The Eyes of a Doll (The World of Shijuren Book 2) (4 page)

“Why did she leave you?”

“Well, she was helping and didn’t want to go.”

“Helping?”

“Yes, she wanted to help the sick man.”

“She sounds like a nice person.”

“Oh, she’s so sweet, have you ever met her?”

“I think I have. She’s still helping, but she’ll come back when she’s done with some friends of mine.”

Her eyes brightened and she clapped.

“Why did she need to help?”

“Well, this man held out his hand in his sleep.”

“I saw that. When I left, she was still holding his hand.”

“She does that to me when I’m sad, too.”

“How did you know he was sad?”

“I never saw anyone sleep under the dirt before, I just thought that meant he was sad and wanted a hidey-hole.”

Ludmilja’s mother gasped.

“Of course, I should have thought of that myself. You’re a smart girl.”

“When will Nadja come home?”

“Soon. Nadja wants to make sure she’s done helping all she can.”

Ludmilja smiled again and let go of her mother’s skirt, now looking around the Faerie at all of the new things around her. Melia jumped in her lap and started purring.

Many of the women had gone into Zoe’s kitchen when we had arrived, and now they started bringing out an early dinner.

Ludmilja was too excited to eat, so she clutched Melia to her chest and roamed around the room. Melia plaintively mewed for help in escaping, but Ludmilja was too cute for anyone to step in.

As the rest of us ate, Honker’s son entered the Faerie with several burly friends in fire-scarred leather aprons. I waved him over and started explaining why I had brought Honker and his family here.

“I found Nadja and, as you some of you already heard, she was helping. Ludmilja had explored under the pines in that copse and found a body buried there with his hand sticking out. The man had been killed yesterday morning, and since you picnicked midday, I am worried that whoever buried the body might have seen you and your daughter and want to eliminate you all. Certainly, they attacked me when I investigated.”

Honker looked shocked. “But we weren’t seein’ anythin’.”

“I’d be surprised if you had. They snuck back into the copse to bury the body. But they might have seen Ludmilja come out of the trees. After seeing me go in there, I believe they at least suspect she saw something.”

I took a drink from the mug Karah had placed before me some time ago.

“So, we wait here until Kapric and Zvono come and have you all tell your stories.”

Honker nodded and I continued. “We’ll still want to watch you, as they might want to hurt you as a warning to others, but at least they’ll know they can’t prevent you from telling the quaesitors what you know. Hopefully they’ll just leave you alone, since they can’t stop you.”

They looked frightened.

“Don’t worry. I have just the man in mind to help you all.”

Ragnar, having distributed drinks to all of the guests, finally came over. I explained everything again and then let the conversation turn to less serious topics while we ate dinner.

Apparently this was not the first time that Zoe had needed to prepare extra food for an emergency, because she and her impromptu assistants had whipped out plenty for all of us. Most of the meal consisted of something they called kacamak, solid pieces of gruel fried in olive oil. They served it two ways, once with paprika alongside small chunks of lamb and again as a dessert covered in honey. After adjusting to the strange texture, I enjoyed it. Though the kacamak itself was bland, it meshed well with the other flavors.

As we were mopping the last bits of honey from our plates, Kapric and Zvono joined us. Ragnar would never like them, but at least now he tolerated their presence with a curt nod.

“I suppose it’s welcome I’m to be sayin’ and I’m to be gettin’ you two some plates and I’m to be takin’ it somewhat kindly if you’ll be bein’ nice to me friend Honker and his family.”

Soon plates of the same lamb and kacamak appeared before the quaesitors. As they finished, I turned back to business.

“Before we start, can you get word to your brother?”

“Sebastijan?” growled Kapric.

“Yes, that one.”

“I suppose I can.” His angry eyes asked why I needed him.

“Let Honker and his family tell you their story. However, I don’t want them without protection until we’ve figured this out.”

“Until
we’ve
figured this out? Sevener, you’ve already involved yourself in our business once. You need to leave this to us.”

“No, I can’t.”

“You’re in my town.”

“I know, and I’m not that happy about it either. How many people are going to attack me here, anyway?”

“How many people are you going to meet? You seem to have this way about yourself.”

By this point, our voices had risen so much that the entire taproom of the Faerie had stopped talking and started watching us.

“Damn herd bulls.” Zvono chuckled.

Both of us glared at her.

“Let him be, boss, he’s not going to let it rest.”

She turned to me. “You damn well know what not to do by this point.”

I nodded.

“Fine. Now let’s hear what this family of proper Achridans has to say.”

Kapric and I shrugged rueful apologies at each other and took deep breaths.

“Honker, tell the quaesitors about your afternoon yesterday.”

“Well, masters, we were celebratin’ my boy’s victory. Little Harald went and won hisself a pile of dinars usin’ some of the tricks I’d been teachin’ him and we was proud, see?”

I did, but not Kapric and Zvono. “Honker’s son”—I nodded at the hulking young man with a nose worthy of his da—“won a wrestling match, oh, what was it, ten days or so ago?”

