Beyond Redemption 31 Chapter 29

I did what I had to do. I did what any man would do. The real crime here is not to be found in my actions, but rather in your inability to understand their necessity. These aren't rationalizations, they are the new truth.
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—THE TRIAL OF VERSKLAVEN SCHWACHE, GEFAHRGEIST PHILOSOPHER (SHORTLY BEFORE HIS ACQUITTAL)

The inn was an a.s.sault on Asena's sense of smell. Beer, urine, blood, and sweat waged all-out war for dominance. The wood floorboards were still damp from spilled blood. Ma.s.se stood behind her, tasting the air with his sharp tongue. Bär and Stich stood nearby, waiting for her to take the lead. She could tell from Bär's flared nostrils and Stich's excited shiver that they too smelled blood. The innkeeper watched from behind the bar, making no attempt to welcome them to his establishment. Asena chose the table farthest from the stain. She didn't want Ma.s.se causing a scene, crawling around on the floor and flicking at the blood with his tongue. She sat and then waved four fingers at the innkeeper.

The man brought four ales with the boredom of someone who delivers drinks to groups of odd strangers as part of his daily existence. It was an act; Asena smelled fear.

When the drinks arrived, Asena gestured at Bär with a flick of a slim finger and he caught the innkeeper's wrist in his ma.s.sive hand.

"We are looking for a boy," she said. The innkeeper stood frozen in Bär's iron grip. "He has been here." She sniffed at the air by way of explanation. "You would remember this boy."

The innkeeper licked cracked lips, his gaze darting to the bloodstained floor. He squeaked as Bär tightened his fist about the man's thin arm. "A boy was here yesterday with a man claiming to be the Greatest Swordsman in the World."

Asena snorted. "Another one of those."

"Lebendig Durchdachter, the best blade this area has seen in a dozen generations, fled rather than face this man."

"So?"

"The boy said the man is the Greatest Swordsman in the World," said the innkeeper as if it explained everything.

Interesting. Morgen travels with the Greatest Swordsman in the World. It didn't matter. It wasn't like she planned to have a sword fight with the man.

"I heard a boy brought a dead cat back to life," said the innkeeper, desperate to gain some respite from Bär's crushing grip. "Must be the same boy."

"You know where this happened?"

Again the innkeeper nodded.

"Tell me."

WHEN ASENA LED her Tiergeist from the Schwarze Beerdigung, they left behind a corpse swollen with poison. When the body was found it would be a.s.sumed the unfortunate innkeeper had somehow somehow stumbled across one of the rare poisonous snakes in this area. Closer examination, of which there would likely be none, would have suggested the man fell into an entire pit of vipers.

They followed Asena's nose. Every few yards she stopped, dropping to all fours to sniff at the ground before leading them onward. She found the dead cat, spine and skull crushed, still twitching and dragging itself through a narrow alley. A trail of beggars followed the cat, proclaiming its divinity and protecting it from all who attempted to approach. In the short time she stood watching, a dozen more joined the crowd of worshipers. The cat smelled of Morgen. She found a few drops of the boy's blood nearby and swore vengeance upon all who had done him harm. They left the cat and its followers in the alley and followed the boy's trail. It became difficult, as someone had carried the child for a time, but Asena recognized the scent from the Schwarze Beerdigung: it could only be the World's Greatest Swordsman.

She stopped at the corner of two unnamed streets and turned to Bär, who followed close at her heels. "What would the World's Greatest Swordsman want with Morgen?"

"The boy is power," Bär grunted. "Much as Konig—" He stopped in midsentence, staring past Asena. A low growl rumbled deep in his chest.

With an ear-shattering roar, Bär twisted.