Neversfall - Ed Gentry [55]
"Do you see anything, Initqin?" Adeenya asked as she moved a chest away from a wall. "There must be a clue somewhere."
"Sir, drop your weapon," the man replied.
Adeenya turned to face the Maquar who held his sword a few handspans from her side. "What are you doing, soldier?"
"Placing you under arrest, sir. Now please, drop your weapon."
Adeenya felt a rush of adrenaline and fought off the urge to attack the man or flee for her life. Her military training kicked in and she saw the earnest look in the man's eyes. He would try to kill her if she did not comply.
"Stay calm, Initqin," she said, letting her sword fall to the floor. She held her arms out low to her sides.
"I will, sir. Thank you for disarming. Please remain still until reinforcements arrive," Initqin said. Adeenya noted and appreciated his calm tone and demeanor. His commanding officer was dead several paces behind him, but he was collected and professional. Another soldier might have killed her where she stood.
"I'm going to sit down if that's all right. We'll sort all this out when Jhoqo gets here," she said. She needed to sit. She needed to think. Loraica was dead in her room. If Adeenya had seen such a sight in someone else's quarters, then she would have acted as Initqin had.
Adeenya glanced back to the rear of her quarters as though Loraica might rise and be well if she only longed enough for it to be true. But it wasn't. It never would be. Adeenya ran a hand through her hair and returned her gaze back to Initqin who returned her stare and readjusted his grip on his sword.
"I'm not going to run, Initqin. I've done nothing wrong," she said. "You really believe I killed that woman?"
"It hardly matters what I believe," the man replied.
In her time with the Maquar, Adeenya's childhood admiration for them had dwindled but never so much as in that moment. Duty, a fine thing, a tradition the Maquar held most sacred, was blinding the man before her.
She could see in his face that he did not believe she was a murderer. But his sense of duty made it impossible for him to choose to lower his weapon and help her reason out what must have occurred. He could come to her defense when Jhoqo arrived on the scene. He could but he would not. Initqin would stand there, weapon readied, and watch Jhoqo accuse Adeenya. That was duty.
"You can lower your arms, soldier," came Jhoqo's voice as he entered the building.
Initqin complied and stood at attention.
Jhoqo strode to the back of the structure and knelt next to the corpse of his terir. "By the gods, Lori," he said.
Several moments passed, Initqin still staring Adeenya down, before Jhoqo rose and took a seat across from Adeenya. "Tell me everything," he said.
Adeenya met his eyes. "I was here, discussing reports, when her body was found," Adeenya said. "I have no idea how she got here."
"You deny killing her then?" Jhoqo said.
"Of course I deny it. I didn't do it!"
Jhoqo nodded and patted Adeenya on the knee. She held herself and did not flinch at his fatherly reassurance. Certainly that would not have helped the situation at all.
"Then what did? Are there any clues?" he asked.
Adeenya was puzzled by his question, his lack of accusation. "I didn't have a chance to look for them," she said, looking to Initqin.
Jhoqo nodded. "Well, rest assured we will come to the bottom of this. When is the last time you saw Loraica?" he asked.
"Last evening atop the wall," Adeenya said.
"To what end? What did you discuss?" he asked.
"The situation with the invaders," Adeenya said, seeing no reason to tell the entire truth. "And the possibility of the formians' involvement. She was concerned, the same as I am, that there could be a traitor among us."
"I see," Jhoqo said. "Please find some different quarters for the time being. Take a few of your essentials and move them there. We'll need to thoroughly investigate this place."
"I am to go, sir?" Adeenya asked.
Jhoqo shrugged