The North Wind Descends by N.L. Holmes

Author:N.L. Holmes [Holmes, N.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: N.L. Holmes
Published: 2020-10-09T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

Maya and Lord Hani reached the administrative city before the end of the week. Maya had fully expected that the brigands would fall upon their party somewhere in the bleak stretches of the desert across the River Yardon, but the journey was quiet. Passing through Temesheq, they found that Biryawaza was still not back in his capital.

By the time they arrived in Kumidi, Maya was drenched with sweat, which the dry air lapped up quickly, leaving an itchy layer of salt on his skin. He was miserable and cross. Nothing but the thought of the little son Sati had to have given him by now kept his mind off the annoyances of the journey.

He and Hani dismounted from their litter in the courtyard of the commissioner’s palace with relief. Only then did Maya realize how much hotter it had been—hip to hip in the litter, with no breeze—than it was outside.

“Well, here we are,” said Lord Hani, stretching expansively. He fanned himself in the rapidly warming spring air and repositioned his wig, which he’d abandoned during the trip. “Let’s see if our commissioner is back from his shady meeting.” He shot Maya a knowing grin.

The two men waved goodbye to their escort and headed up to the porch of the official residence, where the majordomo greeted them. “Shall I send a servant for your things, my lord? You can leave them right here, and I’ll see to it they’re brought to you,” he said smoothly, bowing with just the right amount of servility.

“Yes. Zalaya is the person assigned to us.” Hani gave him a friendly smile.

But the man’s face grew suddenly stiff, and he stammered, “He... uh... he’s no longer with us, my lord.”

Maya and Hani exchanged a look of surprise. What’s this? Maya thought, an uneasy feeling making his way up the back of his neck.

“You mean he’s been sold? Run away?”

“I mean he is no longer alive, Lord Hani. But I’ll send someone else.” The majordomo turned in haste, as if he couldn’t wait to be away, and set off inside the palace, leaving Hani and Maya staring at each other.

“What’s going on? This place seems to be getting dangerous.” Maya’s forehead grew damp with the realization that something could well and truly happen to him, too, and he might never see his little son.

“Let’s go back to the room,” Hani said in a low tone, and the two of them set off into their wing, where they attained the room with a sense of relief. Hani closed the door quietly behind him.

Then he turned to Maya, a troubled expression knitting his bushy eyebrows. “I’d like to know more about this. It seems very suspicious—just before we had a chance to interrogate him with an incentive to talk.”

“Was this the same murderer who assassinated Shulum-marduk, do you think?”

“It’s very likely. But who is that? The one thing that’s clear is that it’s someone on the palace staff.”

“Leave it to that Amen-nefer to surround himself with thugs,” said Maya in disgust.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.