Clara and Ezra

by Lindsey Richardson

  “A long night lays ahead of me, sweetheart. You ought to rest,” he said.

  “Let me help! I can come with you,” I pleaded, thinking I would never sleep after tonight’s events.

  He shook his head. “Claire would never allow it. Besides, you aren’t a Watcher. Trust me, I’ll have my best men and women working on this.”

  The moonlight shone on his face, and he winked before steering the horse in the opposite direction. I turned around and faced the castle. I thought about may last return to Ninomay. Having walked inside and watching Declan tear up for a man we both grew to love. I prayed to Circe nothing else deadly would strike tonight.

  You aren’t a Watcher… I thought as I approached the front doors.

  I entered into the palace and thought about Lukas’s words as I ascended the staircase. The palace was quiet, and the Watchers and servants moved around silently. I would never be a Watcher; I did not have the gift for it. However, I had been investigating same as Lukas and Keanu. This was no longer solely a case I desired to solve for my father. This was for Vincent and Ren too. No one deserved to die in the ways those men suffered, even if those men had not been the best of society.

  Perhaps I would never be a Watcher, but Lukas’s words left me wondering what I could be, who I could become. Something more than Jhase’s daughter and Claire’s sister. The Kanelos name held significance in our society, and since I had taken it there had been no honor done to it.

  I had chosen to stay in Ninomay, denied the opportunity to work on the Council, and now… Where did that leave me to go? What was I meant to do? I had chased after Claire, and now I sought after the people responsible for multiple murders.

  The Watchers were the law enforcement, but I wanted to do something equally as liberating as their work. I wanted to do something that mattered. I just couldn’t quite put my finger on what that would be.

  I found myself standing outside of Father’s room. No one had occupied his room since his passing. The door remained slightly ajar, and I pushed it open the remainder of the way.

  Everything appeared identical to how I had previously found the room. Untouched and filled with the memories of his life. I kept expecting to walk in one day and see something different, but fortunately no one had let the memories this room contained died along with my father.

  I stared at the bed, the one he had died in. I stared long and hard enough until I could see him lying there, not dead but alive and sleeping. I imagined how peaceful he had been. How safe and comfortable he must have been in his own home.

  Someone had taken that away from him. Someone had taken away the meaning of home from Claire and I.

  I stepped closer to the the bed. Father wasn’t here. He would never lay in this bed again. I kept moving forward until my knees hit the side of the mattress, and I collapsed onto the bed. I buried myself in the fresh sheets, the ones they had replaced the bloody ones with The one that would never smell like him again.

  I closed my eyes. I thought about the last conversation I had with Father in this very room on this very bed. I could hear his words in my head, but then I could see the bloody sheets and the empty room, and I did not want to see any more.

  I thought about Father’s cold, lifeless body. That imagery had fueled me to kill another mage. Death engulfed me like the blankets, slowly and carelessly, but then all at once tangling me up.

  Death was silent like a thief in the night.

  24

  Watchkeeper

  I woke in the morning, glancing around at the room. I had forgotten I spent he night in Father’s room. Today was not a day I could spend pitying myself or mourning for Father. Urgent matters awaited my attention. Lukas and I needed to find Kade’s sister. She was our only lead so far into how he was connected to the recent murders.

  I rushed out of Father’s room and into my own, seeking attire for the day. Once dressed I left the room in search for Lukas.

  As I approached the staircase I noticed him at the bottom, waiting as if he knew I would come for him eventually. His eyes were diverted, though, and I loved further across the room, noticing Claire as she entered into the foyer.

  Their eyes locked for a moment, but as soon as I reached the bottom of the staircase their full attention turned to me.

  “Clara, I have news,” Claire said calmly.

  I reached the last step and stared at her with wide eyes. She seemed too collected for this to be about another murder. Was it something our mother had done?

