Bilain held back her emotions as she surveyed the destruction. A swathe of buildings, nothing but rubble, singed timbers and ash. The Weather Mages had arrived too late to stop the spread, but it could have burned for far longer without their help. The stench of fire quenched by conjured rains, and of burned flesh, lingered in the air. She should never have left The Sprawl in her wasted journey to confront someone who had nothing to do with the devastation.
"It was an accident. One of the guards panicked, dropped a lantern as we assaulted the building." Trenna, his features caked with soot, couldn't look Bilain in the eyes. "It was my fault. I should have taken greater care. I should have ..."
"This is not your fault, Sergeant." Her gaze had caught sight of a blackened arm, reaching up from the rubble, unable to tell whether it was a man, woman or a child. "This is the responsibility of evil, greedy people. And mine."
She had arrived back in The Sprawl as the Watch members had collapsed a building, creating a gap between the raging flames and further destruction. They had all performed well, giving everything they had to save the lives of their fellow citizens. Even had Bilain stayed to coordinate the assaults and arrests, she doubted the outcome would have happened any different, but that still didn't stop her blaming herself.
Kaluun had disappeared as soon as they reached the edge of The Sprawl, but Bilain had a feeling that the woman still lurked nearby, high above the gutted streets where people lingered in shock at the loss. The Sprawl had seen many fires over the years, and would most like see many more in the future, but Bilain had never seen such a fire caused for such a pitiful reason. The Sprawl used as a game piece in a disturbed play for money. For money!
"Captain, I will understand if you don't want me as your Sergeant." He hadn't heard her, or ignored her statement that he wasn't at fault. He took the blame upon himself and, for that alone, it proved he had the right attitude for her Sergeant. "Ghusz would have ..."
"Ghusz would have done nothing different. If I have to tell you once more that it wasn't your fault, then I will choose another Sergeant. Accept it. Remember this. Remember the people lost." The people. She hadn't wanted to ask, but she needed to. "How many? How many did we lose?"
"We can't say for certain. The Sprawl, it hides folks." He scratched his singed beard, fingers catching in the whiskers against hairs curled and melted by the heat. "We've found over a hundred dead, so far. Three times that injured in some way. There'll be more, for certain, and some we'll never find. Of that I'm sure. There'd be more dead if not for the Kannai."
Away to the side, the governess of the Lady En Lutar, Shurivno, sat upon a fallen timber, her clothing blackened by soot, her fur caked in blood and dirt. Bilain could tell how exhausted the woman was, but she showed none of it to those around her. Kaluun had said the Kannai's healing abilities were only limited, but she had performed far above what Kaluun's words would have her believe.
As though she knew Bilain watched her, Shurivno turned her head to Bilain and gave the slightest of nods before looking up to the rooftops. There were far fewer buildings to get in the way of that look, but Bilain knew who the Kannai looked for. Up there, somewhere, Kaluun looked down. A black stain against a sky where light had only begun to touch as the Sun began its journey across the skies.
"Continue searching. Find all that you can. For their families. For The Sprawl. We can't let any of them be forgotten." She looked around, tearing her eyes away from the rooftops, watching her Watch pick through the detritus. "Ilivno?"
"She left as soon as the fire came under control. She had two things to do. Your instructions were followed. All the remaining barrels are now awaiting your instructions and ... something else." The change in his tone disturbed her, his voice breaking as though he didn't want to continue speaking. "The two Watch members escorting your family. We had reports they were found. Dead. Of your family, there is no sign."
He may as well have punched her in the gut. Stamped down upon her chest. Tore her still-beating heart out with his cruel hands. She swallowed, eyes flickering as she tried to maintain control. She had feared it from the moment she had heard the escorts hadn't returned in good time, but she had pushed it down. Avoided thinking about it. Now she could do nothing but think of Ranaie, Amaini, even Nishrean.
Taken, and she had a good idea why. Her investigation, as badly made as it was, had led her to certain conclusions. Nothing solid, or with evidence, but conclusions that pointed a certain way and she knew these people would have taken steps for such an occurrence. They hadn't expected her to perform so well, a mere Captain in the Watch of a place like The Sprawl. Finding her own feet of a morning was probably difficult for her, she expected they had thought. But they had taken precautions. Good strategists did that.
