His small house was beginning to look considerably better, Av’ry concluded, wiping his hands on his pants. It had been a day and a half since he’d opened that safe deposit box and he still hadn’t read any of the material, other than the letter that had been on top. He knew then that before he went any further with this, he needed to make a choice: he could keep wallowing in self-pity, or he could try and finally do right by his partner. He chose the latter, though it wasn’t a unanimous decision by any means. Parts of his mind rebelled, even now, but his did his best to shove them down. Before he could look at her work, though, he needed to clear his head. So, he’d spent the last day putting himself back together. He hadn’t spent much time in this house since it happened; it had probably been at least a couple of months since the last time he’d even bothered to stop by. He’d told himself that it was safer to crash in places that were less obviously tied to his old life, but the truth was he had bad dreams when he slept under this roof. Old ghosts lived here. Also, a family of raccoons, as it turned out. They had stepped up to fill the void he’d left and Av’ry’d had quite a time evicting his new tenants, but now he finally had the place cleaned up enough to be considered habitable. And the bite wounds had even stopped bleeding. The cleaning hadn’t strictly been necessary, of course, he wasn’t planning to stay long, but it had occupied him while he organized his thoughts.

Satisfied that he was ready at last, Av’ry retrieved the contents of the locker and spread them on the table in front of him. He pulled out the note on top. Looking at it now, he thought back to the last thing Taevyn Fox had said to him. As she’d left him in that cave, she’d hesitated and turned back, she had looked so torn, starting to speak, and then stopping again, unsure of whether to say anything at all. Finally, she had made her choice, walking back to where he stood, she had pressed that disc into his hand,

Do not, under any circumstances, open this lock box.

He remembered giving her a confused glance as he took the disc.

I don’t want you involved in this, she continued. But if I’m right and she starts a war with Maaskal, then I need you to make sure this information gets to the right people. You are the only one I can trust with this.

Don’t do this, Fox, he’d pleaded.

Just promise me, Ave. Please.

Of course, I promise. But…

Remember, you can find it in the safe deposit box. But only if we go to war. I don’t need you getting yourself killed over this.

She hadn’t said it, but he had heard the ‘too’ hanging in the air at the end of that sentence. Then she had walked away. For the last time. Av’ry supposed he hadn’t remembered this conversation immediately because it was exactly the moment that he had been trying to forget all this time; the moment he had failed her. But he would not compound his error by failing her again, by breaking his word. He wouldn’t survive it.

The letter was obviously written by his partner, it was penned in her unmistakable script. She really had the worst handwriting he had ever seen, in strange contrast to her usually meticulous and precise nature. Av’ry reread it from the beginning:

Av’ry,

I hope you aren’t reading this and that this is me, burning this note at some point in the future, but if circumstances have made it necessary, I am sorry. I know you hated it when I kept secrets, but I didn’t want to put you in danger. Still, I trust that you will be able to finish this, if I can’t.

Truth is, I have been running an investigation on the side. I am sure you suspected as much. Mysterious deaths have been plaguing the royal line for years. They have been attributed to a variety of causes, and no one has ever linked them, but I’ve always had my doubts. After the death of Ak’lez Camren, the last clear heir to the throne, I began to make inquiries. The evidence that I uncovered linked his wife, Istaria, to several deaths, going back many years. I began to investigate in earnest and what I have discovered, though incomplete, is disturbing. I believe that the woman aims for the throne and that she will stop at nothing to obtain it. Istaria will make her move soon; she has already made the necessary plans to manoeuvre herself into the highest position of power. It is likely inevitable at this point.

And, if that was the extent of it, I wouldn’t be too concerned. After all, bloody coups are practically tradition in Esrasea. But I am afraid that there is more. Every indication is that Istaria is not working alone. She is neither clever enough, nor skilled enough, to have accomplished all of this by herself. There is someone behind her rise to power and I have not been able to find out anything about them. All I am sure of is that they are cunning, powerful, and dangerous. Istaria has been sending her deceased husband’s men to search for… something, and I don’t think she is the one who needs it. I don’t know what it is, or why they seek it, but over a dozen people have died already and I doubt that they would hesitate to kill hundreds more in their quest. Istaria and her shadow are planning something, something bigger than just seizing the throne and recently they have begun to center their search on the Empire of Maaskal. I suspect that what they are looking for is there.

Perhaps I am seeing things that aren’t really there, and this will prove to be nothing more than paranoia, but my instincts are telling me that something terrible is brewing. I’ve drawn too much attention with my questions. I worry they know that I’m digging. If something happens to me, then I must leave this to you to finish. You must find what they are looking for and find a way to stop them from accomplishing their goal.

I know that this is a lot to ask of you, my friend, and I know that I have given you very little to go on. But in our years together, you have become one of the finest Hound’s I have ever known, and there is no one else I could even think to entrust this to. I know that you will see this through.

