Ebudae (30 page)

Frath opened the door and dashed inside,
followed by the rest. A guard stood up from a table in surprise. He
tried to grab his sword, which was lying on the table, but Frath
closed the space and knocked him in the back of the head. The man
crumpled to the ground unconscious. Frath grabbed a ring of keys
off the table. “These may come in handy.”

Pelya stopped just inside the room and
stared at the horrible sight that confronted her.

Chapter
20

Someone was shaking Ebudae’s shoulder yet
again. “I need
sleep
. Why doesn’t anyone understand this?”
she whined.

“Unnn!” Tina urged Ebudae to wake up while
shaking her even harder. Ebudae opened her eyes and sat up. Tina
backed up a step and pointed to the bedroom doorway. “Unnn!”

There was no one in the doorway, but her
servant was obviously upset. “Something’s wrong? Ebudae asked,
getting out of bed.

“Y, y, yes,” Tina stuttered. She pointed at
the door again.

Ebudae was hungry again, but not
overwhelmingly so. She was also sick of eating and her jaw was sore
from chewing. Tina didn’t have a dress out, but the one Ebudae had
worn previously was still on a chair and she put that on with her
servant’s help.

Three members of the Guard, one male
sergeant and two female privates, were waiting outside her bedroom.
The two women stood with hands on the hilts of their swords while
the sergeant had his arms folded and a disapproving expression on
his face. “Lady Ebudae Pallon?”

Ebudae put fingers to her temples. The
booming voice pounded her skull and contributed to the beginnings
of a headache. The fact that members of the City Guard were in her
room was disconcerting. She cleared her mind as much as possible,
mentally sweeping the cobwebs into corners and under a rug. Ebudae
didn’t know why there was a rug in her mind, but didn’t have time
to figure it out. “I am.”

The man took a step forward and asked in an
accusing tone while pointing a finger, “Lady Ebudae Pallon, did you
murder your grandmother?”

The words didn’t register right away. Ebudae
tilted her head, trying to discern out what they meant. Then the
meaning became clear. It hit her like a sledgehammer and Ebudae’s
knees buckled, hitting the floor hard.

“Lady Ebudae Pallon, you murdered your
grandmother.
Confess
!” The sergeant loomed over her angrily,
determined to get the answer he wanted.

Her grandmother must be dead, but it didn’t
make any sense. Ebudae was
certain
the miserable woman would
live forever.

“You
will
confess to the murder,” the
sergeant demanded. He grabbed Ebudae’s arm and yanked her to her
feet.

“Ow!” His cruel grip felt as though it would
crush the bone underneath and the way he jerked her nearly
dislocated the shoulder. Ebudae scampered to keep up with him as he
dragged her out of the room with Tina and the two privates
following. He didn’t become any gentler as they headed down the
grand stairway.

Visions of her grandmother lying dead in a
pool of blood crossed her mind. Ebudae wondered who had killed the
old hag and why. More importantly was how they had gotten to her.
The Pallon Estate was magically fortified. No one but the two of
them knew that the squirrels on the estate were magical golems that
watched for any intrusion, nor that those squirrels could trigger
supernatural defenses that would destroy any trace of an
intruder.

When they got to the sitting room, the
sergeant shoved her through the door, causing her to fall to the
ground. She got to her feet and backed away from him. Tina dashed
to her side and held onto an arm, whether for support or out of
fear, Ebudae didn’t know. “I’ve brought the murdering little
wench,” he sergeant snarled.

“That’s enough, Sergeant.” Pelya saw the
speaker, a balding, brown-haired captain of the Guard. He stood
near the front window of the room by the fireplace. Lady Pallon’s
wing-backed chair was turned toward the window and all Ebudae could
see of her grandmother was an arm hanging over the edge. Two
Healers of the Guard and a Guard Wizard were around the chair.
Other Guardmembers were around the room, examining it for
clues.

“
You killed her
!” Mary shrieked from
near the fireplace where she was talking to a Guardsman. She
pointed at Ebudae with every muscle in her arm and neck tensed.
Blood vessels stood out in the woman’s head from fury. “You
murdered her with your evil sorcery.” Then she smiled a wicked
smile and crowed triumphantly. “Not everyone in the City Guard
believes that your little friend is so wonderful. Captain Vulayn
hates Pelya, so you can’t hide behind that.”