The message was as clear as the glass that adorned Asnarrus' office. If her investigations led her in a certain direction, her family would become forfeit. As with the investigation itself, however, her enemies had not prepared for one thing. One splinter in the foot that could lead to the entire leg becoming infected. Kaluun. The shadow vigilante. No-one could have possibly expected her intervention. It was Kaluun's actions that had brought Bilain to this point. That first night, where Little Mim had observed something The Sprawl had never seen.
"Little Mim? Has anyone seen her of late?" She had forgotten the child once again. After how the Mikinartan, Jaftur, had treated Nishrean, they would think nothing of silencing the plucky street urchin. "If you can spare some Watch members, have them search for her. Though I feel we may need to add her name to the list of the dead."
"What are you going to do, Chief?" He raised a bushy eyebrow, no doubt expecting her to do something rash. He'd be correct. "I'll spare everyone I can to find your family. The dead can wait."
"No. You do as ordered. Recover as many bodies as you can, find Little Mim." She realised she still held her spear in her hand and allowed it to fall to the ground. She had no need of it now. "I'll find my family. Give me your bully stick."
The look of concern crossing Trenna's features did nothing to make Bilain debate her next move. Either he, or Ilivno, or someone new, would soon take over as Captain of the Watch if she followed through with what she intended. Her last act as Captain of the Ward Watch for The Sprawl and she needed to do it as the Captain. Trenna tugged the bully stick from his belt, handing it over.
With the bully stick tucked into her own belt, Bilain moved across to where Shurivno sat. She could see the Kannai had little energy left, channeling so much of the Essence to help people, heal people, to save lives, it was a wonder she hadn't burnt herself out, as so many mages did when they reached beyond their capabilities. For some, if they were lucky, that only meant losing their magic. For others, 'burning out' was far from a euphemism. The Kannai looked exhausted, but not bereft.
"I trust my mistress performed her task?" With her clawed fingers laid upon her lap, Shurivno fought to keep her back straight. Even her fur looked strained. "I saw the extent of the fire and thought I could help, but I was not nearly strong enough. I could have done more. I could have helped more. My mistress would have saved them all."
"Your mistress slaughtered a dozen or more people in the performance of her task, and countless more beforehand. That's hardly saving people." Bilain caught herself. She wasn't here to judge Kaluun. "I just thought you'd like to know, that she'd like to know, that I'm going to confront Asnarrus. It means nothing, I have no proof, but I need to let him know that I know and that I'll say nothing if I get my family back. It's over."
"I doubt that. For her, it will never be over and, if anything untoward befalls your family, I feel you will never see its end, either. You are of a type, you and she." Shurivno rose to her feet, a little wobble the only sign of her weariness. She glanced upward once again. "I shall inform my mistress of your family's woes. She will not abandon you now."
"Tell her it's over!" Bilain reached out, grabbing the Kannai's arm and turning her back to face her. "I'm putting an end to it and if I see your mistress again, I will arrest her, whether I'm Captain of the Watch or not. You tell her. You tell her to put those shadows away because they won't save her from me."
Bluster and anger. She knew that was what it sounded like. Justified anger at her enemies taking her family to blackmail her to end her investigation. An investigation that they had instigated thinking, rightly, that they could guide her wherever they needed her to go. They weren't guiding her now, however, they were goading her and, if she had to take a leaf out of Kaluun's book, she would.
Should anything happen to her family, to Ranaie, to Amaini, even to Nishrean, there would be no force in the world that could stop her from her revenge. She didn't believe in revenge, but she knew these people would never face justice and if even justice failed her, then she had little else in the world to cling to and little reason to stick to the rules she had followed with diligence her entire life.
If she lost her family, then she would rock Adrasusk to its foundations.
-+-
With her mind in turmoil, Bilain returned to the Watch House. She had wanted to head straight toward the Municipal Ward, and had simply allowed her legs to carry her. She paused in confusion outside the building where she had worked from for so many years. A half-turn of the head and she saw her home for almost the same amount of time. One, cold and empty, despite the revellers within the tavern, the other, welcoming and safe.
