hotmtlnovel Chapter 65 - Time Traveler’s Antidote
Chapter 65 - Time Traveler’s Antidote
The day after the fire was the 6th of Solen, the day the spies would be killed. Exams were still going forward for students, so everyone except Professor Jei was busy. Despite the stir Mirian had caused, it would still be at least a few days before the illusion of 'normal' would be shattered for most people. She was beginning to think of it as the 'denial' phase.
Mirian and Jei headed over to the town jail.
She hadn't been there since the second cycle, and had made it a point to avoid the place. The jail was a small, squat building at the edge of town, quite ugly compared to anything surrounding it. Three lights shone from the barred windows. Two of the prisoners would be the spies; Mirian had no idea who the third was. A short hallway joined it to the Torrviol Guard's Headquarters, a much nicer building decorated with the orange and white banners of Baracuel, with statues of lions figuring prominently.
She'd seen the captain's office, the interrogation room, and the evidence storage room the last time she'd stayed. While the Magistrate's Office on the other side of the block had its own people and rooms for dealing with evidence and investigations, its function was more for the official trials and sentences.
As they approached the entrance, they saw a man working on replacing the front door's locks. That made sense. The entire Akanan network probably had the keys to the guardhouse by this point.
They made their way to the public lobby of the Guard's Headquarters. The inside wasn't all that spacious, since the building was an old converted barracks, but there were several benches for people to sit on, pegs for hanging cloaks, and a desk for the attendant on duty.
The desk attendant seemed busy with paperwork. Mirian had never quite understood what they did all day, but it seemed to involve filling in forms, stamping paper, and otherwise moving things from one pile to another.
Mirian had no idea what one was supposed to say in situations like these, so she said, "Hi, is there a procedure for visiting the prisoners to talk?"
Jei, meanwhile, sat on one of the benches, pretending not to do anything at all.
The attendant looked up at Mirian, annoyed that he had to interrupt his paperwork. "You submit a formal request through the magistrate's office. The prisoner must also accept your visit. Magistrate Ada must approve it, which she won't, because the prisoners are accused of being enemies of the crown and state. Is that all?"
Mirian had expected the conversation to take more time. Jei needed a bit longer to finish what she was doing. "Uh, what if I have information that the imprisoned spies might be assassinated?"
"Do you have that information?"
"Yes."
The attendant frowned. "Should I expect an angry mob? I thought they were mostly angry at Mayor Wolden."
"No, not them. Some other part of the spy network."
"You would also report that to the magistrate's office. What did you say your name was again?"
"Mirian."
"Oh. You're the one who... listen, you need to talk to the magistrate. Or the Luminate Order, really, I feel like they're the ones who have the pedigree to handle, ah, cases like yours."
She looked back at Jei, who gave her a subtle nod. "Thanks!" Mirian said, and went for the door. As they passed the locksmith, Roland, the guard she'd met so many cycles ago, walked in. He gave Jei a dirty glare, then walked past them heading for the jail.
As soon as they were outside, Mirian said, "I don't think it's him, I think it's just his shift. What was that about? Does he... do you know him?"
Jei shrugged. "No. He doesn't like me."
"Why?"
"I am Zhighuan," she said simply.
"Oh." Mirian wrinkled her nose. "Oh."
They took a seat on a stone bench in sight of the entrance, then each cast disguise spells. Most of town was busy in the forum with the plebiscite for the new mayor, so few people were on the street. She could vaguely hear the ruckus coming from several blocks away.
Mirian had prepared a copy of a spell Jei had taught her. It was also part of the illusion sub-school. It involved linking with a small magical device that could pick up sound waves. That would let them eavesdrop on the lobby. If anyone was going to visit the prisoners today, they should be coming from the magistrate's office, and then they'd need to file the request with the attendant. Mirian and Jei could listen in every time someone went in the front door, while not causing the conditions that might lead the would-be assassin to abort their attempt. Mirian needed to catch them.
She'd decided there was no way the magistrate's office would move fast enough to save the spies from assassination, even if they did believe her. It was also possible someone from the magistrate's office was responsible. She and Jei had planned to spy on the guests entering the facility instead. At worst, the responsible spy would be someone already in the Guard's Headquarters, narrowing down the field considerably. At best, they'd walk right through the front door.
"As requested," Roland said. Then to Mirian, "You really need to leave. How did you get back here anyways?"
Mirian planted herself in front of the door so that the mayor's assistant couldn't leave without pushing her aside. "Eat it, then." she said, in Eskanar.
The man rolled his eyes, but Mirian could see faint tension in his neck. "I'm not interested in your paranoid delusions, girl. And I'm certainly not eating this slop. You know, Roland, there's plenty of cells here—"
"What did she ask you to do, Timmon?" Roland asked. His tone had shifted from exasperated to cautious.
"What do you mean? She asked me to eat...." The assistant trailed off, before the realization of what he'd done hit him.
Mirian looked at Roland. "Did you know he was fluent in Eskanar?"
Timmon looked at Mirian, then back at Roland. "Are you seriously entertaining this? Out of the way, girl."
"If it's not poison, have a bite." She said it loud enough she was sure the prisoners could hear. They needed to know that for all their loyalty, their masters would rather kill them than even attempt to save them.
"Get out of my way," he snapped.
Roland was staring at Timmon now. "You seem a bit nervous. You know, let's just make sure there's no problem. Have a bite of the bread."
"You're not seriously...?"
"Humor me," said Roland, this time with more authority.
Timmon had grown quite tense by now, and his eyes were starting to dart about. The room had grown silent, only to be broken by hurried footsteps and then the door opening again behind Mirian.
The desk attendant burst in. "I am so sorry. This girl just—uh. Is everyone okay?"
"Yeah. Our honored assistant here was just going to have a quick snack before we got on with our day."
"I am not," he snapped. "You insult my dignity."
"You insult mine," Roland spat back. "Wolden never asked for these forms, did he?"
There was another moment of silence as Timmon stared at Mirian, not speaking. Then, in a flash, he reached for something concealed in his belt. He only got the pistol halfway drawn. A single shot range out, the CRACK of the gun deafening in the small confines.
It was a clean shot, right through his head. Timmon crumpled to the ground like a sack of flour. Roland lowered his smoking pistol.
"Bloody hell," the desk attendant said. "Wait—I don't... I don't believe this! Timmon? Oh Gods. But he's... Mayor Wolden relies on him. Oh Gods, he's dead! I'm going to be sick."
Mirian felt blood dripping down her face from where some of it had splattered her.
A voice came from the third cell. "Let me see him," the man said. Mirian recognized it as Idras, the third spy.
The desk attendant went back into the hall and started retching. Roland gave a grim look to the corpse, then turned to Mirian. He jerked his head at the cell.
"Let him see," Mirian said.
Roland nodded. "You know what happens if you try anything," he said, and unlocked the door.
Idras stepped out. He looked quite different when not in the shadows. He was gaunt in a way his cloak had hidden, though very clearly Akanan. "Damn," Idras said upon seeing the corpse. Then he walked back into his cell and sat down, looking dejected.
Roland locked the door behind him. "The curse of the guard," he said. "And there I was, thinking I'd like something to alleviate the boredom. Mirian, fetch the magistrate, if you would. She'll want to see this. Hell of a mess we have here."