Realms of Valor - James Lowder [77]
tears. “What's happening here?” Stralana demanded. Myrmeen took off her cloak and draped it around Siobhan's shoulders. “A dark miracle.” The beautiful cat lord regarded Myrmeen with reddened eyes and asked, “How much have you guessed?” “Some,” Myrmeen said. “It would be better if you told me.” Siobhan looked to Lord Zacharius. “Do you trust her?” “Yes,“ he said. She nodded. ”Twelve years ago, I was attacked by two men. It happened in your gardens, at that gazebo. They knew somehow that I was a cat lord. They considered me less than human and treated me as such. The mage used an amulet to trap me in my human form, then he and the other man forced themselves on me. “I came back the next day to punish them, but Othmann carried a weapon of some power in those days. He hacked my leg off while I was a cat and stabbed me a dozen times. He thought I had bled to death and dumped my body in the trash. The leg he kept as a souvenir.” Myrmeen shuddered. “You survived and sought revenge.” “Lord Zacharius helped me. I would never have found him again on my own, since both men changed their names and employed magic to alter their appearances after the murder.” She grinned wickedly, and her eyes flashed. “Maybe they thought I'd only used up one life and might come back to haunt them.” Zacharius frowned at the woman, then turned back to Myrmeen. “Some time ago Othmann learned of our quest for Satsuma's remains-which is quite genuine, I assure you. He claimed to have some information we required, but refused to part with it for a reasonable price. In truth, he tried to extort us. And when the negotiation got out of hand, he threatened my envoy, using Siobhan's leg as an example of his past dealings with our kind. Word reached me, and I put the two together. You've seen the rest firsthand.” “What about Volney?” Stralana asked. “Volney and Othmann had a violent parting several years ago,” Walcott replied. “I had to search Arabel for nearly a year before I found a sorcerer who bore the scent of Siob-han's blood.” “I don't understand,” Myrmeen said. “Years have passed since the assault. Her blood had been washed from his body.” Walcott cleared his throat. “From his body, yes. But not from his soul.” “Walcott can sense such things. He's one of our most powerful mages,” Zacharius said. “He befriended Volney, then guided him to your employ, where we could involve him in the murder investigation. Though the arrival of the cat lords made him nervous, Volney had no idea that it was his former partner who had been slain-after all, both had changed their appearances. And if all had gone as planned, we would have framed Volney for the murder.” Stralana rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “So, what happened?” Siobhan answered this. "I needed my paw back as much as I needed
revenge. Walcott has a spell that will restore me, you see.“ She rubbed the grisly prize lovingly. ”Anyway, Othmann died without telling us where the paw was. We hoped Volney knew. When it became clear he was ignorant, we killed him and returned to Elhazir.“ ”She claimed not to know,“ Lord Zacharius said, ”but she was using the child's powers to hide some objects from your men-including the paw-which she'd stolen from Othmann's shop. She figured the paw must be worth money, since we were searching for it, then decided it was dangerous. I suppose she thought that as long as she held onto what we wanted, we wouldn't harm her. Tonight, when several of my people went through this place in search of the paw, she snapped. The fear was too much for her.“ Myrmeen glanced at Siobhan's locket. ”There's one thing more, isn't there? The reason why the bodies resisted all forms of divination and spirit magic?“ ”Yes,“ Siobhan said, fingering the locket. ”How could you contact their souls when they were safely locked away?“ Myrmeen looked at the brilliant red halves of the heart-shaped locket. They seemed to pulse slightly, like a living, beating heart. Lord Zacharius knelt before Andreana. ”You're free, you know. If you like, you can travel with us for a time. We'll see that you get back to your