Asking Caraid, Uron, Jennie, Basil, and Lohne to follow, we moved away from the others to allow ourselves some privacy as we discussed the situation. We"d barely distanced ourselves when Jennie exploded. "Don"t be fooled by a pretty face. There is something wrong with the Kel bloodline!"Concepts like innocent until proven guilty were not universal, and definitely wouldn"t be practiced on Talahm. At least as far as the Sidhe were concerned. Perception was everything, and the perception of guilt was all that was needed for some of these people. Leian had been deemed guilty in the minds of many. Circ.u.mstance and history had painted her with the same swath, and most of those gathered were unable to separate their emotions to use intellect and logic.
Sidhe were creatures of nature. And although nature could be peaceful and comforting, it could also be furious and destructive. A p.i.s.sed off Sidhe was like those destructive acts of nature that could destroy vast areas before calm was restored.
As I glanced at the others, I was quick to notice that people were avoiding eye contact with me. They were like a bunch of unruly school children who hadn"t completed their homework, they were almost vibrating with tension, hoping not to be forced to speak in support of Leian or to gain Jennie"s wrath if they pointed out that for Leian to act so stupidly made no sense. She was already in danger of losing her lands and inheritance. This insult to me and my staff would be all that was needed for me to demand Duke A"Daoine provide recompense.
They had all heard me say I thought the circ.u.mstance was suspicious. None seemed willing to directly contradict my earlier statement or agree with me. It made me think that I would need to be more careful in selecting advisors in the future. I didn"t need yes men or people afraid to voice their opinions.
"Does everyone think that it would be safer and less stressful for our people if we decide not to escort her at this point?" I asked deciding to bypa.s.s guilt or innocence and instead discuss the realities Leian"s continued presence would have on our group and people. I wasn"t sure we would be able to protect her anymore. Not with the grievances that had obviously exploded into view.
"I think we could keep our people from harming her," Uron supplied, "what worries me is the ramifications and events that would transpire if this isn"t an isolated murder.
"a.s.sume, you are correct, and this is a murder of opportunity and Leian has been set up. If she continues to travel with us, doesn"t that give the real murderer continued opportunity to target and kill our people?"
"Especially since we don"t really know what motivated this killing," Cedric agreed. "If this was a vendetta between Leian and Alys that"s one thing, but what if you are the real target? What if it is a way to destroy the trust you are working to build with your people? Or a way to demonstrate to others that might join how inept you are?"
"A Prince unable to protect those that serve?" Lohne asked. "The rumors would spread. The stain on your reputation and honor would be problematic.
"It would make finding and recruiting additional followers and Va.s.sals precarious at best," Cedric agreed.
That insight worried me. It worried me that political maneuvering might take this form and complexity. Mostly it worried me because it demonstrated that my ability to see behind and identify the multiple ramifications of disparate seemingly random and isolated events was sub-par. There were layers of understanding, bifurcation of actions that I still wasn"t perceptive enough to include in my calculations.
The one positive of this conversation was that I was coming to realize that the people that were working with and for me were capable of seeing the larger picture. My epiphany that there was strength in numbers, and that council would make for better decision making seemed well-founded. If only I could get them to grow a spine and not worry about the consequences and give honest and insightful comments in every discussion.
"I would have to agree," I said. "I think the smart move would be to send Leian ahead to Duke A"Daoine"s estate in a Skimmer, d.a.m.n the protocols and prerogatives her station allows. She may suffer from wounded pride, but the alternative could be deadly," I concluded.
"If we redistribute people, can we free up a Skimmer to send ahead?" I asked.
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"If we send a few non-essential people along, those that we can spare, then yes," Basil replied.
"You should consider having one of the Aziza concealed among those sent ahead with her. Maybe more than one, one to keep a watch on Leian"s actions and report back to us what transpired, and a few to gather information about conditions and gauge how receptive local Ranked will be upon your arrival," Cedric suggested.
"It"s agreed then," I decided, allowing them to put the plan into action.
Things moved smoothly once the decision was made, and the Inspector was informed.
Jennie and Basil quickly selected a group of five people to be sent ahead. Uron detailed two guards led by Gil to escort them, along with a half dozen Aziza. And everyone else resumed their journey. I admit to almost interfering with Uron"s orders.
I"d come to rely on Gil and Ril as a team. Splitting them up seemed inefficient. But I decided to trust that Uron had a method behind his reason and left him to marshal our forces as he deemed appropriate. They wouldn"t learn to give me their honest opinion if I was forever second-guessing and changing orders once they had been made. I had to demonstrate trust in order to earn it.
The most interesting moment happened when the Inspector and his team were finished with the crime scene and preparing to leave. I"d thought a clean-up crew and body bag team might be deployed at this point, but that wasn"t the case.
A crystal was tossed in the air. Hovering in the center of the scene, it began to emit oscillating bands of light until Alys" body, the runes, and the ground for a yard outside the decagon were encased in a crystal lattice. The Inspector and his team then took up a position surrounding this construct. A loud humming accompanied by a strange vibration increased in frequency until they vanished. Body, runes, gra.s.s. Everything simply was gone along with the people that had surrounded the crime scene.
It seemed an efficient way to preserve evidence. Take everything. That way you don"t chance leaving behind some vital clue. A clue that might solve the case.
The uses of magic in everyday situations was genius. Any ideas I"d had of importing tech from Earth for easy money gains was rapidly fading. The more I understood the accomplishments of this world"s inventors and tinkerers the more impressed and astonished I became.
These were not backward, uneducated plebeians needing my technological advances to save them from misery.