Page 175 of A Weave of Lies
Semras’ voice dropped into a pained whisper. “This amount of prickly comfrey, if … if swallowed as written here, would lead to acute liver failure and visceral bleeding. And then … then death.”
“Precisely. In your opinion, could the witch Leyevna have written this herself? Upon your answer hangs the fate of Estevan Velten.”
Cael Callum possessed the cruelty of the Fey—offering her a choice, knowing very well she couldn’t take any. She’d damn her Wyrdtwined or damn the mother he had been ready to sacrifice himself for.
“You do not wish to answer? Then I will. Look closely.” The inquisitor inclined the letter until the ink caught the sunlight filtering through the window. It gave back a dull, matte shine … except along the line concerning the comfrey. There, it turned into a deep, purplish black. “It has been altered. Two different inks were used in the same letter. If you look closely, there aretraces of moisture where water removed the original ink. My chemist analyzed this too; the forgery uses iron gall ink, while the original lines are written in carbon black ink.”
Carbon black ink?
A smile bloomed on Semras’ lips. “You believe Estevan forged it,” she said, eyes shining.
Her heart felt so, so much lighter now. She didn’t have to damn anyone. Leyevna had been framed, and she could easily prove it wasn’t by her own son.
The inquisitor cocked his head. “… Who else could have?”
“Anyone, but not Estevan. He exclusively uses carbon black ink,” Semras replied. “He doesn’thaveany iron gall ink.”
He had told her so once, offhandedly; she thanked the Old Crone for remembering it now.
The inquisitor shrugged her words off. “He could have falsified the lines on the spot, using what Tribunal Torqedan had available in his study.”
“And risk having his obvious forgery discovered? Inquisitor Callum, look at the letter! It also uses carbon black ink. Think what you will of your brother, but Estevan is no fool. He wouldn’t have made such a mistake when he had access to the same type of ink. If he had the package, the message, and the time to tamper with both, he wouldn’t have done it in his victim’s home. He would have planned it better.”
The inquisitor remained expressionless.
Behind her, Alaran whistled. “Not bad.”
“I’m not talking to you,Themas,” Semras snapped.
He snorted. “You kiss a girl three times and she still forgets your name.”
That shook the inquisitor from his musings. “You kissed her? We will have a talk about this later, Callhijo. You know my stance on—”
“Please don’t lecture me again,” he whined. “I still remember the last three times you did. You’re a bore, my lord Inquisitor. A man needs to live a little.”
Semras grimaced at the spy. “I don’t know how I ever mistook you for a fairy tale knight.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment to my acting skills,” he said, winking at her.
She didn’t grace him with a retort, electing instead to return her attention to Estevan’s brother.
Cael looked over the falsified letter. “This is an interesting piece of information, Miss Witch. I will pursue that lead to confirm the facts later. Nevertheless, it remains circumstantial. This is not enough to acquit Estevan beyond a reasonable doubt. He could have thought of framing Warwitch Leyevna only after the crime.”
Semras clenched her jaw. Cael’s exacting nature was beginning to grate on her. “He could not have framed her any more than he could have framedyou.”
“Interesting choice of words, considering he apparently told you I killed the tribunal.”
An embarrassed blush spread across Semras’ face. She’d been painfully wrong about her initial theory. Cael had investigated a doubt and sincerely believed the conclusion he had reached.
Had he felt as conflicted about accusing his brother as Estevan had been?
“… He didn’t. Accuse you, I mean. That was my theory.” Fleeing his gaze, Semras turned her head away. “You threatened me by saying I’d have no Coven to return to if I didn’t spy for you, so when I discovered Estevan couldn’t have been the murderer, I thought—”
“I did no such thing,” Cael said, crossing his arms. “I stated what would happen were you to align yourself with my brother. It is clear his actions were meant to provoke a witch purge, andthat assisting him in that endeavour would inevitably lead you to sacrifice your Coven. I hope you took more than this into account when deciding on my guilt.”
She scoffed, swallowing back her acrimony. “You’ve been a thorn in his side for so long; it wasn’t such a big leap to think you’d be capable of escalating your hostility. And with your worldview as a—” Semras caught herself on time before saying ‘Seelie.’ If Cael really didn’t know about his fey blood, she’d rather not tell him while still wearing shackles. “… a dogmatic inquisitor, it made senseyou’dwant to revive the Inquisition through a witch purge.”
Cael huffed a mirthless chuckle. “What you call being a ‘thorn in his side’ was me trying to set him right as his older brother. Estevan obviously does not belong in the Inquisition; he never could abide by its rules. I had hoped to convince him to leave before this led him into more trouble than he could handle, but … I was too late.” A rare show of emotion flickered in his eyes—sorrow mixed with melancholy. Then, just as fast as it came, it left him. “Had I succeeded, he might not have become so radical, but he keeps trying to fit where he does not belong. Now, this arrogance could lead us all to war.”
