Page 23 of The Dragon King’s Claw (The Dragons of Serai #17)

“Shinkai,” a low voice drawled. “What a surprise to find you here.”

I grimaced but suppressed the curse that rose to my lips.

I didn't have a problem with most people on the Talon Force, not even Claw Greishen. But there were those who tried my patience. This man, in particular, loved to make problems for me. I believe it was fun for him to annoy me. He and the King would get along famously.

“Jupeng,” I said as I turned toward him.

But Claw Jupeng's usual smirk quickly transformed. Not because of me or what I was wearing. He was staring at the King. I rolled my eyes as he hurried to bow.

“Your Majesty!” Claw Jupeng said. “I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there.” He glanced at the King's Guard—all four of them, who had joined us without me noticing. “You weren't here when the body was discovered, were you?”

“No,” I hurried to say, possibly a little harshly.

Jupeng flinched and lifted his brows at me.

I cleared my throat. “His Majesty was with me. Or rather, I was with him. We were passing by in his carriage when the bells sounded.”

“Really?” Jupeng, a fellow Eljaffna, knew I frequented Newfangled. We'd seen each other there often enough. “You were passing by?”

“Yes.” I stared him down.

Jupeng glanced at the King, swallowed visibly, and nodded. “Ah. Of course.”

“Your notebook,” I said.

“What?” He scowled at me, baffled out of his curiosity.

“I need a notebook. Do you have an extra one?”

Jupeng smirked and pulled out two notebooks. He tossed one to me. It even had a pencil tucked into it. “You owe me.”

“No, I don't.” I turned back to the body.

Jupeng moved to join me, but the King intercepted him.

“Perhaps you could explain the process of this to me while Claw Shinkai inspects the body, Claw Jupeng,” the King said. It was not a question.

“Oh. Uh, of course, Your Majesty.”

I hid my grin and my appreciation as I returned to inspecting Claw Greishen. I did so quickly, knowing Jupeng would only allow himself to be distracted for so long. Luckily, it was clear how he had died. And it was also clear that he was a clue. As was the satchel on his lap.

I picked the bag up. Nothing lurked beneath it.

No note. It was a simple style, with one large compartment and a pocket on the outside.

Inside the main compartment were a pair of pants, a shirt, and a pair of shoes.

Interesting. I held each item up to the light spheres that hovered over the remains.

Then I put them down, lining them up on the table.

As I set the last shoe in place, shock—doubled because I thought I was past it—rolled through me.

I let the shock roll even as I wrote in my borrowed notebook.

Jupeng had been speaking to the King throughout my inspection, but he abruptly stopped when he saw me writing. “Shinkai, what did you find?” He peered at the items, and then at the body. “Fuck, I just saw him yesterday.”

I jerked my head up. “Yesterday? Yesterday when?”

Jupeng frowned. “Uh, I was heading out for lunch, so it was around one in the afternoon. He was on the sidewalk, smoking his pipe. He nodded at me, and then left.”

“ He left?”

“Yeah. I think he had just finished his shift.”

“We need to find out if you were the last person to see him.”

Jupeng nodded. “And what case he was working on.”

“Yes.” I stared at the shoes.

In a surprisingly normal tone, Jupeng whispered, “What is it? You look spooked.”

“I believe these things belonged to a boy who went missing many years ago.”

“What? Why do think that? Is there a name on the bag?”

“No, but I don't need a name. Look. It's obvious.”

Jupeng sighed. “See? There it is. That's why. Because you say things like that.”

“Why what? What are you talking about?”

“Why people find you so fucking irritating.”

“ I'm irritating? You're irritating.”

“I'm normal. You're a freak.”

“I'm a freak because I notice things? If you would just look, you could notice what I do.” I waved at the items. “Look and see ! Instead of looking and assuming. You let your life influence your sight.”

“Everyone does! That's what gives us perspective.”

“You'd be a better claw if you abandoned your perspective during inspections. Look , for the sake of the Gods! Tell me what you see. Not what you assume, but what is actually there.”

