Infernal Investigations

It took ten minutes before the first of them stumbled into my kitchen and tiny dining room. Either drawn by my words, or more likely, the smell of food being cooked.

I'd at least managed long ago to progress past the usual Quarter breakfast of ten years ago. Bread, gruel, and bone broth, typically made from bones of origins you didn't ask about. These days, it was usually herring and eels, bread dipped in lard, your usual assortment of seasonal vegetables such as watercress, cabbage, onions, or leeks. Add in the occasional apple, and it served well enough for most of the day. Easily affordable too, depending on what was in season and if you cared about seafood from the Nover.

The alchemical to cleanse fish of the river's taint was relatively cheap. Thankfully, as I did not want to guess what uncleaned fish would taste like. At least you could actually get fish, the Nover has resisted the cold's attempt to freeze it over and was being sluggish in its usual transformation into something closer to gelatin than water.

This, however, was a special occasion in the sense that I was trying to make a trap. Two of the four guests needed to stay. Alice and Melissa, since Tolman had been convinced already, and Gregory was already on the case. And it would take more than good food to convince the other two, but it would keep them at the table.

It wasn't either of them, though, who stumbled their way up my stairs first.

"Good morning Gregory," I said cheerily as he walked cautiously into the room as I continued frying the bacon. Flipped onto their other sides, then moved to a bowl to start poaching the eggs. "I see you finally made your way up here."

He didn't respond immediately, instead looking around my kitchen with a curious eye. He still wore the clothes from yesterday, which sent my tail to crack open the window and let some fresh air in. tattered sleeves exposed his forearms and parts of his biceps again, and I made a mental note tot all to him about that later. I'd had my suspicions before, but he was definitely on something that was changing his musculature. He pulled out a little symbol of a harp, and my skin began to itch.

"A polite guest would not use magic that irritates their guest," I said mildly, and that jolted him out of ignoring me.

"Ah. Sorry, just making sure this isn't a trap," he said hurriedly, putting the holy symbol away.

"Hrrm," I mused, cocking my head to the side. "From the devil that was here yesterday, or from me?"

He almost answered immediately, then seemed to reconsider outright lying to me. "If I said both, how offended would you be?"

"If you said this would be your usual precautions around me, I wouldn't be offended at all," I said. "Now, if you were to say this is only a precaution because of yesterday, I might take more offense."

He opened his mouth, clearly considering his words.

"Don't worry about anyone overhearing," I said. "I confirmed our two Intelligence minders can't listen in on us when I mused about poison dosages before taking their tea down to him."

That was unfair, almost like a knife to the knee right when he'd been building back up to talking. I'd admit some degree of petty satisfaction watching him metaphorically fall down a flight of stairs at those words.

Eventually, he decided to focus on the safest part to discuss.

"You made tea?" He asked, looking around once again. "I don't see a teapot."

"I gave it to them to share between them," I said. "I won't be brewing another pot."

"No tea for breakfast?" Gregory asked me skeptically.

"Not for me," I said, beginning to poach another egg, sliding it into the water. "And I assumed the rest of you would be fine with coffee. One egg or two for you?"

"Are you okay?" Gregory asked me, eyeing me as if maggots had started wriggling out of my skin.

I sighed. It was to be expected in part. "Yes, Gregory, I am fine. I am not possessed by either fey or devil. Barnes would swat you on the head if you suggested it again."

"Are we back to calling her Barnes?" he asked, cautiously reaching for a chair.

Please. It wasn't like I was going to bite him. Although perhaps the fins made me look more like a shark than a fish?

One could hope. I did not want to spend the rest of my life being compared to a carp.

"Until I get orders otherwise, I shall endeavor not to disobey my superiors," I replied.

"Certainly, I don't know why I'd ever doubt you on that," he said, bitterness in his tone.

"There will be time to talk about that later," I said. "Not trying to duck out of it, but the murders have to take precedence for someone. Might as well be us."

I turned back around, focused on cooking, and pretty soon, Tolman came up to join us as well.

"One or two eggs?" I asked him.

"Two," he said, going to a chair. "I've never seen you cook before. Do you cook often?"

"For myself, yes, for others no," I answered. "It's not too different from alchemy, just need to be careful not to mix the ingredients from both. Well, not too much, a little basilisk venom never hurt anyone."

They shared concerned glances at that comment.

"It's a joke," I said, slightly miffed. "It only happened once."

