“Interfering again?” he demands.
I decline to answer, but as I hurry away I’m struck by the murderous look he had in his eyes. There is an Elf who hasn’t been spending much time singing in the trees. There’s something about him that doesn’t quite add up and I make a mental note to check him out later.
Back at the ladders that lead up to the Tree Palace I have the good fortune to arrive just after Prince Dees-Akan and his entourage. The guards part to let them through and I hurry after as if I’m part of the official party. Making the climb for the second time tonight I develop the strong conviction that it is a mistake to live up in the trees. My limbs wouldn’t take too much of this. Prince Dees-Akan catches sight of me.
“Were you invited to the Tree Palace?” he demands.
“Yes, your highness,” I lie, and saunter past. The doormen look doubtful. An Elf with drooping shoulders and downcast gaze comes towards us and I march past crying out Vas’s name.
“I’m here. Take me to the patient.”
I grasp the startled Vas-ar-Methet’s arm and steer us through to the first courtyard.
“Where is she?”
“Thraxas, it is all so terrible, I cannot—”
I interrupt him impatiently. “Never mind that just now. Just take me to her. If I don’t get to speak to her now I might never get the chance.”
Vas nods. Back in the War he wasn’t an Elf to hang around dithering when action was needed. He leads me through the courtyard and up another ladder to a higher platform. From there a walkway stretches over most of the length of the Palace. Lord Kalith’s attendants are dotted around, but no one tries to get in the healer’s way.
“She’s being held in a building at the back of the Palace. I can get us close, but I doubt they’ll let you in.”
“I’ll think of something.”
We are now high above the Palace, further from the ground than I would wish to be. I look down at the blanket of trees below us, and imagine how easily I would plummet down through them if I lost my footing. We reach the end of the walkway and descend into another courtyard, this one darker and less ornate than those at the front of the building. Vas points to a door in front of which three Elves are stationed, each of them armed. These are the first Elves I’ve seen on Avula to carry swords openly.
“They are guarding Elith,” whispers Vas. “I didn’t want to leave her, but Lord Kalith sent word that I was to be dismissed before he came to question her himself.”
“Where is he now?”
“Hearing the accounts of those who witnessed the affair. I imagine that he will be here before long. The death of our Tree Priest is a catastrophic event, Thraxas. I will not wish to continue living if my daughter is found to be guilty of his murder.”
“Well, don’t do anything rash,” I tell him. “I’m going in.”
The guards challenge me. I speak the one solitary spell I’m carrying with me, the sleep spell. It works well, as it always does. The three guards sink gently to the ground. Vas-ar-Methet gasps in amazement at my action.
“You worked a spell on Lord Kalith’s guards?”
“What were you expecting? A few cunning lies? I need to see Elith and I need to see her now.”
“But when Kalith—”
I don’t stay around to listen to the rest but hurry into the cell, where Elith is sitting on a wooden chair, gazing out of the barred window.
I greet her and introduce myself as a friend and wartime companion of her father.
“Why are you here?”
“Your father hired me to investigate the damage to the Hesuni Tree. He says you’re innocent, so I believe him. Now there are a few more things I have to deal with. Fine, I’ll deal with them. Tell me everything and make it quick. What happened to the Tree and what’s the story of you not remembering anything? How did you escape from prison, and why were you found with the knife right beside the dead Priest?”
Elith is taken aback. Since the ministrations of her father she’s looking healthier but, not surprisingly, she’s extremely distracted. I look her straight in the eyes and tell her to snap out of it.
“There’s no time for rambling, so get to the point. Lord Kalith is on his way here; three of his guards are outside sleeping off a spell, thanks to me, and he’s not going to be very pleased about it. So in the brief time we’ve got I need to know everything. Don’t sigh, don’t cry and don’t stray from the point. Just tell it like it happened.”
At this, Elith-ir-Methet manages a weak smile.
“I remember Father speaking of you now,” she says. “You appear in many of his war stories. It was good of you to come. But really, you can do nothing to help me.”
“I can. Tell me about the Tree. Did you damage it?”
She shakes her head slowly. “I don’t think so. But I might have. I really can’t remember. They said I did it.”
“Who said?”
“Gulas, the Tree Priest. And his brother Lasas.”
“Why can’t you remember?”
She looks blank and tells me she just can’t. Already I’m starting to dislike her as a client.
“What were you doing near the Tree?”
“Just walking. We live nearby.”
I’d like to question her plenty more about this, but time is short and there’s the murder to consider.
“How did you get out of your cell tonight?”
“I wasn’t in a cell. Kalith had merely confined me to a room in the Palace and I gave my word I would not try to leave.”
“So why did you change your mind?”
She shrugs. I grow impatient.
“Is this hopeless-Elf-maiden routine the best you can do? You realise how much trouble you’re in?”
Elith just sits there: tall, slender, golden-haired and apparently suffering from a severe attack of amnesia. I ask her what happened after she left the Palace.
“I descended to the forest and went to the Hesuni Tree.”
“What for?”
“I wanted to see Gulas-ar-Thetos. It was he who was my main accuser in the matter of damaging the Tree.”
She stops. Tears start to trickle down her pale face.
“What happened then?”
There’s no reply. I change tack. “Your cousin Eos-ar-Methet died on the voyage from Turai to Avula. Were you friendly with him?”
Elith is startled. “No,” she says. “Well, yes, I knew him. Why?”
“Because I’m wondering about his death. You know any reason he might have been acting strangely?”
Elith goes quiet, and I’m fairly certain she’s hiding something. I ask her again what happened when she left the Palace earlier this evening.
“She killed Gulas, that’s what happened,” roars a voice as the door flies open and Lord Kalith marches in, flanked by four Elves with swords.
“How dare you interrupt an Investigator in private conference with his client?” I roar back. “Have you no idea of the due process of law on Avula?”
Kalith strides up to me and puts his face near mine, which involves some bending over on his part. His men meanwhile surround me and point their swords in my direction.
“Are you responsible for putting my guards to sleep?” he demands.
“Guards? I didn’t see any guards. Just wide open space and a comfy cell at the end. Now would you mind giving me a little time alone with my client? I really must insist—”
The attendants make to grab me. Not wishing to be grabbed, I step back quickly and prepare to defend myself. Elith prevents an ugly scene by laying her hand on my arm.
“Stop,” she says, quite softly. “I appreciate your trying to help me, Thraxas, but you can do nothing for me. Lord Kalith is right. I did kill Gulas-ar-Thetos.”