Major Gorkla Strongthighs counted down slowly under her breath. She needed to give Sergeant Jekla and Constable Perun time to get up to and across the roofs. They were to block any attempt at escape that way.
“...4…3…2…1.” Gorkla signaled to Sergeant Kiran. He and four constables ran down the alley behind the house on Andressa Street. They were one jaw of Gorkla’s pincers. Gorkla’s team was the other. She led a half-dozen constables to the front door of the townhouse.
That door may have been reinforced. It may not have been. It did not make much difference when an impassioned zlobra hit the lock with her personal lockpick, a steel beam with two handles welded onto it.
The constables poured through the door into the hallway behind their commander. Their impetus was checked when Gorkla rushed into the first room. Instead of the armed mercenary ready for a fight that Gorkla had expected and had hoped for, she found a woman seated behind a desk. She was wearing a breastplate over a chainmail hauberk. She sneered at Gorkla as she leaned back in her chair.
“I should have expected the little bastard to lie to us. ‘Free to go about your business,’ my ass. I suppose you’ll drag us to that damn dragon now.”
“Carnburh City Guard,” barked Gorkla. “Who’re you?”
“Your boss didn’t tell you? I guess you’re just his thugs, after all. I am Erlanda Knifesdotta, the captain of the Black Sisterhood. I do suppose you know our names? He’d have to trust even someone like you with that much.”
Gorkla took one long step in the room, reached across the desk, and lifted the woman by the collar of the tunic she wore under her armor. It would have been so easy just to throw the woman behind her and let the constables take care of her. There were others in the house. Gorkla needed to know whether they would be a threat. So, she pulled Knifesdotta to her until her tusks almost scraped the woman’s cheek.
“I am Major Gorkla Strongthighs of the Carenburh City Guard.” Gorkla spoke slowly, emphasizing every word. She ignored the crash from the back of the house. Sergeant Kiran had gotten in. Whether the crash was that of the back door being opened by force or that of one of the Sisterhood failing to stop Kiran, Gorkla did not care. “Erlanda Knifesdotta, you are under arrest for complicity in the murder of Lady Ambassador and Lord Naram. Please, resist arrest.”
Knifesdotta turned as pale as an elf. “Wasn’t planning on it. The other four went to bed. The noise’ll have got them up. Don’t hurt them. They won’t give you any problems either.”
“Four? I was told there were five of you. Where’s the other one?”
“You were told wrong, I guess. There’s only the five of us. Me, Ursela Mallesdotta, Brigda Ulefsdotta, Odetta Nothensdotta, and Alamnar Soothsdotta. We all knew each other back in Freiholm. Figured earning some silver here with our swords was better than hunting bears back home. Right?” Knifesdotta gave Gorkla an apprehensive grin.
“Constable Perkins!” Gorkla yelled over her shoulder. “Round up the others. Be careful. This one says they should be tame, but I don’t trust her. And somebody get some manacles on her. She’s starting to get heavy.”
Heppelthwaite Alething found the major in her office, napping with her feet up on her desk. He carefully closed her office door. Then, he knocked loudly. He heard a grunt before the Major called out.
“What!”
Hep opened the door and strolled in. The Major was busy with papers on her desk. She looked up and glared at him.
“Good morning, Major,” he said brightly, ignoring her muttered “barely.” He hopped up onto a corner of her desk and sat. “Any developments overnight?”
“Brought the Black Sisterhood in. Down in the holding cells now. Hadn’t slept in, could have watched us question ‘em.”
Hep frowned. “I wish you hadn’t done that. I thought I told you we needed them to lead us to this Tamara, the one who calls herself Scorpion.”
“Pfwah. Raided them in the middle of the night. Would have led your spies - I know you had some watching them - to her by then, if they were going to. Odd thing was, all claim not to know her. According to them, only five in the company. Never heard of a Tamara. Got all five. All big and burly. Don’t match your description of this Scorpion.”
“What? Their leader, Knifesdotta, certainly knew who she was yesterday afternoon. Dragon’s breath, it was she who gave me Scorpion’s real name.”
“Well, don’t know it now. Another thing is, didn’t give us any trouble. Think, someone arrested for what might turn out to be treason, someone fully armed and armored, would’ve fought back. At least made it hard for us. Confined space, unfamiliar territory, might’ve had problems. No, walked in there easy. Maybe wanted to be arrested.”
