Emily had to smile, although she was sure that killing a necromancer – a third necromancer – would count as a suitable excuse. It wasn’t as if she’d spent half the year partying in her bedroom, or anything else that might convince the tutors there was no point in allowing her to retake the year. But then, Gordian was the Grandmaster. Perhaps she should be worried after all.
“I suppose,” she said.
“Caleb will spend the next two days with me, learning what he needs to know before his formal confirmation.” Sienna’s gaze was suddenly so sharp that Emily knew she knew what Emily and Caleb had been doing. “I trust that Frieda and yourself will have no difficulty staying out of trouble?”
“I should probably go back to the bank,” Emily said. “And then we can explore the city.”
She was torn between an odd mixture of relief and regret. She would have loved to spend more time with Caleb, but she also needed time to digest what he’d told her and decide what it meant for their future.
All of a sudden, she understood Imaiqah very well. She’d never let herself get attached to any of her boyfriends. It had made it easier for her to let go.
“Very good,” Sienna said.
General Pollack entered, followed by Croce. “There was a fight down at the docks,” he said, as he undid his cloak and passed it to Karan. “I’m not sure what caused the original explosion, but it was turning into a riot when I left.”
Sienna sniffed. “Too many drunkards in one place.”
“No doubt.” General Pollack sat, heavily. “Going to the council was a complete waste of time. They were too busy discussing Justice to talk about a dead necromancer.”
“Justice has been seen again,” Marian said. “No one died this time, but they saw him…”
“Drunk,” Sienna snapped. “Or maybe they saw an illusion.”
“It was no illusion,” Marian insisted. Her eyes were wide with passion. “Mother, they weren’t lying.”
Sienna looked unimpressed. “Any halfway competent sorcerer could cast a glamour and mingle it with a few hexes to create a godly image,” she said. “And as long as they didn’t get caught, they’d get away with it.”
“People died,” Marian said. “They were turned to stone!”
“Which is a common spell,” Sienna said. “You’ll be turning your classmates into stone next year.”
“I wouldn’t kill them,” Marian protested.
Sienna gave her youngest daughter a sharp look. “Let’s consider it for a moment,” she said, slowly. “Justice – the god – is prowling the streets, looking for sinners. There’s no shortage of sinners in this city. I don’t let you go down to Fishing Plaice after dark because it is not a safe place for a young girl, magic or no magic. A half-drunk sailor would probably have his way with you whether you wanted it or not.”
Her gaze hardened. “A city filled with sinners. And yet, only five people are petrified and killed. Five people, three of whom were industrialists; two of whom were connected to industrialists. Why isn’t Justice going after the real bastards?”
“He is,” Marian insisted.
“There’s a man in a cell who’s going to be taken to the castle and tossed off the Watchful Rock tomorrow afternoon,” Sienna said. “He kidnapped, raped and murdered seven young girls, the oldest of whom was nine years old. And he was only caught because he made a mistake and drew the guards to him. There were grown men vomiting in horror because of the stories he told, when they poured truth potions down his throat.”
Her voice grew stronger. “Why didn’t Justice kill him?”
“We caught him,” Marian stammered. Her face was pale. “Didn’t we?”
“He claimed his first victim two years ago,” Sienna snapped. “And he was only caught last week! If this…god…is a real god, why didn’t he kill him, instead of leaving him alive to kill six more girls? Children! The bastard killed children! Tossing him from the rock is more mercy than the bastard deserves!”
She turned and stalked into the dining room. “Come. We have dinner to eat before bedtime.”
Emily glanced at Caleb, then followed the others into the dining room. Marian looked subdued, taking her seat and staring at the empty plate as if she didn’t want to meet her mother’s eyes. Emily didn’t blame her, even though she suspected that Sienna was right. If a real god was stalking the streets, why would he leave a real sinner alone? Or, perhaps, go after more sinners. What counted as a sin? Or…
She looked up at Sienna. “The victims…were they all connected to Vesperian?”
Sienna frowned. “They could be,” she said. “A couple of them would definitely have been tapped for supplies. But the younger two victims had barely reached their majorities. They wouldn’t have any direct connection to him.”
“They might have been investors,” Karan suggested, as she started ladling out the food. “If my friends can buy notes, why not them?”
“They wouldn’t have been major investors.” Sienna sounded confident. “No parent ever born would allow their child enough ready money to be a major investor.”
“Maybe Vesperian has hired an assassin,” Caleb speculated. “Perhaps the targets were all investors who wanted their money back.”
Emily nodded. “If they were owed money, what would happen to it?”
Sienna frowned. “It would go to their heirs, I assume,” she said. “The notes would be treated as just another piece of property. There might be a clause in the original contracts specifying that repayment only had to be made to the original investor, but I can’t see any competent lawyer allowing that to pass.”
She shook her head. “And if the estate wants the money back immediately, they could take Vesperian to court.”
“Which would cause him a great deal of trouble,” Emily noted. “Even if he had to just pay back the original loan, without interest, he’d still have to find the money.”
“Unless he had just enough to pay back the original loan,” Caleb offered. “The estate managers might be glad just to get that back.”
“It would still be risky,” Emily countered. “The managers might be prepared to wait long enough for the notes to mature.”
She sighed. “The whole thing is a disaster waiting to happen. I think you should be glad we don’t have any money invested in the scheme.”