“You did good,” I said. I glanced at Steifan, wondering where to begin.
We’d both had similar thoughts to Bastien on our clothing. I wore a midnight blue silk shirt and black leggings, while Steifan wore clothing nearly the twin of Bastien’s. While we were supposed to wear our armor with its insignia at all times on a mission, we were far from Castle Helius, and we might gain more answers if people didn’t realize we were hunters.
Our swords and extra weaponry might still stand out, but most would think us mercenaries.
I turned back to Bastien. “How much time can you spare us today?”
He grinned. “I have the rest of the day off. Vannier requested I do whatever it takes to help you find the monster who killed Duchess Auclair.”
My eyebrows shot up. Odd, that it was the servant pushing for justice rather than the husband.
I glanced around the market, making sure no one paid us too much attention as I wondered how to broach the subject of J. DeRose with Bastien. By now the duke would have realized the ledger was missing, unless he simply woke up thinking he’d already burned it. Regardless, it was better to exercise caution and not let Bastien know we had the ledger.
Seeming to realize my predicament, Steifan looked around me to Bastien. “For our first task, can you guide us to the DeRoses? My father requested we pay several notable families a visit, and I’m not sure where this particular family dwells.”
Bastien’s expression fell. “I fear the DeRoses have gone out of favor. They fell victim to criminal activities and went destitute.”
Steifan and I locked gazes for a moment. Why would Charlotte be meeting with a family that had fallen out of favor?
“Is there a particular member of the family you were tasked to approach?” Bastien asked hopefully.
Steifan’s bashful expression was almost believable. “My father only gave me a list, and did not fully explain the names. At the top of the list was J. DeRose.”
Bastien nodded, easily accepting the explanation. “That would be Jeramy DeRose. I know the general area of where he now lives,” he paused, his eyes flicking me. “It is not an area for a proper lady to be seen.”
Steifan snorted, earning him a deathly glare. I turned back to Bastien before I could ensure I had wiped the grin off Steifan’s face. “I will be fine. Can you take us there?”
Bastien glanced at the Seeing Sword. “Yes, I do suppose you can take care of yourself. This way.”
We followed as he cut across the square, opposite the direction of the stables. He led us down a narrow dirt street bisecting small wooden homes, some with shattered windows, and some that never had glass to begin with. Occasionally we heard voices from within the homes, most seeming to belong to mothers and children, though sometimes a man’s voice was thrown in. These were probably the families of smiths, tailors, tavern workers, and the like. Farmers and peasants would live outside the city walls.
We followed the interior curve of those walls now, as the homes slowly fell to disrepair. Eventually they were little more than shacks, the planks oddly spaced enough to barely keep out the elements. Thatched roofs were mostly rotted, with some gone entirely, showing the wooden supports beneath.
There were more people out in the street here, some sleeping in the open beneath ragged piles of bedding. Two dirty, but healthy looking young men watched us closely as we passed. I didn’t miss the way their eyes lingered on mine and Steifan’s weapons, probably wondering if they would be able to take them from us.
Bastien stuck close to my shoulder as we continued on. “We will need to ask someone, I don’t know exactly where Jeramy ended up.”
My nose wrinkled at a familiar odor amidst the bouquet of unwashed bodies and excrement. “Perhaps, but let’s check this way first.”
I veered right after passing a vacant home, with Bastien and Steifan close behind. The smell grew worse. I was getting a bad feeling.
Just as I thought it, the Seeing Sword thrummed at my back.
I increased my pace.
Realizing something was wrong, Steifan jogged to keep up at my side, but didn’t ask questions.
We came to a small cul-de-sac of homes. A young mother watched us from across the way, her children playing in the dirt at her feet. Her eyes flicked to a house directly across from hers, which seemed to be the one harboring the horrid stench.
Bastien and Steifan each lifted a sleeve to cover their noses, so it must have been strong enough now for them to smell it too.
“I really don’t like the smell of this,” Steifan groaned.
“It might have nothing to do with J. DeRose,” I said, already walking toward the home. The young mother had gathered her children and retreated through her door.
I reached the odor harboring door with the Seeing Sword thrumming steadily at my back. I listened for a moment, then braced my right leg, flicking out the other to kick the door in.
It flew back with a loud thwack, then fell partially off its hinges. The smell was overwhelming. I covered my nose and mouth with my sleeve and walked inside.
A man lay sprawled in the middle of the floor, his body ripe with the hot sunlight streaming in through the damaged roof. Rusty brown stains had soaked into the hard-packed dirt floor. The straw mat and few belongings within the home had been tossed about, some things torn to shreds.
I sensed Steifan and Bastien at my back as I knelt near the putrid corpse. It was difficult to tell with the mottled skin, but it seemed like he had been badly beaten before being killed. I picked up a fallen quill to move light brown hair away from his neck. No vampire bites, though that didn’t mean they weren’t elsewhere on his body.
“I think that’s Jeramy,” Bastien croaked behind me.
I turned to see him staring wide-eyed at the corpse.
