"What? What happened?" Vania leapt back to her feet. "Where?"
"His home. No one saw what happened, but Laria is missing, the home is trashed, and he's dead. Grenda says it looks like a bash and dash—bash the father, grab the kid, and dash."
"Where's his home?"
"A block down from the Rusty Anchor. Pink flowers growing on the window sills, ivy covering the walls. You'll see it."
"And his wife?"
"Works the early shift at the pier—she's been at work four hours already."
"And I thought you started early," Vania muttered. As she walked toward the stairs, she asked, "Did anyone tell her yet?"
"Grenda's going there. You'll want to see the house before she gets back."
"Then we'd better get moving," Eddin replied, standing slowly. He joined Vania near the stairs. He looked down at her blanketed shoulders and frowned; "Oh. Right. We'll stop at your place, first."
"No time," Vania replied. "If he has Laria, there's only five days before she turns up dead. Judging by the amount of flies Cavin had accumulated, I'd say he was dead at least a day before he was dumped. So, Laria has four days, at most. We need to find this guy."
"Well, at least take my cloak," Derry offered, nodding at the patched fabric hanging from the hook by the door at the bottom of the stairs. The baker and two enforcers walked down the stairs together. "It might fit."
Eddin saw the frayed edges and patches, eyes roving the simple clasp and cut of the fabric, and frowned; "No. Not for work, anyway." He undid the clasp of his cloak and slid it off his shoulders in one smooth motion. "Mine has the insignia on it. It'll be better." He threw it around her shoulders and did the clasp, then pulled the top edges together closer over her shoulders and buttoned it closed over her breastbone.
"This is ridiculous, Eddin. You really think the insignia means that much? Your cloak can't possibly fit me. At least Derry is closer to my size, so it won't seem so outrageous." She shrugged her shoulders and clasped the edges of the cloak in her long-fingered hands. The three blankets fell from around her shoulders and landed at her feet.
"Come on—we don't have time to argue." Eddin took her arm as he opened the door. "Thank you, Derry."
"You two take care of each other. Eddin—I'm counting on you to keep your comrade-in-arms safe."
"Thank you for your trust, General. I won't let you down."
"Go get that asshole before he kills Laria."
"You take care, too, Derry," Vania added. "Keep Licia and the kids close."
Vania held her free hand close to her stomach, holding the cloak closed over her nightgown, as Eddin walked her to his horse. "How... is this not way too long?"
"Spelled for self-adjust," he replied. He spoke a few quiet words to the bay mare, then grabbed Vania by her upper arms and lifted her onto the mare's back. "Might want to ride sidesaddle today. I don't know how much give your outfit allows your legs and I'd rather not find out."
"So... it shrunk to fit me?" Vania eyed the cloak, letting one hand feel the edge of it. The buttons held the top portion closed until just under her ribcage.
"Yes," he replied as he stepped into the stirrups and pulled himself up on the horse. "Do you know how to get to the Rusty Anchor?"
"Yes. Remember the hairdresser's? Where..." He nodded wordlessly. "One block back from there, moving away from the pier. Also, three or so doors farther down the road."
"And then his house is a block from there." Eddin nodded again and clicked his tongue. As the mare jumped forward, Vania cringed as she slid into him.
"Do you have any means of contacting the station?" she asked as she gave up trying to lean away from him and let herself settle her shoulder against his chest. It's just to get to Adar's house quickly. Finding Laria is far more important than my comfort. "We should ask for one of the wizards to meet us—if there's a way to track this fellow, I want to do it. We need to find Laria as soon as possible."
Eddin skillfully guided the horse through the dusty streets, the large mare attracting baleful glares from merchants with carts who had to quickly jump out of the way.
"Pink flowers and vines... Pink flowers and vines..." Eddin muttered, watching the buildings on either side.
"There. Just up ahead on the left," Vania said, nodding.
