Hard Bound, page 8
Jacopo closed the door behind them quietly, making his exit.
“Yes,” Fiona said. “I’m asking a few questions about the day the Summer Crowns were taken.”
Cascade pouted. “Boring. I already talked about those once before. Let’s do something new.”
Fiona cocked her head. “But you haven’t talked to me or Gaili about them.” This was the person who should be alerted if Fiona didn’t follow Clara’s directions? She seemed harmless, if peculiar.
“True.” She squinted and shook her head. “Not enough. I’ve already gone over it with Clara. Talk to her.”
“We can promise to make it more fun?” Gaili offered.
Fiona shook her head, but the nymph ignored her.
Cascade’s gaze flew to Gaili. She looked her up and down appraisingly. “You ask.”
“I don’t think it’s the best idea,” Fiona said and moved closer to Gaili to manage the situation a little better. She was unsure of how to handle Cascade. Her mannerisms and words flowed so rapidly.
Gaili smoothed down her hair. “Well, when… I mean, what were you doing when they were taken?”
Cascade flicked the creature back into the pot. “I was at a Garden party. It was fun until it wasn’t.”
“Do you know what the Summer Crowns did?”
“Of course,” Cascade said moving toward Gaili. “Think differently.”
Gaili blinked and said, “What’s better, theft or deception?”
“Ooh, that’s a new question. Deception of course. Anyone can steal unguarded crowns. But how to get little Orsa blamed seems much more intriguing.”
“You think someone’s framing Orsa?” said Fiona.
Cascade’s eyes flicked to Fiona and she grinned. “I would, if it was me. It would be more enjoyable that way. To sneak and see how far I could go before I got caught.”
“But you wouldn’t take the crowns or blame someone else,” Gaili said slowly to herself. “It would be less enjoyable to do things you’ve already done in lieu of doing something new. Like a Garden party.”
Cascade’s skin seemed to ripple of its own accord like a pond skipped by a stone. She pressed herself into Gaili, her arms wrapping around her. “You’re familiar with me and my bathing sisters, aren’t you?”
Gaili nodded and tried backing away. She looked unsure and glanced at Fiona.
“I’m done with questions. You’re fun, Gaili of the Grove. You’ll stay with me,” Cascade said.
Fiona moved to intercede. She wouldn’t see Gaili coerced for mere answers. “That’s not necessary,” Fiona interjected.
Cascade flinched. Without turning, water rose from the corners of the room. From bowls and pots and vases and vials, it flowed toward Fiona. Fiona tried to dodge, but the water wrapped around her limbs, restraining her. Some tendrils were cold, some warm, their grips not unlike the feel of her old whip.
The nymph whispered a melodic song that started to calm Fiona down. She was finding it hard to stay upset. The longer she stared at Cascade, the more her skin shimmered, wet like droplets against the sun.
Fiona struggled to remain in control. “Release me this instant.”
Cascade shook her head. “This is between the faun and me.”
Gaili looked from Cascade to Fiona, eyes wide. “Oh no, this is my fault.”
Fiona worked to push away from the wall. “It’s not, just stay back.” Fiona closed her eyes, aggravated at the nymph, and said, “I wasn’t going to touch you.”
“Why should I trust you?” Cascade said, moving closer to Fiona.
“Because I’m here to solve a crime, not meddle with you.”
“Are you sure it’s a crime you want to solve? Perhaps it would be better to stay with me where it’s fun.” Cascade smiled enticingly.
Fiona stared at the nymph for a brief second, drawn into the depth of her welling eyes. But she saw Gaili shift, heard the pounding of her own heart in her ears, and shook her head. “If you don’t let me go, then we’ll be here like this forever. How quickly that will become boring after a while.”
Cascade stared at Fiona as if trying to read her. “I don’t like boring.” The nymph sighed, flowing away toward the desk over the sand in the room.
The melodic song playing in Fiona’s mind grew quiet. The water pushing her against the wall swirled back into its containers, leaving her free. She pushed herself off the wall, breathing heavily as heat flushed through her body. She took a deep breath before saying, “That was uncalled for and intrusive.”