But you will need help. If, once you have read through the information I have gathered, you think that there is truly something to my theory, I suggest that you go to Telvanar, the capital of Maaskal, and find a man named K’ivin. He works for the emperor. I only really know him by reputation, but he is said to be a clever and loyal man. He will likely have a vested interest in this, if Maaskal is the focus of their attentions. There are signs that Istaria is planning a war. I suspect that once she claims the throne, she will attack Maaskal, to facilitate her search. Convince K’ivin that it is in the interest of his nation’s security, and I imagine that he will help. It shouldn’t be a problem; you always could convince anyone of anything.

One last thing, Ave. Try not to let whatever happened to me get to you, ok? I knew the risks and I made my choice. If I had to, I would do it all again. Hopefully, the information I have gathered will be enough to start you off, and this will all have been worth it.

Good luck, partner.

Taevyn Fox

Setting the letter aside, he smiled sadly. He wished he had proven himself worthy of her faith. He couldn’t change the last two years, but he could at least do better now. Nodding, he began leafing through the other papers in the box. Most of it was a collection of notes and sketches, in Fox’s writing, detailing the movements of the woman that was now his queen. He skipped over the reams of healer’s reports and investigation notes on the old murders/deaths of those who had once been in line for the throne. There were dozens of cases, stretching back over 15 years, it could take weeks to go through all of it properly, so he decided to save that for later. He moved on to her personal notes. He could see what had made her suspicious; there were numerous documented meetings of Istaria’s personal servants with emissaries who worked for a particular messenger service in town. No one would say who they were delivering messages for. Rumor had it that those particular messengers were go-betweens for a guild of assassins that specialized in political murders. Istaria, it seemed, had also bought several vials of an exotic poison, around the time that Fox was investigating, which, administered in small doses over a long period of time, could mimic the symptoms of an extended, illness. Like the kind the late king had died from.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Son of a bitch,” Av’ry muttered aloud.

Istaria had poisoned the king, and she’d been planning it for at least a year before she acted, likely even longer. The more he read, though, the stranger it seemed. There was nothing about this woman to suggest that she was the type to come up with this scheme. Her proficiency and her seemingly limitless wealth had sprung up sometime years ago, as if from nowhere. Fox was right, it just didn’t add up. He understood why she would have suspected that Istaria had some unseen accomplice, working from the shadows. It was abundantly clear to him that his late partner had stumbled into a web woven by some extremely dangerous people. And now it was his problem, and he was alone. Which was obviously why she hadn’t wanted him involved in the first place, but not knowing had been killing him as surely as the knowledge itself could have. Now, at least, he had a mission, and he was grateful for that. Av’ry collected up the papers again; he would need to look through all of this more thoroughly in the morning. For the moment he needed to start packing. If he was going to make any headway on something that had stymied even Taevyn Fox, he was going to need to take her advice and seek help. Fortunately, with the threat of war looming over Telvanar, it wouldn’t be hard to sell the national security angle to this K’ivin. If he could find the prize before Istaria’s army arrived, maybe they could even avoid the war altogether. But he was playing catch-up, and Av’ry knew that he needed to hurry, he had wasted too much time already.

**

Jade awoke bathed in sweat. She’d had the dream again, and her heart still raced with residual panic. She struggled to remember more details, but it was like trying to catch smoke, the faces and voices just slipped through her fingers and disappeared. Breathing deeply to calm herself, Jade tried to shift into a more comfortable position. Her body burned with the phantom pain that often lingered after magical healing. Though there was no physical reason for it, anymore, the mind often took its own time to overcome the injury. There was a dull ache behind her eyes and the taste of vomit in her mouth. Reaching a hand around, she ran it gently down her back; there was no trace of the wounds she should have had, only thin scars; it was as if it had happened long ago. Jade slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position and glanced around. It seemed that while she was unconscious she had been moved back to the servant’s quarters. The room appeared to be deserted, but whoever had brought her in had left a pitcher of water next to her. Pouring a glass, she drank deeply. How long had she been out for?

“Well looks who’s awake,” the voice came from the doorway.

Jade turned slowly to see C’arren leaning on the door frame.

“How are you this afternoon, C’arren?” she asked pleasantly.

He wanted her to be angry, or afraid. She would give him neither.

“Feeling better now?” he asked.

“Oh yes, I feel much better now, thank you,” Jade’s tone was saccharine sweet. “In fact, I think…”

“That is not what I meant,” C’arren cut her off. “I meant, have you learned your lesson?”

“Well, it depends on what the lesson was meant to be. I am still a bit confused by that detail,” Jade lay back down on her bed and looked up at the ceiling.

She didn’t really feel like chatting. Especially with him. C’arren glared,

“Apparently you didn’t then, I shall have to work harder at it.”