Eddin stopped his mare in front of a two-story stone house; ivy clung to the rocks like living curtains, shielding the walls from sunlight. Cheerful little pink flowers grew thickly on each windowsill facing the street, in stark contrast to the nightmare they knew waited inside.
"You're not wearing your armbands, are you?" he asked as he lifted her down.
"No." She crossed her arms under the cloak and scowled. "Now let's get moving."
He nodded, lips in a tight line as he pushed open the door. It creaked briefly, but swung without resistance. Just inside the door, two cloaks and a collection of hats littered the floor. A short distance from the material, the blood began.
"Oh," Vania gasped, eyeing the dried pool, eyes automatically following the drops of blood across the floor to the stairs.
"So, someone got injured here," Eddin muttered, staring down at the large blood stain. "Maybe a punch to the nose? Maybe stabbed? But not dead. Not yet. Then he went upstairs..."
"Do you think... maybe Adar was able to injure the wizard?" They both walked upstairs, following the blood trail. Vania winced at the sound of Eddin's boots; the footsteps seemed too loud in this still, quiet house.
The upstairs landing let to a short hallway containing two doors. The blood trail went through the open door on the left.
Vania stopped, gasping, in the doorway. Her hands went up to her face as her knees gave out and she sunk to the floor. No. No, no, no...
A child's bed was overturned, the sheets strewn about the room. A doll had been caught under the falling bed, the force of the frame reducing its wooden head to a pile of splinters. The door to the dark wardrobe by the wall stood open. A small pile of hair, a mix of blond, brown, and black shades, lay near the wardrobe. Between the door and the bed lay Adar, blood pooled all around him, shirt soaked from the knife wounds to his neck and abdomen. One bloody hand lay extended, toward the doorway, the knuckles on the hand cracked and bloody. Adar's eyes blindly stared at Vania.
You're an enforcer, woman, so do your bloody job! Adar shouted in her mind.
Eddin studied Adar, leaning closely to examine the cuts. Then he walked slowly around the room, looking at the bed, the doorway, the wardrobe. He finally picked up the broken doll and pulled a stuffed animal from the wardrobe.
"Here. Put these in the inner pocket in my cloak—it's spelled to trap whatever essence might remain on the items, plus protect it from external essences."
Vania nodded, hand shaking as she pocketed the toys. Her eyes never left Adar's.
"So... if I had to guess what happened... Adar met the wizard at the door. They fought—Adar got a good hit on the wizard, since he bloodied his knuckles, but the wizard stabbed him in the gut. It tore him pretty good, but it wasn't enough to take him down. Not at first, anyway. Not when he has a daughter to protect. So, the wizard goes upstairs and Adar follows, catches up with him here... And this time, the wizard finishes him off by cutting his throat. The girl, frightened by the fighting, hid in the wardrobe with her favorite toy, but he still found her and dragged her away."
"No!" A voice sobbed from downstairs. "No! Adar! Laria!"
"Wait!" another voice called; two sets of footsteps pounded up the steps, a sobbing breath gasping.
A tydring woman in dusty clothes appeared in the doorway, almost tripping over Vania as she went into the room and dropped to the floor, cradling Adar's head to her chest and whispering, "No," over and over.
A woman with greying hair in military dress followed slowly; she stopped in the doorway and took in the scene, eyes jumping to Vania and Eddin.
Eddin nodded at her, "Ma'am." He dropped to his knees and placed one hand on Adar's wife's shoulder. "Ma'am. I'm so sorry. I know this is a hard time for you, but we believe Laria's still alive, and we're going to do our best to find her, but we need your help."
"Just find my baby," the woman whispered. "And catch whoever did this so I can watch him hang."
"We intend to do our best," Eddin repeated. "But we need to know—does your husband have any enemies?"
"N-no." She clutched her dead husband tighter and sobbed. She barely choked out, "Do you think it's the same person who killed Cavin? The one who cut him all up has my baby now?"
"We are currently assuming that, yes. Did Adar have any dealings with any wizards recently?"
"No."
