Page 10

Chapter 10

We returned to the tower in Old Town and wound up the many stairs to find the top floor now filled with senior Treasury officers darting from room to room, their arms overflowing with scrolls and parchments. We were directed to the largest chamber, positioned on the far side of the tower from where Sujedo had been housed. Two Apoth guards were stationed before it, and they inspected our heralds closely before opening the doors for us.

Dominating the room within was a large, long meeting table, so piled up with papers that it was difficult to spy any bit of actual table. Nearly a dozen senior Treasury officers were positioned about it, shuffling through the parchments like a gold miner might seek a glitter among the mud. So absorbed were they in their tasks that none noticed our arrival.

Only two officers reacted to us: a young Treasury signum, seated off to the side, and an older man at the head of the table, who sat crooked in his chair as he cast a rather weary eye over the proceedings. His skin was gray, indicating significant alterations, and he—like Ana herself—was of Sazi origin, with long, dark, braided mustaches that pooled about his collarbones. There was something wry and ironic about his face, like he knew a great many secrets and found all of them slightly ridiculous.

He looked up as we approached, then smiled brightly, as if he not only had expected us but was overjoyed at our sight. He turned to the signum and jerked his head— We’re done here —and they stood and walked to greet us, he with his white Treasury cape dashingly coiled down about his forearm.

“Ahh,” he said. “Iudex, is it? About poor Sujedo? Finally, what a relief.” Again he smiled, this time so warmly I found myself disarmed: an unusual thing, since I was often guarded about such high officers. “I am Prificto Umerus Kardas, leader of the Imperial Treasury delegation. This is my assistant, Signum Gorthaus.”

We bowed in return, and the young woman bowed back, though I noted the heralds on her breast: the eye set within a box, indicating she was an engraver, like myself. It was unusual to see so many Sublimes of my sect in one city, but then, Yarrowdale was a valuable place, with many valuable things to keep track of.

“Good afternoon, sir,” I said, bowing once more. “I am Signum Dinios Kol of the Imperial Iudex, and this is my investigator, Immunis Ana Dolabra.”

“A pleasure,” said Kardas. “Always happy to see another Tala officer! It is with the deeds of those on the Outer Rim that all of our safety is secured.” He then turned to Ana. “Ah…” His eye lingered for a fraction of a second on her blindfold; then he bowed low, took her by the right hand, and kissed one pale knuckle. “Always a delight to meet a member of the old country.”

I stared, startled not only by the boldness of the gesture but also because I was aware of how rarely Ana washed her hands. Yet I realized that, as the two were both Sazi and hailed from the inner rings, there might be some sense of greater kinship between them.

Ana grinned back her predator’s grin. “Of course, sir. Though it has been a long while since I’ve laid eyes upon the homelands.”

Kardas glanced again at her blindfold and gave a charming laugh, as though in on the joke. “I apologize for the state of things.” He gestured at the table of whispering officers behind him. “My officers are busy folk and burdened with heavy tasks.”

“It is no trouble at all,” said Ana. “I thank you for making time for us, Prificto Kardas. Though I do not believe we shall take up too much of your time here.”

I frowned slightly; I’d expected a full interview with all the delegation, which would normally take hours.

“Then come,” said Kardas. “Let us sit and discuss these troubles, and hope we find some answers!”

—

We left the meeting room to adjourn to a small parlor. The chairs there were very fine, upholstered in rich silks and comfortably cushioned. It would have been a pleasant place had it been in a different building, but just like Sujedo’s rooms, Kardas’s chambers were musty, moldy, and slightly foul-smelling.

“I also apologize for the environs,” said Kardas as he sat. “I’d serve you tea, but…well, the way the building tilts makes it difficult to pour. King Lalaca, you see, specifically requested we reside in this…structure? Hovel? I lack the word. Yet it was apparently the grand house of his ancestors many decades ago.”

“I cannot see it, sir,” said Ana. “But it does not smell grand.”

“I agree. As with all things concerning King Lalaca, there was a cynical play. If we refused to house the delegation in these chambers, he would have proclaimed it an insult and refused to meet with us. Now he makes us stay in this dreary place and forces us to meet with go-betweens with nothing useful to say.” A weary smile. “I sometimes feel we shall sooner see the blessed Khanum walk the earth again before we make any progress.”

“It must be a dreadful situation indeed, sir,” said Ana, “if the king is proving resilient to even your talents.”

Kardas smiled, puzzled. “Talents? What might you mean?”