“How about I save you some trouble?” Jade sighed deeply. “It is never going to happen. You are only wasting your time.”

“Anyone can be tamed,” C’arren replied simply. “I have seen many people come and go; none of them hold out forever.”

“Think what you want,” rolling to face the wall, she closed her eyes, feigning sleep again.

“It will be easier on you if you just stop this pointless rebellion. You’ve seen how it turns out.” C’arren murmured.

Spinning around, he stalked out of the room. Jade frowned. She knew that eventually, despite all of her bravado a moment ago, she really would be worn down. But despair wasn’t going to help her. Lying back, she breathed slowly, trying to think. More than anything else, what she needed right now, was a plan. At the moment, however, the only plan that was coming to her was sticking a knife in C’arren’s back. While cathartic, that plan was not especially helpful. After a moment, Jade decided that lying around was doing her no good. There was nothing physically wrong with her, so she might as well get up. For a moment, she contemplated going to see J’arrin, but she rejected the idea almost immediately. Going there would only expose him to unnecessary risk and scrutiny. She would have to let the heat die down before she could risk visiting her teacher again. That left only one thing for her to do, really. Her usual evening run would help clear her head. It always did.

Decision made, she pushed herself off of the bed, ignoring the throbbing pain in her back, and slipped outside into the cool evening air. The sun was just setting over the hills as she ran towards the woods. It was still hot and humid, but with the darkness a cool breeze was sweeping in off the lake to the south. It would be fully dark soon, but Jade wasn’t worried, she knew every path and trail within the boundaries of the estate. Running calmed her, the repetitive motion and physical exertion easing the anxiety that came with her frequent nightmares. As her feet pounded the ground, darkness closed around her as she reached the forest, the magical disc in her shoulder hummed with energy as it approached its boundary. She knew that she had to turn back, but at the moment, that was the last thing she wanted. She pushed forward, testing the limits. The shadowy stillness of the forest, with the wind whispering in the soft leaves above her, was peaceful and inviting. So rather than head back, she swung herself up into the branches of a tall oak, right against the barrier, and settled herself into a comfortable branch, like a child in a tree fort. It felt safe here in the darkness, somehow. There was no rush; no one would miss her for a while. Looking up into the clear night sky, she let her eyes wander from the pale blue crescent moon that was just beginning to peak over the horizon, to the full silver moon that hung high above her in the sky, lighting her surroundings enough that she could see clearly despite the deepening night. Using the dual moons as her guideposts, Jade began to identify every constellation she could remember from the books in the library. It was her favorite way to while away an evening. Perhaps her body couldn’t leave the estate, but her mind could be among the stars, for a time.

She had just found the one called the Supplicant Knight, and she was idly tracing the stars that formed his bent knee along to his shield when something stopped her. Freezing in place, Jade listened carefully and waited; then she heard it again, a soft rustling in the forest below. Pressing herself as close to the trunk as she could and hoping that the shadows would hide her, Jade looked down and watched as a solitary figure slipped from the underbrush and into the clearing, some distance away from her forest perch. Despite the brightness of the moon, she could not see clearly at that distance, but the figure appeared to be a woman. The interloper glanced around furtively, then crept a bit deeper into the forest to the west. Curiosity piqued, Jade strained to keep sight of her, but she slipped into a stand of trees and out of sight. Jade hesitated for a time and was just considering climbing down to follow her when the woman reappeared in the clearing. In the light of the silver moon, Jade watched her brush the dirt and leaves from her hands, then she raised her head briefly, and Jade finally caught a glimpse of her face. She definitely wasn’t anyone from the household, but before she could decide what to do with that information, the woman disappeared back the way she had come, beyond the barrier and out of reach. Jade was somewhat disappointed; she knew that she could not follow the mysterious visitor. She could, however, try to figure out what she had been doing here in the first place.

It was probably perfectly innocent, of course, perhaps she was simply a lost traveller, but Jade never could leave a good mystery alone. She dropped softly from her tree and began walking towards where she had lost track of the interloper. Jade knew she could not have gone far from there, because she had been gone only a few minutes. From the way she was cleaning her hands, Jade was sure that the woman had been digging; the earth here was soft and moist, so it wouldn’t have taken her long to make a small hole, though she had no idea why anyone would want to do that. In the moonlight, Jade searched the area, brushing aside dead leaves and twigs before she finally found what she was looking for: a small patch of disturbed earth hidden under a fluffy mound of forest debris. Pausing briefly to hope she wasn’t digging up a hastily made latrine, she scooped away the dirt to uncover a dark leather satchel that was carefully tied with a strong cord. Opening the bag, Jade felt her pulse quicken. She would need better light to examine this more closely, but one thing was for sure, it was about to get very interesting in the Carayn household. And she could work with interesting.