To my left, the Dragon King watched, lips twitching. His knights were less circumspect, grinning and snickering.

Jupeng suddenly remembered that we had a royal audience and his pride reared. “I'm a fucking claw. I know how to inspect a crime scene.”

“Very well. Go ahead then.” I waved at the table.

With a huff, Jupeng bent over the items. As he peered and prodded, I took the opportunity to collect myself. Because not only was I certain of who those things belonged to, but I was also certain that I was the reason Claw Greishen had been murdered.

But I wasn't about to share that information with Jupeng.

“Why the fuck isn't this floor cleared?” a voice boomed from the doorway.

I turned to see Chief Ahsan come striding across the room, gesturing at his talons.

Grimacing, I glanced at the King. There would be a lot of assumptions made by my fellow claws and talons.

The Chief’s arrival told me the gossip had already reached the Hall of Talons.

Chief Ahsan rarely appeared at a crime scene.

But the presence of the King practically demanded it.

And the way he called out orders and puffed out his chest confirmed he was showing off for another alpha male. Just what I needed, more alpha crap.

I rolled my eyes and looked at Jupeng. He rolled his eyes at me. At least we were of one mind in this.

“Your Majesty.” Chief Ahsan bowed to the King. “I thought your involvement was over since Claw Shinkai solved the case.”

“We were not investigating tonight, Chief,” the King drawled. “Not crime, at least.”

The Chief's eyes went wide and his stare slid to me.

I stared back. Unblinking. Even I knew better than to contradict the King in front of a roomful of his talons, including the Talon Chief himself.

Finding neither confirmation nor denial from me, the Chief cleared his throat. “Well, I see that we have two claws investigating now. Claw Jupeng, what are your findings?”

Jupeng looked at me.

Our earlier moment of camaraderie compelled me to let go of our rivalry for now. So, instead of letting Jupeng flounder as I had intended, I answered for him.

“If I may, Chief?” I asked first. I didn't want to sound as if I were trying to steal the glory from Jupeng.

“I've already inspected the scene and drawn my conclusions while Claw Jupeng has just arrived and is still investigating. I value all contributions, of course. A second pair of eyes is always helpful.”

“Yes, report, Claw Shinkai. Claw Jupeng, go back to your inspection.”

Jupeng gave me a grateful look, then bent over the items again.

“Claw Greishen was either taken unaware or he knew his assailant.

There are no indications of defense. He was then bound, tortured, and murdered, Chief.

Note the markings on his wrists. They are fresh.

As is the body. The wound on his throat indicates his throat was slashed.

His broken wings, fingers, and the many cuts on his chest lead me to conclude that he was tortured first. Claw Jupeng saw Greishen alive yesterday.

So, he couldn't have been held for long. I believe he was killed a few hours ago at most.”

“Dear Gods,” the Chief whispered. “He was a hard man, but he was one of ours.”

That was a polite way of saying that no one liked Greishen.

I may annoy people, but he put them off.

He was, in short, a racist jerk. That wouldn't have been an issue for me except that he let his perspective color his investigations, just as I had warned Jupeng against doing.

But where Jupeng's perspective could actually be beneficial on occasion, Greishen's was always detrimental. Especially with the missing boy.

“Jupeng, do you have anything to add?”

“No, Chief. Claw Shinkai, as usual, is beyond thorough.”

I lifted a brow at Jupeng. He smirked and shrugged.

“And what are those?” The Chief waved at the table.

“We found a satchel on Claw Greishen's lap, Chief,” Jupeng said. “Claw Shinkai believes it belongs to a missing boy.”

“A missing boy?” The Chief's voice went up an octave. “Another one?!”

“I also believe the boy is long dead, Chief,” I said. “The case is one that Claw Greishen worked about sixty-eight years ago.”

“Sixty-eight years?” the Chief and Jupeng asked in unison.

The Chief glanced at Jupeng before adding, “That's rather specific, Shinkai.”

“I know this because we fought about it, sir,” I said. “It was when I was still a talon.”

He grunted, knowing how persistent I could be back then.

