His ribs looked like a nightmare flower, blooming like petals from his chest. Nothing of the internal organs remained except for a liquid pulp-like substance.
Tate forced herself to squat next to the body, examining it closer. Gold buttons glinted from the remains of his coat. The lower half of his body was more intact than the upper, making it easy to see that his pants were made from a high-quality fabric. Likely a noble or someone high up in the government.
“Do you know who he is?” Tate asked.
It would be impossible to say for sure since he was missing a face, but she was willing to bet given their grim expressions, they had a guess.
“Earl Comber,” Archie said in an expressionless voice. There was no sign that the violence that had been done to this man affected him at all, giving the impression that he was a bastion of calm, untouched by humble emotion. “He’s part of the anti-sleeper party.”
“That’s going to be a political nightmare,” Tate said without thinking.
There were identical looks of agreement on all of the men’s faces. Tate didn’t envy the emperor what was coming. They’d be lucky if the anti-sleeper party didn’t latch onto this as an excuse to call for the expulsion of anyone related to the sleepers.
Thaddeus scrubbed one hand over his face, looking even more tired at the prospect.
“What’s he doing here anyway?” Tate asked, rising.
This location wasn’t well advertised. Couple that with the fact you needed to know how to open the distortion and it begged the question of how he even got here.
“That is the relevant point, isn’t it?” the Lord Provost said.
“Did your guards have anything to say?” Tate looked at the emperor. She couldn’t imagine he’d left this place unsecured, given its importance to his empire’s military might.
His expression turned grim. “No one noticed anything.”
How was that possible? Tate thought a noble, likely accompanied by several protectors would have drawn attention, even if the emperor’s guards kept a distance between them and the entrance to the Rift.
Tate kept questions about whether his guards were trustworthy to herself. Something told her he and the rest of those present were a little sensitive about the topic.
“No one noticed anything until they put out the fire in the palace and realized there was a pillar of fire coming from the Rift’s entrance,” the Lord Provost added.
“The palace fire was likely a distraction,” Archie said.
Yes, but something also told Tate, no.
Hoping to shed clarity on her contrasting feelings, she crouched again. She noted the body’s position, the way he was laid out.
This time she picked up on details she’d missed before. The blood trail didn’t start and end with the body. There were marks that seemed to be from a struggle.
Her eyes caught on something buried in that mass of flesh. She reached out and hesitated.
A handkerchief was dangled over her shoulder. She took it from Ryu, giving him a smile.
With it, she pushed away the bits of flesh, exposing something hard and unyielding. A blade that pinned him to the ground like he was no more than a butterfly on display.
Tate sat back on her haunches and looked up at Ryu. “You know what this reminds me of? Nathan’s summoning.”
It was all there. If one looked closer, the stone circle the fog surrounded almost resembled an altar. The body placed directly in its center. Add in the blade used to pin him to the ground and Tate suspected he’d been alive when they started in on him. There were scuff marks if you looked closely. He’d thrashed as death came for him.
Not a pretty way to go.
Ryu’s gaze darted over the body and around the space, seeing the same things Tate did, now that she’d pointed them out.
“If you’re trying to start a vendetta with my order again, you will not like the consequences,” Archie said in a cold voice.
Tate stood. “Relax. Your people were nothing more than convenient allies who could be turned into scape-goats last time. I doubt these people would try to use the Order again.”
Besides, those who were involved last time had been thoroughly ousted. It would take time for whoever did this to develop contacts willing to do something as bold as this.