Cascade tilted her head. “You are an outsider here. Some would say the same about you.” She turned, seemingly dismissing them, her skirts rustling over sand, and stuck her hand back into the pot. “I’ve had my fun. When you talk to Olea, ask her about the key. She got the chest, she unlocked the chest, but how? People often overlook her words and what she says. Do not. We’re more alike than it seems.” For a brief moment, she seemed almost translucent before shimmering back to a solid form. “But don’t believe all her words either.”
Fiona didn’t wait to see if there was anything more proper to say. She opened the door to the office and stormed out and straight to Jacopo. “Cascade can be prickly, hmm? You could’ve warned us.”
“I did try to keep you in the dry. She gets upset when she can’t have the elements of surprise on her side.”
Yes, because otherwise no one would have anything to do with her probably. “I thought nymphs were tied to their location?” Fiona said to Gaili.
Gaili shook her head taut face. “They learned to manipulate that after the Inking. Something about the opening of the pages helped them there.”
“The necklace around her throat?”
“Yes, water from her sea.”
It seemed awfully unsecure to have one’s whole lifeline dangling from their neck. Fiona rubbed her wrists where the tendril of water had wrapped itself around her. Maybe not completely unsecure. She sighed, thrusting the episode as far back from her mind as she could. “Well, let’s keep at it then.” She looked back to Cascade’s closed door. If staying in line meant not dealing with her, she’d try her best. “Is Olea in?”
“Perhaps I should wait out here,” Gaili said apologetically. “You’ll be quicker, and I won’t distract anyone.”
“Absolutely not. That wasn’t your fault.” Fiona motioned toward Cascade’s door. She smiled to put Gaili at ease. “Just follow my lead and everything will be fine.”
Voices drifted from behind the door Jacopo led them to, this one decorated with thick bushes surrounded by trees. After a knock, Fiona was surprised to see Dorin open it. The room was crowded with books, loose papers, crates, and chests. Along the walls hung strips of gray, green, and brown wood marking an organization of the piles that Fiona could see but not understand. A large desk took up the middle space among these things with a couple of wooden chairs off to the side as an afterthought of company seating.
“Oh, you’re already making the rounds this morning. Good. I hope you’ve been able to make some progress.” He nodded to Jacopo in dismissal. The latter turned without saying a word and walked back to the first floor.
“Yes, although we’ve come to talk with Olea next.”
The short woman who sat down before them was quite the opposite of Cascade. Her skin was ash gray with black grooves that twisted like ribbons caught mid breeze. Her silvery-green hair was piled in small braids that looped around her head. Wrapped bands of leather in the shape of oblong leaves clung to her arms like sleeves. The leaf motif carried throughout on her practical layered woolen dress. She could just make out the chain of a necklace beneath her dress. This was perhaps one of the only people in power who eschewed the fashion of those around them. It endeared Fiona to her immediately.
Inclining her head from the doorway, Fiona said, “How do you do?”
Olea rose and took Fiona’s hand in her own warm and rough ones. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you. Quite enchanting, much of it.”
Fiona was taken aback. “Well, of what Dorin has been saying about me, I assure you only most of it is true.”
Olea raised an eyebrow but said nothing further. She turned to greet Gaili in the same manner.
Gaili blushed and bowed her head. “I’ve heard much about your work in Thicket. You’re quite the archivist.”
“Thank you. I do love finding new bits of history and lore. I’m glad my passion benefits others as much as me.”
“I heard you found the chest the crowns came from,” said Fiona. “Can you tell me more about that?”
Olea sat down again stiffly. “Of course. Artifacts from the Circle of Seasons are as scarce as details about their final whereabouts. It took some time and spelunking, as your people say, but finally I unearthed this chest in our neighboring region.”
“Oh,” Gaili said, delighted. To Fiona she murmured, “The Garden region was rumored to be the last place anyone saw them.”
