Multiverse Mashup Omnibus, page 72
“I must…” He drew in a long, raspy breath, then started again. “I must designate a new successor.”
“Maccus, please…”
My eyes stung. Maccus lifted a trembling hand and stroked my cheek.
“I name,” he said, “Jed Ryland as my successor as Keeper of Peace. Do you accept, Jed?”
I took his hand. “I…I can’t…”
“You must. I beg you. Do this for me.”
I blinked some of the tears away and nodded. “Yes. Yes, all right.”
He smiled. “My Peaceful have witnessed. You are so named.” He rubbed the back of my hand with his fingers. “I knew our time was short, but I hoped…”
“I know.” I bent over and kissed him. I tasted blood. “I’m sorry, Maccus.”
“I will see…” His eyes rolled up. “I will see her again…”
He shuddered once, and then was still.
Eighteen
The day after Maccus’s assassination, I sat alone in the Keeper of All’s bedchamber. I sat on the floor, since there was no other place to sit besides the bloodstained bed. I leaned up against the tapestry and tried to get my thoughts in order.
The man who killed Maccus had in turn been killed by Commander Jahn while she was trying to apprehend him. She said he resisted and she had no choice. I had no way of knowing if that was true. He might have resisted, or she might have killed him to keep him from talking. Either way, I had no answers there. Investigations into the man revealed no ties to Keblia, and Secrets insisted he was not one of their spies. But I didn’t know if I could believe her, either.
There had been a lot of confusion in the yard in the moments after Maccus died. Jahn, after killing the assassin, saw that Maccus was gone and started barking orders. It took a good half hour of convincing from witnesses before she believed that Maccus had named me his successor. She was to have been the next Peace, before I came along. She finally acknowledged my authority, grudgingly, with a venomous expression on her face that told me I had better keep a close eye on her.
I was installed as Keeper of Peace without having to swear an Oath. Only the Keeper of All could administer a Keeper’s Oath, and that office was currently vacant. So technically I was just interim-Keeper, which did not help my already weak authority. The Peaceful who hadn’t liked Maccus absolutely detested me and were looking to Jahn for leadership. The other Commanders begrudgingly tolerated me. The only thing preventing out-and-out mutiny was that my support amongst the people was quickly growing, as word of how I had fended off the Lacunae spread. History said I was free to step aside, but I didn’t. Maccus’s last request had been for me to take over, and I owed it to him to see it through.
Besides, without Maccus helping me, I needed the status being a Keeper would give me in order to continue my investigation. I felt a little guilty about using his final wish as a way to help my personal mission, but whatever had brought the kids here was potentially as much of a danger to Sacred Oath as the Keblians or the Lacunae. There was a lot of nasty stuff out there in the multiverse.
It was interesting, though, that nothing else had come through, from the kid’s universe or any other. It might have been a one-time effect. Another clue I didn’t know what to do with.
Clues. I had too many of them, and they pointed nowhere. Everything started with the Keeper of All’s murder. Whoever had done it gave a head’s up to the Keblians, so this person wanted the invaders to come. Killing the prince threw the government into disarray and summoned the Lacunae, which threw the city into chaos. And a city in chaos would be easier to conquer. So, that was the killer’s goal, I had to assume. Help the Keblians.
As for the identity of the killer…it had to be someone who knew about the secret passage. If they found out about it from the Keeper of All, then that would make it somebody he would have trusted, somebody he would have wanted to be able to come and go from his room without anyone knowing. And it had to be someone who could have discovered Coin’s little smuggling operation, and who had the resources to pay off Yaniq, the cheese-smuggling attendant. Somebody who lived in the castle, or visited frequently.
My head was swimming, and I was grieving for Maccus. I wanted Lock there to comfort me, and I felt weird about that because Lock was my boyfriend and I wasn’t sure about the etiquette of talking to your boyfriend about your dead lover. The whole “open relationship” thing was still new to me.
“Crap.”
