Page 51 of Mistress of Bones
The room Nereida opened was small, with a simple bed, a stool, and a narrow window. No Esparza, no woman.
“You must have paid well,” De Anví commented, “to ensure this room’s availability during Noche Verde.” Another cursory survey of the room. “Not that it can fit many.”
At the lack of response, he looked at Nereida and found her gaze fixed on him.
“Save your looks of worry, De Guzmán,” he told her. “I am not yet keeling over. Doubt it not, the Witch will take her time.”
Nereida looked torn at his words, then determined.
“No, don’t look like that either,” he said with a grim smile. “It was my choice. Don’t take it upon yourself to help me. You owe me no debt.”
Nereida offered no reply, just stood by his side and gazed out the window.
But as time went by, she grew restless once again.
What a shock this night had been for De Anví.
What a myriad of expressions he had gotten out of her.
He had known them to be there, hidden by what she wished others to see, and he welcomed seeing them in the flesh.
“Do you think my brother was speaking the truth?” Nereida asked in a quiet voice, rubbing her pouch beneath her waistcoat.
“About his hand in your sister’s death?”
“Yes.”
De Anví pondered this for a few seconds. “Perhaps. The approach of death brings forth all the regrets, all the truths.” He should know—he carried his own regrets about that night like a heavy cloak that refused to be put away in the winter trunk.
“I cannot make myself believe it,” she said, her voice cracking.
De Anví fisted his hands so he wouldn’t reach out to comfort her.
Nereida was too proud for such a gesture unless she invited it.
And Nereida was far from inviting. “Si-so was always there, our pillar. Always dependable. How could this happen? He said… he said there was a witness to Edine’s killing, that nothing could’ve been done. He never mentioned he was close by.”
“It might not be the truth of what happened, but what he feels is the truth. Perhaps the passage of time and guilt has warped his memories of the event.” He watched Nereida’s expression become cold again, composed.
“Whatever happened, he was not by your sister’s side.
He could not stop the blade that killed her. It was not guided by his hand.”
Nereida said nothing, and they fell into silence until she began to pace the small room.
“They’re taking too long,” she said.
“Could this Del Arroyo have gone ahead with the next part of the plan?”
Nereida shook her head. “No. Something must have gone wrong.”
“Where would the next logical place be, for her to go to?”
“De Gracia.”
“Is that where you’ve been hiding?”
“Yes.” She strode for the door.
De Anví hurried to follow.
“Does it have something to do with the marquess’s murder and the attempted kidnapping of his daughter?”
Nereida gave him a sharp look. “No.”
She hadn’t known about the kidnapping attempt, De Anví guessed. And while he didn’t have reason to believe Nereida was lying to him so far, what were the chances these happenings were unconnected?
It took them too long to reach the Marquess de Gracia’s house, and once they were there, they found only a worried brother.
“Ah, Count de Anví,” he greeted in a distracted tone before focusing on Nereida. “Azul is missing. I lost track of her when we went to Karia’s ball, and she hasn’t made an appearance at the other houses we were to attend.”
“And Sirese Enjul?” Nereida asked.
“He left before Azul disappeared. I don’t think they are together.”
“You are worried because of the kidnapping attempt,” De Anví said, earning De Gracia’s surprised attention.
“Yes,” he agreed. “I thought I put the matter to rest, but what if they’ve tried again?”
“Then there is nothing to do but wait.”
“Can’t you find anything?” De Gracia pleaded. “If you know about the kidnapping, you must be able to figure out who might have taken her.”
“I can make inquiries. You will wait here for the result?”
De Gracia agreed.
“Then I shall take my leave. And my suggestion is for De Guzmán to check the other balls you were meant to attend, in case your sister did, indeed, arrive at them, albeit late.”
Nereida agreed to this, so they took their leave and left the house in separate directions, only to arrive within minutes of each other back at the tavern.
De Anví was first. The room was still devoid of occupants, the window open, the stool standing by its side. A bloodied cloth lay on top, carrying the dark crimson smears of someone wiping a bloody blade.
“Esparza must have waited until we left to leave us this,” he told Nereida when she burst into the room. He waved the cloth like a flag, and she snatched it out of his grip to inspect it in the lamp’s light.
“Why?” she asked. “A warning? Something must’ve gone wrong.”
“What, exactly, was this task you paid him to do?”
“He was to sneak Del Arroyo into the ossuary and help her find her sister’s bones.”
De Anví’s gaze went to her pouch.
“Yes,” Nereida said dryly. “I shall explain in time.”
“I believe the time has come,” he told her.
The bloodied cloth reclaimed Nereida’s attention, and for a heartbeat, he thought she might tell him. But the moment—like so many others between them—passed.
“Let us go back to De Gracia,” she said. “Del Arroyo might return, or if she was truly kidnapped, we might be able to interrogate whoever comes to ask for ransom.”
They made their way back to Almanueva, this time waiting outside.
“It worries me,” Nereida whispered, “that Enjul is gone too. He must be with Del Arroyo. He might have stopped Esparza from taking her to the ossuary.”
“Who is this Enjul?” De Anví asked.
“An Emissary of the Lord Death.”
“An emissary?” Hard not to be shocked at the idea. “What is he doing here?”
“Stopping Del Arroyo from getting to her sister’s bones.”
“Hence Esparza?”
“Hence Esparza.”
“Why not just take her away?”
Nereida didn’t answer. Her hand drifted to the bump under her waistcoat on her left side.
Her favorite sword, Sangrienta, hung at her right.
He touched the hilt of his own Valiente.
As the second-in-command of the Royal Guard, he was expected to carry it with him at all times—during court sessions, during formal meetings, during dances and gatherings.
But what good did a rapier do against secret scheming, faceless witches, and his own ignorance?
“This is related to the things you’re keeping from me, isn’t it?” he asked.
“I am sorry, De Anví.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her to call him by his first name and finally get his wish, but he thought better of it. This sudden camaraderie was born of necessity, not a true willingness to become closer to him. His name on her lips would have to wait.
“Who is that?” Nereida asked, now alert.
A man was approaching the house. He knocked on the door, and light poured out when it opened, illuminating his profile.
“Isile Manzar,” De Anví said. “One of De Gracia’s friends.”
Sometime after Isile’s arrival, the entrance doors opened again, revealing De Gracia and two armed men.
“De Gracia’s personal guard? Where is he going?” asked Nereida.
“It would seem either he no longer worries about Del Arroyo’s fate,” De Anví said, “or…”
Nereida smiled. “Or he’s about to take us to her. The man dotes on her.”
De Gracia led them across town to a house in a quiet neighborhood by the edge of the delta. Four more people joined De Gracia’s group, some wearing different symbols on their cloaks and tabards, some wearing none at all.
“This doesn’t bode well,” Nereida said, watching them enter the building. “He’s gathering a small army inside.” She turned to De Anví. “We’re going to need men of our own, in case we need to fight.”
De Anví understood what she wanted from him, but he was loath to leave her behind. “Come with me,” he urged.
“Someone must stay in case he decides to move.”
“Tonio can.” De Anví made a signal with his hand, and his personal guard stepped out from the shadows an alleyway behind.
Nereida startled. De Anví snorted. “You think me so careless as to travel without him during Noche Verde? He will keep watch, and he knows how to contact me if De Gracia’s small army decides to make a move before we’re back.” To Tonio, he added, “Follow if he leaves, but do not interfere.”
Nereida weighed her options in the light of the approaching dawn, then touched the bundle hidden under her waistcoat. “Very well. I shall trust you.”
De Anví put a hand to his chest. “By the Blessed Heart, I won’t let you down.”