“I assume, sir,” Ana said, “that you are a Sublime? Specifically, an emitias ?”

The prificto regarded her warily. As he did, I glanced at his heralds but could not spy the symbol of the pear within the oval in the center: the sign of the emitias Sublimes, who were preternaturally skilled at reading human emotion, so much so that it was rumored they could smell and react to human pheromones.

“What makes you say such a thing, Dolabra?” he asked mildly.

“Well, I have met all manner of Sublimes in my day,” Ana said. “But only four have ever kissed my hand upon greeting me—and they have all been emitiasi. It’s a gesture I always respond so well to, but most others don’t have the gall! Yet they sense I desire it, as if they read my very mind.”

“You assume so much,” said Kardas, “simply because I kissed your hand?”

“Well, there is that, and I hear absolutely no surprise in your voice at the sight of my blindfold, nor the rest of my appearance. You seem an unusually socially deft officer, in other words! Suspiciously so. And such an augment would make sense, sir, you being a diplomat.”

There was a tense silence. Then Kardas smiled broadly and laughed, so much so I was nearly bowled over by his charisma: an emitias indeed, then.

How strange, I thought: emitiasi were broadly distrusted among other imperials, given their skills for manipulation, and were not often appointed to positions of high leadership.

“True enough!” Kardas said, laughing. “I am as you say. But those of my commanding rank do not often reflect their Sublime status. We tend to dispense with such formalities.”

“And you’d be doubly inclined to do so when serving as a diplomat,” said Ana, grinning, “as you’re likely capable of reading much in any human reaction! Not something you’d wish to remind the king of Yarrow of, true?”

Another charming laugh, though this one was slightly nervous. “Yes, perhaps so. You seem quite shrewd, Immunis. I am now more assured that this awful matter with poor Sujedo shall be resolved quickly!”

“Let us hope,” said Ana. “Now—to questions, sir?”

—

“To begin with,” Ana said, “what might be the subject of your disagreement with the king of Yarrow?”

“Ohh, a very familiar one,” Kardas said, sighing. “The disagreement here is the same as it always is with the great and the wealthy. It is taxes. Within less than a decade, the realm of Yarrow shall become a full imperial canton. Its people shall gain the right to vote for Imperial senators, and the protection of the Legion—yet they shall also have to pay Imperial tax. My delegation’s task is to audit, review, and assess the value of all economic activity in Yarrow before that handover occurs, to ensure a smooth transition. The king, however, is also the largest landholder in all of Yarrow. Thus, he will be subject to the greatest tax.”

“Ahh,” Ana said. “Yes, that would definitely put him in a snit, I should expect.”

“Correct,” sighed Kardas. “The king is proving to be a master of evasion, if not outright punishment! For a good time we made progress, meeting during the first week of the month for the past two or so years. Yet in the most recent months, it has all stalled out. I am forced now to pursue him, like a spurned lover. Yet I have only been appointed as lead of the delegation in the past year. Signum Gorthaus has served here throughout.” He gestured at the signum behind him, who gave us a tired smile.

“All other officers serving on the delegation are axioms, I take it?” asked Ana.

“Correct, it being Treasury work,” he said. “Though I now admit, I do worry that such a nature might make my officers easy prey.”

“Prey?” asked Ana.

“Well, we are in treacherous environs, Immunis,” said Kardas. “To see dishonesty in another’s bearing requires some perceptiveness for ordinary people, but even more for a Treasury axiom.”

Ana paused. “When you say ‘treacherous environs,’ sir,” she said, “how treacherous might you mean?”

“Well—we have already been the subject of one attack,” said Kardas. “Another does not seem un likely.”

“Are you suggesting, sir, that Sujedo’s death might have been an assassination ? Perhaps by King Lalaca, or his agents?”

“I do not know. But I know the king disdains our task here. Violently so.”

“Would killing Sujedo disrupt or damage or delay that task?” asked Ana.

“Disrupt? Perhaps. But it would not delay or end it. If the king wished that, well…I would be a much better target rather than Sujedo, yes?” A watery smile crossed his face. “Yet still I live. So far.”

—

We then asked Kardas the usual questions: what was seen, what was heard, and what any of his delegation knew. As Malo had suggested, Kardas and his people knew nothing.

“We did not see him,” he admitted. “Immunis Sujedo arrived very late, then sent us a note saying he was ill and would visit us in the morning. Then he was simply gone, his bed horribly bloodied, and no one could give us any answers. Nor could they find any sign of him at all, for days!”