The door to the room was closed and I had left orders not to be disturbed. I decided it wouldn’t hurt anyone for me to lie face down on the thick rug and feel sorry for myself for a few minutes. So that’s what I did.
I heard muffled footsteps and mutterings, and then the tapestry billowed as the wall behind it opened.
“Jed?” Sally said. “Why are you lying down on the floor?”
“Are you looking for clues under the bed?” Billy asked.
I sat up. There was a whole crew stuffed into the narrow passage. Cuna was behind the kids, holding a torch, and History and Secrets peered out from behind Cuna’s back.
History tsked. “I don’t know if this is the time to be lying around, Jed.”
I got up and brushed myself off. “You came up from the alley? Why?”
“Incorrect,” Secrets said. “I don’t know how anyone ever believed you were a Truthseeker.”
Sally took my hand. “Come and see, Jed.”
The others stepped aside as Sally led me into the passage. It continued to my left and to my right.
“Wait,” I said. “That’s not right. This only went left before.”
Cuna reached into a gap between two stones, one I hadn’t noticed last time. A section of wall pivoted out, sealing off the right side of the corridor once again.
“Where does that lead?” I asked.
“Malinali’s chambers,” History said. “It was the children’s discovery. Very clever.”
“How…?”
“From books, of course,” Sally said.
“From the books and scrolls we borrowed from Grandpa History,” Billy continued. “There were plans for the castle in there. There were plans for this part of the castle from before it was built, and some from after. The size of the rooms didn’t match up.”
“We already knew about this part of the passage, from you,” Sally said. “So we thought we’d look for more. And we found this one in Malinali’s room.”
“What did Malinali say when you found it?”
“She was not there,” History answered. “Yet your Peaceful say she was inside and has not come out.”
“Which means she knows of this passage, and had her own way into the Keeper of All’s chamber,” Secrets pointed out. “That raises suspicions.”
History shook his head. “She would never have killed her own child.”
I nodded. “I don’t think so, either. But we don’t know for sure that the two murders were committed by the same person. Still, if Malinali wasn’t in her room, then she left through here.”
Sally clapped her hands. “Let’s follow her!”
“It only leads to an alley, does it not?” Cuna asked. “From there she could have gone anywhere.”
“One way to find out,” I said.
We walked single file down the narrow passage, down the stairs to the dank tunnel under the city. Sally held her nose and lifted up the bottom of her pretty dress to avoid dragging it through the stale puddles, and History and Secrets did the same with their long robes.
After a few minutes we arrived at the empty alley. The sun beat down from overhead, and Sacred Oath was abuzz on either side of us. I had designated a few of the largest buildings, including the Grand Cathedral, as spots for the citizens to congregate where the Peaceful could protect them from the Lacunae. The last few citizens were hurriedly bringing enough supplies from their homes to last a day or two.
The kids looked around, disappointment on their faces. I think they had expected to find some simple clue to Malinali’s whereabouts along the way.
“I guess she really could be anywhere,” Sally said.
“She could.” I looked from one end of the alley to the other, at all the people moving about. “But she’s pretty famous. Why would she slip out of the castle in secret if she were immediately going to be recognized?”
“She could be in disguise,” Cuna suggested. She held the torch low, looking around for an easy way to douse it.
“Yes.” I looked at the opposite wall, part of the House of Intimacy. “Or…she could be going to visit a friend. Don’t put that torch out yet, Cuna.”
I patted the wall, digging my fingers in between the stones. At just about head height was a small indentation, just like the one on the wall opposite. I stuck my finger in and felt a mechanism. I gave it a push and heard a click. A section of the wall slid open, revealing yet another secret passage.
Billy’s eyes widened. “Golly! I didn’t think of that!”
“You gotta let me have a win once in a while, Billy.” I gestured broadly. “Shall we go find her royal highness?”
