Page 34 of The Dragon King’s Claw (The Dragons of Serai #17)

We didn't have to waste time investigating the two companies. We determined which one sold the kurline before we left the prison. Not due to any great deductive skills on my part or even because someone came forward and admitted it. It was something far more simple.

Kurline is a dangerous substance, but it also has its uses.

So, distribution was allowed but was also carefully monitored.

Not only did you need a license from the King to purchase the stuff, but each distributor was also required to tint their product so that it could be traced back to them, should they disregard the law.

With only residue left on the prison bomb, I could have discounted the tint as corrupted by the explosion even though it appeared blue.

But the report on the paper factory bomb confirmed the kurline used in that bomb—undisturbed kurline in a glass vial—was tinted blue. Heilin Merchants sold blue kurline.

Even a child could have figured out that they were the source.

I didn't like that—the ease of it. It didn't fit the game.

“I swear to you, Your Majesty, no one in my company sold kurline to someone without a license. We document all our sales.” He slid a log book across his desk to us.

“See for yourself. You can cross reference my log with the amount of kurline left in the warehouse and you find that every ounce is accounted for.”

Now, this was more like it. Oddly enough, it made me feel better to face an obstacle. I took the logbook and scanned the names as the King continued to stare down the owner of Heilin Merchants.

“Have you had any thefts, Mr. Lun?” I asked.

“No, sir. If we had, we would have reported it to the Talons immediately.”

“No thefts, all kurline accounted for, and yet we found your product in a bomb today.”

“A bomb?!”

“Two actually. But only one detonated. Perhaps you heard the explosion?” I didn't bother to glance up. I could see him flinch out of the corner of my eye.

“Is that what that was? Dear Gods. A bomb.”

“It's hardly a reach, Mr. Lun,” King Tor'rien said. “Kurline is extremely flammable. Its sale is monitored for this very reason.”

“Yes, I know, Your Majesty, but, as I said, we are very careful.”

“If what you say is true and all the kurline you've sold is accounted for in this book, only one of two things is possible.” I looked up at Mr. Lun.

“Correction: three things. Either you are lying and you have imported kurline on the side, someone has purchased kurline from the manufacturer contracted to sell only to you, or someone with a license to purchase kurline has either used it to make a bomb themselves or sold it to someone else who made a bomb with it.”

“I assure you—”

I held up my hand. “I don't want your assurances, Mr. Lun.

I am working a case. So, the first possibility, that of you lying, would seem the easiest, but in actuality, it is the most difficult.

With the standards of inspection at the docks, importing more kurline than the manufacturer reports is hard to do.

And why would the manufacturer risk their import rights for a few extra coins? No, I don't think that's it.”

Mr. Lun let out a breath.

“That line of reasoning also rules out the second explanation. I cannot imagine the manufacturer selling pre-tinted kurline to an unlicensed individual without a contract.” I paused.

“Unless that individual put pressure on them.” I looked down at the book and tapped my lip.

“Perhaps we cannot rule out the second theory just yet. But the third seems the most likely to me. Someone with a license to purchase kurline either sold it to someone without a license or used the kurline they bought to make a bomb. Again, blackmail could be used to accomplish this.” I looked up, pinning the merchant with my stare. “Do you know the name Katai?”

“No. Should I?” Mr. Lun had no reaction to the name. But that didn't surprise me. It would be foolish for Katai to use his real name when conducting a criminal activity.

“What about the name Hallaxgral?”

The man flinched back.

“You know him?” King Tor'rien leaned forward.

Mr. Lun swallowed, and then whispered, “I've heard of him.”

“In what way?” I demanded. “Do you know what he looks like or how to find him?”

“You don't find him. He finds you. If you're unlucky enough to attract his attention.”

I cocked my head. “Who is he? I mean, what does he do that has you so terrified at the mere mention of his name?”

“Look, I try my best to run an honest business, but sometimes things slip by me. I . . . when I said there hadn't been any thefts . . .”

“You lied.” I pulled out my notebook and set the company record back on the desk.

“Not exactly. A theft would have happened, but was thwarted.”

“By Hallaxgral?”

“Please, stop saying that name.”

“Answer me.”

“Yes, by him.”

“So you have met him.”

“No, I only saw . . .” Mr. Lun rubbed a hand over his face. “He caught the thieves and took them.”

“Wait. He took the thieves ? If he took them, how did you know a theft was planned?”

“Because he told me.” Mr. Lun swallowed again. “He left me a message on the floor in front of the case of kurline the thieves intended to steal.”

“He left you a message on the floor?” the King asked, his stare narrowing.

Mr. Lun nodded.

I sat back and held his stare. “It was in blood, wasn't it?”

He nodded again. “A lot of blood.”

“When was this?”

“Four days ago.”

I lifted my brow. “Four days. Four? You're certain?”

“Yes, of course, I'm certain. It was a harrowing experience. Four days ago.”

I wasn't assigned every murder, but I liked to know about them, so I scanned the daily reports.

The Chelli had been burned. Could he have been drained first?

