Lord Allerius approached from his own position near Black and glanced once more at the earl before he met Kari’s eyes. “How is the captain?”
“The priests say she’ll be all right,” Kari answered, looking around. It was oddly cold in the conference room, and she glanced to one of the administrative staff who was tending to the hearth. It felt like one of the windows was open, though there was no draft or breeze to suggest that such was the case. Kari shook off the feeling and continued, “I want to know who that woman that attacked us was. Black knows.”
“No, I don’t,” the earl said, prompting his interrogator to cease his questioning. The interrogators stepped out of the room along with the innkeeper for a few minutes so their superiors could question Black privately. Once they were gone, Lord Black continued, “I saw her at the inn; she was the one who killed the members of the Blood Order, as your friend so astutely pointed out. I don’t know who she is or what she wanted, but I suspect she may be the very killer I came here to ask for your assistance with.”
That was not what Kari wanted to hear; she wanted answers, not more questions. The fact that the earl was obnoxious did nothing to improve her disposition, and she was barely able to suppress a growl. “Why should we believe you?” Kari spat. Aeligos laid his hand on her shoulder to stop her from getting more confrontational. She regarded him for a moment and nodded to let him know he was within his rights to ask questions. Her gesture received no protest from Lord Allerius.
“Why shouldn’t you?” Lord Black answered before Aeligos could speak. “Why would I come here and kill members of a guild that already wants to see me dead? Do I look so stupid as to walk into hostile territory and start a war with an assassin’s guild when I am on my own? This… snake-woman is your killer. Ask her how she managed to kill three guild members on her own. I suspect the same way she nearly decapitated your captain of the guard and kept you and that other young hunter in check.”
Lord Allerius regarded Kari for a moment but said nothing. “So, you’re saying you didn’t kill the guild member that was at the bottom of the stairs, either?” Aeligos pressed.
Kaelin Black shook his head, but there was something odd in his expression. “I didn’t kill anyone. Had your captain made it here safely, she would have said I told her as much. I came down from my room when I heard a commotion in the commons. My presence on the stairs distracted the third guild member, but I had no hand in his death. You saw the wounds; I don’t carry the type of weapon that deals those wounds.”
“What do you know of the burns around some of the wounds?” the rogue continued.
“The assassin must’ve used some sort of poison or acid, but I didn’t see her apply anything to her weapons,” Black answered, and from his mannerisms he had either rehearsed the responses to the questions he expected, or he was telling the truth. He seemed exasperated more than anything, as if he, too, was flustered by the turn of events and wanted nothing more than to return home before they met the syrinthian woman a second time. “Ask your questions quickly; my time in this city is at an end. I must get back home before this assassin draws any more of the Guild’s attention to me.”
“How long have you known Emma?” Aeligos asked, and both Albrecht and Kari fixed him with surprised gazes. The rogue ignored their stares, but Kari could tell he was merely fishing for a response. She had seen him use the same tactic many times before, particularly with his siblings. Whether it was an innocuous question dropped during a game of cards or what seemed a harmless inquiry over dinner, Aeligos was a master at digging up secrets—though he usually only did it in good fun with his siblings.
Black’s impassive stare didn’t waver. “I have no idea who you are talking about.”
“But you’ve aggravated someone from the underworld; why would you be targeted by a snake assassin?” Aeligos challenged him.
“Other than the lawyers from Achirun’s church, I have little dealing with the underworld or its lords,” Black stated in a genuine tone. “I’m not interested in my city or county being enslaved or subservient to the whims of some dimwitted demon lord bent on destruction; nobody ever got rich from the world being enslaved or destroyed. If anything, it might be my refusal to work with anyone or anything from the underworld that has led to me being targeted.”
“So, you’ve been propositioned in the past, then?” Allerius asked, and Kari didn’t miss the proud little smile that crossed Aeligos’ face.
Kaelin Black took in a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh as he glanced around at all the demonhunters and priests in the room. “Many, many times,” he answered finally, settling his gaze back on the two heads of the Order. “When you’ve lived as long as I have, amassed as much wealth and power as I have, and run a city and county with a substantial amount of both land and people, everything wants to wriggle its tendrils into your power base. I use Achirun’s priests and their expertise at law…”
“At twisting the law,” Kari interjected, but Black rolled his eyes.
“As I was saying, I use them to my own ends, but of course they want me to bow to their master. I’m not interested in serving him. I have seen many examples of people that sign on with underworld powers, and it always ends the same way. I’m not interested in being used, and that is the best you can hope for when you sell yourself out to demons and their ilk. I’ve never received any sort of proposition from an actual demon king, but their vassals—like Achirun—are always trying to lure me into their service. Rest assured, that will never come to pass.”
Kari started to speak but Lord Allerius stopped her. She made a gesture to assure him she wasn’t going to make any snide comments, though, and asked, “If you had to venture a guess, which demon lord do you suppose sent this assassin after you?”
“My first guess would be Sekassus based on the fact that she was a snake,” the earl said with a shrug. “But you’re the demonhunters, it’s your job to figure that out and send the bitch back where she came from.”
Kari wasn’t sure what surprised her more: The fact that Kaelin Black knew enough of Sekassus the Calculating to suspect him, or that he had used the word bitch to describe a woman, which was rare enough among commoners, let alone nobility. Kari and Allerius exchanged glances, but the head of the Order looked to Aeligos to see if the rogue had any more questions. Aeligos shook his head, and Lord Allerius settled a measured gaze on Black. He folded his arms across his chest, something Kari could attest to rarely seeing except when he was mightily upset, but he kept his voice steady and even as he addressed their “guest.”
“You may return to your city at your leisure, Your Lordship. I would recommend you do so now, to avoid provoking the wrath of the Blood Order,” Lord Allerius said. “We will send a sufficient detail to your city to aid in ridding you of this assassin. They will likely arrive in two to three weeks, so please see to it that you make every effort to keep your people safe until help arrives. Understand, however, that should we find you’ve lied to us and you did either initiate the fight with the Guild members or, at the very least, helped kill them, we will issue a warrant for your arrest regardless of your title and position. Am I clear?”