"I assume... your daughter must be Marked?" Eddin asked quietly; the woman nodded, stilling sobbing. "What was her Mark?"
"You..." she took a shaky breath and slowly looked over to him. "You... obviously never met her." She wiped her tears, sniffling. "She... is Marked like... a cougar." She sobbed. It was a few moments before she spoke again. "Long tail. Claws. Rounded ears at... at the top of her head, surrounded by fur. Not... not hair. Cavin always... said they... were twins... It made her happy... so happy... Especially since so many kids... teased her..."
Vania looked puzzled; "I... met Laria," she said quietly. "The day Cavin... was found. I didn't even notice..." her eyes locked on the hair by the wardrobe as she realized, "...she wore a wig..."
"Yes. Adar made... He made her those. Used the hair from his shop... for making dolls." The woman sniffled and sobbed a little again. "Her favorite is... pink. She... she always calls it... her fairy hair."
"Is your daughter's favorite toy a doll?"
"No. She always kept it on her bed, but... she never played with her. Said she was... too pretty. She named her Lady Izara. Adar worked so hard on that doll. He made it just for our daughter; didn't fashion any other toy like it." The woman began sobbing harder.
"How about a stuffed blue and purple frog?"
"Yes. She called him Sir Hops. She took him everywhere..." The woman looked around the room, eyes searching. Her gaze fell upon the remains of the doll's head, splintered by the bed frame and a keening built in her throat until she began sobbing again.
"I'm sorry, but we're taking Lady Izara and Sir Hops for a little while," Eddin informed her. "They probably have your daughter's essence clinging to them; we're hoping one of our wizards can use that to track down where she is. I promise, once this is over, we will return them to you. Is that all right?"
She nodded, still sobbing; she turned to Eddin and, grabbing the front of his shirt with her bloody hands, pleaded, "Please. Please, find my daughter. Please find my baby. Before... before that monster takes her heart..."
Eddin gently put an arm around her and let her cry into his chest.
Vania sighed and carefully got to her feet and silently left Eddin to comfort the heartbroken woman. The woman in military attire followed Vania downstairs.
The woman crossed her arms and looked Vania up and down sternly; "Looks like you two were having an evening, hmm?"
"Having an evening? What are you talking about?" Vania asked, self-consciously pulling the cloak tighter.
"You're clearly not in uniform. Not even wearing shoes. Didn't have time to run home after your little sleepover before duty called?"
Vania made a face; "It's not what you think. I spent the night with Derry and his family. Just ask Derry if you don't believe me. And, yes, this came up before I made it home, and I thought getting here and trying to find that murderer was more important than me running around barefoot."
"Derry? Ah. You mean Derryl. You must be Vania Nahalora, then. Starlin's daughter."
"Yes," Vania replied stiffly. "And you must be Grenda Girel. The one Derry asked to check on Adar and his family."
"Indeed I am. How close are you to finding this murderer?"
"Not very, I'm afraid," Vania admitted, looking at her bare toes.
"Not good enough," Grenda snapped. "There are four people dead and a little girl soon to join them. Get him before he massacres the entire city. Get moving! Or shall I call in my coworkers to handle this?"
"We don't need the military. We just need a lead."
Footsteps on the stairs made both women turn. Eddin, with Adar's widow on his arm, walked slowly toward them.
"Ma'am," Eddin said, nodding at Grenda. "If you have the time to spare, will you please keep her company?" He gently handed the widow off to the stern military woman. "We will be sending a team of wizards by to deal with the blood, so as awful as it is, please refrain from cleaning until they've left. You should send for the undertaker as soon as possible, though, and make arrangements for the deceased."
"I hear and obey, Buccareth, though you are not ranking officer here," Grenda replied. She placed a gentle hand on the woman's shoulder. "I'll stay here and offer what comfort I may. The only thing she wants now, though, is to get her daughter back, so the two of you had better hurry."
"Thank you, Ma'am," Eddin said with another nod. He turned to Vania and gestured to the door. "We should be going."