Page 34 of Mistress of Bones
A hissing inhale came from the guard hovering behind them. Enjul ignored it and reached down for her. “He shouldn’t have been.”
He pulled her to her feet. Azul flinched at the contact, but his grip was overpowering and as unavoidable as death itself. He made short work of dragging her out of the room and toward a pair of gaping guards, stepping over the remains of Zenjiel like a sack of spilled goods instead of a man dead by his hand.
“The ambassador?” he asked.
One of the guards had enough presence to answer: “On her way, Emissary.”
“Clear out, but don’t go far. Keep an eye on Miss Del Arroyo.”
Neither of the guards showed disgust or wariness as they walked down the hall. To them, Azul realized, she was an innocent bystander. She wasn’t the woman who had accidentally ended Zenjiel, then attempted to return his life.
Which explained why they paid her no heed when they stopped to watch another guard trot down the corridor and cover the remains with a sheet.
Azul slipped away on the tip of her boots to avoid the echo of her heels. A couple of black tabards ran past her, paying her no attention.She took the first corner of the endless corridor, then a second into a narrower hallway.
Would the chaos reach the stables, or would she be better off setting out on foot? She barely remembered how to saddle a horse. She’d have to hope one was ready, somehow, waiting for her. Doubtful.
Besides, Azul had given her word to Nereida.
Where had they taken her?
She resumed her silent walk, trying to form a map of the building inside her head. How such a vast building seemed to be composed of only corridors, she couldn’t begin to comprehend. Where would they stash an interloper? Did they have jail cells in this place?
Her steps slowed to a halt as she passed by an opening into one of the patios. The garden outside was drenched in shadows, the silvery moonlight of Luck and Wonder probing here and there, blessing the land with their presence.
It was hard to guess who had been more shocked at Zenjiel’s sudden turn into a standing corpse, the emissary or Azul. She had sought to prove Enjul wrong, that bringing her sister back was not the affront to the gods he believed it to be, and he had shown her he was as merciless as death.
The ease with which he had executed Zenjiel made her innards churn. Did she not have a responsibility here beyond her promise to Nereida? Would she really allow the emissary to steal the life she had begun to bring back?
A bone, that was all that she needed. A toe nobody would miss. And later, when she escaped with Nereida and brought Isadora back, she’d complete what Virel Enjul had so cruelly interrupted.
Once away from Enjul, Zenjiel would be given the opportunity to live. Then maybe the hole inside Azul would begin to close.
Turning, she retraced her steps and chose another hallway away from the patio and deeper into the less elegant side of the building. The servants’ area would be here, and the guards’ quarters. The kitchens had to be nearby or annexed.
The cellars.
They had stowed Isadora in the inn’s cool cellar until it was time for her body to be moved. They would do the same with Zenjiel.
At the sound of incoming footsteps, she dipped into a nook formed by one of the pillars and held her breath.
A guard and a servant walked by, speaking in hushed tones and ignoring their surroundings.
No shouts of alarm yet. How long until her disappearance was noticed? She must hurry.
Azul slipped from behind the column, alert to any incoming noise. The deeper she got into the servants’ zones, the more populated they’d be. If someone noticed her, what excuse could she give?
She peeked around a corner. A guard stood by an open archway, a lamp by his feet flickering light against the shadows.
Should she walk by, full of bravado, or try to find a way around? Perhaps through one of the patios?
“You will not succeed,” said a voice behind her. “You may think of a thousand ways to reach his bones, but you will fail every one of them.”
Azul stiffened and looked over her shoulder. Emissary Enjul stood a few paces away, his bone mask and pale shirt bright beacons in the moons’ light.
Now she understood the lack of alarm cries. Why invest the manpower when he thought he knew her so well?
“Is that why you didn’t search for me?” she asked bitterly.