I led the way inside. This passage was just as tight as the first, so we walked one behind the other. We went up two flights of stairs onto a landing wide enough for all of us to cram into, barely. I could see a loose stone that would open another secret door, but as History reached for it I grabbed his hand to stop him, and put my finger to my lips. Someone was talking on the other side.
“Vengeance is all I have left.” It was Malinali. “It is all I live for. I come to you, the last remaining person I love in this bitter, brutal world, for aid, and you deny me?”
“I would deny you nothing within my power,” came the reply. Neema’s voice. “But I cannot answer your questions.”
“Your blasted Oath!” Malinali shouted. “If you killed Edric, they will execute you! You would have me lose my son and you at once?”
“I would have you lose nothing, my dearest heart. But I am helpless in this.”
“They will believe you killed Ustoffe as well,” Malinali said, her voice bitter. “They will stop looking for his true killer and my child shall never know justice.”
There was a long silence. “Say something, damn you!” Malinali shouted.
“I love you.”
Malinali sobbed. “Then tell me the truth. Do you think I would blame you for killing Edric? I would forgive you anything! If you are guilty, I will protect you. If you are innocent, then knowing so may provide a clue towards finding Ustoffe’s murderer. Help me, Neema! Must I beg?”
Neema was quiet again. “I can tell you this much. And you must find your own answer from it.”
Her voice got a little louder as she moved closer to us. I could feel everyone in my little huddled group tense as we tried to remain motionless.
“Edric planned to…” She stopped short. Her voice was very close. “Alas. I have already said too much.”
“But you have said nothing!”
Billy suddenly jumped up and smacked the loose stone, sending the door sliding open. He strode into the room.
Neema glared at him, her eyes wide. “You? How did you…?”
She spotted Sally, Cuna, History, Secrets and me, still standing in a clump in the now wide-open doorway.
“Um.” I waved. “Hello.”
Neema’s massive bedchamber was dominated in the center by a huge, round, sunken bed. The walls were lined with shelves, many containing books, the rest containing a vast selection of oils, lotions and perfumes, plus various…tools of her trade. I really, really hoped the kids thought they were just unusual art pieces.
“Spies!” Malinali was across the room, on the other side of the bed. Tears streaked her face, but her cheeks were red with rage. She was still in the same thin white dress she had been wearing when I had last seen her the day before, but the bottom of it was muddy and there was a vivid blue smear near her waist on the right side. “How dare you?”
“I’m sorry, Highness,” Billy said. “But you don’t need her to say any more, anyway. You already know if she killed your husband or not.”
“I know no such thing.”
“Billy,” I said. “How do you know what Malinali knows if Malinali doesn’t know that she knows it?” I took a breath. “That’s hard to say.”
“Was it something the Keeper of Pleasure said, child?” Secrets asked.
“Not just what she said,” Billy answered. “It’s also what she didn’t say.”
HOW DID BILLY KNOW THAT MALINALI KNEW IF NEEMA WAS THE MURDERER?
Nineteen
“Neema was about to say something,” Billy said, “but stopped talking when she got close to our hiding spot.”
“Her Oath forbade her,” History said.
Those of us still clustered in the alcove stepped into Neema’s bedroom, and the wall slid shut behind us, hiding the passage once again.
“That’s right,” Billy said. “She can’t talk about anything she learns in private from someone she’s…” He blushed a deep scarlet, looked down, and dug his toe into the thick carpet. “…on a date with.”
“On a date?” Secrets said. “What does that mean, on a date?”
I hushed her. “Go on, Billy.”
Billy started to respond, then looked at his right hand and paused. He shrugged and wiped it on his trousers, leaving a pale blue stain, then continued. “Neema stopped because she knew we were there.”
I turned back and inspected the section of wall that concealed the passage. It had a small painting containing a festive scene that I hoped Billy and Sally wouldn’t ask me about. Just below, at what would likely be Neema’s eye level, was a small gap in the stone, barely noticeable.
