Downstairs and Dead
Chapter Fourteen
No Such Thing as Home
"It's nice," Lucy told him, turning a small circle around the living area of his medium-size one-room apartment. It was bigger than hers, but then she'd suspected it would be, it had to be. Her apartment would feel claustrophobic to him. Her one in Crocus at least. The studio in Magnolia had been more open and airy. Maybe he would have been comfortable there. She could see him...
She pushed the thought of Magnolia from her mind. She always did.
"Do you spend much time here?" Sure, it would have only been a few months, but it felt very new. Almost untouched.
He shrugged. "Nah. Not really. Out on jobs a lot. Training, too."
Lucy nodded, still looking around. While she understood it for him, she couldn't really imagine it for herself. She needed a place to go home to, even if it didn't quite feel perfect. She needed a home.
Needed a home, and didn't have one.
Who needed a spirit to break your heart? Not her. She was a champion at breaking her own heart.
She took a deep breath and did everything she could not to point that out. Luk Kai was tugging at her again. Somehow the spirit was hooked into her deep enough to know what she was thinking despite the protections of the personal rune and ward on Laxus' apartment.
Why?
It had to be connected to her being a celestial mage. Or if the person handling the key was strong enough to push through Freed's enchantments. She couldn't do that. She was certain she couldn't do that. Sure, it wasn't affecting her, she wasn't being forced to feel, but she knew the spirit was touching her, which meant the spirit could reach her.
Lucy sat at the table. She didn't want to tell Laxus. Enough had happened in the last week to scare him for her.
"Well, it's a nice place," she told him.
"Please stop talking," he said. Hand on the table. She could see the tendons standing out in it. Green veins, pulsing under the skin. All of him tense. Unhappy.
"Sorry," she whispered.
That hand fisted over the surface of the wood. And he sat. Leaned forward. Closed his eyes. Opened his eyes. Grunted. "Don't like when I can't do anything. Couldn't do shit. You called me in, and I haven't done shit."
"You saved Maggie," she argued, despite his previous request. Order. She had never been good at silence.
He made a sound in his throat that wasn't language, but she interpreted it as meaning it didn't feel like enough. That he still felt like a failure.
"Without you there, if it were just me, she would have died. She wouldn't say you hadn't done shit. Those who care for her wouldn't say that. By saying that you're devaluing her life." Lucy looked away. "I'm the one who hasn't done anything. Supposed to find... I've found nothing. Stopped nothing. Escalated. And it's my fault."
Laxus said nothing. He said nothing because it was a fact they had already established. She appreciated that he didn't make any attempt to lie to her.
"At least if he comes after me, he'll leave everyone else alone."
"You're sure it's Char?" he asked. She glanced at his hands again.
"No. No, of course not." She trembled. Swallowed. Closed her eyes, and sighed. "I was sure it was Runnar, and I was wrong. But it makes more sense that it is Char than the rest because why else kill Runnar?"
"Because he touched you."
"What?" She opened her eyes to look at him, and his expression... his expression frightened her.
Back down at his hands.
"Because he touched you. Because he spent hours touching you. If this … thing has decided he..." his hands, his tendons might snap, she thought, "wants you, then Runnar might have been killed for that. Not for greed."
Lucy made the mistake of lifting her eyes, yet again, to meet his. They were ice. Cold, empty ice. She bit her lip and looked away.
"Are we back to twelve then?" She cleared her throat and tried to shake off the chill she felt.
His hands unclenched, and the chair he occupied squeaked as he leaned back. "No. Assume Usain knew he could have had you. Char's jealousy. Richard is run underfoot by assholes with stronger personalities. I don't see Magna feeling the need when he's so obviously getting his rocks off elsewhere. The Wilnlo's fuckups make sense. The kid's brother … maybe. The family? Shown no interest in you. Domino … no interest, but-"
"Amilia."
"Yeah. Amilia. And if it's that, it's my fault."
"Doing what I told you to do. And Amilia is doing what all women do at these things. Flirt. Not your fault she's unmarried still."
"Still..."
"Yeah." Lucy tapped her foot. Chewed on her lip. Thought. "Like Ama, Amilia lost a suitor. Not that I suppose she's upset considering the man was older than Gildarts by a decade, but her brother might be angry. The longer she's at home the more she drains his eventual inheritance..." she cocked her head to the side, "but that's greed, again, and – I think you have a point – it wouldn't provoke the right reaction... What if... what if she were still unmarried and losing suitors because he was forcing them away because …. he … loved her? He didn't want to see her married. Overprotective of her in that way, and it's you who provoked him..." She swallowed. "Wants … me … because maybe it would hurt you … indirectly? That would be an argument for Brandish Domino."
