The knight winced. “Sorry, Your Majesty. But he insulted me. I may not be a genius, but I'm not thoughtless either.”
“You are correct on all counts, Sir Gilhu. My apologies. I'm not at my best today. Tensions are high, patience is thin.” I glanced at the knight, saw him nod crisply, and then opened the door of the next shop. “Ah. Here we are.” I walked into the empty leather shop.
Racks of leathergoods stood to one side of the store while the other featured lengths of tanned leather in several colors and types. Thread used for leatherwork stood in military order on shelves, the spools lined up by color and thickness. I did a cursory glance at the goods and then dropped to my knees.
“Here we go,” Gilhu muttered.
“Gilhu!” the King snapped.
“I'm so sorry, Your Majesty.”
“Claw Shinkai, we need to clear the shop before the King can enter,” Sir Vasren said.
“Good. Keep him outside.” I got my light tube out and started my inspection.
“Your Majesty.”
“No,” was all the King said.
I looked at him over my shoulder.
He leaned against the wall beside the door, crossed his arms, and grinned at me. No, smirked.
I did all the things that an annoyed person does—sighed, rolled my eyes, and grimaced. Had to be done. How else would he know he had displeased me? Then I returned to my work. It was more important than my irritation. Or the source of it.
I don't know how long I spent going over every inch of that shop, but it was long enough that I caught the Dragon knights yawning. The thorough search yielded a lot of information, but most of it only confirmed what I had suspected. Still, it was necessary. I needed to know for certain. Now, I did.
Someone had coerced the Brujai.
When I found the little painting of a Brujai woman, my stomach soured. I had never regretted taking my time to investigate before. But looking upon her face, I knew that as I searched her husband's shop, time was running out for her. There was no evidence of children, so Hallaxgral couldn't have taken a son or daughter. It was this woman he held hostage. Had to be.
Then I found the ledger. Inside it, tucked in the back, was a document. Ownership papers for a house in the city. Maybe I hadn't wasted the Brujai woman's time after all.
With the address memorized, I rushed out of the shop.
“Damn him,” the King muttered and followed me.
Outside, I found the royal carriage waiting. I gave the driver the address and jumped inside. The King nodded at the man before following me.
He sat down next to me and gave me a look.
“That man was not a murderer,” I said.
The King lifted his brows.
“He did what he had to do to save his wife. Possible lover, but I believe she's his wife since he bought a house for them.”
“And that is where we're headed?”
“Yes.”
“You do know that it's after nine at night?”
I looked out the window. It was dark. No, I hadn't noticed. Street lamps illuminated the city. Still, the time of day should have registered with me. Or time of night, rather.
“I'm happy to continue this on my own, Your Majesty.”
The King shook his head. “I can help you if you let me. It's your stubbornness that turns my presence into a burden.”
