Page 40 of The Dragon King’s Claw (The Dragons of Serai #17)

“The case!” I shot upright in the King's bed.

“What?” Tor'rien muttered and opened his eyes.

“The fucking case, Tor'rien. In . The. Case.”

“Huh?”

“It was literal. The clue is in the case. Not Kun-lo's case files, but the case that Katai was buried in.”

“The coffin?”

“It wasn't a coffin. The body it held was still alive and was meant to stay that way. It's a case.”

“I thought he was trying to kill Katai? He even had a backup plan with that bomb.”

“I'm not so sure. I think there's been a lot of subterfuge here, as far as hurting people go.”

“Tekhan, he killed that Chelli, the Brujai couple, and the Eljaffna. There was no subterfuge there. That was murder.”

“Yes,” I murmured. “Why them and not the child or Katai?”

“Because we got to the child and Katai in time.”

“I'm not so sure. Kind eyes.”

“What?”

“That's what Katai said. He said Hallaxgral had kind eyes.”

“He was under stress.”

“Yes, and when most people are stressed, they don't notice the little things. Only the important things. Hallaxgral's eyes were important enough for Katai to remember. Something about them made his mind latch onto them in hope. He saw kindness there, and that made him hope that he wouldn't die.”

“Maybe.”

“I need to look in the case.” I got out of bed and rushed to the bathroom to take care of my morning needs with alacrity. After handling that, I splashed water on my face, used it to slick back my hair, rinsed out my mouth, and rushed out of the bathroom to get dressed.

Tor'rien was still sitting in bed.

“I'm leaving, Your Majesty. Are you coming along?”

“Where are you going?”

I cocked my head at him. “You're a slow riser, eh?”

He yawned and rubbed at his eyes. “We had a long night.”

I snorted a laugh and pulled on my claw coat. “Stay here then. I need to move quickly today.”

“The fuck I will,” he growled and got out of bed.

I headed for the door anyway.

“Tekhan, don't you dare fucking leave this room without me.”

“I'm just going to gather the case files so I can take them back to the Hall of Talons.”

“Oh. All right then. But do not leave the royal apartments.” The King vanished into his dressing chamber.

I wanted to roll my eyes. I intended to.

But instead, I smiled to myself as I headed downstairs.

Katai had latched onto Hallaxgral's kindness, and I had latched onto the King's fear and fury.

I kept seeing him in my mind, his face a mask of terror, and then the slaughter that followed.

It was probably wrong of me to be flattered by fear and violence.

But I was. They were evidence of Tor'rien's . . . affection. Yes, his affection.

“Slaughter,” I whispered, stopping just inside the office. “He killed those Eljaffna for hurting me. So why was it wrong for Hallaxgral to finish the job?” I shook my head. “Dear Gods, I'm letting emotions cloud my judgment. It's wrong because murder is wrong, no matter who you murder.”

But a voice whispered in my head that it wasn't murder; it was justice.

And there I was, back to justice. Hallaxgral had chosen a claw to target.

And he brought to light the murder committed by a claw.

The Eljaffna could be viewed as righteous executions as well.

But there were other victims that didn't fit into the vigilante theme.

It vexed me that I still wasn't sure what was going on or who Hallaxgral was.

It vexed me further that I found it mentally stimulating.

By the time His Majesty had joined me, I had everything gathered and was sitting on one of the couches, waiting for him. Pondering. Processing. Preparing.

Behind the King were the guards from the upper floors—Sir Gilhu and Sir Heicren.

They went with us as we left the apartments.

I glanced at them as we rode down in the lifter.

Followed constantly? No, the idea didn't appeal to me.

Although, there was a nice sense of security that came with that.

And we all know how much I liked to feel secure.

As we settled in the royal carriage, a human man came running up to slide a basket onto the carriage floor and then bow to the King.

The King nodded at him before one of his guards closed the door.

I didn't have to ask Tor'rien what was in the basket.

I could smell fresh bread and fried meat. My stomach rumbled.

“You see?” The King smirked at me. “Without me, you would have forgotten to eat breakfast. How you haven't wasted away to nothing without me, I have no idea.”