“Besides Sujedo’s disappearance, did any of that behavior seem strange at all, sir?” asked Ana.

“Possibly,” said Kardas. “None of the rest of my delegation fell ill. But Sujedo was, ah…a very inner ring sort of person.”

“Meaning…”

“Meaning,” drawled Malo, “the fellow was softer than a jellied egg.”

Kardas shot her a look. “True enough, yes. He was exceptionally skilled at managing ledgers, but he was not, I should say, robust. A trip of that sort likely wearied him.”

“But you knew him personally, sir?” said Ana.

“I did,” said Kardas. “But only somewhat. He was rather new to my section.”

“But you had met him before.”

Kardas slowly furrowed his brow. “I…Well. Yes? Why?”

“Had the rest of your delegation met him?”

“Yes. Again—why?”

“I beg your pardon, sir, but if I might ask…Do you have an engraver on staff here? One who might have also met Sujedo?”

Kardas glanced at Signum Gorthaus. “I do. Why?”

“I am simply testing a theory about his disappearance,” said Ana. “If it is true, then we can cut to it, and save your valuable time, sir.”

The prificto extended a hand to his signum. “Gorthaus, I believe you served with Sujedo some six years ago—correct?”

The young signum bowed in her seat. “Correct, sir.”

“Then, if you would kindly oblige?”

She shot to her feet. “Certainly, sir.”

“Excellent,” said Ana, grinning. “Another engraver makes this much easier. Now. Please summon a memory of how tall Sujedo was, Signum.”

Gorthaus blinked uncertainly, then did so, eyes fluttering. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Now…hold out your hand to show exactly how tall the man was.”

Again, Gorthaus blinked but did as Ana asked, holding out her hand as if touching an invisible man on the crown of his head. “That tall, ma’am.”

Kardas’s eyebrows had now arched so high they were halfway up his brow, but he stayed quiet.

“Din here has been to the Treasury bank today and spoken to the Treasury engraver there,” explained Ana, gesturing to me. “He asked him to display how tall Sujedo had been when he visited the bank. Now, Din—please show them the height Signum Tufwa indicated.”

I stood and approached Gorthaus’s outstretched hand, feeling slightly ridiculous. My eyes fluttered as I summoned the memory, and I pointed on my shoulder to where Tufwa had touched; yet the spot I touched was a full four smallspan lower than the height Gorthaus was now indicating.

“Is there a difference in height, Din?” Ana asked.

“Ah…yes, ma’am,” I said. “Tufwa indicated the man was four smallspan shorter.”

“I see,” said Ana softly. “How fascinating.”

“I don’t understand,” said Kardas. He anxiously bit the tip of his thumb, then asked, “Are…are you suggesting that Sujedo was shorter that day at the bank?”

“Allow me to test further,” said Ana. “Tell me, sir—was Sujedo an attentive man? Quick to notice things about people, and ask questions?”

The prificto now looked bewildered. “Ah…no, I would not say that of him, Immunis.”

“And yet,” said Ana, “the Apoth guard who accompanied him reported that Sujedo was clever, charming, and noticed several details about him that ordinary people would have missed. Does that sound like him, sir?”

“N-no. No, that does not sound like him.”

“I see,” said Ana. She was now oozing smug satisfaction. “Well, then, sir—what would you say is your assessment of all these reports of Sujedo? The height of the man, and his strange behavior?”

Kardas turned this over. “I would say everyone has made some mistake,” he said finally, “and been looking at the wrong person entirely!”

Ana’s grin widened. “Exactly. Exactly! I would say the same thing myself. In which case, the conclusion is obvious.”

There was a beat of silence.

“To me,” muttered Malo, “the conclusion is not obvious at all…”

“I’m afraid I agree,” said Kardas.

“Well, we are now faced with two impossible proposals,” said Ana. “Signum Malo—you say it was impossible for someone to be stolen out of a locked room in the top of a tower, then moved across the city and the jungle and the canals without anyone noticing. Yes?”

“I do,” said Malo.

“And you, Prificto,” said Ana, “you say now that it is impossible for all these witnesses to have seen the man you know to be Sujedo, correct, sir?”

“I…suppose,” said Kardas.

“Then one can only conclude,” she said, “that Sujedo was not stolen out of that room and spirited away to the jungle—because he was never in it to begin with. Because the man who arrived in this city claiming to be Sujedo, and indeed moved into his rooms and slept in his bed, was someone else —a complete and utter impostor.”