Marked for Death

Chapter 2

Kandler, Burch, and Temmah set to gathering Shawda’s remains. They picked through the scattered ground cover, hunting for the dull flash of a piece of gray skin against the crater’s darker floor. Whenever one found a piece, he alerted the others and then reverently carried the part back to them.

Kandler had taken off his cloak to use as a litter, and the trio laid the pieces gingerly atop the thick wool, reassembling Shawda like a macabre puzzle made of flesh. As they worked, the growing light made the job easier. Soon, they had collected most of the body.

After they found all they could, Kandler carefully wrapped the bits up in his cloak and led the others down from the crater’s rim and back into Mardakine. By this time, the sun had cleared the mist and was climbing into the sky, burning the dew from the grayish-green grass that grew in patches all around the town but nowhere else in the crater.

As the three walked into town, Temmah cleared his throat, his voice still hoarse from his tears. “Kandler?”

“Yes?”

“Who will tell her?”

Just then, they turned a corner in the lane. The town’s main square lay directly ahead of them. A crowd already milled about there. A shout went up as someone saw the three approaching.

“Me,” Kandler said.

He heard the dwarf sigh with relief, but the sound caught in Temmah’s throat as he saw the people gathered before them.

“How could they already know?” Temmah asked.

“Pradak and Rissa,” Burch said as he bounded along at Kandler’s side. “They’ve been back here for hours.”

The trio continued on in silence. Kandler saw faces peeking out of windows and open doors, the people too frightened to ask what he cradled in his arms and too curious to look away. As he walked on, some of the watchers left their houses and fell into step behind him. By the time he reached the main square, the people of Mardakine surrounded him.

Pradak and Rissa and their parents stood in the center of the square, the rest of the town arranged around them. Pradak’s father Mardak, a tall, hard man with a face like a hawk, stepped forward as Kandler neared. “Justicar, is what my son tells me true?” he asked.

Kandler raised the bundle in his arms just a hair. It seemed heavier than before. “We have a body.”

The rest of the color drained from Mardak’s already pallid face as he looked down at the too-small bundle. “Who?” he asked.

Kandler looked around at the crowd. “I’d rather not say here.”

“Justicar,” Mardak said, a tremble in his voice, “we have lost a dozen souls in the past two weeks. These good people have waited long enough for an answer. As founder of this town I order you to give it to them.”

Kandler stared back at Mardak, as impassive as the shifter beside him. Temmah whimpered softly, once, and then fell silent.

“Now,” Mardak said.

“Don’t you think-”

“Now!”

“It’s Shawda!” Temmah blurted. He began to weep again and buried his face in his beard.

A wail erupted from the rear of the crowd. The people parted, revealing Norra, who had collapsed to her knees, her face buried in her hands. Kandler’s stepdaughter Esprл, a slim girl with long, blonde hair and pointed ears, stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Norra to comfort her.

Kandler nearly dropped his bundle to run over and comfort the girls. Instead, he looked to Burch. The shifter, barely taller than Esprл, bounded over and took the girl’s hand. Others leaped to Norra’s aid. Nearly mad with despair, she thrashed and hurled herself about, and her wails followed Kandler all the way to the Mardak’s house.

“Had I known…” Mardak said to Kandler, then trailed off. He turned away from the bundle in Kandler’s hands to address the crowd. His voice shook as he spoke.

“I will hold conference with Justicar Kandler,” Mardak said. “I hope to have a plan before nightfall. Until then, go back to your lives.”

“For as long as you can,” Kandler heard Temmah murmur.

The crowd dispersed, and the people walked away with their heads held low. Many of them wept. Those holding Norra carried her to her home.

Burch signaled that he would take Esprл home and wait with her. Kandler nodded his approval.

“Shall we?” Mardak asked.

Kandler led the way, Shawda’s remains still wrapped tightly in his cloak. Mardak followed close on his heels, with Rislinto-a burly man with a bushy, red beard and a blacksmith’s arms-right behind. Temmah lagged along at the end, rubbing his eyes as he trotted to keep up.

When they arrived at Mardak’s house, Kandler waited for Mardak to open the door. “You wish to bring the body into my house?” the older man asked, his hand on the door’s handle.

“You’d rather I unwrap her out here?”

