We’d barely been gone for a few hours.

For a murder to happen in that amount of time and there be no witnesses or leads, it seemed very unlikely.

Master James looked at me. “Winey was the researcher?”

I nodded.

That was all the information that he needed to know. “Val. Byler.” Master James’ runes pulsed again and he used magic to scoop most of the mud and the body into the barrel. “Grab that and bring it with us.” He looked at Fyga. “Show us where it happened.”

Val looked like she was about to argue, but she saw that Fyga was looking at her for permission. “He’s the senior.” She sighed as she grabbed one side of the barrel.

Most of the liquid had spilled out, but since it was replaced by mud and there was a corpse in it, the whole thing was almost two hundred pounds heavier. Between Val and myself, this wasn’t a lot, but it did make things awkward once we reached the gates.

Fyga started to head through the maze, but Master James stopped in front of the big metal doors and crossed his arms. There were a lot of whispers coming from above, but no one spoke as the doors slowly began to open.

“When did it happen?” Master James looked at the young woman as he waited for the inner gate to open.

“Sometime between when he sent me and Narder down here with the solution and when you got back with the Zombie.” She wiped a tear from her face. “Maybe in the last hour? Narder went to go get him, then came running back yelling that Winey was dead.” She sniffled. “Gili took him back to the Mug to investigate.”

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The gate was finally open enough for him to squeeze through.

Val and I picked the barrel up and carried it between us as we walked through town. People moved out of the way for two Bokor, so there was enough room to ensure that there wasn't a soul between us and the bar.

Gili was out front with Helru and Eveth. The crowd of people outside in the street vanished as we approached.

“Gili! It’s been far too long and Helru! How’s the shoulder? Eveth, you grew up so fast!” The old Bokor had a smile on his face.

It was the complete opposite of how Master Bran would have handled the situation. Master Bran would have lined the people up and started giving orders.

“Master James, we…” Hello looked at us, then at him, “Weren’t expecting you.”

“I simply needed to come this way.” Master James nodded at us. “They were bringing me up to speed.”

The old Guard grumbled something about Bokor and trouble, but I couldn’t make out any other words than that. If Master James heard what Gili said, it didn’t take the smile off his face.

“May I?” Master James nodded towards the open door of the Bar.

“Of course.” Helru motioned for him to go in.

Val and I watched him walk into the bar, but he stopped just past the doorway. Master James turned around and motioned for us to follow him.

“Bring the sample.” The older Bokor went inside.

I picked up my side of the barrel, but Val didn’t lift hers. It’d only been a few days since her sister had been murdered in their bar. I could see why she wouldn’t want to go inside.

“Why don’t you stay out here with the experiment?” I nodded at Helru, “Maybe see what they know?”

The redhead nodded, “I can do that.”

“I’ll let Master James know.” I touched my bandages to make sure they were still securely hiding my eyes, then jogged into the bar.