And I hadn't even been that bad off. Relatively. Once I'd puked everything in my stomach out. And I'd had to be more careful since mixtures to easily induce vomiting were a bit pricey.

"Only once is very reassuring," Gregory said drily, and I rolled my eyes.

"No eggs," I said, and his tone immediately changed.

"Sorry, did that sound insincere? I meant that is a very good sign of how few mistakes you've made over the years."

"One egg," I threatened. Threats delivered, I finished the cooking and delivered plates to each spot on the table, just in time for the other two.

"Oh hells, you're actually cooking," a new voice chimed in.

"Yes Alice," I responded. "I am cooking. You can sound less like this is some stunning-"

"You've never cooked for me before," she said, as a sleepy Melissa came in behind her and immediately followed the scent of food to a spot there. "This does it for sure. Something new is inside her brain. Only question is if it's a devil or that fey-"

"No, I am not taken over by a devil, no I have not been damaged in the head, no Tagashin did not go tinkering inside there," I said, the good cheer slowly leeching out of my voice. "I am actually beginning to get a little offended that the idea of me being nice has made you all start thinking I need to be exorcised."

"Oh, thank Tarver, it actually is her," Gregory said, and I turned a chilly glare on him.

"I am claiming two strips of bacon and one of your eggs for that," I informed him solemnly, and his face fell.

"I mean, I never doubted the fact that you had such a kind and generous soul, oh great and beneficent Malvia!" He said quickly.

"You can take my eggs," Alice commented. "This is bizarre. Even by normal Malvia Harrow standards. Including letting me sit at your table."

"Going entirely from the two days I've been close to you, and the stories I've heard from others in the Flame?" Melissa said. "I have to agree with the other turncoat."

I went to snatch her plate up, but she hurriedly shoveled as much as she could inside her mouth.

"You incorrigible…if you're going to steal my food, don't eat it like that! Can you even tell the tastes apart?"

I couldn't hear her response, choked by chewed-up food. There was no hope for recovering any of it, and I settled for my tail slapping her lightly upside the head.

"Your eating habits are almost as bad as his tea-drinking habits," I said with a scowl, and Gregory smiled innocently.

"It is the fashion to-"

"It is never in fashion to do tea like shots of alcohol," I said, glaring at him. "And frankly, if I see it under my roof there will be consequences."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"I suppose we can add your bizarre worship of tea to the list of ways to make sure you are still you," Alice said while finishing her bacon. Almost everyone was finished except Melissa.

She was busy trying not to choke on her shoveled-in meal.

I cleared my throat to get their attention.

"I'd like to have each of you accompany me for part of today," I told them. "Sometimes two. I have some tasks suited for each of you, I'd appreciate you coming along with me for."

"Ah," Alice said. "Suddenly, the breakfast makes sense. And being nice. We are being bribed."

"I think if I wanted to bribe you, I could offer a bit more than some breakfast," I said bemusedly. "Alchemicals. Biosculpting. Not reporting you to the Watch."

"Ah, threats instead," Alice said. "I think I will leave-"

"You're staying," I informed her, and her eyes narrowed. "You owe me."

"I owe you shite," she told me bluntly. "And I'm not going to entertain whatever madness has seized you that you think I do."

"But this service is going to do you such a favor, Alice," I said, finally finishing my own plate.

She scoffed. "And what service would that be?"

"Simple enough," I told her, refusing to let my smile break even under her glower. "If you help me, I'll get you out of the city, no fuss or bother from Imperial authorities."

Her eyes narrowed. "You cannot possibly have the authority to do that."

"Who said anything about authority?" I replied. "I intend to sneak you out without them noticing."

Quiet now, as everyone looked at me, all of them skeptical. Well-founded. If I meant just the Watch, well, that would be difficult enough already. If I were also adding Imperial Intelligence to the list of those being evaded, well, that became essentially impossible. Samuel Voltar had barely mentioned Alice to me at all, and probably not to anyone else, perhaps not even said a word around her.

No one doubted Intelligence knew full well who she was, and the only reason she wasn't in Watch hands is because they wanted her out of them.

She snorted derisively. "You do not have a way to get me out of this city without notice."

"Correct," I replied easily. "I have two. I'll even share the details of one right now. I'm going to convince my brother to get you out."

Complete silence now, only broken when Tolman absent-mindedly grabbed some bread, nearly dropping it in his cup as they all stared again.

"How?" Alice said.

"By blackmailing him, of course."