“That’s unusual. And concerning. How did you question them, once you got them here?”
“Standard techniques. Threaten great bodily harm. Maybe pull off a limb. Nothing. Perfectly calm, almost amused. Said the Duke was taking an interest himself. Could send up to Star’s Grace. Have the Duke deal with them. Same response.
“Sent Sergeant Kiran in. Smooth talker, that one. Told them, maybe he could get them back to Freiland. Claimed to be from there. All those ‘dotta’ names, believe it. Maybe he could get them back there. Couldn’t come back to Gwenddon, but not in a dragon’s belly, either. One, Alamnar Soothsdotta, about broke down then. Wanted to help. Wanted to go home. Didn’t know anything about a Tamara. Didn’t know anything about a Scorpion. Didn’t know anything about the Narams.
“Believe ‘em. No sign that they know anything. Paid off to ‘forget’, would’ve seen the signs. Truly, don’t remember.”
“Drugs, maybe?” mused Hep. “No, too specific. There are some alchemical concoctions that could wipe their memory of the past day or two. Not all memories of a single person. They’ve been mesmerized, somehow. I’ll check with my ‘spies’, as you call them, to see whether anyone came to their house after I left. I’ve some ideas about addressing this mesmerism, too.”
“Ahead for once.” Gorkla gave Hep a tusky grin. “Fernwyn Llangas should be here soon.”
“You got her to come so quickly? She was about fourth on my list, only because she is so difficult to reach.”
“May not work for the Duke, but not piddling. Have some influence.”
Llangas Fernwyn was human, although many who saw her would not think so. Her fae ancestry showed in her pale, almost translucent, skin and her deep purple eyes. It also showed in her ability to walk through the hidden byways of other people’s minds. She was the best in the city at ferreting out secrets. Fortunately for her, she was under the Duke’s personal protection.
The tall, slender woman climbed the steps to Central Station’s main entrance, where both Hep and the Major were waiting.
“Greetings, Mr. Alething.” Fernwyn gave the dalibor a slight bow. To the Major, she extended a hand. “Hello, Major Strongthighs. Your mind is as uncomfortable as always.”
“Hmm? ‘Uncomfortable’?” Hep asked as they turned to enter the building.
“My pardon, Mr. Alething. The Major and I are old acquaintances. In times past, she has allowed me to attempt to understand the mental connection that binds all zlobra. Unfortunately, such a thing is far beyond my ken. The attempt gave me quite a headache. Now, when we meet, her mind calls to me. Touching it, however, is quite distressing. Please, do not interpret my comment as a slight on Gorkla in any way.”
“Right. Never crossed my mind.”
A constable showed the trio into an interrogation room with a single, beat-up table and lit by a pair of dim glowstones. Erlanda Knifesdotta was sitting at the table, as anxious as if it were a sunny afternoon in the park. The Major sat down across from the mercenary captain. Fernwyn sat next to her. Hep chose to prop himself against the wall, just out of Knifesdotta’s sight.
The Major glanced at Fernwyn and received a nod back.
“Erlanda Knifesdotta, I believe that you are withholding information from the Carenburh City Guard,” the Major said very carefully. “You have one more chance to provide us with that information. Now, how many belong to the mercenary company known as the Black Sisterhood?”
“As I have said before, there are five of us. I know we are a small company, but we are very effective,” Knifesdotta said calmly.
“The documents registering the Black Sisterhood with the city record six members.”
“I’m sure there was some sort of bureaucratic mix-up. Someone wrote down six when they meant five. A simple mistake.”
“Those records record the names of all of the members of the company. The sixth name, the name of your member who we do not have in custody, is Tamara Knifesdotta. A relative, perhaps? A sister?”
Knifesdotta gave the Major a look of bewilderment. “Tamara? She’s the Tamara you’ve been asking about? I haven’t, haven’t,” Knifesdotta’s bewilderment changed to a grimace of pain, “I haven’t seen Tamara since I left Freiland. There must be, must be something wrong with, with the papers.”
The Major glanced at Fernwyn again and got another nod. “Again,” Fernwyn said firmly.
