Thraxas - The Complete Series (184 page)

Lisutaris wishes to remain here for the night. I leave them to it, and retire to my bedroom. As I leave, the Mistress of the Sky is rolling a stick of thazis from her own superior supply, and staring deeply into the fire, considering the matter of the Orcs, and the rescue of Herminis, neither of which is over yet.

I
t’s exactly a year since Deputy Consul Cicerius made me a Tribune. Today is my last day in office. Having spent the year using the powers of the tribunate as little as possible, I decide to go out in style. It’s time to throw some official weight around. I want to speak with Consul Kalius and his assistant Bevarius, and I’m not about to be put off.

“Tribune Thraxas to see Consul Kalius.”

The guard at the gate tries to brush me off.

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Didn’t you hear me?” I bark. “I said Tribune Thraxas. As in Tribune of the People. As in a man with the power to have you arrested for interfering in official business if you don’t open the gate this instant.”

I sweep my way imperiously past guards, clerks, minor officials and state Sorcerers on my way to Kalius’s inner sanctum, stopping for nothing except a plateful of spicy yams. Once more they’re excellent, and a credit to Erisox’s talents. Outside the final door I’m confronted by an official in a toga.

“The Consul is busy.”

“Then unbusy him. This is Tribunes’ business.”

He wants to resist. Unfortunately he knows the law.

“You may see the Consul after he has finished his business with Coranus—”

“Can’t wait,” I say, and force my way past.

Kalius is startled as I march into his office, as is Coranus the Grinder. The Sorcerer, legendary for both his power and his bad temper, leaps to his feet in agitation.

“Who dares—”

I hold up my hand.

“I do. Thraxas. Tribune. With some questions for the Consul that can’t wait.”

“Do you realise the importance of this meeting?” roars Kalius.

“No. But you can get right back to it after you answer some questions about who you were talking to at the food trolley right before Galwinius was murdered.”

Kalius’s face turns red with fury. He orders me out of his office. A waste of time. I inform him that I’ve just seen some better sorcerous pictures of events.

“So unless you want me to go forth and blab to the Senate, you’d better come up with some answers.”

Coranus is looking wryly amused. He’s never been that much of a friend of the city’s hierarchy and doesn’t seem to mind seeing the Consul discomfited. He rises gracefully. He’s pale-skinned, with sandy hair, not a tall or imposing man. There’s little about his looks to suggest the great power he wields.

“Perhaps I should leave you, Consul. I have an appointment to see Lisutaris, Mistress of the Sky. I’m sorry I have not been able to help you in the matter of Herminis. Perhaps the Mistress of the Sky will be able to pierce the gloom which surrounds the affair.”

Apparently the Consul has just been discussing the escape from prison of the Senator’s wife, in which I am now deeply implicated. For a moment I expect the powerful Coranus to denounce me on the spot. Was there something in the way he mentioned Lisutaris’s name? Are they suspicious already?

Coranus pauses at the door. I wait to be denounced.

“Be sure to pass on my message to Prince Dees-Akan that he is a fool of the highest order to remove Lisutaris from the War Council.”

The Consul nods stiffly. If he passes on the message I doubt he’ll use those exact words. Coranus looks at me quite affably before sauntering out. I think I made a good impression. The door closes. Kalius turns to me.

“You will regret this. When you were made Tribune there was never any intention that you should interfere in the governing of Turai.”

“No. Just an intention that I’d help Turai cheat to get Lisutaris elected head of the Sorcerers Guild. And now I’m here with some awkward questions for you. Funny how these things work out. What were you doing in the corridor before Galwinius was murdered?”

“I have already explained that I was in conference with Rittius and Bevarius.”

“Not then. After. You all walked down the corridor. But you walked back alone, which you never mentioned before. And then you talked to someone at the food trolley. A Senator I didn’t recognise. Who was it?”

“Do you think you can barge into my office and bully me? The Consul of Turai?”

I lean over the desk.