Across the table, Melissa steamed with anger, and were those actual wisps of smoke starting to come out of the corners of her mouth? She got up, hands stretched outwards.

I rolled my eyes. "Nothing dangerous, Melissa. And frankly, after the absolute shitshow of the last two days, he owes me one. So, Alice?"

She eyed me suspiciously, and my smile seemed to only make that suspicion grow.

"If you can get Intelligence's eyes off of me, I suppose I can see what insanity you have planned for this."

"I'll do my best," I assure her.

"So, what do I get bribed with?" Melissa asked, having finally digested the comical amount of food she'd shoveled in.

"The same thing you were already getting," I replied. "Insight into the investigation and the opportunity to prove Versalicci and the Flame aren't involved."

She bristled at that, like I knew she would. She did wait and thought on a reply instead of spitting out an immediate defense.

"That's not so useful when I'm stuck with people with no say," she said. "No priests, no Voltar, no one with any influence."

"Come now, don't insult Gregory."

"I'm pretty sure the Halspusian wants to skin him for a coat."

Gregory chuckled nervously. "Well, not for a coat, but I wouldn't put it past Bishop Gallaspie to try his hand at flaying."

Depends on who was getting skinned, I imagine.

"Less morbid details while we eat," I said. "True, it's less access, but it's more access than you would get anyway. And more time you get to think about what you'll tell our half-brother when you head back."

I wasn't going to start an argument by claiming if instead of when. Melissa was already staring at me murderously enough.

"You are far too open about us being related," she said. "Stop being so cavalier!"

"In your case, sure," I said. "In my case, maybe if it spreads around enough, I can blackmail our brother for money. Otherwise, I give out free samples of my blood for anyone to send curses after him with."

An annoyed glare from her, rolled eyes from Gregory and Alice, and a confused glance from Tolman.

"It doesn't work like that," I told Tolman. "Even if magic could use relatives' blood to do curses and the like, we don't really match genetically. I'm pretty sure our shared parent was technically three different people when we were conceived. Anyway, Melissa, you could go back with nothing in hand or you-"

"Enough," she said. "I'll be staying here, if only to make sure your insanity doesn't risk me, him, or any of the Flame."

Good enough.

"Well then. On the case. Newspapers are calling our culprit a variety of names. 'Priest-killer' the most popular if the least imaginative."

Frankly, I was partial to the Revealer of Sin, which was only sullied by being from a newspaper slanted to the extreme in favor of Halspus. Hey, they had something of a point; it was very weighty-sounding, and it actually meant something besides 'kills priests'. Anyone could kill a priest!

"We've had four deaths in two days, and potentially more today," I continued. "The pace isn't that fast compared to their goals, which suggests either they lack the means to kill more of their targets, or that they started this before they were ready."

"Could be this is all part of their plan," Alice said. "Not that it would make much sense. Don't fuck around with a Devil's deal."

"Yes," I agreed. "However, for right now, let's proceed under some assumptions. The first assumption we will make for now is that whoever is planning this wants the scheme to succeed."

Melissa cleared her throat. "You're suggesting that someone is faking a devil's deal to open a Hellgate in Avernorn?"

"It's a hell of a distraction," Tolman opined.

"Suicidal," Gregory said firmly. "Anyone even suspected would have the full weight of the Watch, the Pantheon, pretty much everyone in power in the city. Why risk that for a distraction?"

Alice cleared her throat. "Yeah, how is that 'full weight' working out for catching them so far, priest?"

Gregory flushed. "It's only been a few days, within the week I'm certain-"

"Peace," I said, holding up my hands. "We're ultimately on the same side here, everyone. No one wants the Devils streaming over into the city. And this arguing is part of the issue, but not all of it. It had been a remarkably short time span, but also no one is willing to commit, are they?"

Silence all around as everyone but Tolman looked at each other with a mixture of sheepish embarrassment and slight offense.

So new to our group, Tolman just continued going after his breakfast with gusto.

"Of course, I doubt any of them want a Hellgate either," I said. "Or Hellgates, if that's what they're aiming for. We need to go fetch a specialist I know to take a look."

Tolman coughed. "The circles aren't here anymore, Malvia."

"Oh, I know," I said. "I'm counting on her being the one they get to take a look. Or know who did, if they didn't have her do it."

"Oh great, guesswork," Melissa groaned.

"Educated guesswork," I corrected. "Welcome to the difficulty of starting this off with very little direct evidence. Ones that we have access to anyway. I do have samples to run alchemy on, but that's a lengthy affair best saved for the end. Instead, I think we have a question staring us right in the face, which is that the first one killed makes no sense at all."