She had to concede defeat, she knew that, but, in the Watch House, she could pretend that the law and justice still existed. That Go-Rar Kha, Patron of that Law and Justice, watched over her and gave her strength to do what she needed to do. The Patron could not help her. Could not give her enough strength, because she faced people who could buy justice, who could make the laws. She had never felt so helpless and weak.
The outside wall of the Watch House scraped against her back as she fell against it, sliding down until she sat in the muck of the street. She looked up, her head touching the wall as she thought she saw shadows move above her, but she saw nothing. People passed by in their droves. Some stared at her, others hid their faces, rushing onward, some didn't even notice she sat there. Only hours before, fire engorged itself upon their Ward neighbours, perhaps had even taken people they knew, their families. Now they carried on as though nothing had happened. Something Bilain both loved and hated about The Sprawl.
Meanwhile, she had to go crawling to Asnarrus, or Ghistreen Ganshorn, to assure them she would not pursue matters in order that they would deign to release her family. She had to beg. Bilain wasn't a proud woman, she had had to bow her head to people that didn't deserve it in the past, especially while in the army, but to have to beg for her family's lives twisted in her gut. Of course, it could be anyone that killed the escorts and took her family, but it wasn't. She knew very well who it was.
"Captain?" Ilivno stood there, dipping her head as she looked out of the open door toward Bilain. "Are you injured? Do you require assistance?"
"No. I'm ... I'm fine." The heel of her hand grazed her cheeks, pushed up the tip of her nose as she coughed and sniffed while she rose to her feet. She brushed the mud and filth from her backside, avoiding Ilivno's eyes. "I just stopped by to ask about those barrels. You dumped them in the rivers, yes?"
"I was about to, Captain, as you ordered, but a Senate runner brought orders overruling you." Ilivno ducked back inside the Watch House, returning a short time later, holding an unrolled sheet of paper, the Senate Seal impressed into the wax that had held it closed. "Not long after, hand carts appeared and took the barrels. All of them that remained, at least."
"Who signed the orders?" Her hand whipped out, grasping the paper from Ilivno's hands and ran her eyes down the page. The signature looked genuine. "Senator Hilnauun En Shafir? I very much doubt that!"
Bilain had decided to see Asnarrus first, anyway, but now she had another reason to rush to the Municipal Ward. Those barrels were a weapon that she could not allow to remain within the city. Tossed in the rivers, the barrels would have washed out to sea, their seals breaking down, after a while, leaking their contents into the salt waters. For certain, she could have distributed the oil, given lamps across The Sprawl precious fuel for weeks, months, but they were tools used for murder on a grand scale and she would not have them in her Ward.
If nothing else, she had to know if Senator En Shafir had taken the barrels and, if so, why. As she strode toward the nearest bridge across the Ban, she realised she did not walk alone. Ilivno had fallen in to walk beside her and Bilain had to stop and turn, staring up at her Sergeant of Investigations. Ilivno showed nothing in her Kannai features and said nothing until Bilain's silent glare caused her to stir.
"If the Captain will forgive me, it is obvious that you are in a great deal of distress. I can only imagine this is due to your missing family. I would be derelict in my duties if I allowed you to go anywhere alone in such a state of mind." She planted her feet, placed her hands behind her back and dipped her head to match Bilain's glare. "You could try to dissuade me, but, I am told, I'm a 'big bugger'. Strong, well trained, by you, I must add, and I am, again, as I am told, a 'stubborn bugger', also."
Ilivno wasn't a fighter, no matter what she said. For certain, she stood among the largest Kannai Bilain had ever met. Tall, muscular. But Bilain knew the girl couldn't match her in a fight, and so did Ilivno. She had no stomach for this. Besides, it wasn't as though Bilain had to let Ilivno into Asnarrus' office to see her prostrate herself. Not that it would matter if she did. Whatever happened, Bilain had decided to leave the Watch as soon as she had her family back.
