Read Online Rend the Dark by Mark Gelineau, Joe King - Free Book Online

Magistrate
Inspector Daxton Ellis,” Alys said, punctuating every syllable of the man’s
title with a clipped enunciation.
    He gave her a long, hard stare. “Nothing is ever easy with
you, is it, Alys?”
    “It’s part of my charm,” she said, moving over to the wall
beside him. As she drew closer, she studied his face – the subtle play of
muscles around his eyes, the set of his mouth. He was always easy to read. “You
know who she is.” It was not a question.
    He hesitated at first, then said, “She’s Lydia Ashdown.”
    “Old name,” she said.
    “Old everything.”
    Alys shrugged. “Doesn’t mean much down here in Lowside.
You’re sure it’s her?”
    The inspector gave her a slow nod. “She’s been missing for
three months now. The parents held out hope that she had just had a rebellious
jaunt out to the marches to visit friends or relatives.” He shook his head.
“Still, the magistrates were given her description. We knew there was a chance we’d
find her like this, but there was always hope. At least until tonight.”
    Alys flicked her tongue against her teeth in silent
annoyance. “That doesn’t answer my question, Dax. How do you know this is her?”
    “When she was younger, she was playing and fell into the
hearth,” he said. “It left her with a burn scar between her…” He cleared his
throat. “Over her heart area.”
    Alys laughed. “So you tore open this poor girl’s bodice for
your salacious gaze? Why Dax, you cad!”
    “The mark is distinctive. It looks like a sparrow.”
    “A sparrow?” Alys said in disbelief, kneeling down and
opening up the corpse’s shirt. Underneath the clothing, on the stiff, waxy
flesh was a brownish red mark. It sat between her breasts, just over her heart.
To Alys’s surprise, it actually did look quite a bit like a sparrow in flight.
“Amazing. Highside even has prettier scars than we do.”
    “This is hardly a laughing matter, Alys. The Ashdowns are
true blooded. They have a direct line to the First Ascended. And their daughter
is dead. In Lowside.”
    “Ah,” Alys said. “And there it is. I was wondering what had
prompted the chief magistrate to assign you here, dear Dax. Now, I know. You
true bloods stick together, right? They brought you in to tidy things up and
make sure the Ashdown family is confident that a person of the correct breeding
and background is investigating the death of their poor child.”
    His eyes narrowed. “I thought we weren’t making this
personal?” he remarked, an edge in his voice. “Wasn’t that one of the rules?”
He paused and shook his head. “I’m not here to tidy anything up. I am here for
justice. To find who is responsible. It does not matter to me in the slightest
how true hers or anyone’s blood may be. You should know that most of all.” He
looked at her and in his eyes was that familiar look of resolution, but also a
bit of challenge as well.
    That was new.
    Silently, she cursed him. As ever, he knew all the right
buttons to push. And he was right. Those were the rules. Keep it business. Alys
presented a charming smile to him. “A noble endeavor, Dax. And one I would be
glad to assist you with, but you know that nothing is free, Magistrate
Inspector. Especially down here in Lowside.”
    “The city will pay for your assistance. Discretely, of
course.”
    “I don’t need coin. I can steal whatever coin I want.” He
remained quiet at that, and she chuckled. “Oh come now, Daxton. Surely it
hasn’t been so long you can’t remember what a girl really wants?”
    “I can’t do it. You know I can’t.” But even as he spoke,
Alys saw his eyes move back to the body before them.
    The way his attention kept returning to the corpse, the way
his breath came a little faster as she was about to move away. This was a
serious case. A Highside victim, old family nobility, found in Prionside. Dax
was out of his element here and he knew it.
    “What do you want to know?” he said at last.
    Alys moved