Tangle of Thornes

by Lorel Clayton

  Kali’s eyes widened.

  My cheek suddenly stung in the same place I had hit Ilsa, and I thought about her dark charm bracelet. She dressed fashionably, but every stitch of clothing and bead of jewelry she wore was etched with runes. Unlike me, Ilsa embraced the Solhan arts wholeheartedly, the darker the better.

  I wondered about the rumors she’d been spreading. Was there a hint of truth in them? Had one of the Thorne twins murdered her own brother?

  I had no idea what was required to construct her spells, what components. Forgetting about magic ingredients, Ilsa could use a replacement heart. I should add my sister to the list of suspects, but I didn’t want to. Ilsa and I were identical, as much as I hated to admit it, and I didn’t want to believe either one of us were capable of something so awful.

  Nanny was still upset by the destruction of the portrait and turned on me. “Why did you let her in?”

  “It wasn’t by choice. We’ll mend it, buy a spell, whatever it takes.” My brother’s face was intact, the image looking right at me. The dead wanted justice, and so did I.

  Nanny and I fought about everything, but she was like family. She and Morgan had raised all three of us while Uncle Ulric was busy with plots and power plays. Plus, we had common ground in our love for Viktor. Fearful suspicions wouldn’t leave me, and Nanny was the only one I felt I could share them with.

  “I never realized how much she resented Viktor. You don’t think Ilsa...?”

  “You think she killed him?” There was more anger than shock in Nanny’s words. This time she didn’t hesitate to admit Viktor was dead, and I wondered how much of her forgetfulness was an act and how much was her method of coping.

  “I’m doing everything I can to find out who’s responsible.” I felt a chill anger of my own rise, and I stiffened. “Whoever it is, they will pay. I swear it.”

  Nanny’s tone was colder. “They’d best pray you’re the one who finds them—or her—because if it’s me.... I swear to the Devourer I’ll tear the eyes from their sockets and feed their souls to the crows.”

  She picked up a candlestick, pulled off the wax and jabbed her index finger on the sharp needle of metal protruding from the holder. Red blood began to drip as she went to the fireplace. She let a few drops fall on the charred image of Viktor’s family.

  Kali gasped at the dark pact Nanny had made and moved her hands in a protective gesture, making a circle around her head and around her heart.

  The magic hadn’t been directed her way, but it was always prudent to shield yourself whenever the Devourer was invoked. I should have done the same, but I sensed Nanny didn’t respect me. Probably why she was so nasty to me. I didn’t want to look any more childish in her eyes.

  The scent of something burning sent Kali scurrying off to the kitchen. She seemed relieved at the excuse to get away from the old woman.

  “Even if Ilsa didn’t kill him,” I said. “Do you think Ilsa was the one who busted into Viktor’s shop? What could she have been looking for? A safe?”

  “What’s this?” Nanny’s hackles rose. “Viktor’s shop has been violated?” It must be a worse offense than disturbing his bedroom. Viktor was Nanny’s little boy and always would be.

  “I don’t think anything was stolen, but it’s a mess. Bogles got in too.”

  “Kali!” she cried. “I’ve got a job for you, girl!”

  “She’s not a slave anymore. You know that, right?”

  “It doesn’t mean she shouldn’t work to earn her keep.”

  I thought Kali needed at least one day to enjoy her new freedom. I was about to say something along those lines, when the girl returned from the kitchen, Erick behind her.

  “Mister Karsten is here,” she said. “He was at the backdoor.”

  I stood straighter and hoped arguing with Ilsa hadn’t messed up my hair more than it usually was.

  “Erick. Why didn’t you come in the front?”

  He glanced at the scene, Nanny’s finger still dripping on the wood floor.

  “I have enemies. I thought it unwise to allow anyone to see me enter your residence. I already feel responsible for what happened to Viktor.”

  “Freeing slaves will piss people off. I bet my brother loved it.” It was exactly like Viktor to take up some romantic quest in opposition to authority. He’d spent his entire life testing lofty ideals against Uncle’s pragmatism. Now, he was dead.