“You think that’s bullying? How about this. You’re badly in debt. Creditors are chasing you and if you don’t get some money soon you’re going to find yourself in the bankruptcy court, disbarred from office. No fancy carriage and seat in the Senate. No big house in Thamlin. No cosy relationship with your lady friend Tilupasis. Even your buddy Capatius won’t cover your bills. But then Prefect Galwinius dies and suddenly you’ve come into a very fat inheritance. Nice for you. But I’d say it makes it fairly suspicious that you didn’t mention to anyone that you were alone in the corridor and then talked to someone right beside the food trolley. Quite an omission, in the circumstances. It will all make for a good report to the Senate.”

“I’ll have you thrown out of the city!”

“Not before I’ve made a report.”

Kalius hesitates. He’s wondering if I’ve really seen some better sorcerous pictures of the events or if I’m bluffing. As Consul, he’s been privy to all the findings of government Sorcerers so far. None of these showed him doing anything suspicious. And now here I am, spoiling things. Kalius is struggling. There’s something on his mind he really doesn’t want to admit.

“You might as well tell me. I’ll find out in the end. I generally do. Politicians threaten me and thugs attack me and I just keep going. It’s annoying for other people, but it’s what I do.”

“You expect me to reveal anything to a man who is working for Lodius?”

“I’ll keep it private. Unless you did kill Galwinius. You don’t have a choice. It’s me or a Senate committee.”

Kalius gives up the struggle.

“Very well, Investigator. I was called to meet with Senator Cressius. My talk with him was not something I wished to make public.”

“Why not?”

“Because Senator Cressius is a moneylender. My debts are such that I was left with no choice. No bank in Turai will do business with me.”

I chew this over for a few seconds. I’m aware of Cressius’s reputation though I’ve never encountered him. I didn’t know he was a moneylender but it fits with what I’ve heard about him. He’s one of our more disreputable Senators and not a man the city’s Consul should be associating with. Kalius would certainly want to keep it quiet. The only strange thing is that they were talking in such a public place.

“I had not arranged the meeting beforehand,” explains the Consul. “But on that morning a note arrived from my banker informing me that he was about to foreclose on my mortgage. I therefore instructed my assistant to approach Senator Cressius at the meeting and arrange an impromptu discussion. And now, Investigator, you will leave my office, and never enter it again. I told you that you were finished in this city, and I intend to make that happen.”

I leave the Consul’s office deep in thought. It’s possible that Kalius is telling the truth about Cressius. He needed money badly enough to approach him. Much the same would apply to Senator Lodius. Another man badly in need of funds. Maybe there was no more to the events in the corridor than two aristocrats both needing a loan. I’m still uneasy. Lodius and Kalius both stood to gain from Prefect Galwinius’s death. Was borrowing money all they were discussing in the corridor with Cressius?

It’s time to confront Bevarius. His secretary informs me that the Consul’s assistant is not in the building today so I set off towards his home. Bevarius is unmarried and lives in a house of moderate size on the outskirts of Thamlin. On the way there I’m so deep in thought I hardly notice the cold. There’s no one around except for a few hurrying servants, out buying provisions, as I walk up to Bevarius’s modest dwelling. Not cheap—nothing is in Thamlin—but suitable for a young man whose parents never rose far in Turanian society. A few large rooms, small private temple, couple of servants, nothing more.

There’s no answer when I knock on the door. I apply some weight. Nothing happens. I try a minor word of power for opening locks and the door swings open. The Consul’s assistant should take more care. The hallway is bright, white walls, little furnishing. Likewise the main room. Bevarius obviously isn’t a man given to luxury. I turn round to find him standing in the doorway pointing a small bow at me. He takes a step forward. I don’t like the weapon he’s carrying. It looks powerful and there’s an arrow pointed at my heart. Bevarius notices my gaze.

“Specially issued to all cavalry commanders,” he explains. “Small and light for using on horseback. Made from the horns of the arquix. Almost as powerful as a crossbow. The arrow will pin you to the wall.”