Laxus looked understandably disgusted. "Seems like a bit of a stretch. Doesn't explain Runnar."
"Runnar is him – whoever he is, whichever one is the answer – slipping. Maybe came for me and found Runnar in my room instead? Snapped. That's a mistake. Just like breaking the neck of the first girl."
"Why make a mistake there?"
She hung her head, "I don't know. If it is Char or Richard, it could be about us, but it could be about anyone or anything."
"You said we couldn't use that argument."
She chuckled. "I guess. Need patterns. The rest are about us, maybe this is, too."
"So … Char. Char as our best guess."
"Char. Yeah."
"We'll go in the morning." He sounded resigned.
"We'll go in the morning," she agreed.
0000
He didn't follow her to bed. He wasn't sure how he could have stood it. How he would have managed it. He was too afraid for her. Too afraid of what would happen. He was certain he would hurt her. And she was already frustrated at how overprotective he was. He needed to get a good grip on his sanity.
A day ago. A day ago, he had felt so confident. So sure that they would be okay. That he could keep her safe, and that they would overcome.
Now he was terrified. And now he hesitated to go to her because he didn't want that terror to show.
But it was eventually impossible – because he was scared and he was overprotective – to keep his distance.
He found her curled around a pillow in the dead center of his bed. Her breathing maybe too shallow and too labored, but sleeping. Safe.
Then she gasped, and it was pained. She curled tighter around the pillow, her head and knees almost touching. She wasn't sweating. There was no blood, so it had to be emotional.
Were the runes …. had the protections failed so completely?
She gasped again. Relaxed. Sighed. And he closed his eyes in an ironic sort of relief. This wasn't a spirit. This was her own mind. A nightmare. The runes weren't glowing, and there wasn't the slightest hint of magic around her. Just a nightmare. Better for her. Wouldn't kill her. But when he saw her face tighten in unhappiness, he couldn't be completely relieved. It wasn't the spirits, but it wasn't not the spirits, either.
The horror they'd pulled from the depths of her, her past and her heart, were probably feeling much more fresh than normal. Like they'd happened days or months ago instead of years. Terrible enough, her actual recent loss; terrible enough, their actual current situation. Luk Kai had called up one of the most painful and tragic memories she had and ripped it from her, like skinning her flesh from bone, and displayed it before them all.
No, this was a nightmare, but it was a nightmare she wouldn't have had without the attack from Luk Kai.
He was afraid to get into bed with her. He was afraid that his fear for her would cause him to hurt her in some way. His worry. He'd never worried like this before. He'd never, never seen anyone quite so broken as she had been in that moment. Those moments. Blue Pegasus. Mason. Mira, maybe. But Mira... that was natural. Understandable. And she had been surrounded by people who could keep her something resembling whole.
If the runes and protections broke...
Laxus couldn't even continue the thought. He knew to do so would make him too emotional. And he needed control. And sleep. He did need sleep.
Her face, her expression was smooth. Neutral. The runes were clear. There was no scent of foreign magic in his apartment.
He peeled off his shirt and pants and climbed into the bed. Carefully replacing the pillow with his body. Maybe her body could find comfort and calm attached to him, when it could not do so from an ineffectual pillow. And next to her, he could finally stop fretting.
Because he was where he wanted to be.
Fear, or not. Worry, or not.
Where he wanted to be.
0000
"Vew," Lucy stood before the young woman and bowed, but shallowly. Behind her, Laxus stood unmoving and straight. He wasn't in a bowing mood. He had decided to go into full guard mode, so he crossed his arms and watched the room with a steady gaze. "I'm not here today as I was in Mason or Holen, or as I had planned to be at the remaining houses. Seeing what happened in Holen, and learning more about those situations, I have come to offer my – and Laxus' – services as working mages while we stay here. Starting today, if you will, or on Friday if you'd rather."
It had been obvious since setting foot on the Wilnlo estate that Vew and Maso were working under the assumption that something would go wrong and that it was their obligation to do everything in their power to stop it. Laxus was pretty damn sure the woman would take Lucy up on her offer.
