Brynd stepped forward until he was an arm’s length away from the cell. ‘Rika,’ he called. ‘Lady Rika.’
Lan watched the woman for a reaction, but there seemed no acknowledgement of her name.
‘I am Brynd Lathraea, Commander of the Night Guard,’ he said louder. ‘Do you recognize me?’
Again, nothing. Rika merely glanced aggressively at everyone who had gathered to watch her. Cursing, Brynd turned to address them. ‘It seems as though she may be beyond help. For now, no one is to enter this area. Tiendi, Mikill — I’m putting you two on the door. No one comes in, no one comes out without my say-so.’
‘Yes, commander,’ they replied.
Mikill said, ‘Should her sister know?’
Brynd considered the question, but replied in hushed tones: ‘Soon.’ He looked at Lan and Fulcrom: ‘Obviously you’re both now witnesses to this — and Lan, while I do indeed appreciate your remarkable efforts, I would be grateful if no one was to find out about this. The ramifications could be huge.’
‘You have our word,’ Fulcrom announced. ‘And if you need any assistance in the matter, you only have to ask.’
Brynd nodded his thanks before escorting them out. Two doors closed behind them. Two sets of lock mechanisms clicked into place.
TWENTY — ONE
The morning was wet and miserable, but Fulcrom and Lan headed across the city to the address given to them by Commander Lathraea. They were surprised at the lack of life in the area, as if everyone had simply been evacuated.
‘Maybe the people here were lost during the war?’ Lan suggested.
‘Could be. Or perhaps they left as a result of industry lost after the war, who knows. There’s a lot we don’t know about this city.’
‘Why have you asked me here today?’ Lan asked. ‘Wouldn’t you rather have me back at headquarters than getting in the way?’
Fulcrom laughed. ‘No, you’re part of the Inquisition now.’
‘I’m not particularly good at questioning though. You’re the brains of the operation.’
‘If that’s so, then you’re the brawn,’ he replied. ‘I’m still aching from the way I was treated in the cells of Balmacara.’
‘You should’ve said something,’ Lan replied.
‘I’ve not let on because rumel skin doesn’t bruise and I didn’t want to make a fuss. You know what I’m like. It’s strange that, during the escape and fighting, I couldn’t feel much in the way of pain — I guess adrenalin kicks in and I just continued as if nothing had happened. But now we’ve relaxed, now we’re settled somewhere else, the echoes of it are coming back.’
‘There’s only one thing you can do then,’ Lan said, ‘and that’s to throw yourself back into the thick of it.’
‘Which is why we’re here.’
They located the vast structure called Factory 54, an unusually bland name. They tied their horses around the end of the massive structure and, locating the door, Fulcrom gave a loud knock.
There were a few curious sounds from inside, and eventually a young man opened the door. ‘Hell do you want?’ he said grumpily. ‘We’re busy.’
‘We’re here on behalf of the Villiren Inquisition.’
‘Ain’t no Inquisition any more. Barely was in the first place, bunch of corrupt buggers. We’re not paying any protection money, if that’s what you want.’
‘No no,’ Fulcrom interrupted. ‘I’m not sure you understand. We’re here on behalf of Commander Lathraea.’
‘The albino?’
‘That’s correct,’ Fulcrom said. ‘Now, I’m not sure what went on before, but the Inquisition is being reconstructed and I’m not here to ask for money.’
‘So what d’you want then?’ The young man slouched in the doorway, then suddenly turned back and bellowed, ‘It’s the Inquisition!’ Then, back to Fulcrom, ‘Sorry — go on.’
‘I want to know if you can help me. The commander suggested you people create monsters, is that right?’
‘Yeah, what’s-’ He was cut off by the arrival of a young woman, no older than twenty, Fulcrom guessed.
‘Sorry, sorry,’ she said. ‘Coren, why don’t you head back and let me deal with this.’
The man shrugged and skulked off into the darkness. The girl smiled and introduced herself as Jeza.
After repeating who they were, Fulcrom reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He unfolded it and held it up to Jeza. ‘Do you recognize this?’
‘Sketches of a grotesque, by the look of it.’ She handed the paper back to him and, despite her attempts at nonchalance, looked incredibly sheepish. She was someone who could not tell an effective lie.
‘This was found yesterday in a major iren near Port Nostalgia, and it was made to look as if it had strolled in there before dying. There was blood. It had been staged so that it held a dead child in its claws.’
‘It shouldn’t have been, um, able to do that. .’ Jeza started.
‘Because it was dead in the first place, right?’ Fulcrom said.
Jeza nodded.
‘Did the grotesque come from here?’
Again, she nodded.
‘I’m guessing you sold it to someone,’ Fulcrom suggested. This didn’t look as if it was going to be his most demanding case to date.
‘I did, yes, but I really can’t tell you, because. . because I want to keep all my clients a secret — cultists can’t do good business without confidentiality. We just don’t tell.’
‘But you realize the consequences of us not finding out?’ Fulcrom asked, thinking she was showing signs of having been intimidated. ‘This might not be a one-off incident. This might be at the heart of something more sinister, and the commander has asked me to find out who did it.’
‘I can’t help you!’ Jeza said, raising her voice with nervousness.
‘Look. Hundreds of people are panicking. There could be great social unrest. The commander has had dozens of worried parents protesting about their children’s safety.’
‘They’re not under threat though — it’s all staged,’ Jeza suggested meekly.
‘It doesn’t matter, it’s the fact that they’re being used as a tool. We just want one name, that’s all. No one will know and you’ll be doing a service to the whole city.’
‘You promise you won’t let the trail get back to me?’ she asked, tears welling up in her eyes.
‘You have the word of the Inquisition,’ Fulcrom replied confidently. ‘As well as the commander.’
‘And you’ll go — if I give you his name, you’ll go. No more questions?’
Fulcrom nodded.
‘OK.’ Jeza leaned in close to whisper. ‘His name is Malum. That’s all I know.’
With that, she said a hasty goodbye before closing the door on them.
Fulcrom turned back with Lan to find their horses.
‘Well, that was simple enough,’ Lan said.
‘She was scared of him, this Malum,’ Fulcrom replied thoughtfully. ‘That was one defiant young woman, and if she created that monster, she doesn’t frighten easily. Now to find out who this Malum fellow is, and what he is up to.’
Jeza dashed inside, breathing heavily, and sat down at the kitchen table while the familiar noises within the factory echoed around her. There was the whirr of machines working somewhere, relics churning out cultist energy; then came the guttural call of one of their creatures. She closed it all out and put her head in her hands and took deep breaths.
Coren came down the stairs with a few flecks of blood on his face. ‘Hey, what was that all about then?’
