“These crimes are of the most serious kind. The evidence to support them will be presented for us to judge. I call forth the first speaker, Lord Balkan, Head of Warrior Skills.”
Balkan rose from his seat and descended to the floor. He turned to face the King, and dropped to one knee.
“I swear that all I speak in this Hearing will be the truth.”
The King remained expressionless and made no gesture to acknowledge Balkan’s words.
The Warrior straightened and faced the assembled magicians.
“Two nights ago, I heard a faint call from Lord Jolen. It was clear that he was in some trouble. When I could not contact him again, I visited his family home.
“I found Lord Jolen, and his entire household, dead. Every man, woman and child, be they family or servant had perished. On closer investigation, I found evidence that the murderer had entered through the window in Lord Jolen’s room, indicating, perhaps, that Lord Jolen had been the first victim.
“I did not search the bodies for the cause of death, leaving that task to Lady Vinara. When she arrived, I continued on to the Guard House. When I arrived I found that Captain Barran, the guard investigating the recent spate of murders in the city, had just interviewed a witness to the crime.”
Balkan paused and looked up at Lorlen. “But before I summon Captain Barran, I recommend we hear what Lady Vinara found in her investigations.”
Lorlen nodded. “I call forth Lady Vinara, Head of Healers.”
Lady Vinara rose and descended gracefully to the floor. She turned, knelt to the King and swore the oath of truth. Then she rose and regarded the audience gravely.
“When I arrived at Lord Jolen’s family home I examined the bodies of twenty-nine victims. All bore a few scratches and bruises around their necks, and no other injury. They had not been strangled, suffocated or poisoned. Lord Jolen’s body was still intact, which was the first sign that alerted me to the cause of death. On examination, I found that his body had been completely drained of energy, leaving me to conclude that Lord Jolen had either expelled all his strength as he died, or it had been taken from him. Examination of the other bodies confirmed the latter cause. All members of the household were drained of energy, and since none but Lord Jolen could have exhausted themselves deliberately, I was left with one remaining explanation.” She paused, her expression grim. “Lord Jolen, his family and the servants were killed with black magic.”
The hall filled with low voices at this revelation. Rothen shuddered. It was too easy to picture Akkarin slipping into the house, stalking his victims and killing them. He looked down at the High Lord. Akkarin watched Vinara soberly.
“A closer examination of Lord Jolen’s body revealed faint finger marks in blood on the neck,” the Healer continued. She glanced at Akkarin. “It also revealed this, still clutched in one hand.”
Vinara looked to one side and beckoned. A magician approached, carrying a box. She opened it and lifted up a piece of black cloth.
Gold embroidery glittered in the light. Enough of the incal remained for it to be recognizable as the High Lord’s. The creaking of wood and rustling of robes filled the hall as magicians shifted in their seats, and the buzz of voices grew louder.
Vinara draped the cloth over the top of the box, then gave both back to her assistant. He moved away to stand at the side of the hall. Vinara looked at Akkarin, who was now frowning, then glanced over her shoulder to nod to Lorlen.
“I call forth Captain Barran, investigator of the Guard,” Lorlen said.
The room quietened again as, from one side, a man in guard uniform entered, knelt to the King and spoke the vow. Rothen estimated the man was in his mid-twenties. The rank of captain was high for a man of his youth, but such positions were occasionally given to younger men of the Houses, if they proved to be talented or hardworking.
The Captain cleared his throat. “Half an hour before Lord Balkan came to see me, a young woman entered the Guard House claiming to have seen the murderer that has been preying on this city these last weeks.
“She told me she was returning home from delivering fruit and vegetables to one of the houses in the Inner Circle. She was still carrying the empty basket and a token of admission to the area. While passing the family home of Lord Jolen, she heard screams from inside. The screams stopped and she hurried on, but as she reached the next house she heard a door open behind her. She hid in a doorway, from which she saw a man emerge from the servants’ entrance of Lord Jolen’s family home. This man wore black magicians’ robes, with an incal on the sleeve. His hands were bloodied, and he carried a curved blade, with gemstones set into the handle.”
Exclamations echoed through the hall as the Guild expressed its horror. Rothen nodded to himself as he remembered the knife Sonea had described Akkarin using when she had spied on him so long ago. Lorlen raised a hand and the noise gradually subsided.
“What did you do then?”
“I took her name and noted the workplace on her token. At your request, I sought her out the next day. Her employer told me that she had not returned to work that morning, and gave me her family’s address. Her family were concerned, as she had not returned to her home that night either.
“I feared that she had been murdered,” Barran continued. “Later that day we found her body. Like Lord Jolen, his household, and many of the other murders I have investigated these last few weeks, she bore no wounds except for a shallow cut.”
He paused, and his eyes strayed to Akkarin, who remained calm and outwardly unmoved.
“Though I was able to identify her as the witness, we called the family to the Guard House to verify. They told us this woman was not their daughter, but confirmed that she was wearing their daughter’s clothing. They were distraught to find that another dead girl we had discovered, naked and apparently strangled, was their daughter. Another puzzling discovery was that the witness was found carrying a knife just like the one she had described the murderer carrying. Needless to say, all this casts some doubts on the integrity of the witness.”
The hall echoed with subdued voices. The Captain looked back at Lorlen. “That is all I can tell you for now.”
The Administrator rose. “We will take a break to discuss and examine the evidence. Lady Vinara, Lord Balkan and Lord Sarrin will convey your views to me.”
At once the hall began to echo with raised voices as magicians gathered into groups to discuss and speculate. Yaldin turned to face Dannyl and Rothen.
“The knife could have been planted on the witness when she was killed.”
Dannyl shook his head. “Perhaps, but why would she lie about who she was? Why was she wearing the other woman’s clothes? Was she paid or bribed to take the other woman’s place, without realizing she would be killed? But that would mean it was all prearranged.”
“That doesn’t make sense. Why would Akkarin arrange for a witness to identify him?” Yaldin asked.
Dannyl drew in a quick breath. “In case there were other witnesses. If this one’s story was disproved, any others would be cast into doubt.”
Yaldin chuckled. “Either that or there’s a black magician out there trying to have Akkarin blamed for his crimes. Akkarin could be innocent.”
Rothen shook his head.
“You don’t agree?” Dannyl asked.
“Akkarin uses black magic,” Rothen told him.
“You don’t know that. They found books on black magic in his rooms,” Dannyl pointed out. “That doesn’t prove that he actually uses it.”
Rothen frowned. But I know he does. I have proof, I... I just can’t tell anyone. Lorlen asked me to keep our involvement secret, and Sonea wants me to help Lorlen.
At first Rothen had assumed the Administrator was trying to protect them both. He had realized later that Lorlen’s position in the Guild would be weakened if he revealed that he had known about Akkarin’s crime for years. If the Guild suspected Lorlen of conspiring with Akkarin, it would lose confidence in someone it needed to trust.