“In search of anything related to Duchess Isabella, a month later, we learned about a large collection being donated to the Academy that featured many items from her reign. A member of the Troissaint family served as Duchess Isabella’s lady-in-waiting, and some of the Duchess’s possessions were gifted to the woman after the Duchess’s passing. Whatever the case, it seemed worthwhile for us to investigate the collection.”
“Why the elaborate scheme to infiltrate the Academy?” Carriena interrupted. “Why not just impersonate traveling scholars interested in viewing the collection?”
“That was initially our plan, but when we wrote to the headmaster under a similar pretense, Ezarath denied us the request.” Lotus’s gaze dropped to the floor. “Since the Academy was not yet fully staffed after closing its doors in the fall, the head archivist couldn’t accommodate visiting scholars for more than an hour at a time. We needed more time than that to examine the collection, since we didn’t even know what we were really looking for.” He paused, his expression filled with defeat. “Once word reached us that the Academy was struggling to find educators in the midst of the turmoil blanketing the realm, my cohort, Signor Marvalli, and I devised a plan. I would infiltrate the Academy as a new professor and use my time studying the Troissaint collection for clues to this missing treasure.”
“How did Master Leudonious come into the picture?” Jax asked.
“We knew that in order for me to be hired, I would need a stellar reference. After some research of our own, we discovered Johanne Leudonious had been one of Ezarath’s most promising pupils and a well-respected professor during his time here.” Lotus’s cheeks grew pink. “He also lived alone in the wilds of Beautraud.”
Jax’s throat tightened. “Where is he now?”
“We had hoped we could get the man to cooperate in our plot for the right price, but unfortunately, he was too righteous for his own good.” Lotus’s features hardened with the sharpness of evil. “He took his own life before Marvalli or myself could do the honor for him, which forced us to re-examine our options.”
Jax sent a silent prayer to the Virtues to watch over the poor, deceased Johanne Leudonious.
“We decided that since Leudonious’s reclusiveness meant no one knew of his death, we would carry on with the plan to use him for my recommendation,” Lotus explained matter-of-factly. “But because Leudonious has such a close history with the Academy, our forgery would need to be perfect. Marvalli is the more skilled forger among the two of us, so he took a short trip to the Academy to review Leudonious’s signature. With a flawlessly forged letter of recommendation in hand, a few days after Marvalli’s initial visit, I was asked to the Academy to be interviewed and offered a position right on the spot.”
“Of course,” Lotus added, frowning, “my plans to review the Troissaint collection were waylaid by Master Gautherd’s overprotectiveness. He and Ezarath were notoriously tight-lipped about the donation, and the processing room was deemed off-limits to anyone but Gautherd, meaning I had to find a more inventive way to gain access to the collection.”
Jax raised an eyebrow at his words, suspecting she knew what came next.
“Upon my arrival, I noticed how quickly the Praesidio traveled around the fortress, much faster than even the most seasoned professors. After spending the first two weeks or so of my employment researching the Academy’s history and documents about its infrastructure, I discovered old references citing hidden passages used to covertly move about the compound. That same day, while I was in the archives, I also happened to overhear Ezarath and Gautherd discussing the shocking discovery of Hestian providence documents and the possibility of Hestes rightfully belonging to the Duchy of Savant.”
Carriena glanced at Jax. “He must have been hiding somewhere in the stacks the same day I was in here.”
Lotus smirked. “I wasn’t hiding, Mistress Carriena. I was merely researching, and poor old Gautherd forgot. I even overheard him tell you that he was alone when you first came down to do your own work, so I knew he’d forgotten about me. I figured, if word leaked about the documents’ existence, Gautherd would look to you as the source, rather than me.”
Carriena turned her nose up at the man.
“Anyway,” Lotus said with a shrug, “after hearing Gautherd’s discovery, I knew I’d found what I was after. A potential unpaid Hestian debt? It had to be the loan Duchess Isabella provided to the duchy. If there was anything about the whereabouts of the gold, it would be in those papers. Now, I only had to figure out how to steal into the processing room and whisk them away without anyone catching my trail until I was long gone.”
