the blood-oath
.
There were few belongings left to search; some jewelry, and a couple of things that looked like sentimental keepsakes. No sign of traps. Now it was time to look for clues, things that might tell her why Tari-nakana had been killed.
The most obvious thing to search for first was a secret compartment, which might hold important papers. The previous visitor had already done that, though, if by rather less delicate methods than Mirage herself would have used. She picked through the detritus, trying to see if any of it
had
concealed such a compartment, but everything seemed to have been normal before it was ripped apart. And none of the holes in the walls and floor held any remains of hidden contents.
Eclipse was still working in the study, so she turned her attention to the intact parts of the room. None of the walls held compartments she could find, and the same with the floor. The furniture, which the previous searcher had not thought to destroy, was similarly clean.
Of course, if she hid anything with a spell, I don't stand a chance in the Void of finding it
.
Standing with her hands on her hips, Mirage surveyed the room and tried to decide if she was missing anything.
"I think you should come look at this," Eclipse called from the adjoining room.
Grabbing her lantern, Mirage picked her way through the papers to Eclipse's side. He was holding a scrap of paper, quite small, with something written on it in an illegible scrawl. Eclipse tapped the signature scribbled at the bottom, but try as she might, Mirage could make nothing of it.
"You never could read his writing," Eclipse said with a grin. "It's Avalanche."
Avalanche. Six years their senior at Silverfire; he and Eclipse had been friends despite the gap in their ages. Mirage had never known him well, though, since he graduated not too long after she arrived. She peered at the note and supposed she could see his name in the scribble. "What does it say?"
Eclipse snorted. "Not much. 'Nakana: Back tomorrow.'"
Mirage blinked, and looked at Eclipse in mystified surprise. "He was working for Tari-nakana?"
"Looks like it."
Witches hardly ever hire Hunters.
Not that you could tell by their behavior lately. Next Ice'll show up with a commission of her own. Mirage took the scrap of paper and turned it over in her hands, but there was nothing beyond those three words and Avalanche's signature. "What could she have wanted him for?"
"Your guess is as good as mine."
"Protection?"
"Could be." Eclipse cracked his knuckles; there was a gleam in his eye. "We could always ask him."
"Do you know where he is?"
"Not at the moment, but one of our agents might know."
Mirage looked around at the chaos of the study. "Should we keep going through this stuff?"
"I'm pretty much done in here. Want to switch?"
"Not particularly, but I guess we should." Mirage stretched and eyed the papers balefully. "Warrior's teeth—did this woman never throw any papers away?"
"Give her a break. She was a high-ranking witch. This place is no worse than Jaguar's office would look if you threw everything
he
owns on the floor."
Left alone in the room, Mirage scowled at the papers. If only she had some idea of what to look for, searching blind like this was annoying. And the scattered, tiny piles of ash were testament that some important things had already been destroyed. Then she swore. "Kerestel—we're going to have to check downstairs again, too. If she had anything hidden, she might not have kept it up here."
"True enough," he said from the bedroom. "Looks like the last visitor didn't think of that."
"Who do you think he was?" she asked as she picked up a stack of papers and flipped through them.
"Not sure. The assassin, maybe; he might have wanted to take away any evidence pointing at his employer. And whoever it was knew to avoid the doctored steps."
"It doesn't seem like his style, though. He's been subtle up until now, so why rip this place apart? Especially since he's a
.
There were few belongings left to search; some jewelry, and a couple of things that looked like sentimental keepsakes. No sign of traps. Now it was time to look for clues, things that might tell her why Tari-nakana had been killed.
The most obvious thing to search for first was a secret compartment, which might hold important papers. The previous visitor had already done that, though, if by rather less delicate methods than Mirage herself would have used. She picked through the detritus, trying to see if any of it
had
concealed such a compartment, but everything seemed to have been normal before it was ripped apart. And none of the holes in the walls and floor held any remains of hidden contents.
Eclipse was still working in the study, so she turned her attention to the intact parts of the room. None of the walls held compartments she could find, and the same with the floor. The furniture, which the previous searcher had not thought to destroy, was similarly clean.
Of course, if she hid anything with a spell, I don't stand a chance in the Void of finding it
.
Standing with her hands on her hips, Mirage surveyed the room and tried to decide if she was missing anything.
"I think you should come look at this," Eclipse called from the adjoining room.
Grabbing her lantern, Mirage picked her way through the papers to Eclipse's side. He was holding a scrap of paper, quite small, with something written on it in an illegible scrawl. Eclipse tapped the signature scribbled at the bottom, but try as she might, Mirage could make nothing of it.
"You never could read his writing," Eclipse said with a grin. "It's Avalanche."
Avalanche. Six years their senior at Silverfire; he and Eclipse had been friends despite the gap in their ages. Mirage had never known him well, though, since he graduated not too long after she arrived. She peered at the note and supposed she could see his name in the scribble. "What does it say?"
Eclipse snorted. "Not much. 'Nakana: Back tomorrow.'"
Mirage blinked, and looked at Eclipse in mystified surprise. "He was working for Tari-nakana?"
"Looks like it."
Witches hardly ever hire Hunters.
Not that you could tell by their behavior lately. Next Ice'll show up with a commission of her own. Mirage took the scrap of paper and turned it over in her hands, but there was nothing beyond those three words and Avalanche's signature. "What could she have wanted him for?"
"Your guess is as good as mine."
"Protection?"
"Could be." Eclipse cracked his knuckles; there was a gleam in his eye. "We could always ask him."
"Do you know where he is?"
"Not at the moment, but one of our agents might know."
Mirage looked around at the chaos of the study. "Should we keep going through this stuff?"
"I'm pretty much done in here. Want to switch?"
"Not particularly, but I guess we should." Mirage stretched and eyed the papers balefully. "Warrior's teeth—did this woman never throw any papers away?"
"Give her a break. She was a high-ranking witch. This place is no worse than Jaguar's office would look if you threw everything
he
owns on the floor."
Left alone in the room, Mirage scowled at the papers. If only she had some idea of what to look for, searching blind like this was annoying. And the scattered, tiny piles of ash were testament that some important things had already been destroyed. Then she swore. "Kerestel—we're going to have to check downstairs again, too. If she had anything hidden, she might not have kept it up here."
"True enough," he said from the bedroom. "Looks like the last visitor didn't think of that."
"Who do you think he was?" she asked as she picked up a stack of papers and flipped through them.
"Not sure. The assassin, maybe; he might have wanted to take away any evidence pointing at his employer. And whoever it was knew to avoid the doctored steps."
"It doesn't seem like his style, though. He's been subtle up until now, so why rip this place apart? Especially since he's a
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