Honker nodded.

“I know because they were drinking off the proceeds in the Faerie that afternoon.”

I nodded for Harald to continue as Kapric and Zvono shrugged.

“Anyways, that was as good a reason for us to enjoy the coming of summer, as we oftens does at the springs. Me lass here makes us special treats and we sits in the grass and drinks the water. Lots of people do that…” He trailed off nervously.

“Sounds like a great day, Honk.”

Zvono prompted him, “So what did you see, Harald?”

He looked down and hesitated.

“You can answer Zvono. You can trust her.”

Honker looked at me and shrugged.

“Well, I’m not to rememberin’ anythin’ really special, good masters. I mean, we seen other people there but everyone likes the springs.”

“The Mrnjavcevics have a family party there every year, Goodman Harald, I enjoy it myself.”

Zvono’s words brought a smile, and Ludmilja’s mother spoke up.

“Me Harald’s the right of it. There were others, but we weren’t really paying attention to them. I had made the plum tarts that me wee boy loves and we were just enjoying ourselves.”

The hulking wee boy sat looming over the table remembering the tarts happily.

“Did you see any group that wasn’t a family?”

Honker and his wife looked at each other, and then their two older children. All shrugged.

“Not that we’re rememberin’, mistress.”

“Did you see any horses that someone might have ridden there?”

They all shrugged again.

“Did you notice any boats tied to the pier at the stream?”

“Well, I’m sure that there were some…”

They all nodded at that.

“But you didn’t see any that seemed different?”

They shook their heads.

Zvono rephrased these and asked a number of other questions, but received only the same shrugs for answers.

“Now, we need to ask Ludmilja some questions.”

Honker and his wife looked nervous at the prospect.

“Don’t be scarin’ me girl, masters.”

“We won’t, goodman. We’ll just call her over here with us. You can stop me if you think I’m scaring her.”

Honker looked doubtful at the thought of telling Zvono what to do but slowly nodded.

“We’ll let her brag about how Nadja helped someone.” I smiled as they all looked at me curiously, so I explained.

“Speaking of which…” Zvono grinned and reached into her satchel.

Ludmilja noticed almost immediately when Zvono pulled Nadja out.

“Nadja!” she squealed as she charged over from the other table.

“Nadja told me that she’s your friend,” said Zvono as she handed the doll over.

Neither Kapric nor I smiled the least bit at the sweet little-girl tone that came out of Zvono’s mouth. Not at all. Kapric did raise an eyebrow, though, and I coughed into my mug. But not a hint of a smile.

Zvono ignored us and continued.

“Edward here says that Nadja helped a man out yesterday.”

Ludmilja hugged her. “That’s why she had to stay out all night.”

She looked down and hugged the doll tighter. “I wanted to stay, but I was scared. Nadja’s so brave.”

“Yes, she is. Why were you scared?”

“The trees seem so nice until you crawl inside, but then they want to eat you.” She turned to her mother.

“But you got out, and Nadja faced them down.”

She nodded happily again.

“Did you or Nadja see anything else?”

“The sad man. Nadja held his hand.”

“She was still holding his hand when we met her.”

Ludmilja nodded and Zvono continued.

“Did you hear anything? Did the trees talk to you?”

“Nadja said that was just ghosts.” Ludmilja shivered.

“Well, we don’t want ghosts around the springs, do we? What did they say? Maybe we can make sure they don’t come back again.”

Ludmilja held Nadja so she could look into her eyes. After they communed, she answered, “We didn’t really understand. They talked funny, not like him”—she pointed at me—“but different funny. And they laughed wrong.”

“Laughed wrong?”

“Me da laughs and it’s pretty. They didn’t laugh pretty.”

“Ah, so they laughed like bad ghosts.”

“There are good ghosts?”

“Oh, yes, dear, ghosts are just people who don’t want to go when they die. Some good, some bad.”

“Oh.” She looked at Nadja. “We didn’t know. But Nadja says they were bad bad ghosts.”

“Sounds like Nadja’s smart as well as kind.”

“Oh, she’s the best. Maybe you can play with us sometime.”

The looks on the faces of Honker and his wife were priceless, but Zvono just smiled.

“I’d like that. I don’t get to play much anymore.”

“I’m sorry. Nadja will hold your hand too.”

And Ludmilja placed Nadja’s hand into Zvono’s. We all smiled at that. How could we not?

After dinner we escorted Harald and his family home. The neighbors promised to help watch them. I told Harald that Sebastijan and his lads would come by soon. I shook my head when Honker protested, and he nervously allowed it might be for the best.

Once back at the Faerie, Kapric, Zvono, and I found Piri waiting at my table, rubbing Melia’s shamelessly exposed belly. Melia jumped down to wind through our legs before finding a corner to curl up.

“Vojin passed word to you.”

“He’s a solid decarch. He knows his job.” Piri smiled.

“Do you have the time to get involved?”

“You’ve become something of a hobby, Sevener.”