The captain in question snorted. “Shut up,
woman. I hate you too.”

“Yeah. Captain Vulayn hates everybody,” the
sergeant said.

“You can shut up too, Sergeant Oxlen!”
Captain Vulayn barked in irritation. “In fact everyone just shut
up!” The man was six-foot tall. He was whip-lean and corded muscle
wrapped his arms. Pelya had explained to Ebudae that men like
Captain Vulayn tended to be faster and have greater endurance than
men with thick muscles, making them more dangerous.

He walked over to Ebudae, who was
desperately trying to organize her mind and get out of the shock
she was feeling. The situation was too dire to let any sort of
emotion overwhelm her. Putting the death of her grandmother aside,
she concentrated on the man in front of her.

Captain Vulayn stood far too close. He
leaned over and put his nose an inch in front of hers. Everything
he did was an attempt to be intimidating. “How did you kill your
grandmother?”

He obviously thought her a nitwit. Pelya had
explained that the best way to get a confession was to unnerve
someone and then ask them how they did the crime. Ebudae
was
intimidated. This officer was not friendly to her and that made him
very dangerous. She let out a slow breath and forced her muscles to
relax. “I did not kill my grandmother, Captain,” she said firmly
and confidently.

“
You did too, you evil little b . .
.”

“ENOUGH!” Captain Vulayn interrupted Mary
with a bellow that rattled the windows and made her and everyone in
his squad jump. Mary practically climbed over the Guardsman who was
asking her questions in an attempt to get away from the glaring
officer. The captain straightened his tunic and popped his neck in
each direction. “Let’s tell the truth now, little girl. You killed
Lady Pallon with magic to make it look like a natural death.
There’s no good that will come in denying it.”

Ebudae was careful not to cast any magic
even though she wanted to do something to help strengthen her
resolve. The City Guard was trained in recognizing magic use and
they had an experienced wizard who was watching her very closely.
She settled for pretending to be calm. “The truth is that I did
not
kill my grandmother, regardless of whether or not you
believe me.”

“You’re awfully calm for someone whose
grandmother just died,” he pointed out.

“I was just dragged out of bed and informed
that she died. Now you’re accusing me of doing it when I didn’t.
I’m confused by everything.” Ebudae stood her ground. If they
arrested her, she hoped Pelya would come to the rescue.

“What a pretty little tale. We’ll just have
to see about that.” The captain grabbed her arm just as the
sergeant had done and dragged her over to the chair where her
grandmother was. One of the female guards grabbed Tina and
prevented her from following. “Do you expect me to believe that you
didn’t kill Lady Pallon?” Captain Vulayn asked with a wide wave of
his arm.

Ebudae stared at her grandmother’s lifeless
body. The eyes were closed and there was no breath. Lady Pallon
looked older than Ebudae had ever seen. There was no peace in the
face. A slight, blond-haired woman was still in the process of
examining the body. She was dressed in the brown and black of the
Guard, with a light blue orb embroidered on her tunic indicating
that she was a healer.

Captain Vulayn squeezed Ebudae’s arm and
shook her. “You killed her!”

“I did not,” Ebudae insisted. She didn’t
feel anger at the rough treatment or sorrow at her grandmother’s
death. Nor did she feel glee at the loss. There was only
numbness.

“Bah!” The captain threw her arm forward,
causing Ebudae to lose balance and almost fall into her
grandmother’s body. She jerked back.

Everyone stood silent for a minute while the
frail healer did her work. Her mocha-brown eyes inspected the body
with intensity. She also had small magical devices that helped her
do her work and divine magic made her hand glow as she flowed power
through them. Her loose hair rustled in the gentle powers she
wielded.

“So how did this little brat kill the woman,
Healer Cheri?” Impatience filled Captain Vulayn’s voice and
stance.

“Lady Pallon died because her brain failed.
It was a severe stroke that ended her life.” The healer’s voice was
mellow, but filled the room with a power that came from elsewhere.
Ebudae recognized the power of the woman’s God. Healers within the
Guard weren’t allowed to openly display which God they worshiped,
but the power was palpable.