His gaze darkened. “But then you arrived at the Academy the next day, much to everyone’s delight. When Vera told me about your arrival, I knew Mistress Carriena must have sent for you, given the information we’d both overheard in the archives. I had to get my hands on those documents before you did.”
Jax guessed how it had unfolded. “You saw your opening when Mistress Nightingale left you to your own devices in the conservatory. Having discovered the secret stairwell that runs from the conservatory down to the archives, you took the path of least resistance, knowing no one would spot your movements along the halls. You knocked Master Gautherd unconscious with the skill of a criminal who has practiced that type of sneak attack all his adult life and stole the providence documents from Gautherd’s worktable. From there, you retraced your steps, but took a detour through the kitchen for a cup of tea and an alibi.” Jax narrowed her gaze.
Lotus had the audacity to smirk. “Just an alibi, Duchess?”
Jax tilted her head, intrigued by his implication.
“I had time to skim the documents after I’d fled to the safety of the hidden stairwell,” Lotus explained. “By the time I reached the kitchen, I still hadn’t found any mention about what had become of the gold. The papers I’d stolen were worthless with regard to my mission. The location of the Duchess’s hidden gold had to be elsewhere in the collection. Since I couldn’t risk losing my position and the opportunity to freely access the archives, I had to hide the stolen providence documents to prevent anyone from suspecting me.”
Jax’s jaw dropped. “That’s why you stopped by for a cup of tea. You hid the records in the kitchen. They’ve been under our noses this entire time.”
“Wedged between some barrels.”
Jax recalled how she’d spotted dirt on the kitchen floor near a trio of flour casks. To think, the providence documents were there the whole time!
“Why not just return the documents?” Ashcroft asked. “If the documents reappeared, we might have all thought Gautherd had simply misplaced them.”
“That was my intention, Lord Praesidio.” Lotus gave an almost reverent bow of his head. “But events at dinner forced my hand. I saw one of the seals on the letters Ezarath received when you passed by me. It was the same seal Marvalli used when drafting my initial letter of recommendation. I realized then that Ezarath must have reached back out to Leudonious, and I needed to find out why. Knowing Yokudran and Ezarath planned to check in on Master Gautherd, I sneaked down into the archives after pretending to retire for the night. By the time I made it inside, I found the headmaster alone, hunched over some tome, muttering to himself. I slipped between the stacks before Ezarath could notice.”
“The headmaster was comparing the note from Leudonious that Ezarath received at dinner to his former pupil’s signature on some old essays,” Jax said, recalling the page they had found tucked away next to Leudonious’s treatise. “They didn’t match.”
“Ah, yes.” Lotus’s gaze turned murderous. “Turns out Signor Marvalli isn’t as gifted with forgeries when he is under pressure. I knew right then that Ezarath had figured out that whoever recommended me wasn’t actually Johanne Leudonious.” He wilted, his bravado beginning to falter. “With Ezarath preparing to unmask me, I began to panic. I needed more time to search the archives, and as skilled as I am with a blade, I would be no match against all the Praes
idio, a Knight of Grace, and a Ducal Guard Captain, once Ezarath sounded the alarm. So, I did what I had to, to buy myself some more time.” Lotus’s lips drew into a thin line. “I followed the headmaster up to his study and killed him, burning every document and file he had splayed out on his desk that mentioned a professor by name.”
Jax thought back to Carriena, Daghir, and Casimeer’s missing personnel files. Lotus hadn’t mentioned discovering the secret panel in the bookshelf. Ezarath must have been reviewing the files at his desk when Lotus struck, with Lotus burning them in the aftermath.
“But you failed to destroy the one piece of evidence that really mattered.” She reveled in the killer’s bad luck. “Ezarath left behind a portion of the letter, the last page bearing Leudonious’s forged signature, tucked away in the book of essays he’d been reviewing.”