  “Didn’t he realize there would be consequences?” I added. “Why didn’t he consider his son? Why didn’t you?” Some of Ilsa’s cruelty had infected me, and I couldn’t help rubbing some salt in Erick’s wound.

  “Viktor was a brave man, but a foolish one. I...”

  Nanny sobbed, interrupting. “I miss him so much!”

  Her tears made me uncomfortable. I preferred her when she was casting curses, and so I said to Erick, “Let’s go to the other room to talk.”

  “Yes.” He bowed to Nanny. “I cannot bear to upset you more, Madam. If you will excuse us?”

  Nanny waved him off with a handkerchief drenched in snot.

  In the dining room, Erick pulled out my chair then sat across from me. I felt his warm leg a few inches away from mine under the table. He leaned toward me, forming his fingers into a triangle. “I endangered Viktor. For that, and for all your tears, I will be forever penitent.”

  I wasn’t crying. I hadn’t been able to cry for years, but I knew what he meant.

  After a few moments, he said, “I don’t believe Viktor cared about the danger, because I think he was hoping to die.”

  My brother would not abandon his son. Still, it was true he hadn’t recovered from Emily’s death. A cough that wouldn’t go away, a slow wasting disease... Little Viktor had never known his mother when she was well, and now he would have few memories of his father.

  I thought about the detailed instructions my brother left, telling me to care for Nanny and help Duane watch over the boy. He had known it might end this way, but that didn’t mean he wanted it to.

  “No.” I shook my head. “It wasn’t suicide. People don’t cut out their own hearts. He might have enjoyed the thrill and danger, but I’m sure he never truly believed he would die. Besides, the punishment for his thefts was bizarre. The slavers could have simply cut his throat, or had the Guard arrest and execute him. I think there’s more to it than that. Tell me everything the two of you were doing.”

  “Should I trust you, my lady...? Eva?”

  “I’m not going to give your name to the Guard, if that’s what you’re worried about. I had that chance and passed. So, tell me.”

  In the light from the chandelier, I detected strands of gray in his hair. He sat erect, chin raised, and appeared distinguished and utterly reliable. Hard to believe he was some sort of rebel, skulking the night and rescuing the down-trodden. I saw why Viktor had been drawn to him. While both Solhan gentlemen, Erick was the opposite of Uncle Ulric in every way that mattered.

  Erick sighed and visibly relented, his shoulders drooping. He said, “We met in his bookshop. Your brother’s collection of philosophy tomes and political rhetoric would have been banned in Solheim. He noticed how engrossed I was, and we began to talk.

  “I am slow to trust, and it took months before I broached the subject of freeing slaves. Even then, I waited until we imbibed too many strong drinks one evening, allowing my words to be blamed on drunkenness. It turned out we were agreed. If there was a way to remove the slave mark, then it was our duty to free them. I knew it was possible, because I had been secretly freeing slaves for years.”

  “The way you removed Kali’s brand. You don’t just buy knots; you have your own magic.”

  “Some. Though, I did purchase the cords. Only the Kells of Eastern Darrub and a few great wizards still possess the knowledge of their manufacture.”

  “Do Kell traders travel this far?”

  “No. I acquired them myself.”

  “A wanderer, are you?” I imagined him on a dark horse, cloaked, stopping in one
exotic land after another, learning the local dialects.

  “Yes. I’ve been travelling since the fall of Solheim.”

  “That’s a long time. You remember it, the fall?” I had often asked my uncle about it, about what happened to my mother and father. Ulric would only tell me they died. They all died a torturous death, and the land of our birth was best salted and left to the Dead God. That pretty much ended the conversation right there.

  “Would you prefer to hear of Viktor or of that cursed place?” Erick didn’t seem too keen to talk about it either. Besides, I shouldn’t allow myself to get side-tracked.

  “Viktor,” I said.

  “We began by buying people, as you did. I work as a trader from time to time, and, if you will excuse my braggadocio, I am quite prosperous.”

  “The silver coins Viktor left me—they were yours. I’m sorry, I spent them on Kali.”