“It was. It most definitely was,” said Olea. “Of course, the chest wasn’t easy to get to. The area was in ruins.”
“Yes, and there was a cipher on the chest that took some time,” Dorin interjected excitedly. “Solving it is an achievement none can boast of except our dear scholar. She figured it out all on her own.”
Olea said haltingly, “It was more luck than study.”
Fiona noted that she looked away every time the cipher was mentioned. Was she hiding how she figured it out, or was there something else? She thought of Cascade’s words. “I’d love to know how you went about finding the chest. In my line of work, tracing the happenings of the past comes up more often than you would guess. It’s difficult alone.”
“Truly, it was a team of people going through the ruins. Not only myself. I have no special secret.”
“Don’t be so shy about your talent. You deserve the accolades,” Dorin said as if it wasn’t the first time.
Olea looked as still as a tree, blinking slowly. She certainly seemed to be hiding something.
Fiona turned away in thought. “May I?” She motioned to the chest.
“It’s empty now, of course, but feel free,” said Dorin.
Fiona bent to look at the small wooden chest. It was preserved very well. The lid and the chest had several clasps with an inlaid copper rod running through it. She could just make out in the light several small holes in the rod, like a flute without a mouthpiece. “This was all that was keeping the chest closed?”
“Yes. But it was a specific secret that needed solving. And the cipher key was beneficial in other ways,” said Dorin.
“Or would’ve been,” Olea said quietly.
“The cipher solution went missing too?” Fiona said. This was new evidence.
“Yes, along with the journals. They were semi-unintelligible to read…” Olea trailed.
“What could you pick up in them?”
“Blueprints. Outlines, notes of thoughts, concepts of various inventions and experiments conducted by all the Circle of Seasons,” Olea said, rummaging around on her stacked desk. “I have a list here if it’ll help. Of course, it doesn’t have near as much detail as the journals.” She handed over several sheets of paper in a neat list with cramped writing.
Fiona gave them to Gaili, not wanting to pull out her scarf again in front of Dorin. “Did anyone else know about the chest and items?”
“Everyone who knew they existed,” Olea said slowly.
She seemed hesitant to say more even after Dorin glanced at her. He spoke up: “Of course. When Olea found the chests, we discussed internally about the lead-up. We wanted to gather some interest in the updated Pavilion displays. Then a few days later we unveiled them privately within the Seven.”
“Did anyone take an unusual interest in anything?”
Olea glanced at Dorin. “Well, Dragomir was very interested in the crowns, but her and Bardo immediately got into a fight when she asked if she could study them first. Of course, the stewards were fascinated as well, but none of them more than the others.” Olea said.
“So Orsa was there?”
“Yes. It was a big moment for all of us,” Dorin said.
Fiona nodded. “Olea, what is your opinion of Orsa?”
Olea frowned. “Well, she’s very closed off. Not impolite by any means, but she seems more cautious and dutiful than others. I’m not even sure I know what her field of study was. It seems odd that someone so thoughtful would steal from us.”
Or was she so thoughtful as to learn exactly how to steal from them? Fiona wondered. “What was found that made you suspect Orsa?”
“A bracelet. She wore it every day. It was small and made of beads of amber with a silver plate attached. I think it had her name engraved on it.” Olea looked through her desk. “Ah, I believe Clara still has it.”
“And when Orsa was confronted with the evidence?”
“She said it wasn’t hers,” said Dorin. “But she couldn’t show us hers nor tell us how she lost it. I wanted to believe her, but how else did it get in Olea’s locked office if she wasn’t the thief?”
“When you hired Orsa did you bring her on to the staff yourself or was it an open call?”
Dorin scratched his chin. “Actually Clara hired Orsa. I needed someone new when Taliana left, as her wife was my previous steward. One’s retirement from Keeper life triggered the other’s. So we asked around, then Clara found her and brought her on board.”
“But she works for you and not Clara?” It seemed odd, that.
