Let’s see you attack me now, she thought.
People practically threw themselves out of her way at first, so Kari pulled forth her dog tags and let them sit out over her breastplate to quell peoples’ anxiety. They continued to clear a path for her, but now they did so respectfully rather than fearfully. Several adventurers even saluted the demonhunter when she passed among them, and Kari resolved to simply keep the tags out for the duration of her stay; the succubus knew who she was regardless.
Kari stopped in the center of the bazaar and let the sounds of the city filter through her. Aeligos had always referred to this as “finding the pulse of the city,” and he’d explained many times that simply letting the sights and sounds of a city play out before you could unlock many secrets in plain sight. Kari glanced around, noting the numerous well-positioned guards, and considered the entire situation in the center of the city’s heart. If the assassin simply wanted murder and mayhem, the bazaar would be an unbelievably ripe target at any time during the sunlit hours.
She thought of Markus’ words and worked to process the reason the succubus wanted her to come to Barcon. She could’ve killed Kari in either DarkWind or Lajere just as effectively. What was the importance of this place? People flowed around Kari and the sounds of a busy bazaar washed over her, and she considered what it was about Barcon that she was missing.
She turned toward the northwest, where she could see Kaelin Black’s tower standing in vigil over the city. He was somehow at the center of everything, but Kari couldn’t put her finger on how or why. She thought about his relationship with the succubus: were they trying to kill each other, or was the Black/BlackWing connection a devious trick, and they were working together? Even if the latter proved true, it didn’t explain what Black had against Kari, or why he’d want her drawn to Barcon to be murdered.
What if it has nothing to do with Barcon? she wondered. What if she wanted me out of the way to strike at someone in DarkWind?
Kari took a shuddering breath, afraid she had left Grakin and Little Gray exposed. She reminded herself that her mate and child lived in the house of Kaelariel’s high priestess. They were well-protected, and Kari took solace in that before she got herself too worked up and succumbed to the urge to run back to DarkWind.
Maybe there’s something much darker going on… could Black—or BlackWing—be trying to sacrifice me for some favor from the succubus? What would require such a price? Maybe it has to do with protection from his enemies in the Black Dragon Society…?
That still didn’t explain all the random killings… until Kari remembered Eli’s tale in the czarikk village.
“Gods,” Kari muttered. She stared at the ebon tower while the bazaar flowed around her, and Kari wondered if the killings could be sacrifices to power a portal. Kari wasn’t familiar with dark magic or sacrificial ceremonies, so she wasn’t sure whether the assassin murdering people would have the same effect as sacrificing them upon an altar. It was something she couldn’t dismiss, though, particularly if it turned out that Kaelin Black was really behind the entire affair and working to summon a demon king—possibly one he served, no less. Even if Black was innocent of any wrongdoing, that still left the possibility that BlackWing was doing it instead.
Kari hurried toward the temple district, and once more the citizens cleared out of the demonhunter’s path. She figured someone in either Zalkar’s or Kaelariel’s churches would know something about sacrificial ceremonies and dark magic, and she wanted to make sure she alerted both priesthoods to her suspicions. If either Black or BlackWing were attempting to summon something, her first guess would be Achirun, since the demon lord kept a church not far from the Earl’s black tower.
Nobody knew who Achirun was a vassal to in the underworld; his loyalties and goals were a mystery even to those who supposedly served him. It was possible he served or at least worked with Sekassus, which would explain the presence of a syrinthian assassin.
Kari’s pace quickened when she considered the dead now numbered near to thirty; she couldn’t imagine how many more it would take to power a portal in such a situation. The clearer streets of the temple district made for an easy jog to the intersection where her deity’s church stood across from One Small Favor, but Kari halted her hastened steps when Marshal Saracht approached.
The marshal was as fine an officer of the law as any of those in DarkWind, but Kari had to wonder how much she could trust the man. Despite his attitude and the duties of his position, he ultimately answered to Kaelin Black, and if Kari couldn’t trust the marshal’s employer, she wasn’t sure she could trust him, either. She was put even more on guard when she noted he was armed now, despite the fact that he still wore the same suit as when they’d first met.
“Lady Vanador, I was hoping to find you near the inn. Might I have a word?” he asked as they met in the intersection. Several townsfolk eyed them, but the people seemed to know better than to nose into the marshal’s business and gave the pair their privacy.
“Has your boss had anything built in the last few months?” Kari asked.
Saracht’s brows rose. “Has my boss had anything built?” he repeated, and he took his hat off briefly to scratch at his short, black hair before replacing it. “Such as…? Speak plainly, Lady; what is it you are asking?”
Kari was amazed at the strength of the man’s stare, as though he were trying to pull the information out through force of will. The spectacles only intensified the effect, and Kari imagined he must be quite an interrogator when he had criminals in his clutches. She glanced futilely toward the black tower, hidden by the inn, but his gaze never left her. Kari started to speak but stopped herself as she thought about it; she didn’t want to blurt anything damaging or provoking in the middle of the street.
She gestured for the marshal to follow her, and he didn’t even hesitate as she strode into the church of Zalkar. She wondered if he served the god of law as a law enforcement official; such would mean she could place a lot more trust in him.
The interior of the church was quiet and nearly deserted. There were only a couple of young acolytes tending to it, so Kari turned in the shadowed entryway and faced the marshal. “I was thinking that all of these murders may be to power some sort of dark portal, likely to usher a powerful demon or even demon lord through,” she said, and he made no attempt to mask his surprise. “Unless Black has–”
“Lord Black, or Earl Southwick,” Saracht interrupted.
Kari considered him for a moment but then nodded. “You’re right,” she apologized. She stood in the home city of a high-ranking noble, and she had to admit she was letting her disdain for him cloud her judgment on many things. To address him casually, even just to his marshal, came across as disrespectful. Kari knew she had to tread much more lightly if she wanted to keep things civil, and that she also had to be careful not to alienate the earl on the off chance he was innocent of wrongdoing. “As I should have said, unless Lord Black has a summoning chamber or some other type of portal already prepared, then I’d guess he would’ve had to build one recently, before the murders began.”
The marshal’s expression stopped her. “You believe Lord Black is behind all of this?”
Kari held her hand up. “I’m not dismissing any possibilities at this point. Until I know for sure what the relationship between Lord Black and BlackWing is, I have to go on my Order’s assumption that they might be the same man. I don’t mean to say Lord Black is untrustworthy, just that I can’t afford to trust him fully yet, if that makes sense.” Marshal Saracht nodded, making an effort to see things from Kari’s point of view. “Now, do you know if he has a summoning chamber, or maybe had one built recently?”