  “Then you used the money as it was intended. No, I did not squander all my wealth bolstering the slave trade. I absconded with those poor creatures most times, and Viktor was an accomplished thief. He would sneak into the merchant’s coffers at night and steal back my silver.”

  “Cat burglar, huh?” Now, I wonder where Viktor learned that. I could throttle Duane.

  Kali came in smiling, carrying a porcelain platter covered in blackened biscuits. “The tops are okay to eat,” she said. “Want some?”

  My instant reaction was to wave them away. “No.”

  Erick was more diplomatic. “They look far too rich, but I will try one for your sake, child.”

  She beamed when he took a nibble without spitting it out.

  “Thank you, Kali,” I said by way of a dismissal. She didn’t leave. “Can you check on Nanny for me? Make sure she’s alright?”

  “The old crow stopped blubbering the moment you left the room. If I go in there, she’s going to make me scrub the kitchen tiles again.”

  “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want,” I told her.

  “You hear that!” Kali called to the other room. “You can eat gravel, you old witch!”

  “What did you say!?” Despite Nanny’s tiny feet, she stepped as heavily as a grall. She was coming in here.

  “We should find another room,” I whispered to Erick.

  “Is there any place safe?” he asked drolly.

  I smiled, knowing I was being flirty, but unable to stop myself. “We can always go to my friend’s restaurant. You can try her kaffe. Only thing to worry about there is fractious goblins.”

  “I would like that, but another time. I think our current topic is too sensitive to continue in public.”

  “Of course.”

  “They didn’t like your awful biscuits!” Kali told Nanny as soon as she appeared.

  Indignant, the old woman said, “It’s your fault they were ruined! Five turns of the small hourglass I told you!”

  “You pointed to the large hourglass!”

  “I did not! I was preparing biscuits before you were born!” I winced as Nanny shouted right next to my ear.

  Erick noticed my discomfort and said, “I have a solution.”

  He removed a vial from another small pouch at his waist and un-stoppered it. A drop of black liquid was beaded on the lid. He touched it to his lips then held it out to me. I leaned forward and felt cold spread from the place of contact over my entire body. It felt like I was enclosed in an ice cave, and the argument between Kali and Nanny faded away.

  Erick’s voice was rich and clear, “No one can hear us now.”

  “Better yet, we can’t hear them. I like it, but a privacy potion has got to be expensive. You shouldn’t have wasted it for this.”

  “I like having you to myself.”

  I felt uneasy. Erick had a lot of magic, which he threw around without hesitation. “What do you know about trapping souls?”

  He frowned. “Why?”

  “A theory about why Viktor’s heart was taken. You don’t have any idea what someone would want it for, do you?”

  I didn’t believe Erick killed my brother, and he wasn’t going to admit it if he had, but I felt like pushing a few buttons to see what I could see.

  “There are countless uses for a trapped soul, and I know many of them.”

  I swallowed. “Okay...”

  8│ AUTHENTIC HUMAN

  ~

  ERICK WASN’T ADMITTING TO STEALING souls, was he? I tensed up, wondering about the liquid he’d placed on my lip.

  “I mean I have knowledge of many types of magic, not that I know how to perform them, like with the cords,” he said, soothingly. “Souls are an ingredient in many of the most potent enchantments, curses, bindings... The slave’s mark, as I said, is a binding on the soul. There are few things worse.”

  He seemed disturbed by the thought of using souls, so I relaxed, as much as a naturally uptight person like me was able. “So, do you know why someone wanted Viktor’s soul?”

  “No. As I said, it can be used for anything.”

  I bit my lip, thinking. “I’m working on the assumption slavers were involved. What might they use it for?”

  “Build potent protections into their cages, kill an enemy from a distance, heal a fatal wound or illness, extend their youth...”

  “Wow. Now I’m wondering why people’s souls aren’t stolen all the time.”

  “You must be able to invoke the spell involved. Such knowledge is rare. Find a slaver capable of it, and you will discover your villain.”

  “My villain? Don’t you want to know who did this? Was Viktor your friend, or were you only using him?”

