Page 105 of Mistress of Bones
Nereida gave him a sharp look. “No.”
She hadn’t known about the kidnapping attempt, De Anví guessed. And while he didn’t have reason to believe Nereida was lying to him so far, what were the chances these happenings were unconnected?
It took them too long to reach the Marquess de Gracia’s house, and once they were there, they found only a worried brother.
“Ah, Count de Anví,” he greeted in a distracted tone before focusing on Nereida. “Azul is missing. I lost track of her when we went to Karia’s ball, and she hasn’t made an appearance at the other houses we were to attend.”
“And Sirese Enjul?” Nereida asked.
“He left before Azul disappeared. I don’t think they are together.”
“You are worried because of the kidnapping attempt,” De Anví said, earning De Gracia’s surprised attention.
“Yes,” he agreed. “I thought I put the matter to rest, but what if they’ve tried again?”
“Then there is nothing to do but wait.”
“Can’t you find anything?” De Gracia pleaded. “If you know about the kidnapping, you must be able to figure out who might have taken her.”
“I can make inquiries. You will wait here for the result?”
De Gracia agreed.
“Then I shall take my leave. And my suggestion is for De Guzmán to check the other balls you were meant to attend, in case your sister did, indeed, arrive at them, albeit late.”
Nereida agreed to this, so they took their leave and left the house in separate directions, only to arrive within minutes of each other back at the tavern.
De Anví was first. The room was still devoid of occupants, the window open, the stool standing by its side. A bloodied cloth lay on top, carrying the dark crimson smears of someone wiping a bloody blade.
“Esparza must have waited until we left to leave us this,” he told Nereida when she burst into the room. He waved the cloth like a flag, and she snatched it out of his grip to inspect it in the lamp’s light.
“Why?” she asked. “A warning? Something must’ve gone wrong.”
“What, exactly, was this task you paid him to do?”
“He was to sneak Del Arroyo into the ossuary and help her find her sister’s bones.”
De Anví’s gaze went to her pouch.
“Yes,” Nereida said dryly. “I shall explain in time.”
“I believe the time has come,” he told her.
The bloodied cloth reclaimed Nereida’s attention, and for a heartbeat, he thought she might tell him. But the moment—like so many others between them—passed.
“Let us go back to De Gracia,” she said. “Del Arroyo might return, or if she was truly kidnapped, we might be able to interrogate whoever comes to ask for ransom.”
They made their way back to Almanueva, this time waiting outside.
“It worries me,” Nereida whispered, “that Enjul is gone too. He must be with Del Arroyo. He might have stopped Esparza from taking her to the ossuary.”
“Who is this Enjul?” De Anví asked.
“An Emissary of the Lord Death.”
“An emissary?” Hard not to be shocked at the idea. “What is he doing here?”
“Stopping Del Arroyo from getting to her sister’s bones.”
