Page 101 of Mistress of Bones
Her shadow simply lowered his hat until all that was visible was a half smile.
“Sombra, then,” she couldn’t help but say. When the smile widened, she reckoned he didn’t mind. “I shouldn’t trust you. Everyone else has stabbed me in the back, so why should you be any different?”
His answer was to close his eyes, settling in for what was left of the night.
Isile was gone by the time they awoke. The shutters in his room were open and the rag was cut through, discarded on the floor. Sombra had searched him for weapons earlier, and yet, not well enough. Isile Manzar had turned out to be craftier than he appeared, but then, with Sergado as his friend, one had to be.
Azul refused to waste any time figuring this out. Dawn had pushed Noche Verde away, Luck and Wonder long gone. She and Sombra returned to the woman’s door. More knocking, and still, no response.
But the upper shutters were now open.
Azul pointed at the corner where the building met one of the upper bridges. A series of lovers’ footholds had been carved into the brick and mortar, and with Sombra’s help, she climbed to the second story, then slipped inside the nearest window.
The woman who had met with Enjul slept on a narrow bed. Azul made sure no one else was in the room, then shook the woman’s arm.
She woke with a start. “Who are you?” she demanded, scooting back until she was against the wall. Her eyes flickered over the room, trying to ascertain how many intruders had invaded her quarters.
Azul towered over her. “The Valanjian Virel Enjul sends me. I need whatever information about the Marquess de Gracia he had you search for him.”
The woman swallowed, appeared meek. “You lie. He already knows everything.”
“And now I need to know it,” Azul said, lunging for the pillow and taking hold of the dagger hidden there. In the next breath, she tossed it out the window.
“Hey!” the woman exclaimed.
“I need the information. Enjul is gone, he can pay you no more.”
“And you can in his stead?”
“I can.”
“Now?”
“After I know the information to be truthful.”
“Then you are of no interest to me.”
Azul knelt on the mattress and pressed Nereida’s second dagger to the woman’s throat. “And now?”
The woman huffed. “You won’t kill me. You’re not the type.”
She had a point. And dead people could give no information, so Azul straightened and spun the dagger, offering the hilt. “A good quality blade, sharp, with a beautiful hilt. It will fetch plenty.”
The woman studied the dagger with a critical eye. A curt nod of agreement before she went to take it from Azul’s hand.
Azul moved it out of her reach. “De Gracia. You were hired to investigate him. Did you find any gossip? Any secret lodgings bought under someone else’s name?”
“He has property in the countryside, and investments in several ventures.”
“In Cienpuentes?”
“There’s a small house. Been in the family for years. Meant for lovers, but he hasn’t had any reside there.”
Could it be so straightforward?Azul wondered. Or was her brother smarter than to use his own building and had bought another property to use as his studio through one of his puppets?
But then, why go through the bother? Nobody would ever suspect him of being a necromancer, so why should anyone be curious about what he did on his own property?
After paying with the dagger, Azul and Sombra made their way to the address provided by the woman. Azul’s muscles ached, and her head hurt from the lack of proper sleep, and there was not a damn horse or empty cart to be found to ease their trip. It was a long walk, and the house at the end of it bigger than Azul had expected. The higher echelons of Cienpuentes aimed to keep themselves in their lovers’ good graces by giving them plenty of beautiful space, apparently.