“Yes, Clara had to let her steward go. Some issue with his demeanor toward her. But she doesn’t see the need to replace him. Says she is perfectly capable of running her own office. It’s her self-reliant mentality, I think,” Dorin said, bright eyed, clearly in admiration. “She wouldn’t hear of Orsa working for anyone else but me, and she has been—was the perfect steward.”
“She really liked Orsa though. I think she feels bad to be swindled,” Olea added, stiffly pulling the subject back. “As bad as Clara can feel either way.”
“It just seems odd that Orsa would take the contents of the chest but not the chest itself. It’s rather small. Seems that would’ve been easier to heist,” murmured Gaili.
“But that’s not all that was taken,” Olea broke in.
“It wasn’t?” Gaili said with some surprise.
Fiona felt the same way but schooled her features. “What else is missing?”
“Besides the chest’s contents, some of the old display items are gone too. Bardo’s bell and Clara’s watch. We replaced those so the guides wouldn’t notice.”
That did seem odd, but comparatively everything in the page did to an outsider. “So there’s more here than just a theft of crowns.” Fiona raised a questioning glance at Dorin. “Why didn’t you mention this yesterday?”
“The Summer Crowns had to be the main target. They are the most valuable and unable to be replicated,” Olea said.
Fiona could sense the same unease as before in them. Before she could say anything, however, Dorin frowned. “Actually that’s what Olea and I were talking about before you came in. Dragomir was interested in them, and she hasn’t arrived yet.”
“No one knows where she is?” said Gaili.
“Afraid not,” said Dorin, clutching his cape. “She hasn’t been seen since she left yesterday. Her steward said she wasn’t at home last night. It could be nothing. Everyone has autonomy here, and we’re not due to assemble for any judgments for another week.” He shifted, glancing away. “Hopefully.”
“Her administrator doesn’t have any plans for her on the books. He seems just as surprised as we are. It’s unlike her,” said Olea.
“Well, that puts Dragomir a bit higher on the list of suspects if she has indeed disappeared,” said Fiona. “As you say, it may be nothing. Let me know if anything changes or you don’t hear from her soon.” She wouldn’t go running after the first people to not check in without understanding more about them. It was alarming what the Seven thought was important information and what wasn’t. She couldn’t take her leads from them alone.
Olea nodded. “If you’ll excuse me, I want to get some scribing done before talking to Thicket visitors. It was nice meeting you both. If you have any other questions, my door is open to you.”
The ladies made their murmurs of appreciation and followed Dorin out of Olea’s office. “I wondered if you’d be willing to stay in the area until you’re forced to go back to Spine. Of course, not up till the moment of sickness, but…” He trailed off, looking uncomfortable at the mention of the page turner weakness that forced them to live on Spine and not be away from it for too long, lest they become ill. While it was widely known, it was impolite for non-turners to ask too many questions about it. “We could set you and your assistant up in the Trussadary Inn, where some of our visiting guests stay, paid for of course.”
“Is there a reason we need to be here around the clock?” Fiona said, trying to mask the annoyance in her voice.
“It would make the leaders feel easier if they knew they could find you without having to schedule a turner or travel to Spine, or elsewhere,” he said, looking chagrin. “Some think if we’re paying you to investigate you should be within arm’s reach. I know it’s an inconvenience, but it would keep the tension to a tepid level.”
And make it easier for whomever was most interested in her investigation to keep tabs on her. No doubt the Order of Seven commanded more spies in this page than in Spine, what with the Travel Guild influence there. She glanced at Gaili. “I’ll talk it and the terms of our payment over with my partner and get back to you.”
Dorin took a step back, bowing to Gaili. “Apologies. I thought you were assistant to Investigator Thorne. Please excuse my mistake.”
He was being so gracious that Fiona could see Gaili’s wheels turning of how best to correct him without seeming rude. Before Fiona could interject, however, Gaili said softly, “No need to apologize. I thank you for including me in your invitation.”
He opened the door to his chamber, a small fruit tree decorating the cover. “I believe Clara has stepped out for a meeting about the new theater, but she should be back later this afternoon.”