With a shake of her head, Bilain turned away and continued on, pushing her way through the crowds to reach the bridge. They walked in silence, the big Kannai keeping pace with her, leaving Bilain to stew in her own thoughts. She had only ever wanted to bring peace to The Sprawl. To perform her duties and, one day, retire knowing she had done her best. Now, she had presided over one of the most sustained periods of unrest The Sprawl had ever seen.
A Senator dying in her Ward. A vigilante prowling the rooftops, killing with impunity while she had dithered and chased a trail of clues set down by people of far greater will and intelligence than she. A child, mutilated. She had become nothing but a joke and now the city had broken her. Had she only stood her ground, Ranaie and Amaini may still have sat in the Timid Fox even now. But she had blinked. The prospect of the entire Ward turning to flame had terrified her. Years ago, that would not have happened.
"Ilivno. You don't have family, do you?" She could see the rest of the city now, as they headed down the street that gave a good view of the southern portion of the city. Ilivno, shaking her head, waited for Bilain to continue. "You tend to do anything for family, if you have one. They come before everything. Or they should. If you did have family, would you have sent them from the city? Knowing what we knew people had planned?"
"I couldn't say, Captain. It would only be speculation on my part. But you did what you thought was right and I doubt anyone would think less of you for it. Ghusz would have told you to, anyway. He knew the love you feel for your husband and grandchild." She paused, looking down at her feet as she walked. "I only ever knew my mother for a few years. She died trying to protect me from our masters, but they took my tail anyway. I could never have a family of my own after what my mother and I suffered, but I envy you and your family. It seems ... fulfilling."
Fulfilling and constricting. If her enemies hadn't taken Ranaie and Amaini, Bilain would have already gathered any Watch members she could spare and confronted Asnarrus. For certain, nothing would have come of it. A Watch Captain accusing the Senate Secretary without evidence would be dismissed with impunity, but she would have made the accusation and, in some minds, that would have been enough to discredit Asnarrus.
Ghistreen Ganshorn was a different prospect. Would anyone believe she had seen to her husband's murder? Or that she would frame her own father for the atrocity that occurred in The Sprawl during the night? Bilain doubted that. It didn't matter that Bilain had worked it out, or that she and Kaluun had heard what Vasztur Ganshorn had accused his daughter of. She was a gloried widow. Untouchable.
On the other side of the River Ban, they skirted the High Ward, following the thin spread of the Nothest Ward toward the Municipal Ward and Ilivno reached out for Bilain's arm, tugging her to the side, staring up a side street that led toward the gates of the High Ward, up the incline to the hill above. Ilivno pointed and it took Bilain a second or so before she realised what Ilivno had seen.
A hand cart. In fact, a trail of hand carts leading up that street. And, in the backs of those carts, sat barrels. It was as though some Patrons inspired intervention had occurred. Purely by chance, they had caught up with the barrels that Ilivno had received orders to relinquish. Why they would be heading to the High Ward, Bilain couldn't imagine.
"You see them, Captain? Vienshin Kha smiles upon us this day." Ilivno invoked the name of the Patron of Luck and Bilain could almost believe it. "You continue, Captain, I will see where these barrels go."
"How could you possibly find out?" She knew she shouldn't encourage Ilivno, but the girl had a curiosity about the reason behind someone taking those barrels that Bilain shared. "Even I can't get in the High Ward without leave."
"I am your Sergeant of Investigations, Captain." A large, clawed hand patted Bilain's shoulder. "I have my ways. Find your family, Captain. Find them!"
Before Bilain could protest, Ilivno slipped away, passing through a crowd that appeared to burgeon before Bilain's eyes. As though the Patrons had decided she and Ilivno had to part ways. And, above, a ripple in the shadows that could well have been a trick of the light, but Bilain could not say for certain.
In her jacket, Bilain still carried the orders that had taken those barrels from The Sprawl and Senator En Shafir would have answers for that. But, most important for Bilain, she had to see Jerail Asnarrus. She had to find him and recover Ranaie and Amaini. Once she had them safe in her arms, then she could work to expose Asnarrus and Ghistreen Ganshorn. From outside the law she loved.