"How?" Gregory asked, eyes narrowing.

"From all accounts, the second and third victims were the only clerics of their respective deities in this program," I said. "Killing them early makes sense, since if they knew ahead they were being targeted and went to ground, the entire scheme goes up in smoke. So then, why was Father Reginald the first to die?"

"Donald Tyler," Gregory said grimly. "Father Reginald had come into contact with him, buying Diabolism supplies off the black market to try and accelerate his own training in that field of magic. And unintentionally made a business connection with another part of the conspiracy to kill him."

"Precisely," I said. "Honestly, it might even be possible that the need to do this provoked them into striking before they were ready. It might explain the sloppy nature of what's happened since then, because they were spooked into beginning early. Now, one of the other open questions about this is how Tyler was found out."

Melissa looked a little nervous as heads swiveled her way.

"Versalicci just told me his people noticed the deaths, and not that they had noticed it was diabolism," Melissa said, repeating her claim from earlier. "If he'd known it was Diabolism, it would have been someone besides you handling it."

That was at least a little plausible. Too bad all the details surrounding it were so inconvenient.

"Melissa, one could easily frame the entire thing as Veralicci trying to cover up loose ends, from using me, who could actually handle Tyler in a fight. Then more of his people covered up more at another site, killing all the renegades who could say if he was involved."

"It's all not even evidence," Melissa protested. "Just a coincidence and events lining up that it's possible the Black Flame did it. There's not even any real reason why we would do this!"

There was plenty, if one had a less charitable view of the Flame than she did, but there was an easy reason that would convince her.

"Melissa, the Watch wouldn't even need hard evidence to drag any one of us in for a crime they thought we might be involved with," I pointed out. "Well, except Gregory."

"Eh," he said, thinking on the subject. "Given my number of enemies, maybe?"

"Okay, but generally irrelevant. But for now, lets assume that Versalicci is not behind this."

"He isn't," Melissa spat out, and I ignored her.

"Did the actual culprits leak Tyler's dealings to the Black Flame, hoping it would result in him getting killed and cutting the leak?" Gregory suggested.

"No," I said quickly. "I considered it, but too many variables. Even if they couldn't afford to slit his throat themselves, Versalicci would want to know why a diabolist was operating underneath Holmsteader. Especially if he saw that ritual circle. No, they still needed Tyler. Or, I suspect, they needed his ritual circle."

They were the keys. Not only would they take time to make, they'd take time to charge. Which raised the idle thought of whether they'd made spares and started sacrificing to those as well. Couldn't be too many. Despite what I'd said to Gregory when explaining that many were probably outside the Quarter, they could only kill so many before it became impossible to hide.

"For today, I'll ask you all to go to many places. It's because I want to grab onto as many threads as I can and pull until something comes loose," I told. "Take everyone's carefully laid plans and rip out the stitches on them until their guts come spilling out."

A quiet pause while I finished brewing my tea, turning my back to all of them. I should gauge reactions, but I wanted to let them stew on that while I fixed my cup.

By the time I turned around, whatever initial reactions had been on everyone's face had mostly melted into careful neutrality, except Gregory, who looked somewhat nervous.

"Pulling the threads on something this big is going to unleash something dangerous," he said.

"What we're discussing has already unleashed enough dangerous things and promises more," I countered. "Besides, I'm talking about pulling the threads on a mess already bursting its seams. We already know two cases where the grip on the people sacrificing to the ritual circles has been weak. The devil summonings by the deserter Black Flame, and Tyler's dealings with Diabolists. Control over them is loose, at least enough that either group figured they could get away with doing either."

The Black Flame deserters have been panicked as well, which didn't speak to a group confident in their own plan. Had it been losing one of their own, the public assault on Baltaren's church, or Tyler getting killed? All three, probably. Maybe the other groups wouldn't crack as easily. Or maybe we just needed to up the pressure on them.

I cocked my head, holding up a hand as Alice prepared to say something.

So far, our two Intelligence watches down below had been rather quiet, but now I could hear them discussing people approaching. Two specific people, and pretty soon, those two people were arguing with the people in front. I recognized both voices. Varrow, and Elise Montague.

"We have company," I announced, taking off my apron. "Time to go see what dragged them over here."

Varrow, I knew why. Elise Montague, now that was a mystery. Let's go solve it.