evil suddenly were, people who were evil suddenly weren’t, there were more Peacekeepers than he had ever seen in one place before, and everyone was trying to speak Imperial. He wanted to hide, but he didn’t want to get particularly close to anyone.
He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a gentle hand on his head. Professor Nyx was standing next to him, smiling at him warmly. In an instant, Riccio decided he didn’t want to leave. No matter what was happening in the capital, no matter if he was suddenly important, no matter if people knew he was the prince. He just wanted to stay in Haz and go to school with Esmine and pull Selette’s pigtails and drink tea in Professor Nyx’s kitchen and never grow up, and he had no idea how to put it into words anymore.
“Professor...” It came out as a whimper. He sounded like Bel. Actually, he probably sounded worse than Bel, because Bel was around somewhere clinging to Esmine and getting entertained by descriptions of weapons. Professor Nyx knelt down next to him.
“Yes, Riccio?” At least he was still just Riccio. That had to mean something. He hoped it meant something.
“W-what’s going to happen now?” It was not even close to what he wanted to ask, but he was scared and tired and cold and bruised and heartbroken and there was really a limit to what he could say.
“Well, now we go back to town, and the Imperial Inspector officially figures out who killed your uncle and Matteo Dimali, and charges that person. Then, it’s his jurisdiction, so he and Dr. Tenri will probably take them back to the capital.” She paused, then smiled impishly. “And then, young man, you will go right back to school. No more missing class because of lunatics with knives, hm?”
“Knives and politics,” Riccio put in, giggling slightly. She was still the same. That was good. That was all he needed.
“Oh, Rot take politics. I never really cared for it.” She pulled Riccio into a tight hug. “No Panseyan fools are going to steal away my students again.”
“... Promise?”
“I promise.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
..................
The inn had been remarkably empty before they had laid claim to it. Evidently literally no one visited Haz for tourism. Elias Tenri was draped over a couch, again, all limbs and long coat. Rather, Linna thought, like a spider on his web. Imperial Inspector Luz Vinsia had claimed one of the armchairs, and was looking out over the room with his bright blue eyes as though he was scanning for details. Esmine sat on a barstool, watching Vinsia watch people with unabashed curiosity, occasionally smirking with recognition. Riccio had claimed another armchair, and Selette had cheerfully wedged herself in next to him. The two of them kept poking each other. Linna tried to sit respectably in her straight-backed chair, which was difficult when Bel was falling off of his barstool and almost into her lap every minute and a half like clockwork. The rest of the room was occupied by a few Peacekeepers and the rather old mayor of Haz Gate. Vinsia’s eyes flickered over all of them one last time, then he cleared his throat and steepled his fingers.
“So, I have gathered all of you here for the express purpose of illuminating the more obscure facts of this case, which has been a most troublesome ordeal for all involved–”
“You are a troublesome ordeal, Luz,” muttered Tenri. Vinsia glared at him.
“As is your face. Now be silent.” He took a deep breath. “I have been absent for most of the time during which the crimes were committed, but I have been most fortunate to have had a number of very helpful associates, all of whom are with us today. First, I would like to formally introduce Dr. Elias Tenri, of the Imperial Secret Service.”
“I do apologize for deceiving you all. It is, alas, a common occurrence in my line of business,” said Tenri, extending his hands palms-up in the universally apologetic gesture. There were a few murmurs of surprise, but Linna was not among them. She hadn’t expected the Secret Service, but had, in fact, been expecting some sort of secret revelation.
“Secondly, I would like to extend my warmest thanks to Professor Linna Nyx, who has been instrumental in explaining the details of this case to me. You have a wonderful mind, dear lady Professor.” Linna flushed. “Not to mention, she managed to assist us without ignoring her actual job. I do not know many men who would be capable of that.” High praise indeed, even if it stung a little. Tenri sighed.
“A man, Luz, would be excused from his official job. You would have made a splendid Peacekeeper, dear lady Professor.” Women didn’t become Peacekeepers, and Linna knew that he knew it, but for some reason his comment made her much happier than Vinsia’s had.
“Lastly, on the topic of people who could be very capable Peacekeepers, I would like to salute our little detective here, Esmine Besari, who, I believe, managed to crack the case before I did.” There was pride in Vinsia’s voice. Maybe he saw himself in Esmine.
“You were just looking at it in the wrong manner, sir Inspector,” said Esmine placidly. His ego probably did not need stroking, but this was neither the time nor the place to bring that up, and everything Vinsia had said was true.
“Quite so. Now, to start at the beginning: Matteo Dimali was murdered. By whom? Who had the motive, means, and opportunity to slit his throat in the dead of night? Obviously, someone who knew him. According to our hard evidence – so kindly provided and analyzed, may I add – we know he was taken by surprise by someone who was tall enough to strike at him from above.
Obviously, with my knowledge, I could approximately rule out my associate. Petty creature that he may be, he has yet to kill a mark without direct orders. I suppose spiders must conserve their venom, or some such nonsense. Regardless, I knew that Elias Tenri was not to blame. However, the killer could not be Hazi: Dimali was not the tallest man in the capital, but he was certainly taller than the usual resident of this region. That is an undeniable fact– Peacekeeper Meln, stand up please? Dimali was visibly taller than this man. That, I think, is sufficient.
Furthermore, few people in Haz Gate knew of Dimali or his reasons for being here. The man was an active member of the Brotherhood of Truth, a group dedicated to destroying the Empire and the Imperial family through various unsavory scare tactics, and he had come into possession of certain documents that were of great value to the Brotherhood. He had come up to Haz Gate to deliver those documents to an associate. Elias Tenri had intercepted certain communications amongst this group, and thus was able to convince Dimali that he was the associat
e in question.”
“Dimali, however, double-crossed me,” cut in Tenri vehemently. “He was a rat and a blackmailer, and was intent on leeching every last drop out of myself and Enrique Fenin. I turned him away and insisted I needed more time to gather my funds, and he evidently tried to return to the manor.”
“As you all know, he never made it there. His killer intercepted him and his precious cargo on the way there. There was only one person who could have done that without drawing the attention of my associate and Enrique Fenin: Enrique Fenin himself. From what I had gathered, Dimali was blackmailing him, so Fenin followed him to his secret meeting, whereupon he realized what Dimali had betrayed him as well, and killed him. That is the entirety of the first murder.”
“If... if uncle killed that man, who killed uncle?” Riccio asked, biting his lip. Selette glanced up at her brother expectantly. Esmine nodded.
“Well, at that point Fenin had the documents, so he thought he was safe,” Esmine started. “However, I stole a set, so he began to be suspicious about what was going on in town. I had stolen the set that he wanted made known, but he didn’t want them in the wrong hands, obviously. That was why he was trying to get them back. Professor Nyx had them, but she hadn’t read them, and neither had that fool of a Peacekeeper. But Fenin was desperate, so he made contact with Peacekeeper Lem...”
“With intention of buying the papers back, yes. Well done,” Vinsia said, smiling. “Fenin explained the importance of the documents, and Lem must have sensed an opportunity to profit, and since he already had the weapon from the first murder, he killed Fenin and made it look like a serial crime. Now, all he had to do was actually get the papers themselves.”
“I had kept them in my bag, and I keep it with me all the time. It must have been terribly aggravating for him to watch me blundering about with an imperial missive on my person without his being able to go near it,” Linna admitted, looking down. She hadn’t been thinking about keeping the missive safe, and she had been completely taken in by his facade.
In the Snows of Haz Page 6