Lotus growled. “Why Marvalli thought he had to write a long response, confirming ‘Leudonious’ had indeed recommended me for the post, I’ll never know.”
Ashcroft bristled at his flippant remark. “How in the Virtues did you make it past the Praesidio throughout all this?”
Lotus shrugged. “I couldn’t call myself an elite member of the Shadow Brethren if I didn’t know how to dodge a few guards.”
Jax frowned at his nonchalance. Lord Ashcroft had at least fifteen guards patrolling the interior of the Academy, in addition to those monitoring the ramparts outside.
“But rest assured, dear Ashcroft, I did have to exhibit some skill to do so.” Lotus gave the warrior a patronizing look. “I retired to my suite right after dinner to shake the escort you so graciously provided to keep us all under guard. From there, I simply rappelled out the window down to the fourth floor, since all the Praesidio seemed to be stationed on the fifth, right outside the professor’s wing. I found an entrance to one of the hidden stairwells nearby and headed down to the archives from there. With one lone guard standing watch, I simply caused a distraction at the other end of the corridor and slipped into the archives when he went to investigate the noise. Ezarath himself unknowingly distracted the sentry upon leaving. I only had to keep to shadows when following the headmaster back to his study to do the deed.” He held up his hands as if putting them on display. “From there, I retreated back up to the fourth floor and climbed the rope left hanging from my window. In the darkness, not even the guards patrolling the outer ramparts spotted me.”
Jax marveled at the sheer physical strength the man had exhibited by scaling the outside of the ancient building.
George had been silent during Lotus’s confession up until now. “I suppose you planned to rappel down the ramparts once you had what you came for?”
Lotus nodded. “Given the rotation of the Praesidio, it would be impossible to infiltrate the Academy by climbing the ramparts from the outside, which is why we concocted this elaborate scheme to begin with. But I had no qualms about rappelling down the wall when it came time to escape. With my expertise, it would have taken me less than five minutes.”
“Just enough time to escape between patrols.” George shot Jax a look of grim confirmation. He had been right about the culprit’s intentions, after all.
“I had hoped Ezarath’s death wouldn’t come to light until later,” Lotus said with a dramatic sigh, “giving me time in the morning to make another attempt at my search. I figured someone would grow concerned about his absence soon enough and the place would go on alert, but I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.” His eyes shot daggers at Jax.
“My deepest apologies, Master Lotus,” she replied with a not-so-subtle trace of her usual wry humor.
“My name is Olliad Parvahlan, Your Grace. You might as well know it.”
Parvahlan? Jax’s nose wrinkled in recollection. Why did that name sound familiar to her?
George beat her to it. “From House Parvahlan? The Pettraudian earl who defected to Beautraud?”
It dawned on Jax then why she recognized the name. Earl Parvahlan had given Perry trouble in the months following his ascension to the throne and encouraged his fellow lords to abandon Pettraud. Parvahlan didn’t agree with the structural changes Perry planned to implement within his borders and had sought refuge in a duchy that valued the traditional ways of the realm.
“Earl Parvahlan is my uncle.” Olliad’s jaw tightened.
His unfolding bloodline intrigued Jax. “How did you fall in with the Shadow Brethren?”
“My uncle mismanaged our family’s wealth over the years. I took it upon myself to find a proper way to fill our coffers.” Olliad’s shoulders straightened, as if proud of his efforts.
“Proper?” George scoffed.
“The guild pays incredibly well,” Olliad said defensively. “If I had been able to deliver this contract to the Grandmaster, I could have afforded to take an early retirement.”
Jax’s eyebrows shot up at the man’s naivete. “I highly doubt the Brethren would have ever allowed you to retire.”
He scowled at her, then directed his next statement to Lord Ashcroft. “What will you do with me?”
“You deserve death for what you did to Gregorio Ezarath,” Ashcroft’s words were a harsh bark, “but if there is one thing I know about the headmaster, it’s that he would not approve of us so carelessly discarding a precious source of information.” Ashcroft met Jax’s surprised stare. “I’d like to suggest this man be kept alive, as our prisoner, in the hopes that we can extract as much information as we can about the Shadow Brethren. For too long, they have remained hidden behind a veil of mystery.”
