Lionel the Little was dead. He was naked and blood still dripped from his body. A crude hangman's noose had been fashioned from his bedsheets and looped tightly around his neck; the other end was firmly tied to one of the room's chandeliers. Several tipped-over chairs lay near his dangling feet. Abbey realized that he would have needed them all-one stacked atop the next-to have reached the chandelier.
His neck was clearly broken, and his swollen, discolored tongue protruded grotesquely from between his teeth. The bedsheets creaked softly; the breeze coming through the open windows slowly turned his compact body in circles.
In one hand, the gnome still clutched the jagged neck of a broken wine bottle. Wounds on his torso suggested that he had used it to try to disembowel himself.
Justus stepped forward. "This is exactly how we found him," he said. "I did not touch anything other than the windows and drapes, because I was sure you and the wizards would wish to view the scene intact."
Nodding, Abbey walked closer to the swaying corpse. "You did the right thing." She turned back to Justus. "You are sure that there was no one else here with him?"
Justus nodded. "I searched the adjoining rooms, and the windows were all locked from the inside. This appears to have been a suicide. Before Lionel died, his screams sounded insane-just as they say Geldon's did."
"Cut the body down," Abbey ordered. "Take it to the Cubiculum of Humanistic Research. Adrian and I will be along shortly."
Justus and Oleg took the body down from the chandelier, wrapped it in a blanket, and then carried it from the room. Abbey turned to Adrian and Vivian.
"Do the two of you understand what this means?" she asked.
Adrian nodded. "Satine has just claimed her second victim."
Vivian scowled. "Who is Satine?"
"I'm sorry," Abbey said. "I thought that by now Adrian might have told you. Satine is an assassin we believe has been hired to kill members of the Conclave. Apparently, she's targeting more than just us." Abbey paused, noting the look of shock on Vivian's face.
"But this recent attack means far more than that, I'm afraid," she went on. Walking to the windows, she looked out over the palace grounds.
"What do you mean?" Adrian asked.
Abbey turned around. "Don't you see? Satine was somehow able to breach the palace walls. She slipped by all of the Minion guards and she killed one of us right under our noses! This was as much an insult to us all as it was an act of assassination. She is as good as telling us that we're not safe-even here in the palace! When we examine Lionel's body, I'll bet my life that we find the same pollutants in his bloodstream that we discovered in Geldon's."
"We should close the drawbridge and make an immediate search," Adrian insisted. "We already know what she looks like. Perhaps she's still here."
Abbey shook her head ruefully. "Trust me, she's long gone. It is far easier to depart this place in the daytime than it is to sneak in at night. My guess is that she waited, then simply sauntered out through the gate this morning with the usual smattering of wounded well enough to leave. How clever! Tell me, can you place the same azure field around Lionel's corpse that Faegan did for Geldon's?"
"Yes," the First Sister answered. "But it will not be as strong. If a necropsy is to be performed, it will have to be soon."
Abbey looked over at Vivian. "If you will excuse us, the First Sister and I were about to meet in the Conclave Chambers. We have much to discuss. Please stay here and see if you can discover anything else that might help shed some light on what happened."
Vivian bowed slightly. "Of course."
After the other women left the room, Vivian's face darkened. She had not attended the interrogation of the captured Valrenkian, and yet Adrian and Abbey had spoken of Satine as though the assassin's identity was something Vivian already knew.
Abbey was no fool. Had the herbmistress' comments about Satine been merely an oversight, or something else? As she continued to gaze out the window, Wulfgar's servant came to several disheartening conclusions.
Not only had the Gray Fox's identity been uncovered, but Vivian would have to be even more careful from here on. She must immediately return to the fountain in the middle of the square. Her thoughts turned to the message she would be forced to leave in the burbling water.
Bratach would not be pleased.
CHAPTER L
Shailiha shivered. it was painfully cold at this altitude, and more than once she had been forced to wipe frost from her hair and eyelashes. She and Tyranny wore heavy cloaks to help ward off the weather. As usual, Scars was dressed only in his torn trousers. Smiling, Shailiha shook her head. Like Ox, he never seemed bothered by the weather.
K'jarr and three other handpicked warriors-Crevin, Micah, and Lan-sat quietly beside them. Six additional Minion bearers bore the litter though the nighttime sky. When they landed, Tyranny wanted the four idle warriors to be fresh. All their lives would depend upon it.
They had entered the fog bank two hours ago. Once there, Tyranny had carefully consulted her enchanted sextant, and then told the warriors to change course slightly. She had been eager to confirm the additional enchantments that would allow the sextant both to operate in the fog and to read the stars as well as the sun. She had been greatly relieved when it worked as promised.
The mist surrounding them was wet and dense, making it impossible to watch the ocean sliding by below. But K'jarr had a considerable talent for dead reckoning, and he was reasonably sure about when to order their descent. Until that time they would take advantage of the welcome cover. It was not their intention to immediately approach the fortress.
The previous day had passed calmly enough, giving the Reprise's canvas-masters a chance to finish repairing her sails. The frigate now had more speed, but she still lumbered more than Tyranny liked.
Before leaving the ship in charge of her boatswain, Tyranny had ordered that the frigate sail in circles, always staying near the same relative position. If the raiding party was to find the ship again, this would be crucial.
Shailiha looked over at Tyranny. The privateer's expression was grim. Other than when she gave directions to the warriors, she had said little. Shailiha couldn't help imagining that the captain was thinking of Tristan, and of the private conversation the two of them had shared in Tyranny's stateroom.
The princess rubbed her fingers together. The tingle in her hand told her that Faegan's spell was still working. May it continue to hold, she thought.
K'jarr leaned toward Tyranny. "It is time!" he shouted. Tyranny nodded back. K'jarr gestured to the warriors carrying the litter and they started down.
When they broke through the bottom of the fog, they saw that the Sea of Whispers was calm. From this distance, all they could see of the Citadel was a smattering of twinkling lights that floated ephemerally above the waves.
The litter descended in a tight spiral. When they were no more than a hundred meters or so above the waves, the warriors widened the spiral and held their altitude. Tyranny nodded to Shailiha and Scars.
Tyranny, Scars, and the princess stood up, as did the four waiting warriors. The two women removed their cloaks and checked their weapons. Crevin and Micah lifted Tyranny and Scars into their arms, and K'jarr took Shailiha. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. By previous agreement, the princess would go first.
K'jarr climbed onto the sturdy sidewall of the litter, snapped open his wings, and promptly stepped off. The warriors carrying Tyranny and Scars went next. Lan followed.
At first Shailiha was sure that she was about to die. The wind tore at her hair and clothes, and K'jarr had difficulty stabilizing his flight. He finally leveled out and soared low over the waves, waiting for the others to join them. Soon the four warriors closed ranks, waiting for the next stage of their plan to unfold.