Tor'rien pulled the basket closer as the carriage moved out. After rooting through it, he doled out our breakfast—fried pork, fresh bread, butter, apples, and muffins. There was also a carafe of cool water. We ate in silence. I was focused on Hallaxgral and the King respected my focus.

We arrived at the Hall of Talons during a shift change. Talons and claws meandered out of the soaring building while others trudged in. Some nodded to me, others ignored me, but everyone bowed to the King. They weren't even surprised to see him there. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

I took the Kun-lo's files back to storage and then went in search of the case that Katai had been buried in.

Due to its size and when it had come in, it was in one of the larger processing rooms awaiting my instructions.

I inspected it right there while the King stood across from me, helping me look.

“Has anyone touched this?” I asked one of the talons on duty.

“No, sir. It came in and has been sitting there ever since.”

“Thank you.” I picked up the air stone that had kept Katai alive.

It was a simple enough piece to make. An average magic-user could have enchanted it. But it wasn't a simple stone. Holding it up to the light, I noted its beauty and clarity.

“That's a blue topaz,” the King said.

“Yes, I think it is.” I lowered it. “And the band around it is real gold.” I squinted at the band, then pulled my little magnifying glass out of my pocket and employed that. “Interesting.”

“What?”

“This is a Brujai band.”

“A what?”

I waved at my skull. “One of the gold bands worn by Brujai men of the local tribe—the Keten.”

“Why is it around the stone that supplied Katai with air?”

I lifted my brow.

“Yes, I know it's a clue. You were right. Of course, you were. The clue is in the case. This case. But what I'm asking is what this clue means. Why is a Brujai horn adornment around a breathing stone?”

“An elite breathing stone,” I corrected. “This is something you would get from a jeweler.”

“So he's connecting Katai to these other men?”

“I believe so. But I'm not going to draw any conclusions yet. I need to work this through.” I handed him the stone. “Please hold this while I search the case.”

The King took the stone, and I pawed through the large wooden box that could have become a coffin.

It was padded like a coffin, with silk cushions.

The lid hadn't been clawed at since Katai had spent most of his internment asleep.

I slipped my hand into the seams between the padding.

I felt everywhere. Finally, I found something—a little ball of fabric.

I pulled the item forth and inspected it. The fabric was merely a wrapping. After untying the bow holding it together, I found the real clue inside.

“What is that?” the King asked.

“This is nectar ball. Condensed pollen and nectar from the Frang flower, cooked until it becomes resinous.”

“That's a dream sphere.”

“Yes. The very drug the Eljaffna wanted to make and sell.” I stared down at the case again before adding, “To humans.”

“What the fuck is going on?” The King narrowed his stare at the drug.

“That's what I must ascertain, Your Majesty.” I tucked the ball back into its wrapper, then put it in an evidence bag. I did the same for the air stone, and then slipped them both into my pocket. “Right. I need to see a couple of dead men.” I strode away.

“Which ones?” The King kept pace with me, his guards tagging along behind.

“First, the Chelli and then, the Brujai.”

The King nodded. “What about the Eljaffna?”

“I don't think they'll help me. Not yet.”

I hurried through the corridors and then down to the basement where the bodies were stored until they could be claimed by loved ones or buried.

Kun-lo's body would be down there as well.

But I didn't think his corpse would hold any revelations for me.

I had already inspected it thoroughly. Not that I hadn't done the same for the Chelli and the Brujai.

But I'd known more about who I was dealing with when I inspected Kun-lo.

“May I help you?” the morgue attendant on duty got up from his desk. Then he saw the King. “Oh! Your Majesty!” He bowed. “What can I do for you?”

The King waved at me. “I'm with him.”

I lifted a brow at King Tor'rien before I said to the officer, “I need to see the remains of Lansho Panne and, uh, I don't know the last name of the Brujai man who killed Lansho, but his first name was Wuten.”

“Well, we only have a few bodies in at the moment, and only two are Brujai.

Out of those two, only one is a man, and his name is Wuten Hei.

I assume that's your guy.” He went to a line of cold boxes against the far wall and opened one.

A draft of cool air poured out, thanks to the enchanted plates within the box.

It was much like the boxes used to preserve food.