Kapric grunted at that, and we all chuckled and leaned back.

I shifted topics.

“Cute girl.”

“And she may know more than she realizes,” rumbled Kapric.

“Yes. ‘Talks funny.’ Like with an accent. So not from Achrida.”

The quaesitors nodded back at me.

“Do any of the neighboring cities or towns have pronounced accents?”

“Some. Lezh comes to mind.” Kapric paused. “And I know just the person who might be able to get Ludmilja to tell us which accent she might have heard.”

I raised an eyebrow but merely said, “It’s worth a shot.”

I thought for a bit while the others drank. “Anything much east on the Kopayalitsa?”

Piri shook her head. “Some old abandoned wayposts and inns that squatters have claimed. They pretty much let anyone who travels go through, so we let them be. The bodies were both dressed too well to be squatters.”

“Neither of them wore nice clothes, even before the blood.”

“But they weren’t wearing rags,” pointed out Zvono. “Those people are desperately poor.”

I nodded. “How far to the nearest town that way?”

“Kalajavaros is four or five days or so down the road.”

“What else is along the way?”

“Not much,” said Piri. “It’s too rocky to grow crops or raise sheep or do aught else but fish, and the shoreline is often too steep to land boats. Achrida is in one of the prime spots in this part of the world.”

“Any other roads?”

“Before Kalajavaros?” Piri shook her head. “There are some paths leading up the mountain, but nothing like a road.”

“That means the murderers are most likely from around here. I mean, how well-known is that copse above the springs? Few people travel that way, meaning that most of the people who visit the springs are from Achrida, right? I mean, it’s not obvious from the road. If they were looking for a quick place to stash a body while on the Kopayalitsa, they would only use the copse if they knew about it ahead of time.”

“Probably.” Kapric shrugged.

“Unless they thought it would be a really good place to hide a body,” added Zvono.

“But that would mean they would have to know about it already, suggesting they are familiar with the springs.”

They nodded, and I turned to Piri. “What can you tell me about Kalajavaros?”

“It’s a small town now, but once it was much larger. You can still see the remnants of aqueducts built to mine tin. But the veins ran out, oh, a thousand years ago at least and there’s nothing else there, just crumbling stone.”

“What is it good for now?”

“It’s a stopping point on the caravan routes from the east. Since the lake trade expanded because of Achrida, though, it’s almost done with that, too. There are only a few small, vermin-filled inns that charge too much and even fewer maniacs who somehow think they can find a new vein of gold or tin that will make them rich. It hasn’t happened in centuries, but that doesn’t stop them.”

Piri shook her head in amazement and sighed.

“Every once in a while one of our zupans thinks it’s useful that we train in the taller mountains and we spend a month or so in Kalajavaros. We curse him for that month and then spend the following month cleaning limestone dust and bedbugs from our gear and healing broken bones from falls. Fortunately, Vukasin hasn’t yet been so stupid.”

I chuckled and turned back to Zvono.
“Did your magicians find out anything?”

She flipped out her wax tablet.

“Not much that you wouldn’t expect. They said both the body in the copse and the one you killed showed the emotions and lives of criminals. They probably came from the same place, maybe even grew up together. Your point about the people burying the body coming from around here is likely correct. They certainly didn’t sense anything too odd, and if the people burying the corpse had been from far away, that would have left traces they would have noticed.”

She made a check in her tablet and continued.

“Also, neither of the bodies carried anything of interest. You saw, I presume, some money on the one you killed. A solid amount, but certainly not the going rate to help bury a body. Before you ask, all of the coins were Imperial, minted either in Achrida or Basilopolis. They tell us nothing.”

I nodded.

She shut her tablet. “Unless Ludmilja can tell us which accent the men had, then we don’t have much to work with.”

“Maybe not even then,” grunted Kapric.

“In that case,” I said, “we will need to make some assumptions.”

“Assumptions?”

“My first assumption would be these men were involved in something you’re supposed to frown on.”

“And the sun rises in the east. Even two petty officials of the Emperor could’ve figured that out.”

I laughed. “Yes, Kapric, but I might be able to get Gibroz to talk to me, and if I’m as brave as the Wolf’s trapper, there’s always Katarina.”

“We’ve expected to write paperwork about your death ever since we met you,” laughed Zvono.

“Thanks.”

“You think of any better ideas, Sevener, let us know. We’ll probably be back tomorrow.”

I nodded as they rose and left.

Piri also rose, saying, “I’ll not be back tomorrow, I’ve too much to do. You should come practice soon, though. You did well against two today, but you know that’s not enough.”

“Yes, I do. We’ll see. Maybe tomorrow or the next.”

Piri looked at me sharply. “One or the other, Sevener, or I’ll send a hunting party.”

I laughed. “Begone, Hecatontarch. I’ll be over soon.”

She smiled and left.

I finished the little left in the pitcher and Karah off when she floated over to refill it. I leaned back to stare at the rafters of the ceiling.

“What is it about this city?” I murmured to myself and went to bed.