"How much would you charge?" Vew asked. Her face was carefully neutral, and her posture straight in the tall, uncomfortable-looking chair and tight-corseted dress, but Laxus thought he could read her intent well enough.
Laxus saw Lucy's shoulder twitch, as if she wanted to look back at him. She wanted, he knew she wanted to say they would take the job for free, but that would be very suspicious. She probably also wanted to check with him, but that would also look suspicious.
"Based on the situation, this is clearly an S-Class level mission, but it's also not going through the guilds. It's personal. Obviously you have us here already, and obviously you know me well enough to know I feel compelled to help. I'd be satisfied room and board if we come through, and with damage repair insurance if we engage."
"How do you mean?"
"Replacement of any of our magical items or outfits which are damaged in the event of a fight, and forgiveness of damages caused in the same."
Giggles rolled through the door followed by Amilia Domino. Laxus maintained his posture and blank expression better than Lucy maintained her own professional demeanor. Though surprise and curiosity were only on her face for a moment, and Laxus was pretty sure neither woman caught them.
Amilia kissed Vew on the cheek, and then Lucy. "Better be careful with that, Vew. Surely you've heard how much damage she's rumored to cause!"
Lucy's chuckle was almost perfect. If he didn't know her so well, if his hearing wasn't so good, he wouldn't have caught the strain and hurt in the sound.
"Not me! Those were my teammates! I'm very careful, and Laxus as well. Neither of us are individually known for much in the way of damages." Laxus didn't contradict her on that, though he could have. When he was younger...
The Wilnlo lady looked down her nose at Lucy and smiled. "I'll informally accept, though I'll need to talk to Maso to make it official."
"We'll need to have access to the entire estate at all times," Lucy told her, "and make it known that my spirits will be wandering around as sentries. Will that be okay? They will be as discreet as possible, I assure you."
"Again, I'll speak with Maso." Vew looked up at Amilia and held out a hand, "Sorry, Mili. Were you looking for me?"
Amilia smiled at all of them, "I was. I was bored. No one is here yet, and there's basically nothing to do. I was wandering more than specifically looking for any one thing."
Laxus took note of the fact that her dress was incredibly casual, comfortable, even. And that she was barefoot.
"Is your brother here with you?" Lucy asked. Laxus snapped his eyes to the back of her golden head and waited with heightened anticipation for Amilia's answer.
"He dropped me off a few days ago," she told them. "He's off hunting with a few of his friends, at the Kandamey house."
"That's east of here, right?" Lucy put a hand on her hip, and Laxus could no longer tell her expression by the sound of her voice or her words. Maybe she was just faking interest. In any event, it wasn't something he really needed to worry about. Brandish wasn't on site. That was the important part.
"It is," Vew waved a hand, leading them through the door, taking them from her office and into a much more comfortable room filled with chairs and couches, littered with pillows and throw blankets.
Lucy took a place close to the fire in a round, overstuffed chair. "I've never been there. I've heard the land is beautiful, though."
"I've never been either," Amilia took the couch closest to her. "But it's one of Brandish's favorite places to go this time of year."
Vew dropped down on the floor, directly before the fire, and grabbed a pillow. She put it behind her back and leaned against the wall. "I've been several times since moving here with Maso. It is beautiful, but you wouldn't like it very much, Amilia. There's absolutely nothing to do anywhere near the property."
Laxus shifted from one foot to the other. "Ladies, while you three chat, I'm headed out." He nodded to Lucy, who gave him a small smile. "I'll keep an eye out."
"Thanks, Laxus. Loki and Gemini are scouting, if you see them. I'll see you in a few hours. Be careful."
He nodded to the lady of the house, and to Amilia – who ignored him, seemingly still upset about his denying her at the party in Holen – and left Vew Wilnlo's sitting room to begin his first round guarding the house.
0000
"Why are you doing this?" Amilia asked her, after Laxus had left the room. The fact that the young woman had gone from enamored to bitter over Laxus in a span of days told Lucy a good deal about what happened the night Runnar died.
Poor Laxus.
But it certainly put a little more weight on Brandish...
Focus.
"Volunteering to guard the house?"
"Yes."
Lucy bit her lip to keep herself from saying anything too rude. From screaming. "Three people died, and one person almost died in two weeks. I'm under the impression that at least four more are expected to over the next four. I – and Laxus – have certain skills that can be put to use … so it only makes sense, logically and morally, that I put them to use. To not do so would be both illogical and immoral. I couldn't live with myself if I turned and walked away knowing what was happening here when I knew I could possibly help stop the killing." Lucy nodded to Vew, "Look how much effort Vew and Maso have put into protecting their employees. It's the same thing. Because it should and must be done."