“And how did the little brat cause it?” The
captain was eager to condemn and arrest Ebudae.

“She did not,” Healer Cheri said with chin
held high. “It was a natural death.” She put away the devices and
stood.

Captain Vulayn snarled. It was not what he
wanted to hear. “You’re just saying that because you’re afraid of
Jornin’s child. Maybe you don’t want to upset the weaponmaster.” He
threw his hands to the sides in frustration. “For all I know,
you’re sleeping with one of them and that’s why you’re protecting
this brat.”

The words crossed a line. The healer
stretched out her arm in his direction. All sound and air was
sucked into a point at the palm of her raised hand to become pure,
white energy. Wind blew past her face and then abruptly changed
direction, gusting her hair forward in its gale. The ball of energy
flew from her hand to slam into the captain’s chest while the air
split with a crack.

The officer flew through the air at the
impact, doing a somersault with his legs spinning around violently.
He hit the ground face down and bounced once. Everyone
simultaneously gasped in breath as air returned to the room.

Captain Vulayn rolled over to his back,
desperately trying to catch his breath. Healer Cheri took rapid
steps to where he lay on the ground. She knelt on his chest and
slapped him in the face. The sound of her palm hitting his cheek
cracked through the room, startling everyone.

“By the Gods,” Ebudae remarked.

Cheri slapped the captain again and four
more times. “You will
not
question my diagnosis.” She
slapped him again. “I do not fear anyone, for my god protects me
and I am chaste!” Another slap and she stood with a growl at the
fallen officer. Then she went to stand next to the other healer,
still fuming.

No one said a word while the humiliated
captain tried to stand. It took him a few tries, but he managed to
use a chair to climb to his feet. Ebudae was surprised that the
sergeant didn’t try to help him. It was a statement to the man’s
personality that no one did. After swaying for a moment, he lurched
toward Ebudae. “You must have killed her with magic. I know you
did.”

It was the wizard’s turn to speak. “There
are no remnants of magic on the woman. I have verified Healer
Cheri’s conclusion. It was a natural occurrence.” Captain Vulayn
stared at him in disbelief, but wizard shrugged. “You can be mad if
you wish, Captain. I feel the same way you do about certain things,
but the fact of the matter is that no murder was committed here and
I will not state otherwise.” It was a diplomatic rebuff.

In spite of the evidence proving Ebudae
innocent, she felt hostility from everyone in the room except Tina.
Looking back, she saw that the Guardswoman was still holding her.
“You will release my servant now,” Ebudae demanded in a threatening
tone. She felt anger bubbling from deep within.

The Guardswoman gave Ebudae a challenging
look, but relented. Tina came over and latched onto Ebudae’s arm
again. Ebudae turned back to Captain Vulayn. “If you are finished
with your investigation, you may leave. Let me make it clear that
you are not to bring your prejudices against my friend here ever
again, Captain. You may call me a brat if you wish, but I am Lady
Pallon and that makes me a very dangerous woman.”

Ebudae stood tall with her chin held high.
She felt the power of the estate flow through her body when she
claimed the title. The estate accepted her gladly, even eagerly.
When everyone in the room took steps backward, Ebudae knew they saw
the change.

Hunger and exhaustion left her body. Power
and secret knowledge replaced them. It thrilled and frightened her
at the same time. There was a dark connection to the city of Dralin
and the cities that came before it. That connection had terrified
her grandmother. She felt more of an understanding of why the woman
had wanted the family to die and why Melody, Ebudae’s mother, had
run far away.

They were still staring at her. Ebudae
frowned. “Leave now.” Her command drew extra power from the estate
and that power rode her voice throughout the room.

The Guardmembers nearest the door literally
ran out while others gave Ebudae as wide a berth as possible.
Captain Vulayn shoved aside a private in his way in order to get
out. The healers and wizard collected their things without panic,
but also vacated the room with haste.

Mary slinked forward like a mad dog. “You
killed her. I know you did,” she accused.

Ebudae looked at her without emotion. “Your
services are no longer needed. Collect your personal things and
leave immediately.”