Drakenfeld

A Glass Vial

I woke with the sun, having enjoyed a pleasant night’s sleep, and spent my first moments thinking entirely of Titiana.

The way she had moved on that platform seemed to have left an echo in my mind, a sight that simply would not shift easily. I began, as always, to over-analyse her gestures and her second glances, weighing up the meaning behind what may well have been utterly without purpose. Long ago I’d realized that I did not expect answers from such mental anguish, but it was good to exercise such old emotional muscles once again.

The clarity of daytime did little to assuage my concerns of her having chosen this lifestyle. There was no shame in what she was doing – dancing was a celebration of the body, after all – but I had seen many times just how badly people could be treated in that profession, and I worried for her safety.

Even though I had absolutely no right to do so.

After consuming a light breakfast I set to work, first examining the list of senators’ names that Veron had provided for me, and later combing through the witness statements again. Leana joined me and confirmed that she had made the payment via the gang leader, who had given her no trouble. In fact, they were too pleasant; they wanted her to stay longer, to buy her drinks, but she wisely decided not to hang around too long and instead absorbed the sights and sounds of the city.

‘Did you have a good night?’ she asked.

I wanted to tell her about Titiana, who I had once mentioned to Leana when we were out working on a case in Venyn. At the time the conversation was purely to take our minds off the gruesome task of cleaning up after a smuggling crackdown had gone wrong, to open up to Leana and show her I was not an emotionless soul. Not that she particularly cared either way.

‘I bumped into Senator Veron,’ I said, ‘who was his usual lively self. We now have a list of senators with whom Lacanta was involved – and possibly intimately so.’

‘This is good,’ Leana replied. ‘But I do not understand him. He seems too friendly, no?’

‘I wouldn’t worry,’ I said. ‘He’s just a politician, hoping to discover gossip or to bank a favour for future usage, but he’s opening doors for us to expand the investigation.’

‘It could be that he is guilty – he comes to find you on the night of the murder to put you off the scent.’

‘I’ve thought about that, but he has witnesses that can vouch for his presence before the incident. A good few people within these statements talk about how he was causing a great deal of fuss because he didn’t like the wine.’

‘Hmm. Will today be as busy as yesterday?’ Leana asked.

‘I hope not. First I’d like to visit the money temples. We need to book an armed escort to accompany the large payment of cash to Veldrum Hecater, and I also need to cash in the remains of my credit note from Venyn – all of it, in fact. Then I will have finally cleared my father’s debts, which should then guarantee we don’t receive further attacks.’

‘Good. That is one less thing to worry about.’ Leana grabbed an apple from the table and bit into it.

‘And after that,’ I continued, ‘it’s straight to Optryx, where—’

There was a banging at the door. Bellona came shuffling through the hallway, wide-eyed, but seemed hesitant to open it to such a vicious pounding. Leana strode over to see what the matter was and, with Bellona, they both unbolted and drew back the heavy door.

I stood up, hearing voices in loud discussion. Presently, three men marched into the room, two of whom were hefty-looking fellows carrying a large trunk; another, much older man followed and he promptly began to order them about.

‘Place it down there, lads,’ he said, gesturing to the middle of the room with his polished walking cane. He was taller than me, at least two decades older, with long grey hair, thin lips and sunken eyes, and he walked with a slight limp that he tried to disguise with his cloak.

‘What’s going on?’ I demanded. ‘And what in Polla’s name is that?’

‘You’re the Drakenfeld boy?’ he snapped.

‘My name is Lucan Drakenfeld, and I haven’t been called a boy in over fifteen years.’

‘Means nothing to me, boy.’ He tapped the trunk with his cane. ‘You can keep your father’s shit here.’

The trunk was similar to the one from the rented office, which I had not yet had the opportunity to revisit. ‘We were legal tenants—’

‘Who have not kept up repayments. I don’t care what deeds you have, or whatever legal terms you folk like to throw around, you’re no longer welcome in my property. Everything that was in those offices is in this trunk – books, papers, and other bits and pieces – the lot.’

‘Now, just wait a moment,’ I began.

‘What? Don’t tell me you actually want to keep renting? Not on your life, sir! I’ve had enough of your family to last me a lifetime. Consider your contract to be terminated.’

I decided not to pursue the matter. Another office was such a waste when I had more than enough space in this house. ‘Why do you hate my family so much?’

‘Your father did not exactly set the best example,’ he grunted. ‘Now, out of here, lads. We’ve much to do today.’ He turned to leave and the other two men scuttled out of the room.

‘Wait.’ I stepped forward to casually block the man’s path, cautious that it did not appear to be a threat. ‘I know so little about what happened with my father, let alone what concerns his debts.’

‘Just as well if you ask me,’ the man snapped.

‘Why?’

‘Got into gambling, didn’t he? A bad habit, that.’

‘Gambling?’ The word seemed to physically hit me and I sat down on a wicker chair, dumbstruck.

‘Aye, one of his sons led him down that dark road some time ago, though he’s long cleared out of the city.’

‘My brother?’

‘Probably. Don’t you keep an eye out for each other?’

‘Not my brother, no.’ Marius kept himself to himself, and life was all the better for it. He loathed our father. ‘Did he mention what my brother had done?’

He shrugged, before continuing as if he was now enjoying himself: ‘Opened up old wounds, so I understand. Gambling. Women. Drink. Didn’t just happen right away, but over time. Lad had his own debts and came scrounging from his father. Calludian did a grand job of keeping it quiet, but not from the likes of me. Pleaded with me, you see. Explained his problems. Tried to tell me to hang on, that he’d deliver the money sooner or later, to have a heart and all that. Very poor form.’ The man jabbed his cane in my direction. ‘Even had the money to pay it off, so he eventually claimed – pay all the debt in one go. So he did for most of it. But he was still in arrears. Never trusted him after that. If you’ll excuse me, Tryum is only just waking up and I’ve several other matters to see to before people leave for work. Too many scroungers and people in debt for my liking. City didn’t build itself on scroungers. Put the lot of them in the army.’