"Thank you, Lucy," Vew snuggled against the pillow. "Maso's father wasn't very concerned. But I was frightened last year especially. It felt like … it felt like, this is something that is inevitable. Can't be stopped. And then this year? Spreading. A man who isn't a servant? ...Maso suggested that it was a copycat murder-"
"It could be," Lucy agreed, "but the Council guard didn't think so. Laxus and I have friends in the guard, and we talked to them before we left Holen. They are pretty sure Runnar was killed by the same person who killed the baker's assistant and almost killed another young woman earlier that night. And whoever did that is likely the same person as did all of the previous killings..."
"Well. Then... right."
Lucy thought the woman might cry. But she didn't. Amilia slid from the chair and joined Vew on the floor.
"Okay. I guess I understand," the youngest Domino told them both. "Let's talk about something else. Let's talk about your party. Let's talk about clothes. Let's talk about anything else, okay?"
Vew nodded, and Lucy curled further into the chair and added in what she needed to to stay in the conversation while watching the two of them. Every once in awhile she'd rub her wrist, checking on Laxus and Loke and Gemini. It wasn't the best afternoon she'd ever spent, but there were no dead bodies, and Luk Kai didn't pull on her. It was relaxing enough.
She laughed at a joke that wasn't funny – Amilia thought she was cleverer than she actually was – and curled her feet under her. Prepared to wait for dinner, and the two other women to grow bored of their gossip.
0000
Lucy called dinner to be delivered to their rooms. Laxus met her there, and they ate together in silence. She knew he hadn't found anything, so there was nothing to say on that subject. And Lucy hadn't learned anything of note sitting with Vew and Amilia for the day. There was nothing for them to do but sit in silence and eat.
"I'm letting Gemini out," she told him when they were finished, "when we sleep. As you." She smiled, slightly. "It'll be like you're powering yourself. Like you're awake all the time. Loke will need rest, too, of course, so he might come and go, but Gemini will be out, and Virgo and Plue as well."
He nodded.
"You need to let me know if it makes you too tired, though."
He nodded again.
She sighed and shifted so that she could move from her chair to the arm of his without too much effort. "Laxus … Laxus, even you can get worn down. You have to let me know, okay."
He grunted, "Yeah, I got ya."
"And…" she sighed again and leaned her weight against him, "you need to let me know other things, too."
"Like."
"Like: What's wrong?"
"Everything. Everything." He lifted his arms so he could pull her from the arm of his chair into his lap. "Is that an acceptable answer, everything?"
She laughed, though it was shallow and a little sad. "A frightening one, maybe. Am I a part of everything?"
"In a way, yeah. In a way, no. You're fucking terrifying me, for obvious reasons. But you also make it easier to be here."
She swallowed. That wasn't something she expected him to say.
"I feel the same."
He snorted, "How exactly do I terrify you? No one is out to kill or hurt me."
"You're determined to tear yourself down," she murmured, curling up into his chest. Closing her eyes. Finding comfort in the steady rhythm of his heartbeat and the pleasant warmth of his body. "All out of worry for me. Making that, in essence, my fault. That's pretty terrifying for me. So I propose a deal. Let's stop being terrified. And just be happy we're not doing this alone." She lifted her head to meet his eyes with her own steady gaze. "I'm happy I'm not doing this alone. I wouldn't have made it this far without you. And I'm glad it's you. Of any of our friends. Because I'm not sure we ever would have had this time. I hate how it happened, but if we can solve this, if we can fix it, and have that victory as a time to spend together … why not overlook the worry and just … find comfort in the fact that we're together, now. At this moment."
"Hmm." He shifted so that both of his arms were wrapped fully around her and he could comfortably put his cheek on the crown of her head. "I can't promise not to worry. Not completely. But for now, I think I can do the find comfort thing. Sounds nicer than any other fucking thing going on recently."
Lucy could almost hear his eyes grow heavy, as his arms went slightly lax around her.
"I haven't drained you too much?"
"No. No. Just the stress, like you said. Didn't sleep all that well last night."
"Then how about we go to bed . We know there's no one suspicious in the house right now, not really. So there's no reason not to go to sleep early and then wake up early. Vew and Amilia said some of the men might be coming back tomorrow. We should get our sleep while we can."