“That’s where the catch to open the door is,” Neema explained. “The glow of your torch through the hole caught my eye.” She walked to a small table against the wall of the circular chamber where a small bar was set up. She poured herself a glass of a dark red liquid and downed it in one sip. “Anyone else?”
Secrets strode across the room to join her. “If you’re offering…”
“So Neema stopped talking because she knew someone was listening,” I said.
Billy nodded. “Which means whatever she was going to say, is something she couldn’t say in front of anyone but Malinali.”
History tottered over to a cushioned ottoman and set himself down with a sigh. “Not necessarily. She didn’t know who was eavesdropping, did she? She might just have not wanted a stranger to overhear.”
Sally skipped over to him. “But remember what she said, Grandpa? She said, ‘I have already said too much.’ She was afraid she might have already broken her Oath.”
“Enough.” Malinali had been listening to Billy intently. She looked less angry but her expression was still deadly serious. “I understand. Neema’s explanation was made up of things I told her, in bed. Things she may repeat to me, but to no one else.”
Secrets lifted a glass of something brown she had poured herself. “I must say, Highness, I had no idea you and the Keeper of Pleasure were carrying on this clandestine affair. Keeping a secret from the Keeper of Secrets is no easy task. Congratulations to you both.” She took a long sip, then sighed. “I wonder what other secrets the two of you keep.”
“What was she going to say, Malinali?” I asked. “She can’t tell us, but you can.”
“I want your promise, Truthseeker.”
“Keeper,” History corrected.
“Keeper, then. Promise me, if I assist you in this, Neema will not be harmed.”
I had no idea how to reply. I barely knew the laws I was supposed to be enforcing, and I didn’t know what promises I was free to make.
“Highness,” History said, his tone soft. “Assassination of the Keeper of All is not a crime that can simply be forgiven. The penalty would be death. Jed cannot change that.”
“Well, then,” Malinali said, flipping her blonde hair back. “I’m afraid I simply don’t remember. So many words are said in the heat of passion…”
“Malinali.” Neema smiled sadly at her lover. “Tell them. Tell them what I cannot.”
The two women looked at each other for a long moment, while the rest of us waited.
“‘Edric planned to,’ is how she began.” Malinali picked a crumpled blanket from off a bench and threw it on the sunken bed, then sat in its place. “Edric planned to set me aside, I imagine she would have said. To free me from our marriage bond, and from my Oath as Keeper of Hearth. With no place in court, I was to return to Veskoule.” She looked down at her hands. “Once, years ago, I would have been happy to return home, but…”
“But you had a son,” I said. “The heir to the throne. He wouldn’t be going with you.”
She nodded. “Edric promised that Ustoffe would be sent to visit, but Veskoule is so far from here. It could be years before I would see my child again. We fought. He would not change his mind.” She dug her nails into her palm. “I had no recourse. No way out. My only consolation was that my beautiful Neema said she would come with me.”
“Did she?” Secrets’ face was a mask of feigned surprise, failing to conceal the wicked smile underneath. “That doesn’t seem likely, considering what else our Keeper had planned.”
Malinali frowned. “What do you mean? Speak plainly, if plain words can cross your twisted tongue.”
Secrets took a sip of her drink. “She didn’t tell you? Oh, of course, she couldn’t. Her Oath. Luckily, there are still some secrets I’m privy to.”
“Secrets,” History said wearily, “please. If you know something relevant, and your Oath does not forbid you, then speak. But remember this is not a Keepers’ meeting, and you are not playing one-upmanship with Coin. Lives hang on what we learn here today.”
Secrets’ brown cheeks flushed darker. “My apologies. Sometimes I…” She shook her head, sending the long ringlets of her hair shaking. “Sometimes I forget myself. After Faith validated your divorce, the Keeper of All planned to take Neema to wife. With an heir already secured from an acceptably noble house, he was free to follow his heart. He loved her, as much as you did.”
“Never!” Malinali jumped to her feet, hurrying across the room to her lover. “Neema never loved him! She could scarcely bear his touch!”