Mardak hesitated a moment more, then opened the door.

Inside, Kandler strode over to the dining room table and lay his burden down. He unwrapped the cloak and arranged the pieces of Shawda’s body on the table.

“Do you have to do this here?” Mardak asked, wrinkling his nose.

“Your children are grown,” Kandler replied. “Your boy has already seen her-at least one part-and my table isn’t nearly big enough.”

“But my wife-”

“Doesn’t have a problem with it,” a feminine voice from the other room finished. “We must do everything we can to help catch the villain behind this.” The men looked at each other for a moment before Priscinta continued. “But I hope you’ll forgive me if I don’t bother to come in for a look.”

Mardak smiled softly. Temmah’s eyes stopped tearing.

Kandler waited for a moment, then spoke. “Shawda was the third of our people to go missing. Her husband reported her gone eight days ago. She was there next to him when he lay down that night. The next morning she was gone.”

“You questioned him thoroughly?” Mardak asked.

Kandler ignored the implication that he didn’t know his job. He knew Mardak was looking for someone to blame for all this, and he was determined not to get into another row about it. “She’d been having trouble sleeping. She was disturbed by the other two people missing at that point. It’s possible she went out for a walk, despite the warnings.”

“How long has she been dead?” Rislinto asked.

“It’s impossible to tell. If she was killed in the Mournland… well, bodies don’t decay in there.”

“But we’re not in the Mournland,” Mardak said. “How do you know she was killed there?”

“I don’t.”

“What do you know, justicar?”

“Let’s not start this again, lads,” Rislinto said. “We’ve more important matters to consider.”

Kandler nodded. After a moment, Mardak shrugged and looked away.

Kandler continued, “Given the number of insects I found under Shawda’s body parts, I’d guess she’s been lying along the ridge for less than a day.”

Kandler reached over and brushed the hair off the dead woman’s face. Although she looked peaceful now, he could hear her soul crying out to him for justice. “There wasn’t any blood there. She was probably killed someplace else and dumped along the ridge. Whether she was killed yesterday or days ago, I don’t know.”

“That’s not much help,” said Mardak.

“What does this mean for the others?” Rislinto asked, interrupting Mardak’s attempt to get a rise out of Kandler.

“They’re dead for sure,” Temmah said, his voice but a whisper. “All of them.”

“Not for sure,” Kandler said as he rewrapped Shawda’s remains. “But I wouldn’t expect them home soon.”

“So what do we do?” Rislinto asked.

“The same,” said Kandler. “We warn everyone to stay inside at night. We keep the round-the-clock watch on the perimeter of town. And while it’s still daylight, we should start searching the rim.” He turned to look down at Temmah.

The dwarf turned a pale shade of green but steeled himself to the task. “I’m on it,” he said as he thrust his long-bearded jaw forward. “I’ll draw off some of the extra guards, and we’ll scour the east ridge from end to end.”

“What else can we do?” asked Mardak, having mastered his frustration for the moment.

Kandler looked up at the rail of a man. “Tell people to stay indoors as much as possible. You two,” he said, glancing at both of them, “you’re lucky your children aren’t missing too. What kind of fools go out near the mists at night?”

“They’re teenagers,” Rislinto said with half a grin. “There’s no controlling them.”

“If your daughter hadn’t tempted my son-” Mardak began.

Kandler cut him off. “Don’t finish that thought. Done is done. Give them both a stern warning and leave it at that. No use fighting old battles.”

Rislinto shuffled uneasily.

Mardak lowered his head. “I apologize, old friend,” he said. “That was beneath me.”

“Then you think too highly of yourself,” Rislinto said as he smiled and clapped Mardak on the back. The casual blow could have knocked the taller man over, but Mardak braced for it. Rislinto turned toward Kandler again. “I’ll have a talk with my daughter.”

“And I with my son,” said Mardak.

“If they don’t listen,” said Rislinto, “I’ve a new set of chains in my shop to lock them in.”

“Joke if you like,” Kandler said, “but you’ve had worse ideas.”

The room fell silent for a moment.

“What about yourself?” Rislinto asked. “What is your plan?”

Kandler hoisted up the bundle on the table once again and started for the door. “Someone,” he said, “has to take care of our dead.”