The bitter man limped his way out into the hazy daylight, and Bellona closed the door behind him.

I called Bellona over, and she froze on the spot. ‘Please, there is no reason to be shy. Have I offended you?’

She shook her head. ‘You are highborn…’

‘Don’t think me somehow better than yourself.’ I could just about recall my mother once reminding me about that fact, that I should always remember I had been born into privilege, and not to abuse that position.

It didn’t do much to soothe Bellona, but Leana guided her to the table. I took this opportunity to ask her if she knew anything of my father’s debts and his gambling habits. Despite my soft tone, she was visibly distressed. Leana, even though she was hesitant, did a better job than me in soothing her. Eventually all Bellona managed to say was that, from time to time towards the end, my father had difficulties making ends meet, which is why there was now only the one member of staff. Eventually she calmed down, and her words came with considered clarity.

‘He never spoke of money. Sometimes he said to buy cheaper bread, sometimes no meat or fish. He never said why. I’m just the cook. It is not my place to know these things.’

‘And my brother Marius?’

‘I didn’t really see him. He took the master out from time to time, into town at night. Those nights they came back late and drunk, but your brother never stayed in the city for long. I overheard once that he was on the run from debt collectors himself, and didn’t like to settle in one place.’

So my brother’s gift for my father was to lumber him with debts and bad old habits. My family’s past, my father’s old misdemeanour, once again echoed through my mind. Perhaps some people never forget their old ways.

Bellona clearly didn’t like being involved in such affairs, so I took her hand between my palms, looked her firmly in the eye and told her that no harm would come to her while she was under this roof. She offered me a warmer smile than before and then stood up.

‘I must get back to work. Big houses don’t clean themselves.’

As she left the room, Leana turned to me with a look of surprise. ‘Your father gambled?’

‘Apparently so. My father – who everyone in this city speaks of like he was a god – turns out to be human after all. No doubt my brother played some role in leading him down such a path, for the few nights he decided to hang around.’

‘You never mention him.’

‘For good reason. He’s never had respect for any of us, and rejected anything of a proper lifestyle. Polla knows what he’s up to now, other than getting people involved in gambling.’

‘Not a good start to the day.’

‘No, it is not,’ I sighed. ‘But at least that provides more of an explanation for the debts.’

‘Be positive,’ Leana said. ‘You have your father’s possessions back, do you not? In Venyn this would have been opened long ago, the contents for sale in some market.’

‘You make a good point,’ I sighed, stepping over to the trunk.

I levered it open and stooped to peer inside. Several heavy ledgers lay underneath writing instruments, an abacus, three or four ornaments, and a smaller, polished wooden box. I lifted the latter out, opened it up. Inside were a couple of peculla coins, and a small stone that could have been used as a paperweight. What caught my eye, however, was the empty blue glass vial, which was no bigger than my thumb, and shaped with a long, thin neck. A tiny cork was stuck in the end.

‘What is that?’ Leana asked, stepping closer.

‘I saw vials similar to this at the apothecary…’

We held eye contact for a moment.

‘You went to one last night.’ Leana possessed a sudden look of pride.

I nodded, but wasn’t going to say any more on the subject.

‘So what do you think this was?’ she asked, nodding towards the vial.

‘I’m not entirely sure. I wonder if he was on a form of medication?’

‘Did he suffer from seizures also?’

‘No. Well, not to my knowledge – not unless he hid it.’

‘You say his heart had stopped,’ Leana continued.

‘That’s what I was told.’

‘Perhaps he used a herbal concoction to soothe his pains? It is not out of the question. Where was the box likely to be stored?’

‘Probably in a drawer,’ I replied. ‘Somewhere out of sight, where he kept a couple of coins…’

Leana nodded. ‘Perhaps you should go back to the apothecary and ask if they know about where such vials are sold. They might know other traders who deal in such things.’

‘That could be worth a go.’

A child looked up from smashing walnuts on the side of the kerb, shading his eyes from the sun. I said hello to him, but he either did not hear me or did not care. Behind him stood a pepper merchant dressed in fine silks, who was hawking his wares rather forcefully to passers-by.

Leana and I continued through the busy streets outside my house, and upon entering the next street saw an elderly man wearing the robes of a priest strolling serenely through the gates to my property. Was this the one Bellona had referred to in her message? There was no time to go back, but I had left firm instructions to get more details. We headed deep into the district of Regallum. Protected by armed personnel, the banking building was in fact a refurbished temple, one dedicated to a god no longer in favour with the Senate. It was an impressive structure, with eight ornate limestone columns on its front, and a brazier either side of a stairway leading up to the main entrance.

Building work was taking place along the shaded side, where a stonemason stood on a ladder making some fine adjustments higher up another column. As we approached the main door, the soldiers, whose armour was concealed by heavy black cloaks, examined us closely. I made sure my Sun Chamber badge was on full display and let it be known Leana was clearly with me. They stood back and watched us impassively, with only a quiet nod to indicate that we might continue through.

Inside the bank, on the marble floors under an ornately painted dome, where people spoke in hushed, almost spiritual tones, I cashed in my credit notes from Venyn and arranged to transfer money in coin to Veldrum Hecater. They knew him well, it seemed, and I half expected some comment as to my father’s affairs – though none came. They were curt, efficient and exceedingly dull individuals, who tried to negotiate a higher fee at every transactional opportunity.

I could not leave soon enough.