“Why did you call us then?” Cadi asked. Stefan scowled, then shuddered visibly.
“There is a wrongness to this. I went looking. It doesn't do for us to have people murdered here. We get our business attracting people, not scaring them off.
“But… I found nothing. There was no trail. Nothing to follow, either forwards or back. There are no tracks. No evidence of any kind. It takes magick to find a killer who uses magick.”
“What makes you think magick was involved?” Rolf asked.
“What else do you call it when a killer pops in, leaves a mess behind, yet no body and no trail to follow, then disappears? That sort of mess? Shoulda been a trail to follow of some sort. I'm a tracker. There was no trail. See for yourself.”
“Stefan also has a sensitivity to magick,” Malitha said.
“Do you now?” Viktor rumbled. Stefan scowled at the Mistress, but nodded.
“Aye. I do. Father was a Mage. I didn't get the magick, but I have a gift for sniffing it out. Comes in handy for my job.”
Cadi had already seen for herself that there was no trail and she had to agree. It seemed more and more likely that some sort of magick had been involved, both here and in the mines, yet the Magisters could detect no evidence of magick. She said as much and earned another scowl from Stefan.
“Not all magick is the same,” he said in a flat voice, then smiled sweetly. “Perhaps you aren't looking hard enough. There's magick there. It is unfamiliar to me, but it's there. Dark and heavy it is, but the magick sign is the same. Only there in that one area. There's no trail to follow at all. I can sense different kinds of magick too. The magick used by the Magi of the Kanlon, the Technomancers, the Dragon Priests, the Raven Mages, the Dashuygin, it's all different.”
Rolf regarded the firefly for a long moment, his ears twitching.
“You are… half Dunne'kaa. Your father, if I'm not mistaken.”
Stefan gave the Magisters another feral grin and this time Cadi could see the points to his teeth, the canines longer than a human's would be. He brushed aside his hair, revealing the fluted ears distinctive to the Dunne'kaa and the Shulonshi of Barsyn. The firefly's hands were gloved, hiding the sharp claws that were another mark of the people of the Dragon and the Raven.
Cadi turned her attention back to Eban, who had calmed somewhat. “Do you remember anything else, Eban?”
“I… it… the creature. It looked big… tall.” He pointed to Stefan. “It was… twice tall as him. I… remember seeing horns… a horn… like an aurochi. And it made noises, snuffling noises… like a dog looking for food.”
“Horns like an aurochi… Horns like a bull, perhaps?” Cadi mused. She exchanged a brief look with Viktor. The Dashmari had a grim expression.
“What does a bull have to do with anything?” Stefan muttered. “There are no bulls on the skycity.”
“Perhaps nothing,” Viktor said. “Tell me, Stefan, would you be willing to help us, with pay of course. Your ability to sense the magick would be a big help,” the Dashmari asked.
“Of course,” the tracker replied, inclining his head in acknowledgment. “For a price. Should you need my help, send a runner for me here.”
“That won't be necessary,” Viktor said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a small pin-comm like the ones the Magisters and Crows wore. With a few soft muttered words, he activated the badge and made to pass it to Stefan, who shook his head, wary and suspicious.
“I don't need the Magisters keeping tabs on me,” he said.
“Please, take the comm. It will make things easier. I've tied the badge to only myself and my partners. We'll not interfere with your… extracurricular… activities.”
Stefan reached out and took the pin-comm from Viktor. With another scowl, he affixed it to the inside of his shirt collar, then flipped the collar back down, hiding the small badge. He noticed Cadi's puzzled look.
“Don't need those around here to know I'm working with you, now do I? Be bad for business.”
Cadi said nothing, but raised her eyebrows in an accepting gesture. Of course the firefly would wish to hide his affiliation with the Magisters. She was surprised that they'd secured his cooperation as easily as they had, but his assistance would make a difference if he could track magick that they could not. Cadi had heard that about the Dunne'kaa and the Shulonshi, that they had a greater sensitivity to different forms of magick than did most Magi, even if they could not use magick themselves.
“The answer to your question is yes.”