"Another good idea." He lifted her before she could climb out of his lap, and he carried her through the sitting room into the room they decided to sleep in. The one with the window closest to the kitchens. He placed her on the bed gently, and crawled next to her, exhausted. She was pretty sure she had drained him a bit too much. She would wait for him to fall asleep and then call back Gemini and Virgo. Plue would be fine for recon tonight. If something happened he could wake her in a moment, and Lucy could call the others out.
But she wouldn't tell Laxus she did it.
0000
Because they were there as guards, not guests, Laxus talked his way out of the the dinner and the after-dinner brandy and wine. Lucy was crazy jealous. But she was the one who set the rules that she would keep an eye on the men.
Gah, she wish she hadn't done that.
Not just because they were annoying. Though they were annoying. But she also because she was only able to watch and talk to them. She had no enhanced senses, so he would have to drop in from time to time to observe the room.
"So, Brandish," Lucy said to the man over a glass of heavily watered white wine, "how is the textile business?"
She was surprised to hear him laugh. "Did Amilia tell you?"
"No. But I have my sources. I'm shocked. It's not like the Dominos to peddle in common wares."
Brandish shrugged. "We had a few hard market years, which made me rethink my personal fortune. I've no plans to restructure the Domino business interests as a whole, gold will always have worth, but there is value at the other end of the economic spectrum. The company I'm invested in handles everything from grain sacks to undergarments to sail cloth. Diversification in necessary goods. Now, if there is another problem in the mines or a lean year for precious metals, I have a secondary source of income-"
"And one that is divorced of your father's control, or your brothers' influence?" she suggested.
He chuckled, "Yes, that too."
"Well, I think it is smart of you. Congratulations on taking that leap."
"Quite the compliment from a woman famed for leaping." Brandish gave her a slight, nodding bow. "I thank you."
Lucy shared a grin with him while feeling absolutely sick to her stomach. She really hoped it wasn't him. She hadn't talked to him much in the past, but he seemed so nice...
"Lucy," Richard had come to join them by the window. "Brandish. How are you?"
"Fine," Lucy replied, studying the man quickly. Nothing about him appeared out of place or suspicious. Not that she would expect to see the killer looking disheveled. "And you... or, perhaps – and I'm sorry – more importantly, Char?"
"I'm well. Char is … holding up."
"Pass on my family's condolences, again, when you next see him," Brandish implored him, clapping a hand on Richard's shoulder.
"You can do it yourself, actually. He's upstairs, and plans on joining the press tomorrow." Lucy was shocked both by Richard's words and by the neutrality with which they were spoken. "He didn't want to, but his parents are forcing the issue. He's all that's left, now."
"They couldn't have waited until the summer season? Or one more house?" Lucy hissed.
To her surprise, it was Brandish who shook his head. "No. Bendi is contracted firmly to Kattia Adles' family, as are his children. Lady Holen is too old to have more children, and Lord Holen had an accident not long after Char's birth that … injured him. He's not capable of having any more children, even if the Lady were. Or he took a mistress. If Char doesn't reproduce, it is possible the name Holen will fall. That the business and fortune could pass to the Adles' family. Lord Holen would never risk that. He'll want Char bound by the end of the season."
"That's absurd," Lucy exclaimed. "If nothing else, Char could adopt and appoint an heir to stop a merger. So could Lord Holen, in fact. All it takes is an adjustment in the will, which is going to have to be adjusted anyway seeing as Runnar died. Add a backup heir that isn't Bendi – a niece or nephew – to keep his money from Jaynee Adles."
"You know most families prefer close blood connections," Brandish shrugged.
"Of course, but that doesn't mean the option doesn't exist. Or that you push... Runnar just died at one of these things!"
"They weren't all that close anymore," Richard said, as if offering salve for a wound.
"So he is unaffected?"
"...no. No. He regrets... He said things that night..."
She had heard some of them, but she kept her mouth closed. She planned to keep her mouth closed. It was better that she kept her mouth closed. But then her personality got the better of her-
"We all get angry at people we love and say things we don't truly mean, from time to time. He and Runnar were brothers. Words, no matter how harsh, can't change that. Trust me. I came back from seven years of lost time to a letter from my father, telling me he was sorry and that he loved me. We couldn't always talk to each other. We fought. We didn't … we didn't understand each other all of the time. Most of the time. But at the end of all things there was no question. We were father and daughter. And we loved one another."
