City of Towers_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [116]
“It does explain why there’s only been a few deaths so far.”
“If they really are stealing the power of a mark … well, the Mark of Healing would be a very important one to have for this sort of work. And a small, disorganized group like these Tarkanans would make easier prey than the great houses. Being outcasts, they can’t even go to the law for assistance.”
“All right,” Daine said. “Assuming this is correct, the next question is: Who was Rasial dealing with?”
“If you accept that the person dealing with Rasial was the same person who wanted to kidnap Jode, we’re dealing with Hugal or Monan.”
Daine nodded. “What else do we know about the two of them?”
“They lived at the tenement called Dolurrh’s Doorstep. According to that man Doras, they had few friends, but I would say that his testimony could be considered untrustworthy at best. Although … at dinner, what was it Hugal said about the destruction of Cyre?”
Pierce answered. “He suggested that the destruction of Cyre would provide a weapon that could be used against the rest of the world.”
“That’s right,” said Daine. “Supposedly, he was in Cyre when the disaster came. Even though we searched for months and never found any survivors.”
“Also, that old seamstress with the eye in her palm … that happened recently, so it wasn’t a result of the Mournlands.”
“So we still have some unanswered questions. But this much seems clear. Rasial made a deal with Hugal and his unnatural friends. They took his shards, took his mark, and killed him. They did the same thing to the Tarkanan half-orc, then they got Jode. But how? Why did Jode put himself at risk?”
Lei considered. “Well, he left right after we’d seen Alina. Before that, we’d spoken with the medusa and the sphinx.”
“What was it the sphinx said to him?”
Again, it was Pierce’s memory that came to their aid. “She emphasized urgency, then she said, ‘There is a key that only you can find, hidden between two stones that only you can move. You must find it alone, but you will pay a terrible price to do so.’”
“So presumably he determined the location of this key and believed he had to act alone.” Daine rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“Didn’t you say that he reacted to something Alina said?” Lei asked.
The images from his dream came flashing back, and Daine struck his forehead. “Of course! ‘There are things I cannot say.’”
“I don’t understand,” Pierce said.
“Who have we met in the last two days who can’t speak?”
“Yes!” Lei said. “That girl—Olassia?”
“Olalia,” Pierce said, “whose mouth had been turned to stone.”
“Exactly.” Daine said. “Councilor Teral found her in the ruins of Cyre—along with Hugal and Monan. While the twins were at dinner, she seemed terrified. She must know the truth about the twins, but she couldn’t speak because her jaws have been petrified. The secret—the key—is trapped between two stones.”
“Then the sphinx was mistaken,” Lei said. “He went alone, just like she said, but he was still killed.”
“She did say that he would ‘pay a terrible price,’” Pierce pointed out.
“Who knows what the sphinx wanted? Why didn’t she just say ‘go talk to the woman with the stone teeth?’ I’ll never trust an oracle.” Daine shook his head. “There’s one last piece to this. The closest tunnel that connects the sewers to the surface comes out in Togran Square where the tent town is. Alina said that whoever was performing these mystical operations probably has a base underground, possibly in this Khyber’s Gate.”
“How do we proceed?” Pierce asked.
“We find Olalia. If we find Councilor Teral, we explain the situation to him. But we go in carefully. Yesterday, Jode was stolen from us. Today, we’re going to make the thieves pay for what they’ve done.” Daine drew his dagger and slammed it into the floor. “Today, we finish this.”
A light drizzle misted the air and soaked the