Chapter 182: The Hidden Attacker 1

Hours earlier.

The assassin still hadn’t left Mereth Raukhan’s home. It would have ruined half of the plan if the assassin had left straight away. The assassin was hiding above within the top corridor and peering down the narrow gap between two wooden panels. The blood underneath Mereth’s body was slowly soaking into the carpet.

The concealment spell had warped his shape and masked any mana leaking from his body. Only a few feet away, the assassin was safe. The spell was a similar one to the Fox-folk spirit magic.

Inside the assassin’s cloak was Mereth’s private book. The assassin had searched through the open drawers and found the correct one. This made it look like someone had rushed in and searched through the documents. The assassin had also broken the wax seal and created a copy of the key to Mereth’s private room. It had been copied weeks ago using an imprint from when the assassin had delivered something normally. Everything was set.

Lynessa.

The assassin had done some research into the catgirl’s daily life before taking the job. She would often come in through the servants entrance late at night. She lived in the home under Mereth’s authority so the staff rarely questioned it. The assassin had chosen to leave the entrance unlocked. If they had entered, the staff would assume they had managed to enter without force or had permission to.

Noise echoed downstairs. The assassin was now very alert. The servants entrance had opened and shut. A familiar voice floated through the home. “Hello?” Lynessa had arrived.

The assassin watched as she climbed the stairs. Her pace quickened as she smelt the blood. She stopped outside of Mereth’s room and hesitated. She pushed open the slightly ajar door. As she spotted the body her face dropped completely. “Mistress?” Lynessa ran towards Mereth. Too shocked to notice anything else, the assassin waited for her to tilt forward.

The assassin flicked two fingers and used a thin strand of mana to guide the copy of the key into the small satchel attached to Lynessa’s waist. The assassin then removed the magic. Lynessa never noticed. “Mistress?” she cried. She took a step back and the broken cup fell to the floor. The noise echoed down the bottom corridor. Two guards were now running up to the entrance. The assassin crept towards the window. He slipped through and grabbed onto the edge of the next roof.

“What’s in there?” the older guard bellowed. They were now trapped. By sunrise the murder would appear to be the fault of a servant who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The book would no longer be a threat to the person who had ordered the assassination. The assassin vanished off into the rooftops with the book safely tucked under his cloak. Mission complete. His employer could now move onto the next part of the plan.

Lynessa was sat behind the iron bars with her knees pulled to her chest. Tanaka was stood on the other side of the cell looking at her face. Raizen was stood by the entrance. Her face looked tired. Her black hair was messy around her cheeks and ears. Despite everything she hadn’t asked Tanaka to save her or demanded that he force the guards to let her go. She had only said one thing. “I didn’t kill her.”

Tanaka crouched down so they were level. “I know.” Lynessa looked up sharply. “You do?” “I don’t believe you did. But it doesn’t prove it. Whoever framed you knows this.” Lynessa stared at him. She tightened her grip on her knees. “They found a key in my satchel. They said it had blood on it. It opens Mistress Mereth’s room. I don’t know how it got there.”

“Did they search through your things before you entered the house?” “No. I came straight back after the festival. I smelt blood so ran upstairs. I didn’t touch the knife and nothing from the desk.” Tanaka nodded. It was the same story Garric had told him. He wanted to hear it from her though. The evidence against her was worrying because someone had gone to great lengths to create it. Everything seemed to fit together.

“Why would you leave the book missing if you had killed her? Why stay by the body until they found you? Why would you have the key? It doesn’t make sense. Unless they wanted you to be found.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “Then why won’t they believe me?” “Because they have a dead body, a missing book, an unlocked entrance and a bloody key. There is quite a lot of evidence to make them suspicious. We need to find out who set it up.” Tanaka glanced at the guard outside.

Garric entered the holding corridor. His face was serious but he had fresh news from the investigators who had searched Mereth’s home earlier. “They found some magic residue in the top corridor. It is similar to the Fox-folk spirit magic. But the mage investigating believes it was faked on purpose.” Tanaka straightened. “How sure is he?”

“He said it was too neat. Real magic always has inconsistencies. The caster’s habits, pressure of mana and how it interacts with the area will all cause little inconsistencies. Whilst whoever did it knew what Fox-folk magic should look like, it wasn’t natural.” Tanaka frowned. The previous attacks had used illusions, hidden magic constructs and prepared weapons. The Fox-folk would have been an obvious suspect. They had now left evidence in Mereth’s home that looked like they had done on purpose. “They’re copying them.”

“That appears to be the case.” Garric replied. “The Wolf Crown investigators are looking back at the evidence to see if it could be the same person or group.” “What about the missing book?” “It’s still missing. Mereth had a book detailing her private deals, debts and merchant deals. If someone wanted to hide a deal then they would have had a reason to kill her.”