“The reason we brought you here,” continued Septima, “is to make sure our goals are the same. You want to catch your friend’s murderer, correct? If it’s revenge you want, work with us. We want the same thing, in the end.”
Cain thought for a moment before saying, “So what do you want me to do?”
Septima’s eyes narrowed as she smiled. “Fienna was being paid by Gladdis. That much we know. What we don’t know yet is why. Find that out for us.”
This was something Cain hadn’t heard. From what he knew, Fienna had no money coming into her pocket other than her wages at the dye shop. He had even loaned her a small amount recently. Why would Fienna ask him for money if she was receiving pay from a rich merchant like Gladdis?
“We’ll give you a clue to start. If Gladdis is indeed the murderer, she will send someone to the funeral to make sure everything has gone to plan. You must find out who this person is.”
“If they were watching Fienna, they’ll know my face.”
“They know our faces even better. And wouldn’t they think it strange if you didn’t show up to your good friend’s funeral?”
Cain nodded. “Fine. If you can answer one more question, I’ll do as you tell me.”
“Ask.”
“Why were you at Lukan’s last night?”
Septima glanced at the stout man and then at Devadas as if seeking their opinion. They both shrugged and offered nothing more.
“That’s a separate affair,” said Septima. “Last month, Imperial outposts were attacked in Arland, the guardhouses burned and dozens of soldiers killed. There are always insurrectionists, this isn’t something unprecedented… But five Powered soldiers from the legion that had come to relieve the previous one all died near the border with Kamori. Their Power generator is missing as well.”
The stout man laughed. “Those sons of whores in the Office of Truth must be scattering like bees from a knocked-down hive, losing a whole legion Power generator like that. Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving bunch.”
“The Power generator doesn’t fall under our purview,” said Septima, “but the treason very much does.”
“So you’re putting every Arlander in the Capital under surveillance?”
“We can’t watch every single one of you. We were just going to take a look around. Sometimes, that’s enough to smoke out the fidgety ones. Besides, Arland neighbors Kamori, which means there’s a slight chance the outpost attack might have something to do withour Gladdis investigation. We think that’s unlikely, but of course we can leave no stone unturned. For all we know, maybe it has something to do with Fienna.”
Cain’s heart skipped a beat. Septima had just lied to him for the first time.
She’d spoken of the incident in Arland casually, not attempting to hide what was going on there, as if it only mattered to her if it had something to do with Gladdis, which she didn’t think it did. But that wasn’t what she was really feeling. Cain didn’t know what had happened in Arland, but he could feel in his bones that the events there weighed heavily on her mind and that they almost certainly had something to do with Gladdis. This was the most profitable moment of the whole interrogation for him.
Septima glanced once more at the stout man and nodded, whereupon the latter began untying Cain from the chair. Adjusting his spectacles, Cain observed them as closely as he could from the corner of his eye. He didn’t sense any suspicion from them as yet, but it wouldn’t hurt to put a stake in it with another gesture.
“My help will cost you,” he said. “I lost my job because of you, and I have no place to live now—”
The stout man scoffed. “That was your own fault.”
Septima slipped a hand into her sleeve, took out a small pouch, and set it on Cain’s knee.
“Cleaning out rancid oil? We can find a job for you that’s just as remunerative. And if you prove yourself to be as good as they say, you can keep working for us. That’s the thing about Intelligence—we don’t look down on you just because you’re a provincial.” Septima glanced at the giant Devadas.
Cain nodded and put the coin pouch in his inner pocket. Hestood up and, rubbing his wrists where the ropes had dug into the skin, passed Devadas and walked out of the room.
“Be here tomorrow at midnight,” Septima called after him.
The pressure that had gripped his heart in the oil shop came back.
8ARIENNE
“Next, we go to the Senate.”
This was what Eldred, who had been silent since they’d left the school in the small hours of morning, said to Arienne as she dug into a crowd for warmth and anonymity. She had spent the rest of the night walking from the northern part of the Capital where the Academy was, and she was cold and tired. Her uncle, Lukan, wouldn’t be opening his tavern until the sun set this coming evening, and she planned to hide in plain sight until then, perusing the market and blending into the crowd until finding her way to her uncle’s establishment right before it closed.
“The Senate? Why there?”