“Tell me about Tamara. You needed her in the Sisterhood. She’s cleverer than the rest of you, sneakier. That’s why you brought her from Freiland, made her part of your company. That, and this way you could keep her close to you, to protect her. You are the elder. Her safety is our responsibility.”
Knifesdotta was sweating now. “No,” she gasped. “Tamara. No.”
“Where is she, Erlanda? Where is your sister? If we know where she is, we can help you protect her,” the Major said quietly.
Knifesdotta screamed in anguish and slumped to the table. Hep rushed over to her.
“She’s breathing. Just unconscious, I think.” He looked up at Fernwyn. “What happened?”
Fernwyn was flushed and breathing heavily. “There was - call it a door. A heavily barred door. Her memories of her sister were locked behind that door. Whoever put it there made a mistake. They must not have realized how important Tamara was to her. They did not lock away all memories of her sister. They did not or could not block her love for her sister, nor her sense of responsibility.
“Talking about needing to protect her sister weakened the door. Gorkla’s questions, they pounded on it. When the door broke, it was too much for her.
“I was able to slip behind the door. I retrieved some information before she passed out. I think you will find it valuable.
“A name - Hertann Opermin. Short, balding man. It was he who let them into the house. It was just the two of them, Erlanda and Tamara. I apologize. That is all I was able to retrieve.”
“Will she be alright?” asked Hep.
“Difficult to determine until she revives. She has suffered great trauma. Breaking the door may have done irreparable damage. Or it might not have. What I do is not magic. If there are immutable laws like in the arcane art, I do not know them. I do think that it it would help if you could find her sister. If she were present when Erlanda wakes, that would at least alleviate the guilt she has been suppressing.”
“Must not be too many can build such a door in a mind. Any ideas?” asked Gorkla.
“I could, but it would take time. This is not the work of minutes. There are a couple of others in Carenburh, mentalists lesser than myself. It would take them hours and a willing subject, if they could manage it at all. They would find it exhausting. Creating doors in five minds,” Fernwyn looked thoughtful, “maybe a month, maybe five weeks. Not in a single afternoon.”
The trio paused as a pair of constables came in with a stretcher. They moved Knifesdotta onto to it gently. Hep stared at the woman as they carried her off.
“Can it be done partway?” asked Hep. “Building the door could have been done some time ago. Something might have happened yesterday to slam it shut. Is that possible?”
“I suppose so,” said Fernwyn. “It is not something I have tried myself. When my clients want to forget, they do not want to wait. There are ways to get a subject to perform some particular act when a triggering event occurs. Often, it is an act not in the person’s best interest. More often, I remove such compulsions rather than place them.”
“Building the door would still require a willing participant?” asked Hep.
“Yes, definitely. From what I have seen of Miss Knifesdotta, I do not believe she would have undergone a procedure to make her forget her sister of her own volition.”
“Can jaw about that later,” said the Major. “Right now, have a name, thanks to Llangas here. My office.”
Hep and Fernwyn agreed with a glance to put off further discussion of the possible ways to warp someone’s mind. They dutifully followed the Major out of the interrogation room. On the way to her office, she stopped by the duty desk. She gave the sergeant there several instructions that started off a search for Hertann Opermin.
In her office, the Major settled herself behind her desk. Fernwyn sat in a guest chair. Hep again clambered onto the Major’s desk.
The Major leaned forward and crossed her fingers. “Hertann Opermin. Either of you heard that name?”
“I have not,” said Fernwyn. “He is certainly not a mentalist, at least one in Carenburh.”
“No,” said Hep. “But there are a lot of people in the city I’ve never heard of. He may not even live here. The Narams were from Polarma. Whoever is behind this might be from out of the country, as well.”
“Got that. Checking everyone who’s come in by ship the past two months. Truly devious, might have landed at another city and come overland. Don’t check everyone coming in and out of the gates.”
“I’ll will take my leave, I think. I cannot help with the search for this Opermin.” Fernwyn stood. She looked over at Hep. “I will think on your idea. If that is indeed what happened, perhaps I can discern the technique of the mentalist responsible. Perhaps that would be enough to identify him. At the least, I might be able to help the other four afflicted women.”
“Gorkla,” she said, turning to the Major, “I do hope to see you again soon. It has been too long since the last time.” With that, she turned and glided out of the room.
Den of the Red Wolf 