Cadi flinched slightly as her guardian's voice filled her head.
“What?” she asked.
“There is a faint scent of the sacrificial magick present at this scene as well. Either your killer is saturated in it from the mines, or they are tied to it some other way. I am surprised the tracker can pick up on it. Most impressive.”
“Where have you been,” she hissed. Faint amusement filled her mind through the mental link.
“Trying to find answers for you, my dear. Something about the maze sealed away in the mine had been tickling the edges of memory.”
“And did you find anything?” Cadi asked.
“A bit of something, perhaps. A scrap of memory from my own world. Crete, Minos, a legend about a labyrinth and the fearsome creature sealed within. They called it 'minotaur'. Bull of Minos, it means and the legends, if I recall correctly, tell of human sacrifices to this creature. It fits, my dear, though I do not know if this is the same creature. If it is, it's a being from a world long lost, just like me.”
“Well, I can't tell my partners that… Beings from a world that we know nothing of. Can you remember anything about this creature that might help us capture it?” Cadi asked.
“Not off-hand, but you'll be the first to know, should I remember.”
Cadi turned her attention back to Viktor, as the wolf was finishing his arrangements with Stefan. The Magisters left Bella Luna, returning to the crime scene in the alley, where they spent the better part of the morning processing.
Shadowylde Lane, Hunters' Quarter, North Ward, Port Jericho, Year of the Jade Bull, 2114 CE
Rain poured down, wet and miserable. Riven glanced over his shoulder for the third time in as many minutes. The grizzled assassin couldn't shake the feeling he was being followed. Years of keeping to the shadows had taught Riven to move easily in them and plenty of attempts by others to kill him had taught the draakeen hunter what it felt like to be the prey. Riven froze, melding into the darkness along Shadowylde Lane. He waited in the rain, watching back the way he'd come, hoping that his stalker would reveal himself. Ten minutes passed, fifteen, twenty. Riven waited thirty minutes in all, but saw hide nor hair of anyone who might have been shadowing him.
Shrugging, the draakeen started moving again, keeping against the walls. He still had the nagging feeling that someone was following him, but it was fainter than before. Still… better safe than sorry. Riven followed a circuitous route as he headed back to Draakengaard. His commander wouldn't thank him for leading someone straight to their base. No one found the draakeen. If they were needed, they found you. Riven grew edgy as the feeling of being watched crept over him again. The rain had stopped and fog was filling the night. Riven hoped to find better cover with it. He turned and slipped down a narrow alley off of the Lane. The feeling grew stronger, filling Riven with wariness that was quickly turning to terror. From the fog behind him, a low growly snort came and a snuffling, sending shivers through him. The draakeen, normally quite calm in the face of danger, finally spooked and ran down the alley, going deeper into the growing fog. Heavy, muffled footsteps sounded behind Riven, coming closer. Slipping a pair of daggers from his sleeves, the draakeen backed against a wall and turned to face his assailant. The sound of footsteps ceased and another low growl rolled through the fog.
“Well come on, then. Let's get this over with,” Riven snarled. Another growly snort answered him and a shape moved within the fog. A huge shape, far larger than the average human. Wh
at looked like horns spiraled out from the sides of its head. Riven didn't have time to make a sound before his stalker lunged, enveloping him in an unearthly inky mist, darker than the fog that now filled the alleyway.
* * *
A week had passed since the as yet unsolved murder in Firefly Alley. Cadi had been hoping that it would be the last, but no such luck. She sighed as she surveyed the scene, just off the main of Shadowylde Lane.
Shadowylde Lane was in the Hunters' Quarter, the area of Port Jericho where the assassins' guilds, and the shops that catered to them, were located. Cadi could almost feel the mistrustful gaze of myriad unseen people, resentful of the Magisters' intrusions. Cadi pulled her jacket tighter, as the strong winds quite common to the skycity, screamed through the narrow alley, kicking up a scattering of debris… including parts of their crime scene.
