It startled me momentarily. Then I got my brain working again, and I ran toward him. If he thought he could intimidate me, he was about to learn how wrong he was. As I ran, I reached for my dagger. Every claw carried a weapon. We didn't use swords like talons, but we weren't about to go around defenseless. Daggers could be hidden. That meant there was less of a chance of upsetting anyone we needed to interview.
Holding the dagger upside-down with the blade running along my forearm, I wove through the pedestrians who were quickly getting the message that this was not the place to be. The sidewalk cleared. Nothing between me and the murderer. Closer. Close enough for me to see the anxiety on his face. That would have been appropriate if he'd been running away from me. But as it was, he should have been showing aggression. I assumed he was coming to confront me and finish what he had started.
But he wasn't afraid of me.
The Brujai gasped, stumbled, and fell to his knees.
People screamed. The entire district cleared in seconds.
Meanwhile, I dashed the remaining feet between us and caught the Brujai as he fell forward. In his back was an arrow.
“Damn!” Dagger still out, I searched the rooftops and open windows. Nothing. No trace of whoever had fired that arrow.
The Brujai gasped.
I folded my legs, going to the ground to cradle him on my knee. My dagger clattered to the stone sidewalk. My hand now free, I clutched the Brujai's shirt. “Where's the weapon?!”
He shook his head. “Not me.”
“Not you? You're not behind this?”
He nodded. “Supposed to lead you.”
“Me? Why? What's the goal? Are they trying to kill the King?”
He shook his head. Gasping, blood on his lips, he lifted his hand and pointed at me.
Well, that couldn't be right. I must be misinterpreting that point.
“Me?” I asked. “It's about me?”
The Brujai gurgled.
“Who is he? Why is he after me? What is this about? Damn you, give me something! A name at least. Who. Is. He?”
The Brujai's eyes fixed on my face. He was slipping away. But he managed to whisper one last word, “Hallaxgral.”
“Hallaxgral? Is that what you said? What race is he?”
But the Brujai was already dead.
“Son of a bastard!” I growled.
“Tek! Tek!” The King crouched beside me and shook me by the shoulder. “Are you all right? Were you shot?”
“No,” I muttered and sat back on my heels. “It's his blood.”
“That's the man who attacked you.”
“Correct.”
“So who killed him?”
“Good question, Your Majesty.” I snatched my dagger off the sidewalk as I looked around again.
“Sire!”
“Your Majesty!”