“I didn’t know you were a cavalry commander.”

“Just commissioned. What are you doing in my house?”

“Investigating.”

“Investigating what?”

“Kerinox.”

“Ah, Kerinox,” says Bevarius, calmly. “The man I hired to kill you.”

“That’s the one.”

Bevarius comes further into the room. I’m looking for a chance to jump him but he’s careful not to come too close.

“Why did you want me killed?”

“I’m sure you must know already, Investigator. You were coming rather too close to finding out the truth about Galwinius’s death.”

Bevarius is making no attempt to lie, which can only mean that he intends to kill me. No reason why he shouldn’t. It’s the smart thing to do, in the circumstances. Gets me out of the way, and the Civil Guards won’t be too upset with the Consul’s assistant for killing an intruder. I try to buy some time.

“Why did you kill Galwinius?”

“He found out about the Orcish Sorcerer. An informant told him. We couldn’t let him give us away.”

“How did you manage to frame Senator Lodius? He could have handed that pastry to anyone, or eaten it himself.”

Bevarius looks amused.

“You’re no better at investigating than the Civil Guard, and God knows, they’re bad enough. Galwinius wasn’t killed by the pastry from Lodius’s tray. The poison doesn’t act that quickly. Unlike carasin, it takes a minute or two to take effect. I fed the poisoned item to Galwinius before the Consul entered the room. It was just good fortune that Galwinius keeled over when he did. Made Lodius the prime suspect. In the confusion, I dropped a little more poison on to the pastry he’d eaten. Enough to fool the Sorcerers.”

“That was smart.”

“It was.”

“The Orcs must have paid a lot for the services of a smart man like you.”

Bevarius’s eyes narrow.

“Maybe they did. And I think we’ve talked long enough.”

He’s about to loose the arrow.

“So who were you working with? Kalius?”

Bevarius frowns. Then he gasps, and sags forward. His finger lets go of the arrow and it thuds into the floor in front of him. He grasps at his neck then crumples to the floor. I dash to his side. There’s a dart sticking in his neck. I look round wildly, unable to fathom where it came from. One of the front windows is open a few inches. It doesn’t seem possible that anyone could have fired a dart through the gap so accurately as to kill Bevarius, but there’s no other solution. Someone very adept in the use of weapons has just assassinated him. There’s no one in sight. His killer will be long gone by now, disappearing into the snow.

I return to the corpse. Blood is pumping from Bevarius’s neck. I put my hand inside his toga, looking for the concealed pocket that these awkward garments always contain. I pull out a few papers. A betting slip, from the look of it, and something larger. I frown. The larger piece of paper is now stained with blood but I can still make out some of the letters. They’re written in Orcish. There’s a noise outside. I look out the window. Two servants, coming home laden with goods. I make quickly for the back door and exit as they go in the front. I’m hurrying along the road by the time I hear someone screaming that Bevarius has been murdered.

The snow is falling more heavily. I keep my head down and hope that no one will pay enough attention to me to give the Civil Guards a good description when they arrive to investigate. I’m keen to get back to the Avenging Axe as quickly as possible to examine the Orcish writing. I have a fair knowledge of the common Orcish tongue and Makri’s is better.

I find her in her room, studying some old books. Makri has very few books. She’d like more, but they’re expensive items.

“Makri. I did swear never to speak to you again after the Herminis debacle but I need your help translating this Orcish document.”

“Okay,” says Makri, quite brightly.

“New books?”

“Samanatius gave them to me. I went along to his academy to say goodbye.”

“Is he leaving town?”

“No, he’s going to fight the Orcs.”

I can see why Makri was saying goodbye. I can’t see the elderly philosopher lasting long on the battlefield.

I spread out the sheet of paper on the floor for Makri to examine. It’s torn and stained with blood. Makri purses her lips and says that it’s not a form of Orcish she’s familiar with.