It was the same as before. The walls and ground were covered in a fine misting of blood and gore, only this time it was partially washed away by early morning rains and scattered by the winds. Two daggers lay abandoned next to the wall. Cadi bent down to inspect the daggers more closely. They were good quality, crafted of narrylym, with a stylized dragon for a hilt. She was surprised they hadn't already been snatched up, but, like the purloined goods at Firefly Alley, the daggers hadn't been touched, no matter how valuable they may have been.
“Viktor, look at this,” she called. Cadi had recognized the daggers as having belonged to a member of a specific hunter's guild. The Dashmari walked over, crouching down beside her.
“These daggers… Our victim was a draakeen,” Cadi said, pointing to the daggers. Viktor grunted, touching one with a shielded hand.
“The Dragon's assassins don't die easy.” Cadi and Viktor both turned as Stefan came up behind them. “And he won't take kindly to this. I'd hate to be the killer, if the Dragon finds him first.”
“We'll need to talk to him,” Viktor said. “The draakeen's last assignment may give us clues to who killed him. Do you know how to reach this…? Dragon?”
Stefan snorted. “You don't find him. He finds you. You may wish to visit the Wyvern's Roost, here in the Hunters' Quarter. It's one way to get a message to Draakengaard, but I doubt you'll get a response, unless it's the body of your killer delivered to your doorstep.”
“I'll take that, at the moment…” Cadi muttered. Stefan smirked at her.
“Magisters happy for a hunter's help? What's the world coming to,” he asked. Viktor and Cadi ignored his taunt.
“What about this scene?” Viktor asked. “Do you sense the same magick?” Cadi already knew the answer. Loki had confirmed the same blood magick when they'd first arrived.
The mercenary scowled at them. “This place reeks of it, just as the other one did. Foreign magick, unfamiliar magick, but only in this area. Not leading up to it from the Shadowylde end. I'll check the rest of the alleyway,” Stefan said and moved off down the small street.
Cadi and Viktor began to process the site. Rolf joined them, stammering apologies for his tardiness. When they were almost done, Stefan sauntered back up, giving them a smart salute.
“Nothing. Same as before. I even checked the surrounding streets. Can I go now?”
Viktor thanked the mercenary and dismissed him. The Magisters gathered up their gear. Processing the site hadn't taken long. After all… they'd had lots of practice over the past few days and the elements had stolen most of the evidence anyway.
“I'll take what we've got to Jupiter. Perhaps he can tease some more clues from this mess,” Rolf offered. Viktor took one of the knives from the younger wolf.
“Come, Cadi. Let's visit the… Wyvern's Roost… and see if we can find this Dragon.”
The Wyvern's Roost proved to be a tavern located at the end of Shadowylde Lane, butted up against the Rim Wall itself. The drone of airships was louder here, this close to the Rim Wall. The paddocks were in caverns beneath the city proper.
Cadi followed Viktor through the door. Few people graced the establishment this early in the day. A pair of men sat at a table tucked away in a far corner, their heads close together. They looked up as the Magisters came in. They stood, scowling at Cadi and Viktor, before heading up a flight of stairs.
The only other person in the tavern was the barkeep, a pudgy Argosian who was lazily drying a stack of glasses. Pale brown eyes regarded them with mild disinterest.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
“Do you recognize this?” Viktor asked, sliding the dragon knife across the bar. The Argosian gave him a flat look.
“It's a knife, Magister. Surely you could have figured that out yourself?” he replied. Cadi didn't miss a slight twitch of the barkeep's eye. He recognized the knife, the import of it. She also picked up Viktor's irritation. She placed a hand on the Dashmari's arm and stepped up beside him, giving the barkeep a coy smile. Beside her, Viktor growled softly.
“It was found at the scene of a murder, here in the Hunters' Quarter this morning. It seems likely that it belonged to the victim. We'd like to find who owned it, so we can find who killed him. Your assistance would be appreciated,” Cadi said sweetly. Amusement ghosted across the Argosian's face and he reached out to pick up the dagger.
“You found only one?”
Cadi shook her head. “No, there was a second. It's in evidence now.”
The barkeep turned the dagger over in his hands for several long moments, before putting it back on the bar with a heavy sense of finality. Cadi was sure he was going to brush them off again. Instead, he let out a series of sharp whistles. Within seconds a slender Arkaddian slipped through the door from the kitchen area.