Yes, but that was after Hallaxgral left me a message in the warehouse.

The same went for Greishen, and the Brujai woman hadn't been drained of blood.

At last, I said, “There were no bodies found drained of blood within that time frame.”

“Nor will there be. He's too smart for that. If he kills someone, they are never found.”

I tapped my lip with my pencil. “You're certain it was blood from a person, not an animal?”

Mr. Lun blinked. “Uh. Oh. Well, no. I didn't . . . I wouldn't even know how to check that.”

“I could have checked. If you had reported it to the Talons. Any Eljaffna talon or claw would have been able to tell you.”

“Oh.”

“What did you use to clean the blood?” the King asked.

“I don't know. The cleaning crew took care of it. Probably soap and water.”

The King looked at me.

I snapped my notebook shut and stood up. “Show me where this message was left.”

“Yes, of course.” Mr. Lun got to his feet and led us out of his office. “It was in the warehouse. This way.”

The King's guards fell into position around us. And when I say us, I mean the King and me. Not Mr. Lun. He walked a few steps ahead of our protective circle.

“Mr. Lun, what did the message say?” I asked around the biceps of a Dragon knight.

“It said, Justice has been served. You're welcome.”

“Rather vague.” The King looked at me.

But I was busy processing. “That was all? Nothing else.”

Mr. Lun cleared his throat. “Well, the rest of it didn't make any sense.”

I slipped past the two knights in front of the King and grabbed Mr. Lun's arm. “What did it say? Tell me the exact words if you can remember them.”

“Oh, I remember,” he whispered. “I'll never forget. They were so odd. It said, Justice has been served. You're welcome. And you're getting closer.”

I swayed on my feet.

“Tekhan!” The King shoved his knights aside to steady me.

“It's him,” I whispered.

“Yes, of course. Why are you surprised?”

“Don't you see? He wrote that note four days ago. He's been several steps ahead of me the entire time.”

“Only because he created the game, Tekhan! This isn't an equal playing field. He set it all up and led you through it.”

“Yes, but how did he know how I'd react? Or where I'd be?”

“Anyone who has known you for more than a day would know that you would react with extreme intelligence, keen observation, and high morals. It's not all that difficult to predict your actions, Tekhan.”

“I'm predictable?”

“To those who know you, yes.”

“To those who know me. You're saying that he knows me.”

“He may not be close, but he has at least observed you.”

“Of course, he isn't close to me. No one is.”

“Until now,” the King said.

I met his stare, things shivering inside me.

“Um, shall I just go on ahead?” Mr. Lun asked.

“No, we were just working some things out, Mr. Lun.” I straightened my coat and waved ahead. “Please.”

I pushed aside my rising and useless emotions as I followed Mr. Lun.

Since I didn't understand most of them, this wasn't all that difficult.

The King followed closely, his guards sliding back between Mr. Lun and us.

We took a set of stairs down to the warehouse floor, then wove through soaring towers of shelves full of wooden crates until Mr. Lun stopped before one.

“This is it.” He waved at the ground.

“Right here?” I pointed.

“Yes, sir.”

As I crouched, I caught the scent. Soap was indeed used, and that was fortunate. If it had been vinegar or something with a sharp odor, I wouldn't have been able to pick up the scent. As it was, it came easily to me. I barely crouched before I was standing again.

“Pig blood,” I said.

“What?” Mr. Lun gaped at me.

“It was a deception,” the King concluded.

Smirking at him, I nodded. “This person is very cunning. He doesn't have to commit murder to make people fear him. He created a reputation for himself, must have worked months on it, only to do things like this. It's all a story. Fiction to bring forth truth. Fascinating.”

“To do things like this?” Mr. Lun asked. “What was this? I'm so confused now.”

“It was a theft, Mr. Lun. A theft that you didn't notice because a meaningless threat implying that a theft had been averted distracted you. It's genius.”

“But I've already told you that nothing is missing.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I checked every case in the warehouse. They're all here.”

“Did you open the cases?”

“Yes, of course.”

“All right. Let me ask you this; can kurline be diluted?”

Mr. Lun's jaw slowly fell.

“That answers my question. Here's a follow-up. Do you have a way of testing the concentration of kurline?”

“Yes, of course,” he whispered. “I have a kit.”

“Go get it,” the King said.

Mr. Lun hurried off as I went to the wooden crate directly before the patch of ground that had hosted the message—the message that was meant for me, not Mr. Lun.

Hallaxgral had known I would save Katai.

He had known the Eljaffna would abduct me.

And he had known he would kill them. For me.

It was all a part of his plan. What else did he expect of me?

“Don't.” The King put his hand over mine and drew it away from the crate. “Let Lun's employees take it down. I want to see if they notice anything odd.”

“That's a rather good idea, Your Majesty.”

“I told you I could help you.”

“Yes. You've told me many things. So far, they've all proven true.”

Still holding my hand, the King leaned down to fuse our stares. “I will never lie to you, Tekhan.”

Strangely enough, I believed him.