“Well, we only have a few bodies in at the moment, and only two are Brujai. Out of those two, only one is a man, and hisname is Wuten Hei. I assume that's your guy.” He went to a line of cold boxes against the far wall and opened one. A draft of cool air poured out, thanks to the enchanted plates within the box. It was much like the boxes used to preserve food. And wasn't that a lovely thought? “Is this who you're looking for?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Lansho's remains have been claimed by his widow.”
“Damn it! Who released the body?”
The officer shrugged. “I assume they thought you had gotten all you could from the bones.”
I sighed. “I suppose I did. I hope I did.”
“I did have them processed. The same tests were done on them that were done on the older bones.”
I paused. “You mean Kun-lo?”
“Ah . . .” He went to another case against the wall with drawers in it. Each drawer had a file attached to the door. He chose one and looked it over. “Yes, Kun-lo.” He grunted. “Another dreamer.”
“Another what?” I rushed over to him.
He handed me the file. “Uh, a dreamer. You know, those humans who get addicted to nectar. There were trace amounts of the stuff in the bones.”
“Holy shit,” I whispered and scanned the results of the tests I had ordered. “Holy shit. Knife marks. How did I miss that?” I slid the file back in its sleeve and yanked open the drawer. It wasn't a cold drawer since there was nothing to preserve. Kun-lo's bones were laid out neatly even though mostof the attachments were broken now. I leaned in and inspected the bone that had been noted in the file. “Not a stab, but a scrape,” I muttered. “That's how I missed it.”
“A scrape?” The King leaned in. “You mean along the bone? As if he were flayed?”
“As if the meat were stripped from his bone.” I straightened and met the King's stare. “He was tortured.”
“By . . .” The King glanced at the morgue attendant. “The Argaiv?”
“That would be my guess, but there's no way to tell.” I closed the drawer and headed back to the Brujai. “Wuten Hei.” He looked like your average Brujai. “A tanner.” I inspected his hands. They had the appropriate callouses and smell. What made him special? Why lead me back to him? “The clue is in the case?”
“What's that, sir?” the morgue attendant asked.
“He does that when he's thinking,” the King said. “Just let him work.”
“Yes, sire. I'll just be at my desk if either of you need me.”
“The clue is in the case,” I repeated. Then my stare shot to Wuten's horns. “It's literal. He left me a precious jewel encased in Brujai gold. A case in a case. ” I pushed at one of the bands on Wuten's horns, easing it up. I intended to remove it fully, but I didn't have to. “Well, look at that.”
The King came closer and then leaned over the body. “That mark is not of the Keten Tribe.”
I looked up and grimaced. “No. And it's a carving, not just a mark.”
“I don't recognize it.”
“That's because this tribe has been hunted into extinction. They're all supposed to be dead.”
“Hunted?” The King scowled, but then his expression cleared suddenly. “Fuck me! Is that a mark of the Uklur?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” I looked down and lost all sympathy I previously held for the victim. “That is a carving used exclusively by the Uklur Tribe. The only tribe of Brujai who eat the flesh of sentient creatures—specifically, humans.”
“Fucking cannibals!”
“Dear Gods,” Sir Heicren whispered.
“Cannibals,” I murmured and glanced at the drawer containing Kun-lo's remains. “And flesh taken from bones.”
The King followed my stare. “Dear Gods, are you saying that this man was involved in Kun-lo's murder?”
