Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [135]
“One month ago,” Kutz said, entirely ignoring him, “a traveling merchant’s throat was cut at a certain lodge, his money stolen. The next time was ten days later, at another lodge…”
“It wasn’t me! I wasn’t even in Vision a month ago, or ten days ago! I’m a Traveler!”
At Wataru’s outburst, Kutz and the tiger-man looked at each other. Together they laughed.
“I wondered how you would try to wriggle out of this! A Traveler, are you? Of course!”
“It’s the truth! My sword—at the lodge you should be able to find my Brave’s Sword! Ask Wayfinder Lau, he gave it to me!”
“Wayfinder Lau? Who’s that? Sorry, but we Highlanders don’t truck with their sort.”
Wataru gaped. They don’t know the Wayfinder? Was the Watcher of the Porta Nectere some kind of hermit, secluded from the larger world of Vision?
“Then ask Kee Keema. He’s a waterkin, a darbaba driver. He left for Satoko, but he’ll be back in three days.”
“Three days? How unfortunate. He’ll miss the big event.” Kutz stood before him with her weight on her left foot, her whip thrown over her left shoulder. “You see, you’re to be hanged as soon as the gallows are finished. Isn’t that right, Trone?”
“Quite,” the tiger-man said distractedly, picking up some sort of documents from the desk. “Shouldn’t take more than a day to build. Too bad for you, boy.”
“I expect every carpenter in Gasara will be hammering away soon. They’re building it right out here in the square—you should be able to see it through your window.”
“One day?!” Wataru said in a strangled voice. “What about an investigation? What about proof? What about a trial?”
“No need. We have the statement from the innkeeper, and need I mention again the blood on your hands?”
“What if the real murderer put the blood on me while I was asleep! What if I was framed!”
The thought had just occurred to him, but now that he said it, Wataru was sure that was what had happened. But Kutz and Trone merely laughed.
“Nice try, boy,” Kutz said, leaning down to eye level. “But we knew it was a child’s work from the first killing. Why? Because all three victims were killed in rooms with the door locked.”
“Even the drunk next door?”
“Indeed. And the only way into those rooms without having a key is to go through the roof from an adjacent room. But the crawl space between ceiling and roof is too small for an adult. They’d fall through.”
“But you can’t just accuse me because of that!”
“Please. You’re covered in blood. And you didn’t have a tem to your name the night before.”
Kutz stood and stretched luxuriantly. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much. They say hanging is surprisingly painless.”
“I’ve even heard it feels good,” said the tiger-man.
“No way!” Wataru yelled. “I have a right to prove my innocence!”
“A right to prove your innocence? Big words,” Kutz said, turning her back to Wataru.
“What about the Knights of Stengel? Aren’t they the keepers of the law in this place? How can you try me on a whim?”
Kutz whirled around. In a single smooth motion she lashed out, her whip cracking the post an inch away from Wataru’s ear. “That’s enough of that!”
Wataru froze.
“I suppose this is all part of your act as a ‘Traveler’—pretending you don’t know things that everyone else knows. But know this: you take the Highlanders lightly at your own risk!”
“But the Knights…” Wataru sputtered through trembling teeth.
“Newcomers!” Kutz said with agitation. “Before they came along with their United Southern Nations, we Highlanders kept the peace in the south.”
The tiger-man continued. “And, boy, the Knights of Stengel are too busy fighting monsters to care about keeping the peace. Who knows where their camps are now—or when they’ll return?”
“Feh!” Kutz spat. “It suits them just fine to play with those gimblewolves!” she snorted. “Trone, I tire of looking at our little felon here. Take him to the cell.”
The tiger-man stood, untied the ropes around the post, and picked him up. He had removed his sword, but his powerful arms and sharp claws were enough to keep Wataru in line. He didn’t even look for an opening to escape.
Trone tossed Wataru