And wasn't that a lovely thought? “Is this who you're looking for?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Lansho's remains have been claimed by his widow.”

“Damn it! Who released the body?”

The officer shrugged. “I assume they thought you had gotten all you could from the bones.”

I sighed. “I suppose I did. I hope I did.”

“I did have them processed. The same tests were done on them that were done on the older bones.”

I paused. “You mean Kun-lo?”

“Ah . . .” He went to another case against the wall with drawers in it. Each drawer had a file attached to the door. He chose one and looked it over. “Yes, Kun-lo.” He grunted. “Another dreamer.”

“Another what?” I rushed over to him.

He handed me the file. “Uh, a dreamer. You know, those humans who get addicted to nectar. There were trace amounts of the stuff in the bones.”

“Holy shit,” I whispered and scanned the results of the tests I had ordered.

“Holy shit. Knife marks. How did I miss that?” I slid the file back in its sleeve and yanked open the drawer.

It wasn't a cold drawer since there was nothing to preserve.

Kun-lo's bones were laid out neatly even though most of the attachments were broken now.

I leaned in and inspected the bone that had been noted in the file.

“Not a stab, but a scrape,” I muttered. “That's how I missed it.”

“A scrape?” The King leaned in. “You mean along the bone? As if he were flayed?”

“As if the meat were stripped from his bone.” I straightened and met the King's stare. “He was tortured.”

“By . . .” The King glanced at the morgue attendant. “The Argaiv?”

“That would be my guess, but there's no way to tell.” I closed the drawer and headed back to the Brujai.

“Wuten Hei.” He looked like your average Brujai.

“A tanner.” I inspected his hands. They had the appropriate callouses and smell.

What made him special? Why lead me back to him? “The clue is in the case?”

“What's that, sir?” the morgue attendant asked.

“He does that when he's thinking,” the King said. “Just let him work.”

“Yes, sire. I'll just be at my desk if either of you need me.”

“The clue is in the case,” I repeated. Then my stare shot to Wuten's horns. “It's literal. He left me a precious jewel encased in Brujai gold. A case in a case. ” I pushed at one of the bands on Wuten's horns, easing it up. I intended to remove it fully, but I didn't have to. “Well, look at that.”

The King came closer and then leaned over the body. “That mark is not of the Keten Tribe.”

I looked up and grimaced. “No. And it's a carving, not just a mark.”

“I don't recognize it.”

“That's because this tribe has been hunted into extinction. They're all supposed to be dead.”

“Hunted?” The King scowled, but then his expression cleared suddenly. “Fuck me! Is that a mark of the Uklur?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” I looked down and lost all sympathy I previously held for the victim. “That is a carving used exclusively by the Uklur Tribe. The only tribe of Brujai who eat the flesh of sentient creatures—specifically, humans.”

“Fucking cannibals!”

“Dear Gods,” Sir Heicren whispered.

“Cannibals,” I murmured and glanced at the drawer containing Kun-lo's remains. “And flesh taken from bones.”

The King followed my stare. “Dear Gods, are you saying that this man was involved in Kun-lo's murder?”

“I'm saying it's quite a coincidence, and I rarely find true coincidences.” I blinked. “Her hand to her lips.”

“Who's hand?”

“Wuten's wife. The way she was posed. She had a hand lifted to her lips in a strange way. As if she were wiping off her mouth after a big dinner.”

“Fucking disgusting,” Sir Gilhu muttered.

“I expect to find Uklur markings on Wuten's wife as well. For females, it's a tattoo at the base of the neck.” I looked over at the medical officer, who was already getting to his feet, no doubt alerted by the exclamations of Dragons. “Where's the wife?”

“Right beside him, sir.” The attendant pointed at the box one over.

I quickly pushed Wuten into his drawer, then moved over to withdraw his wife.

It took mere seconds for me to locate the tattoo.

“Confirmed. They were both from the Uklur. In hiding, no doubt.” Then a cold shiver came over me.

“The nectar. The scrapes. Now this. It must be connected. But how foolish would they be to murder and eat people while in hiding?” Then my expression went slack.

“Unless they felt protected.” I rushed out of the room. “I need to go back to the tannery!”

The King cursed and chased after me.