  “Lukas and I spoke this morning, and we’re come to an agreement. I know you do not wish to be a councilor, nor do you like the lifestyle that accompanies it. But we’ve seen how determined you are with solving these recent crimes. It would be my honor to bestow upon you a new title,” she explained.

  I glanced over at Lukas. I remembered our conversation from last night. I had wanted to stay with him and the other Watchers. However, Watchers had never changed over the centuries. They were always descending of a bloodline with powers beyond my capabilities. I could never match up to them.

  “What title?” I asked, gulping.

  Claire smiled. “Watchkeeper. We have lived for centuries with the Watchers ensuring the laws are obeyed. Lukas is charge of them, but I want someone leading cases, criminal cases such as murder and kidnapping. Should you take this role, you would lead the investigations of any unexplained deaths, disappearances, and other violent crimes. The Watchers would be at your disposal.”

  “It will not be a pretty job, sweetheart. It’s not for the weak or light hearted. It will be dirty, bloody work. The kind of work no one dreams of doing. But if anyone has the strength to do it, it’s you,” Lukas said.

  My jaw hung open. I could not find the words. Only just last night I thought about my purpose on this island. I had always dreamt of being destined for so much more than working at a bookstore. This, though, had note even been in my wildest of dreams. it would give me a purpose in Ninomay. It meant I would be helping people in need. I would be giving back to the island.

  “Well?” Claire asked.

  I nodded my head. “Of course, yes! It would be an honor.”

  I embraced her and smiled. She wrapped her arms around me, and for a moment I set aside the importance of tie and today’s agenda and just held her.

  As sick as I was of the darkness and blood in this world I could finally be a part of the cause to stop it. I could help the Watchers, aid the Council, and save our people. I knew what Claire sacrificed by giving me this position. It put my life at risk, but perhaps she finally accepted I would never be content with being kept out of harm’s way.

  Claire pulled away from me and gestured toward Lukas.

  “Go. You and Lukas should get started,” she said.

  With one last glance at her I followed Lukas until we were standing outside on the dirt ground again. His horse from last night was tied up to a tree, waiting for us. Lukas mounted it and helped me climb up. He informed me Zachariah had given him directions to Kade’s home, the one which he and his sister had lived in.

  The hovel was located near the shore. We passed by the fishermen and children as Lukas reassured me we drew closer to our destination.

  I watched the waves of the ocean crashing onto the beach. I thought back to when I first arrived here, how Gemma had taken me past these parts. Those waves used to be the only thing that called out to me, the only thing reminding me of my home. Now they were a remainder that no matter how far I traveled the waves would always crash onto the beach.

  Lukas brought he horse to a complete stop and demounted, helping me off afterwards. Kade’s home had the perfect view of the ocean, but I feared darkness awaited us inside. How helpful would his sister be when Kade had only ever sought to harm us? When I was responsible for him being dead?

  We approached the door and Lukas knocked. I stood behind him as if his body blocking mien would somehow hide the fact I had “guilty” written all over my face. Claire had not released the official statement
of how Kade died, but surely his sister had to know the kind of business he had been involved in. A man doing his line of work would not have died by accident or peacefully.

  No one answered the door. Lukas knocked again, this time louder and harder against the wood. After a second the door swung open and a woman greeted us.

  She stood towering over Lukas. Chestnut, frizzy hair covered a thin, frail face, and dead gray eyes stared back at us. The woman herself did not look like she belonged amongst the living.

  “My name is Lukas Pavlous, commander of the Watchers. My companion, Clara Kanelos, is our new Watchkeeper. We have been sent by the Council in regards to your brother’s recent… tragedy.”

  Without a word she stepped inside and gestured for us to enter. Lukas hesitated for a moment and then entered with me following closely behind.

  The woman gestured for us to take seats on the sofa. I sat down beside Lukas, mentally preparing myself for this to turn from good to ugly. This woman might seem innocent, but her relation to Kade concerned me. For all we knew she could be involved in this conspiracy as well.