The hand over her chest probably looked like a motion of sincerity to Brandish and Richard. Not an attempt to push away the seven hooks of pain brought on by her enemy's spirit. The flush in her cheeks and tears that almost fell from her eyes, high emotion, not the almost-control of an alternate zodiac key over her heart and soul.
They likely missed the faint glow of the rune on her wrist. She could barely see it under the long sleeve of her dress. Both men were looking at her with eyes clouded and softer than they'd been before she spoke.
They had been moved by her statement. Too moved to notice any little oddities. She swallowed.
Good.
"Pass on my condolences, too, please, Richard."
"You could do so yourself. I'm sure he'd be pleased to see you."
She gave a lopsided smile, concerning herself with Richard's words and Brandish's attention in order to ignore Luk Kai. "I was the one who found Runnar, remember? I'm likely the last person he wants to see. Or maybe I just don't feel especially comfortable facing him quite yet."
"He doesn't blame you," Richard whispered, reaching for her hand. Grasping her fingers. Her right hand, thank goodness.
"His parents do. And they have a right to. I knew something was wrong. The magic," she was evasive. She shook her head. "I didn't get there in time. I didn't take the threat seriously enough. I rested," she almost spat. "He has a right to blame me."
Heat sank into her skin through layers of skirt from her warming keys. She almost slouched in relief. "Speaking of, I need to switch with Laxus. You two have a pleasant evening."
"Take care, Lucy." Brandish favored her with a true bow that was deeper than she deserved.
"Be safe," Richard kissed the hand he held. She managed not to shudder. She had not forgotten that Richard was still on their short list.
Lucy attempted to walk – not flee – the ballroom.
0000
She was flustered. Agitated. It put him on edge.
"What's wrong?" he grunted when she was close enough to hear.
"Just saw Richard. Char's upstairs. Didn't come down for wine, but he'll join in for everything tomorrow."
"Fuck," he spat. "Not good. Means everyone's here."
"Mmm," she tapped her chin. "I'll check with Vew. No special parties here. I'll station a spirit on each floor. Plue can hide. Gemi and Mini can as themselves, small enough. Apart, even. Char, Richard, and Magna are close together, and Brandish is close to the Trants, who are close to us. The twins and their father are together. Brath is likely near either us or Char, we find out where the twins and their dad are, and then we've got them tonight. In their rooms."
"Day?"
"Vew made tomorrow much more structured than Mason or Holen. Tours, tastings, a concert, buffet lunch, winter garden magic show/theatre performance, dinner, ball. They should be easy to follow tomorrow and conspicuous in their absence."
Laxus thought about it. "Yeah. Sounds about right." He saw a small flare in her eyes. Pride. "Your plan?"
"The performance was already scheduled, but I suggested formalizing the structure for Saturday. It is her first gala, after all. Better to take control than to let things go with the flow and have no one show up anywhere on time. Of course, rebellion could cause it to backfire, but after Holen, we figure people will be somewhat pliant."
"Yeah. Pro'ly right."
"Anyhow. It's time to switch." She tapped her nose. "I can't get any hint of the mint, so it's your turn in there. I'll keep watch outside."
"Got it."
He watched her begin a circuit as he turned to enter the house. This one, as Lucy had hoped, wasn't so bad. The man and woman in charge weren't nearly as pompous. The household employees were better cared for. In general, Laxus felt an awareness in the house, that the owners understood how the world worked for everyone, not just for they themselves.
There was respect there, and Laxus appreciated that.
At the same time, Maso was clearly uninterested in Vew, and Vew was clearly upset about that fact. Laxus was able to – through his enhanced dragon-slayer senses, which he really regretted having, yet again – discover that the Lord of the house was sleeping with at least three of maids he employed. Laxus wasn't 100% sure, but from the barely hidden depression he could sense in Vew, he assumed the young woman knew. Maybe not which maids, but she knew there were affairs.
And knowing that, she might be justified in treating her servants like shit. Or at least feel justified in being a bitch towards the females on her staff. But she didn't. She wasn't. Laxus was impressed.
He hoped that the killer wasn't Maso, for Vew's sake. What a fucking horror show, to be married to that. At the same time, maybe it would be a blessing to take over the house and be free of such a husband.
God, he was ready to be done with this job. He was tired of thinking like this. Like these people. Like monsters.
0000
He was exhausted. There had been no mint at the dinner. No mint at the activities. No mint at the ball. Almost a week of limited sleep. Pent-up stress with no release. He was exhausted.