“Nitka, keep an eye on things,” the barkeep said. He walked from behind the bar and gestured for the Magisters.
“Follow me,” he said and started walking, leaving them to catch up. They followed him to a storeroom in the back of the tavern, with an oddly placed door in it that would seem to lead to the Rim Wall itself. Etched into the door was the likeness of a stylized dragon wrapped around a spiral. The Argosian went to a comm panel beside the door and punched it. After a lengthy conversation in Argosian, none of which Cadi understood, he turned back to the pair of waiting Magisters.
“I need your weapons and your magickal artifacts,” he said. “Nitka and I will keep them safe.”
“We're not turning over our weapons,” Viktor growled.
“You will if you want to go any further. Makes no nevermind to me whether you do or not,” the Argosian replied. “Question is- how badly do you want answers?”
“We will still have our guardians, Viktor, and I doubt these people will offer us harm, unprovoked. Seems bad for business,” Cadi said soothingly. She unsheathed her daggers, her service pistol and her serrslym ring and handed them to the Argosian. He took them with a faint smile.
“Wise choice, Magister. And you are correct. If you offer no violence, none will be offered to you.”
Grumbling under his breath in Dashmari, Viktor likewise relinquished his weapons. Satisfied, the barkeep punched a code into the door's control panel. It hissed open to reveal a staircase of all things.
“Follow the corridor to its end,” the Argosian said. Viktor walked through and, with a last glance at the barkeep who now held their weapons, Cadi followed. The passageway, within the Rim Wall itself, went down several feet before leveling out. They walked several more yards before reaching a recessed door that hissed open as they approached it.
The room they entered was large and simply adorned with a scattering of chairs and tables. It seemed to be a common room of sorts, though there was only one person in it at the moment. A shirtless man stood at a desk, his back to them. An elaborate dragon tattoo graced his back, wings half-furled, fore-paws and head hooked over his shoulder.
“Welcome,” the man said. As Cadi watched, the tattooed wings rippled on his back, fully unfurling. He stretched the wings out to their full length as he turned to face them. From the front, the dragon's head took up a good portion of his
chest. Cadi did a double-take. The man looked exactly like the barkeep they'd just left upstairs, save that he had golden eyes. And wings… the wings were new too. She only knew of one type of magi who could manipulate mage-metals within their bodies and Cadi guessed that was how the wings had seemed to come to life.
“You're the Dragon, aren't you? You… you're a Technomancer, a rogue one.”
“Very observant, Magister. So I am, on both counts. Give me the dagger, katin.” He moved towards them, furling the wings against his back. Viktor growled at the man as he approached, a deep, dangerous sound that Cadi had never heard from him before. His ears flattened in an aggressive manner. The Dragon met and held his gaze, matching the Dashmari's growl with a low one of his own, baring teeth as sharp as the Dashmari's, something no mere Argosian had. Madness glinted in the depths of his golden eyes. He made no other aggressive movements, but after a moment Viktor dropped his gaze and twisted his head slightly, the shadow of a Dashmari's submissive gesture. He held out the dagger. The Dragon inclined his head slightly as he accepted it. Cadi was stunned. She never seen Viktor defer to anyone, Dashmari or not. He was an alpha wolf.
“This belonged to Riven, one of my elite draakeen. Where is his body?” the Dragon asked, turning the dagger over in his hands.
“There was no body,” Viktor said.
“Then how do you know he's dead?”
After a moment's hesitation, Viktor explained the scene where the daggers had been found and the two similar scenes.
“We're just waiting to get the results from this scene back,” Viktor concluded. “What can you tell us about Riven? About his last mission?”
“Nothing,” the Dragon said. “What his mission was isn't important to your investigation. Perhaps, if your other two victims had been targets worthy of a hunter, but they weren't. A street kid and a mine guard? They aren't targets worthy of one of our hunter guilds and any hunter, anywhere, is going to come with a hefty price tag.”
Obsidian Alcatraz: An Evalyce Novella Page 4