  Lukas leaned forward. “What is your name?”

  “A-Ahna… Ahna Toles,” she replied.

  “And what did your brother do for a living?”

  “He was a blacksmith,” she said, staring down at the floor.

  “Did he have ties to Elias Parlous or Nina Nasso?”

  She hesitated, glancing up at him for a moment and then returning her attention to the floor.

  I expected tears or anger from her, but she seemed void of emotion. I remembered Claire’s disappearance. I remembered Elias’s threats to my family. I would have been completely destroyed if Claire had died, but this was not the case for Ahna. Perhaps Kade had been like Isaak. She might be better off now with him dead and in the ground rather than amongst the living. No one else was present in the house. It was quite possible that she had only lived here with her brother, whom she would never see again.

  “Did Kade ever harm you?” I asked.

  Lukas glanced over, but I kept my attention on Ahna. I knew better than anyone what it was like to be abused by a family member. She had trusted Kade, and he had betrayed her trust.

  At her silence, I added, “no one can harm you now. Tell us what he did, and we will protect you. You have my word.”

  Ahna jumped up from her chair and fled to the window.

  “He would never forgive me…”

  “Sweetheart, he’s dead. He will never know,” Lukas said softly.

  She shuddered. Her actions led me to believe she was not likely involved in Kade’s work. If she was one of “them” she would have sent us away already. She could have died us access into her home.

  “Kade was not a good man…” she stated calmly.

  I leaned forward, now even with Lukas, and held my breath. Was she the key? Did she know his ties, and could she lead us to the killer? I gripped the edge of the sofa, though I could hardly sit still. Every ounce of my body wanted to leap for this information. I wanted to find a faster way to retrieve it from her, but this was a damaged woman. Whatever insight she had would not be revealed easily.

  Ahna glanced back at us as if checking that we had not moved. A single tear fell down her cheek.

  “Our parents left us with a small fortune when they died. It was not necessary for Kade to work. We could have survived, but it was something about weaponry… He lusted for it,” she said.

  She tucked back a strand of hair behind her ear and continued.

  “You have to understand… we only had each other. He was my world, and I was his. He came home to me every day. We grew the kind of connection only parentless siblings have with each other.

  “But it was lonely… just the two of us. I talked with potential suitors, but none of them met Kade’s approval. He got angry with me. He’d fight me, and one time he went too far… and he struck me down.

  “And then something odd happened. Something neither of us should have done, but tensions were high that night. I nearly threw him out of the house. Nearly used my magic, praying that Watchers would come and arrest him.

  “Instead I let my guard down. I discovered soon after that night that I was pregnant, and Kade disappeared for several days without saying a word. I was terrified. I thought we had made the biggest mistake of our life, and that he had abandoned me.

  “When he finally returned he told me he was going to be in a different line of work. He talked about having met a man… someone who would change our lives for the better.”

  “This man was Elias?” Lukas asked.

  She bit down on her lip as if she had already said too much. She didn’t need to say the name. I was thinking the same thing as Lukas.

  “No… His name was Stefan. He told my brother he could solve our problems. He would give us enough money to leave Ninomay and start new a new life with our baby. He could help us disappear from the public’s eye,” she explained.

  “Did you ever meet Stefan?” I asked, thinking this had to be the same man my mother had connections with.

  Ahna shook her head.

  “No. No, Kade only ever told his name. He wasn’t the same once he took this new ‘job.’ He disappeared for hours and days at a time. He became secretive and distance. He came home with bruises and scratches he could not explain.

  “The connection we once shared shattered completely. He transformed into someone else entirely.

  “I never knew what kind of work he did for Stefan, but I knew there were others. It was not solely him and Stefan. Workers, friends, family… I don’t know how many others. It made my skin crawl, thinking others were abandoning their families like he had ours. And for what?”

  I stood up and approached Ahna. She stumbled backwards, and I stopped, being centered with her. Lukas remained on the sofa, though he was even further from the edge now. His jaw clenched, and in the corner of my eye I saw his hand on the hilt of his sword.

