"I still do not understand how they could disappear under your watch!" Syrce's eyes showed she was on the verge of breaking the watchman who had been on guard.
Looking around, the sparse furniture that had been moved here to accommodate Maelys was broken and scattered.
The fight had been sudden and fierce, like a lion breaking from its cage.
'Or a bear.' Syrce had not seen Maelys lose her temper often, but the few times had been memorable. Imagining how the woman must have reacted to the assassins, Syrce almost felt sorry for them.
That was until she remembered that they had tried to kill Maelys and Bel. Then her anger was rekindled.
When she looked at the room that was missing the bodies of those who attacked them, Syrce felt untold rage. "Bodies do not get up and walk away!"
The watchman cowered. "I was outside the whole time. No one entered or exited until your messenger came. We looked inside, and they had vanished like the wind."
From the corner of the room, Titus nodded slowly, "So you have said."
"And the blood?" Syrce paced as she asked the same question she had asked a dozen times. "It was everywhere, and now not a drop is found. Did the corpses come and clean up after themselves, too?"
"I do not know, My Lady," the watchman answered honestly. "I understand that you are angry, and I will take my punishment for my error."
Syrce looked at the aggrieved soldier. He was truly terrified. Had she not been trying to pull information out of him for over an hour? Yet he had none to give. And like a dog that expects to be beaten for some incidental slight, the soldier seemed resigned to his fate.
If anything, he wanted it to be over with. Syrce frowned. 'Death was better than being at her mercy.' The Saint had heard Quintos speak those words earlier that evening.
Syrce had tried to coax out the meaning behind his rude actions at dinner. Perhaps coax was too nice a word, but the man's screaming before his death had done nothing to illuminate his reasons.
Was he part of the Empire? Syrce could not rule that out. And now his body was missing too, further proof that he was in league with the assassins.
The watchman kept his head bowed, awaiting his judgment.
Syrce studied him silently.
Like so many with her, the watchman, Lawler, had been fighting alongside her since they had set out on their mission. He had never once given Syrce a reason to doubt his words.
Even now, she found she could not accuse him of anything except not being more diligent.
The mossy-haired Saint sighed.
"You are relieved of your duty for now. I will not put you under arrest, but do not do anything that might cause me to doubt you."
Lawler glanced up, relieved confusion written all over his sun-kissed face. "Yes, my Lady," he managed at last.
From the corner of the room, Maelys sat up in the only still functional chair. "You heard my sister. Off with you. If I were you, I would stay out of the way. Lady Syrce may not think you are guilty, but I am less sure."
Lawler gulped under the scrutiny of the elder sister. He suddenly felt like a dead man walking.
"Yes, My Lady. Thank you, My Lady." The grizzly soldier backed out of the room, bowing the entire way.
"You let him off easy," Mae frowned.
"I did what I thought was right." Syrce began to pace. The newly retrieved hand mirror swung from her belt like a pendulum as she walked.
The elder sister watched her feverish movement.
"Look at you! You are a nervous wreck. You really should have let out some energy. He was in the wrong, clearly! If he is that poor at guarding dead bodies, imagine how he would be with an actual prisoner!" Pushing back her coral hair, Maelys clicked her tongue.
"You and I both know something else is going on. If he isn't in league with the culprits, then he is a victim just like we are. Taking out my frustration on him might feel cathartic in the moment, but my conscience would get the better of me in the end." Syrce began to pace faster.
"Take my seat." Maelys offered, but the younger sister declined.
"You know I cannot. I have to move. Too much is on my mind. You caught the assassins, but what about their accomplices? We never did find the servants that Bel mentioned." Syrce's tone became bitter.
"Have you ever thought that they might be one and the same? There were four servants and four assassins? What if they dressed up as servants to fool Lady Bel?" Titus offered with a dip of his chin.
"Possibly." While Syrce couldn't rule out the option, she found it hard to think that her dear friend would mistake three men for women just because of a quick change. If it were true, that did make things cleaner. The Saint furrowed her brow. "Though that wouldn't explain the disappearing bodies, would it?"
"No, I wouldn't. You always were the smart one between us. Always thinking of things that I don't. Compared to you, I am practically empty-headed." Mae sighed.
"Empty-headed?" Syrce's frown deepened. She only used that term to refer to one person, and right now that person was out in the wilderness. "I do hope Bel is alright."
"You are too soft-hearted." Her elder sister stood with a sad smile. "That's why you let the Realm Walker overstay her welcome. Look at how anxious she is making you!"
"Not this again, Mae." Syrce rubbed her forehead. "Bel is not making me anxious, unless you're talking about me being anxious for her safety."
"Flint, will you excuse us?" Maelys looked meaningfully at the third-in-command.
The commander gave her sister a strange look. "He needs to get back to Bel anyway, don't you?"
"If I can find her," Titus frowned. "From what I understood, she left the city in quite a huff."
"I heard the same report you did," the Saint rubbed her forehead.
"I have seen that Lady Bel does enjoy drama," Maelys nodded.
The commander ignored her sister's comment, continuing to address her subordinate. "Find Bel, report to her what happened here, and...make sure she is alright."
"But we did not find anything. Are you sure you want me to relay our lack of information?" The man ran his hand through the orange streaks in his hair.
"We can only be honest in this case." Syrce blew out her cheeks. "I only hope honesty is enough."
Maelys waved at Titus to leave. She took her sister's hand.
"If it's honesty you seek, sister. Then I will be honest in saying that you need to rest. You have been through so much lately without me. I'm here now. You aren't alone."
"I am very glad you are here. I've missed you more than you will ever know." Syrce pulled her sister into a hug. "But make no mistake, I wasn't alone before."
Mae felt the force of her sister's hug, reveling in the attention.
"Yet, she is gone, and I am still here. Bel is a Realm Walker. I would not be surprised if she left our Realm and has already forgotten all about us…"
A voice came from the doorway in answer to her claim. "You want to bet?"