The Spirit War(116)

Eli, however, had a better memory. “Josef!” the thief hissed, grabbing his wrist. “That’s Tesset!”

“Who?” Josef said.

“Tesset!” Eli whispered again. “Council man from Izo’s, works for Sara. Powers, he’ll ruin everything.”

Josef stared at the man in question. He vaguely remembered that swarthy face and large figure standing outside the hut with Sted, the one who’d gone after Nico. He could already feel Nico fading into the shadows behind him. Eli was still tugging his arm, trying to pull Josef back down the stairs, but Josef shook his head and yanked his arm free. If this Tesset was good enough to subdue Nico, then he’d already seen them, and running would do no good. Besides, Josef had questions to answer.

The admiral looked up when he heard Josef enter, and his face went scarlet.

“Prince Thereson!” he shouted. “You are confined to quarters!”

Josef ignored him, focusing on Tesset as the Council man looked up with a knowing smile.

“Good morning, Josef Liechten,” he said. “Or Prince Thereson, I should say. I trust you’re well.”

“Well enough,” Josef growled. “What are you doing here? When did you arrive?”

“Last night,” Tesset said. “And I’m here as the Council’s forward agent to help Osera prepare for the war. Your mother welcomed me herself just before all this unpleasantness. Condolences, by the way, on the death of your cousin.”

“Keep ’em,” Josef grumbled, making his way over to the closest body. The guardsman was on his stomach with his arms splayed out in an instinctive attempt to catch himself from a fall he’d never get up from.

“Back of the neck, just like the duke’s men,” Josef said, kneeling to get a better look at the gash that severed the man’s spine. “Quick too. Poor bastard couldn’t even get his sword out.” He nodded down toward the guard’s belt where the short sword was still snugly in its scabbard.

“Prince Thereson,” the admiral said again. “Stop this at once! This tower is controlled by her majesty’s navy. Prince or not, I won’t hesitate to lock you up if you do not return to the palace at once.”

“What?” Josef said, straightening up. “You can’t blame this one on me. Eli and I were stuck in my rooms since this morning, just like the queen ordered. Look at the blood. These men haven’t been dead more than half an hour. I was probably still being disarmed when it happened. And since it’s clear that whoever did the duke’s house did this as well, I’d say I’ve been exonerated. Isn’t that right, Eli?”

“Beyond a doubt,” Eli said.

The admiral stiffened. “When your mother hears—”

“So go tell her,” Josef said. “Later. Now, what was security like in this room?”

The old man clenched his teeth, his brow furrowing into a knot as he weighed his outrage against the presence of a prince, even a despicable one. Royalty must have won out, for the admiral’s shoulders slumped and he began his report.

“Security is as you see,” he said. “Six guards watching, two at the door, four in the room, and the Council’s wizard for the Relay so that we could notify Zarin the moment enemy ships were sighted.”

“Yet all are dead inside,” Eli said, silently counting the bodies. “Including the ones who were supposed to be in the hall. And they all died with their swords in their sheaths, correct?”

“Yes,” the admiral said, looking cautiously at Josef. “Sir.”

Eli grinned manically at his newfound authority. “I can see from the lack of blood trails that the bodies haven’t been moved. Combine that with the sheathed swords and we can safely assume that all the soldiers walked in here of their own volition. That means whoever did this was someone the guards knew, else they would have barred the entrance and died outside. Someone respected, for they escorted this person in and were subsequently too shocked to draw their swords when this known, respected person turned on them.”

“Impossible,” the admiral said. “Only officers and members of the royal family can enter this room without challenge.” He said this last bit with a pointed look at Josef, which Josef ignored.

Eli scratched his chin thoughtfully. “My real question is, why the watchtower? The duke I could understand, but why here?”

“I believe I can answer that one for you,” Tesset said.

They all turned to look. Tesset had been standing quietly beside the table. Now, though Josef had not seen or heard him move, he was several feet away, kneeling on the floor. The boards there were scuffed and dusty like any well-used surface, but one spot was darker than the rest. Josef frowned and walked over, kneeling for a closer look. It wasn’t blood, though there was certainly enough of that around. It almost looked as though someone had spilled a tiny bit of water and then tried to wipe it up.