  “Your brother might have been involved in recent murders. The murders that took my father’s life as well as two others. A name, a location… we need something,” I said.

  She shook her head as another tear rolled down her face. “Stefan is the only name I know. He never spoke of the others, and I was too afraid to ask.”

  I advanced again. “Where did they go? Surely you must have wondered. You were carrying his child. Didn’t you want to know what he was doing with Stefan?”

  She trembled now as if I might destroy her with this line of questioning. This woman had gone through enough misery, but it was far from over. She was the only connection we had. She was the only confirmation we had that someone else had taken off in Elias’s place to stir chaos. Stefan, though so far elusive, seemed to be the man behind the curtain.

  “H-he told me if I followed him it would get both of us… k-killed,” she stuttered.

  “When did he leave for ‘work’?”

  “Night… always nighttime or early in the mornings.”

  “Did your brother speak with anyone else? Any friends he was close with or old customers?” I asked.

  She shook her head again.

  Lukas stood up, releasing the hold on his sword. It seemed obvious now that Ahna was useless to us. She had been too afraid to follow after Kade, and the only name she provided belonged to a man we had yet to find.

  It seemed ever since Rajoor Stefan’s name had surfaced, but I had yet to meet the man himself. He had been careful to hide himself better than Nina, leading me to believe he had more to conceal than just his identity.

  Who was Stefan? Had he gotten my mother involved in this mess, encourage the bloodshed to spill on her hands? He was like a ghost. I couldn’t see him or touch him yet, but I wasn’t willing to give up. And now, standing with Ahna, I knew we had the “something” we had been looking for.

  It was her. She was the key.

  25

  Death Lives Here

  I stared at Ahna while Lukas remained inches away from the door. Tho
ugh I did not agree with the kind of relationship Ahna had with Kade, she and I were not that different. She had lost her entire family besides her child, who presumably remained asleep elsewhere in the house. She remained on an island she no longer had any connection to. Death, abuse, and neglect had followed this woman throughout her life.

  We looked at each other, as if she too could see the scars of my past, and I could not help but think of an idea. It was a terrible idea, the kind I did not want to suggest after everything Ahna had already lived through. She might never agree to it, but with Lukas here she remained outnumbered. We had the power, and if need be I would run the idea past the Council too. With Kade dead, Ahna might be our only chance to find Stefan’s alliance.

  I broke eye contact and grabbed Lukas’s arm, pulling him aside.

  “Let it go, Clara,” Lukas said firmly.

  In a whisper, I said, “Don’t you see? Kade and Ahna were close. We can use Ahna to trick Stefan’s alliance into revealing themselves. It might be how Stefan and Nina know each other.”

  “Claire would never allow it. We’d be putting a local at risk. Kade was an assassin, sweetheart. Those men he worked for were assassins. They could kill her. Besides, Stefan is not an uncommon name. How do you know this is the same man who left behind a love letter for Nina?”

  I crossed my arms and pouted. “This is the only way. Ezra said we’d find another way, and this is it. Stefan’s name is what got me attacked in Rajoor. This has to be the same man Nina is involved with. And now that she’s compromised, Ahna is our only chance at this.”

  “The risk is too great…” Lukas whispered.

  “Don’t you think she would say yes? Her brother died because of the line of work he was involved in. She deserves to know as much as us,” I said.

  “Say yes to what?” Ahna asked, appearing inches away from us.

  Lukas and I broke apart, and I refocused on her. If I could convince her to agree to this Lukas might warm up to the idea. I knew we risked Ahna’s life by even suggesting it, but had not enough people died? If Ahna did not go to Kade’s allies directly they might seek her out. They could hunt her down, learn what she knows, and ultimately kill her because of her relationship with Kade. If she showed no interest in his line of ‘work’ she was as good as dead. This was the only way to save her.