Char had come out of his room to eat, and that was all. He didn't attend any of what Vew had planned outside of meals. Neither did any of the other men on their list act suspiciously. Laxus never caught a whiff of mint.
There were no bodies.
"Laxus … Loke says there's nothing." Lucy's brown eyes were huge. She was tired, too. She'd pulled on his power almost not at all after that first day. He'd tried to convince her he was fine, but she'd insisted. He was actually damn impressed with her stamina. He was pretty sure she had at least two spirits out on her own power at all times.
He looked at her. "It's 5 A.M. There's still time before this event is over."
"Get up. Go run. I know it's early, but … Laxus…"
He didn't wait. He was already up and dressed.
"And you? What will you do?" He was worried. Again. He was scared. Again. He was almost shaking.
She was stronger than he had ever given her credit for, emotionally. The fact that she even sort of bounced back in the short time after Runnar, after Maggie, after Luk Kai, and facing the future right now of what was happening at Wilnlo was shocking.
There were no lines on her face, and her sleep had been better than his under the Wilnlo roof.
He could still barely look at her without having a memory of finding the blonde girl superimposing itself between them. And from that moment when she kissed him and fundamentally deepened and solidified the connection between them, it had only gotten worse. His nightmares, and he did have nightmares, had resulted in a series of bruises on her hips from clutching at her while they slept.
She insisted it was okay. She wasn't bothered by a few bruises.
"Need to see who is gone. If no one … have to find out if someone left. Re-evaluate our information. Talk to the … to our client again." Her eyes flicked left and right, he could guess that she was thinking of who she knew to be in the house last night versus who was at the Holens' two weeks before. Of every list and every statistic they had run through in the month they'd been on the job.
"Stay in the room." He didn't grab her. Didn't touch her. Didn't hurt her. "It's suspicious if you're caught out," the reasoning was okay if not at all the reason why.
She knew. Lucy wasn't stupid. She knew. But she also understood.
She smiled. It was soft, and a little sad. But it was a smile. And it was for him.
He was so goddamn grateful.
"I'll stay, Laxus. For right now. I'll stay. You have an hour, I'll stay, then I come out. If Loke needs me, I come out. If someone, or you, needs help, I come out. But while you scout, you don't have to worry. I'll be here. I'll be safe." She stood and reached to grab the hem of his shirt, "But you will also call if you need me. Loke is listening for you, too, Laxus."
He kissed her. There was no stopping himself. He bent down to her and he kissed her. She was right. It hurt. Knives inside him, ripping at the soft flesh of his internal organs. Leaving him open and bleeding. Vulnerable. Weak.
She pulled away. "Run."
Once more. Just once, he wanted to say. To beg. Please, once more.
But he left.
He ran.
So hard to think clearly. Last time he ran from a room he found a half-broken woman, and she found a corpse. And they ended up with nothing. But this time she was safe. Safe in their room for an hour.
He ran faster.
Kitchen.
All senses on high alert.
Passing the council guard liaison Gajeel and Lily had sent two days earlier with a wordless nod. The guard knew they suspected a murder, and Laxus could tell he was equally shocked by the lack of one.
Was it the guard? Was that the reason it was so quiet?
Had he been too scared to hit the house?
"The village…?" Laxus hissed to himself. Realizing. Fearing. Remembering the festival. The food. The dancing. Remembering what followed. The smell. The mint. The hotel where their killer had to have been.
"The village. Shit."
His jaw hurt from clenching it.
He could be there in a second. But the house still needed a full check-
Fuck. He was going to puke.
"Loke," he growled.
The spirit appeared in a shower of gold.
"You don't want her out," the lion stated the obvious with no humor.
"I have to check the town. Now."
Loke sucked in a breath. He almost unconsciously adjusted his cuffs with an agitated twitch, "Ah..."
"Let me know when she's ready and I can le-"
"She's out of the room and headed downstairs." The spirit was obviously not happy with this fact, but was equally obviously resigned to it. "You can wait for her, or go. She'd prefer go. She's fine."
God, the pain. He didn't know what to do with it, so he used it as the foundation for his power and left for town. Hoping not to find another girl. Another broken girl.
0000X0000
Author's Note: One more chapter and an epilogue left.
To the guest reviewers I can't PM –
Perils, thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoy the style.
Moon, thanks as always. Your reviews are very good and encouraging!