  He winced. “Your words wound so effortlessly, my lady. Yes, I considered him a true friend, and I will aid your search for vengeance in any way I can. However, I have not been endeared to those particular merchants, so I am unlikely to be entrusted with knowledge of their magical prowess. If anything, I should worry they intend me to be their next victim.”

  “You’re right. They killed one detective I put on the case, and they may not be done. If more lives are at stake, then it’s even more important I stop them.”

  “If you wish, I can make some enquiries about these slavers. Although, any useful information about them is unlikely to be public knowledge.”

  “I appreciate anything you can do, Erick.” I smiled, trying to blunt the effects of my earlier suspiciousness.

  I could see but not hear Kali and Nanny still screaming at one another, so I asked, “Any suggestions for what I should do with Kali now she’s free?”

  “I can give her a small purse and secure a place for her in the next caravan travelling to Lallaloka. I assume from her accent that is where she’s from.”

  “You’d do that?”

  “Of course.”

  “I’ll tell her. Thanks.”

  It was pleasant, enclosed in our snug little ice cave together, but I felt the day wearing on. Erick could afford to be generous and finance adventures to Lallaloka, while I could barely afford to keep Nanny and me in biscuits. This time I really did have to get ready for work. After soaking up a few more blissful moments of quiet, I said, “I have to go. Sorry to kick you out so soon.”

  “I understand.” He wiped his lip on a napkin, which soaked up the drop of potion, and did the same for me. The outside world came crashing in. Nanny’s heavy footfalls were in the sitting room now, and I heard Kali singing in the kitchen.

  “For the last time, be quiet!” Nanny screeched.

  “When will I see you again?” I asked.

  “I will seek you out as soon as I learn anything. If you have need of me for any reason, you can contact me at the Bowl and Crown in the Coppersmith’s District.”

  “Nice inn,” I said. “I hear they make those pastries that look like little bow-wrapped presents with meat and vegetables inside.”

  “Yes, the mistress there is a fine cook.” He poked the half-eaten biscuit he’d left on the table. “You will not take offense if I choose to dine there before coming to see you next ti
me?”

  I smiled. “No. As long as you bring me a pastry too.”

  “Agreed.”

  I walked Erick through the kitchen to the back door. He was unwilling to use the front during daylight hours. He kissed my hand again before walking away. I thought he was the sort of gentleman any girl would want—handsome, wealthy, devoted to a cause—except I wasn’t any girl. Plus, he was Solhan, and I didn’t trust my kind.

  Damn it, I forgot to ask if he was married.

  Kali was humming and stirred the stew desultorily. I bet it was the same stew from the morning, only bulked up with a few extra entrails.

  “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

  “Me?” Kali set down her spoon, giving me her full attention. “What do you need, my lady?”

  “It’s not about what I need. You’ve got to stop acting like a servant. I want to share good news—you don’t have to put up with Nanny much longer.”

  “She’s dying!” I didn’t know if her expression was shocked or exultant or both.

  “No. At least, I don’t think so. Listen, Erick is willing to pay your passage back home and give you some money to get started. It’s perfect. You can return to your family, to sunshine and better weather.”

  Kali’s reaction wasn’t what I hoped. She nodded. “Whatever you want, my lady.”

  “It’s what you want that’s important, Kali.”

  “I know, my lady. I need to stir this.”

  “Call me Eva.”

  “Alright.” She focused on the pot.

  Thus dismissed, I stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do. I kept telling her she wasn’t a servant, so I couldn’t demand she talk to me. I wanted to know what she was thinking, though. I bet this was all too much for her.

  I wasn’t good at being comforting; I never knew what to say, so I quietly left the kitchen. It wasn’t my natural habitat. As much as I hated Nanny’s cooking, mine was more frightening.

  “Did Erick leave?” Nanny asked, disappointed.

  “I have to go to work.”

  “Who cares what you’re doing. Erick could have stayed for dinner. It’s that serving girl and her blasted cooking that scared him off. I want to choke that warbling neck of hers.”