“Then we have a fairly short list. We'll need to work through it one at a time, trying to eliminate them. I don't suppose any of them look like giant serpents?”

“Afraid not. At least, not the last time I saw them. But that was years ago.

I nodded. “What's Ulyanash like in person? Charming?”

“Boorish and obvious. He never has a good thing to say about anyone but himself. How great a swordsman he is, how many duels he's fought, how many kills he's made.”

“He must have some useful traits.”

“He's a good fighter. Other than that…”

That was pretty much what Rhalla had said.

“What else can you tell me about him? Is he vain? Conceited?”

“Both, I'd say. Ulyanash thinks he's better than everyone else, and he's quick to take offense at any slight—real or imagined. He likes to force duels. The one with Taine—”

“What!” I sat up straighten “He fought Taine?”

“Years ago. He gave Taine that scar on his cheek.”

“I didn't know that,” I said.

“Is it important?”

“I don't know.” I considered the possibilities. “Why didn't he kill Taine, if he had the chance? If he's got it in for our family, he missed a good opportunity.”

“Maybe he had no reason to kill Taine at the time.”

I mulled it over. It sounded plausible. If they fought their duel before the plot against our family had begun, Ulyanash would have had no reason to kill Taine. A dueling scar to mark his victory would have been enough.

“Did you see the duel?” I asked.

“No, but Blaise did. She was there.”

“Of course she was.” I sighed. Another dead end, with Blaise off in Shadow, hiding out. She wouldn't be able to tell me anything about Ulyanash's fighting technique.

Aber went on. “I got all the details from her, though. She said it was a game for Ulyanash. He toyed with Taine for ten minutes, making him lunge and stagger, then swatting him on the ass and making his squeal. By the end of the duel, Taine was gasping for breath, dripping in sweat, and horribly embarrassed. Everyone was laughing at him.”

“Blaise included,” I guessed.

“She said she couldn't help it. Taine looked ridiculous. And Ulyanash… well, he loved every moment.”

I sighed, envisioning the fight. Clearly it hadn't been pleasant for Taine. There had been more than a couple of men in Ilerium's army who liked to show off their skills with a blade by humiliating lesser fighters in our ranks. I had never put up with it… as a common soldier or as an officer.

“And afterwards?” I prompted. “What happened to Taine?”

“He slunk off. I guess he couldn't face anyone in the Courts of Chaos after what happened. I haven't seen him since.”

A terrible thought struck me. “Did he leave… or was he kidnapped?”

“Kidnapped!” Aber stared at me, a shocked expression on his face. “What do you mean?”

“Think about it,” I said, my thoughts reeling through the possibilities. “Suppose someone powerful wanted to capture him and question him about us. And he didn't want anyone in our family to miss him. The duel could have been a ruse, forced on Taine so everyone would think he'd run away. It made his disappearance seem reasonable.”

“And all this time he's been a prisoner?”

“Yes.”

Aber looked away. Clearly the idea had not occurred to him before. And clearly he did not like it.

“Well?” I prompted. “What do you think?”

“It's unbelievable. You're seeing conspiracies where there can't possible be any.”

“I'm not paranoid. People really are trying to kill us—”

“Okay, okay.” He stood and began to pace. “But if someone wants us dead, why start with a kidnapping? Why not force Locke or Davin into a duel… or Dad, for that matter?”

“I don't know. Maybe they wanted to find out more about us first. Maybe they have been attacking us for years, but subtly. No one realized it because no one knew to look for the signs. We may never know the whole truth.”

He stopped and looked at me. “Let's assume you're right. Let's assume they've held Taine prisoner since the fight.”

“Torturing him, questioning him, and now bleeding him to spy on us. He's been helping them—”

Aber shook his head. “No. I don't believe it. Taine would never betray us. He has a stubborn streak like you wouldn't believe. I know.”

I considered how defiant our brother had been, even half dead on that altar slab, and conceded the point. No, Taine would not talk—at least, not knowingly.

“The serpent used his blood to spy on us,” I pointed out. “He didn't need to talk.”

Aber nodded. “Magic is sympathetic. Like is drawn to like. That's why the serpent could use Taine's blood. We—you and I, everyone in our family—are all the same in many ways.” He paused. “But I still don't understand why anyone would start a war by kidnapping Taine. He was fairly harmless. Nobody really hated him. Why put him through this?”

“They had to start somewhere,” I said. “Maybe Ulyanash considered him the easiest target.”

“Easier than me?” Aber laughed. “I don't think so!”

“How many duels have you gotten into?” I asked.

“Well… none.” He shifted uncomfortably. “I'm not much of a fighter, after all. I'm more of an artist, philosopher, and poet.”

“As I'm sure everyone in court knows.”

“Yes.” He nodded. “I've made Trumps for a lot of people… not just family members.”

“But what about Taine? Had he fought duels before?”

“Yes.” Aber sighed unhappily, as if guessing my thoughts. “He had his share of scrapes and misadventures. It didn't come as a huge surprise to anyone when he got into an argument with Ulyanash.”

“Exactly. Ulyanash wouldn't goad you into a duel because you don't fight. He might be stupid, but he knows better than to force a duel with someone like you… someone his peers view as weak and defenseless. There's nothing worse than being thought of as a bully. People would turn their backs on him, even his patron. He's not that stupid.”

Aber's brow furrowed. “So Ulyanash could take his time with Taine, make sport of him, and really rub it in because everyone knew Taine could defend himself.”

“Exactly. It was all in fun, after all. For his trouble, Taine got nothing worse than a scratch on the cheek. The only permanently damage came to his pride. If he couldn't defend himself… well, tough luck, everyone thought.”

Aber was nodding. “Yes, I understand.”

He started to say something more, but at that moment, Captain Neole burst into the room.

“Lords!” the captain cried. “There has been a murder!”

Chapter 19

I leaped to my feet.

“Who is it?” I demanded. Could it be our father? I glanced at Aber, who gulped, eyes growing wide with alarm.

“A demon,” Neole said. “Someone threw its body over the back wall a few minutes ago—one of the guards saw it fall. By the time he got outside, whoever did it had gone.”

“A demon?”

I didn't know whether to feel horrified or relieved. At least it wasn't a family member this time.

Aber, shaking his head, looking distinctly uneasy.

“What's bothering you about it?” I demanded.

“Rhalla,” he said. “It has to be her. You only saw her human form… but a succubus is a demon. In death, she would have changed back to her true self.”

“But she just left!” I said. It didn't see how it could possible be her. “There wasn't enough time!”

“We don't know that. If Ulyanash found out…”

“How could he? You set up those magical tripwires last night. There shouldn't be any more spying.”

“I warned you I wasn't very good at it.” He looked uneasy. “Maybe they found a way through or around my spells!”

I took a sharp breath. It couldn't be Rhalla. And yet… “There's an easy way to settle this,” I said. Turning to Neole, I added, “Show us.”

He saluted. “Yes, sir. This way.”

We left through a different door into a strangely desolate garden, filled with twisted, ugly plants the like of which I had never seen. Some bore spiked reddish-orange fruit, and some had nothing but thorns. Among them, moss-covered stones slowly wandered, looking old and tired compared to the ones penned on the other side of the house.