Jax nodded agreement. “You do not need to look to me for permission in this matter, Lord Praesidio.” She had no jurisdiction here, after all. If anything, Olliad Parvahlan’s actions had only served to help her cause. She now knew Savant was desperate for money and collaborating with the notorious Brethren.
Lord Ashcroft’s features set with determination. “Then it is decided.” He turned to Olliad. “You will remain our prisoner as long as you cooperate by providing our scholars with useful information about the Brethren.”
Olliad shrugged. “As I said, only death awaits me back at the enclave. However, I’m afraid Signor Marvalli will soon raise the alarm, and the guild will be long gone before anyone has time to send a raid.”
Ashcroft nodded to two of his men, who extracted Olliad from under Ziri’s blade. Relieved of her duties, she slid her daggers back into their hilts. “Where is this enclave you speak of, Shadow Brother?”
Ziri’s intense look of camaraderie as she studied Olliad puzzled Jax for a moment before she realized why. During the War Council, Jax had learned from Prelate Brath that the Shadow Brethren had grown from a discontented faction of the Knights of Grace. To Ziri, a former Knight of Grace, meeting someone from the Shadow Brethren was indeed like meeting a long-lost member of a familiar bloodline.
Olliad held Ziri’s gaze a moment, a strange energy passing between them. “The Grandmaster’s enclave is located in an abandoned mine in the heart of the Azure Mountains.”
Jax saw a glimmer of hope flash in George’s eyes. The Azure Mountains ran along the eastern border Beautraud shared with Mensina. If they alerted her grandfather now, Duke Mensina could have soldiers on the move by dawn. Surely the Shadow Brethren would need more than twelve hours to dismantle and disappear into the wilds.
With the culprit safely in hand, George sheathed his sword and moved to Jax’s side. “I’m going to use one of the Academy’s kestrels to send a message to your grandfather.”
Jax nodded, silently urging him to hurry with her eyes. If they managed to apprehend the elusive, faceless Grandmaster of the Shadow Brethren, perhaps he would reveal the location from which Duke Savant had been pulling his puppet strings. Perhaps Duke Savant and his ragged army were even hiding out with the Shadow Brethren.
With a furtive glance at Ziri, likely to convey for her to keep watch over Jax, George disappeared from the processing room. His departure spurred the other Praesidio into motion.
“Tak
e the prisoner to a windowless storeroom,” Ashcroft instructed. His men immediately surrounded the prisoner and began to filter out of the room in pairs. “I won’t have him rappelling out of anywhere.”
Within seconds, only Carriena, Jax, Ziri, and Ashcroft remained. Jax placed a hand on Ashcroft’s tense shoulder. “I know I cannot relieve you of the guilt I see in your eyes, but if it alleviates any of the pain, the security measures you had in place allowed us to bring a killer to justice in record time.” She gave him an encouraging smile. “Without the Praesidio’s diligent patrol of the ramparts, Olliad could have sneaked out of the Academy with the providence documents and vanished into the wilds of the realm without us knowing until it was too late.”
“Are you saying I should feel honored that the Shadow Brethren had to concoct such an elaborate scheme simply just to get inside these walls?” Lord Ashcroft did not sound impressed.
“I’m saying that there are dark forces at work in the realm that the Academy has helped thwart,” Jax clarified. “We now know more about what Savant’s plans are. We know he is desperate for money. We know he is collaborating with the Shadow Brethren. With this information, we will not let Ezarath’s death be in vain.”
Her last words brought a sheen of emotion to Ashcroft’s golden eyes. “Thank you, Duchess.” He cleared his throat before turning to leave the room. “I’d best go release the other professors from the confines of the study.”
“Good luck,” Carriena called after him. To Jax and Ziri she added, “He’ll need it. If you think Daghir is a bear now, imagine him without his beauty sleep.”
Harrowed Heir Page 25
