“Have any of you seen this symbol before?” Kari asked. Everyone took a good, close look, though each shook their head in turn until Eli saw it.
“I’m not sure who it refers to, but this looks like the mark of an assassin’s guild,” the half-corlyps said. Even Deirdre perked up at those words, and her glare turned to curiosity. Eli pointed to each tattoo in turn and gestured around the succubus’ breasts. “Note how the same symbol is tattooed on each breast? Her heart belonged to whatever guild this symbol belongs to. I’ve seen the same thing on members of a few different smaller guilds. This may mean she was up to something else before she stumbled onto this plot of hers.”
“Terrific,” Kari muttered. She recalled those occasions where she’d seen Eryn naked or partially so, but Eryn hadn’t had any such tattoos on her breasts. Kari put her trust in Eli on this matter, though, and turned to the half-elite priests. “Piotyr, can you copy this symbol for me? We’ll want to pass it around to the priesthoods and see if anyone recognizes it. Maybe one of them has records of some assassins’ guild in the underworld, as weird as that sounds to me.”
“Yes, of course, Lady Vanador,” Piotyr agreed. He motioned to Marshal Saracht for some parchment and a quill, and the marshal made his way upstairs.
Kari turned back to the body. She removed the rest of Turillia’s armor but found no other tattoos or distinctive markings. Just as interesting as the tattoos was the lack of scars, and Kari discretely checked for any telltale signs that Turillia may have once carried a child. As a mother, Kari found she was interested in whether or not Turillia had children for more than just the practical reason. She didn’t find any such marks, but like with the scars, it was possible Turillia had been able to shed her scales to get rid of them.
I doubt it was ever necessary, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible, she thought.
Kari wrapped Turillia’s body in the succubus’ cloak, more than a little surprised when Deirdre and Piotyr knelt and began uttering a quiet prayer over the corpse.
Once they finished, Piotyr met Kari’s gaze as if expecting her to ask what he was doing. “No sense taking chances. This demon dabbled in necromancy; better to assume she might become undead herself if left unattended.”
“Good thinking,” Kari said, though in the back of her mind, the thought of an undead demon was completely foreign. She rose and waited for Marshal Saracht to return.
Sherman approached. “Kari, have you seen Sharyn? We didn’t see her on our way to the tower.”
Damnit, Kari thought. Getting tired of lying to people, but this isn’t the time for this.
“Yes, we saw her. She had to go check on the movements of the werewolves, and then check in with her ranger contacts,” Kari answered. Deirdre stared at her while she spoke, but the priestess’ gaze held little judgment. “She might be back in a couple of days, but she gave me a message to give you in private.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” the young paladin said, and his sister patted his shoulder. Markus regarded his student with a crooked smile but didn’t say anything. “Later, then?”
Kari nodded, thankful that Deirdre and Eli were content to let her explain things in her own time. Once the marshal came back downstairs and gave the quill and parchment to Piotyr, Kari spoke. “As you can all see, Turillia is dead. Emma’s gone, too; she escaped,” she said. Deirdre and Piotyr both reacted to her words, but it was subtle, and only Kari and Eli picked up on it. “Now all we have to do is drive this shadow demon out of Lord Black and let this city get back to normal. Everett, no matter what happens with Lord Black, there’s something else I need to talk to you about when we’re done.”
The marshal nodded, ignoring the others’ shock over Kari calling him by his first name. “Shall we go upstairs and speak with my lord, then?”
Kari held her hand up. “Not just yet. Send a runner for Master Vlad and Master Devin, and once they’re here and Piotyr has finished copying this tattoo, we’ll be ready.”
The marshal dispatched two of his men stationed outside to fetch the priests. While she waited, Kari studied the people in Lord Black’s tower with her. Her conclusion that Marshal Saracht could’ve been the only person to betray her, intentionally or not, seemed to hold true. She was positive it couldn’t have been Markus, since he wasn’t even with them at Ambergaust’s church when she’d uttered the words Turillia quoted to taunt her. By the same token, she was sure neither of the Moreville twins would’ve told the succubus.
She turned her gaze to Piotyr and his sister and was satisfied it wouldn’t have been either of them. The priests of Kaelariel were as reliable a couple of allies as Kari had ever met, for how short a time she had known them. Sharyn had suspected Eli, but Kari dismissed any such suspicion out of hand. She was upset with Eli for letting Emma go without asking first or giving an explanation, but Eli wouldn’t have done anything to help Turillia. The succubus had embarrassed him and stolen essence from him, and his desire for revenge was authentic.
That left Master Vlad and Marshal Saracht. The very idea that a priest of Ambergaust would in any way aid a succubus was laughable. The fact that he’d been the one to discover and inform Kari of Turillia’s ultimate intentions further spoke to his credit. And on top of all that, Kari couldn’t believe that a priest—especially the head priest of an entire church—could be turned. If that was the case, Kari didn’t even want to imagine how much trouble her world could be in. If the demons could infiltrate the very priesthoods, what hope did the Order have of ever rooting them out?
That left only the marshal. Kari was hesitant to suspect him of doing anything, but loyalty was the marshal’s defining trait. His loyalty to Lord Black may have led him to reveal more than Kari would have preferred, and thus any such betrayal had to have been accidental. Everything Marshal Saracht had done since being put at Kari’s disposal made it hard for her to believe he was involved with the succubus. The only way the marshal could have been the one to betray her is if he had done so accidentally. After all, he answered directly to Kaelin Black, and he’d been the last to know that Lord Black was possessed. It wasn’t difficult to imagine he had told his lord what had happened and didn’t realize that he was speaking to the demon.
In the end, it didn’t much matter. Everything had worked out, if not exactly how Kari would’ve liked. Turillia was dead, there had been no casualties among Kari’s friends, Emma had left without killing anyone, and the shadow demon was alone and cornered. With the help of Master Vlad and Master Devin, Kari was sure Katarina and her two half-elite friends would be able to drive the demon out of Kaelin Black. Maybe they wouldn’t be able to banish it from Citaria, but if the four priests and three paladins couldn’t do so, Kari would take Eli’s advice and beseech Zalkar and Sakkrass for their help.
“Lord Garant, what happened with your plan to come to the bell tower? Was the storm too much?” Kari asked while they waited.
“Aye. My apologies, Lady Vanador,” he answered. “The rain was much too strong for me to get airborne and be able to see anything or fly safely. So, I came here to keep tabs on Lord Black, figuring that would be the best way I could be of aid to you.”