Eager is how I thought of myself. In hindsight, I could perceive what started the whole “annoying” label.

And now I had my own annoying shadow. I glanced at the King and wondered if the Gods were laughing at me even as they saved me.

Perhaps this was a type of justice. How fitting.

“Which case?” The Chief didn't ask me how I knew the items belonged to that specific boy. He knew I'd get to it.

“Kun Lo, sir.”

He frowned.

I wasn't surprised that he didn't remember the kid. It was a long time ago. And then there was his race. “He was a human teenager, sir. About sixteen. Disappeared at Lupon Lake.”

“Ah, I see,” he murmured.

He didn't.

So, I continued. “He went swimming with his friends and vanished during the outing. Claw Greishen investigated. He concluded that the boy drowned even though a body was never found.”

“Ah,” the Chief said, this time with true understanding. Everyone knew of Greishen's distaste for humans. If possible, he wasn't assigned cases involving them, but it had taken the higher-ups a while to come up with that solution. “I think I remember now. It wasn't an unfair conclusion.”

“But it was, sir. Because of this.” I pointed at the collection of items. “They never found his clothing.

If he had simply drowned, his belongings would have been on the shore where his friends had left their belongings.

But even his friends couldn't account for the missing items. They said Kun-lo had left his things with theirs.

And yet, they were gone. I knew that child had been murdered.

Abducted at the very least. Either way, even if it was an abduction and his captor kept him alive, as a human, Kun-lo would either be an old man at eighty-four years of age or he'd be dead by now.

I'm guessing he's dead, Chief. He certainly couldn't have caught and tortured Claw Greishen.”

“So why are a dead human boy's belongings sitting on the lap of the claw who investigated his disappearance?”

“I believe you've answered your own question, sir.” I waved at the body. “And I'm sorry to say that I also believe this to be the work of Hallaxgral.”

“Yes, I see the logic in that.” The Chief sighed. “So, the case continues. You are, of course, the lead clawer, Shinkai.” He looked at the King. “Will you be continuing your observation, Your Majesty?”

“Oh, yes.” The King slid his stare to me.

I didn't have to be an elite claw to hear the multiple meanings and the heavy dose of innuendo in his answer.

“Very well.” The Chief cleared his throat. “Claw Shinkai, you will continue to include His Majesty in your investigations.”

“Yes, sir,” I muttered.

The Chief lifted a brow at me.

“How is the General's son, Chief?”

His brow lowered. “He's well. It's good of you to ask, Shinkai. And the General is very grateful. You've done a lot for Talon-Horn goodwill.” Then his gaze shot to the King as he added, “Not that there is any ill will between us.”

The King inclined his head. “I know my people, Chief Ahsan. There is rivalry between the Horns and the Talons, but that is a far cry from ill will.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you.”

I ignored their side-talk and said, “I'm glad Rellen's all right. At least we saved one boy.” I looked at the items on the table, my words replaying in my head.

One boy saved. One boy forgotten. A shiver ran down my spine.

Was this Hallaxgral? Perhaps I was mistaken.

But no, my instincts told me it was a new game.

A new game with new rules. He was building up to this.

And this wasn't murder for the fun of it or to merely get my attention.

There was a point here. At last, I sighed and looked up to find the King staring at me oddly.

“All right. I'll leave you to it,” Chief Ahsan said. “Jupeng, you may assist if you wish or leave it in Shinkai's hands.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you. I think I'll leave it to Claw Shinkai. He seems to be familiar with both cases.” Jupeng looked at me in a manner similar to that of the King.

I frowned. Was that pity? No, surely not. What would be pitiful about me? Ah, yes. Perspective. Concluding that, I dismissed my curiosity. It didn't matter what Jupeng's perspective of me was.

“Fine.” Chief Ahsan bowed to the King. “Goodnight, Your Majesty.”

The King nodded.

As the Chief left, the Talon team arrived. I went back to ignoring the King as much as possible so I could do my job overseeing the collection of evidence and the transport of Claw Greishen's remains. I had failed Kun-lo sixty-eight years ago. I wouldn't fail him again.