The Azimar Archives Book One- The Book of Death

Mothlenor

Mothlenor was deep in his research when the shouting first reached his ears. There was a woman's voice, high and quavering with age, growing nearer very quickly. Following it was the pleading mewl of Hasani.

"I will go wherever I damn well please, young man, and right now I want to have a word with your so called King! Anna! Push him down the stairs if you must, but get me up there!"

The voice sounded familiar, and Mothlenor slowly closed his copy of Daemonica, contemplating where he had heard it last.

"I'm sorry, but you have to request an audience-"

"Your requests be damned!"

Mothlenor smirked, recognized the voice as the door to his tower burst open.

In the open doorway stood an elderly woman, her face flushed and her grey-gold hair in disarray. She clung to the arm of a much younger girl, who paled instantly at the sight of him. The older woman's clouded eyes scanned the room, searching for him.

"Navara, is that you?"

At the sound of his voice, her eyes locked onto his figure, but Mothlenor was sure she could not actually see him. She took a hurried step forward, but the young girl pulled her back before she could walk into a pile of books just in front of her. "I want my daughter and her girls returned to me, Mothlenor."

Mothlenor glanced at Hasani at the mention of Nevina. The man's eyes widened, but he said nothing. Mothlenor turned back to the women, ignoring the demand. "I've never seen you without your veil, but I could recognize the screech of a withered old Matriarch any time, Navara."

"And I can recognize the stench of a fresh pile of horse dung, and it's nothing compared to your filth, Mothlenor."

Mothlenor frowned at the insult, choosing not to reply. The old hag could keep up with him better than anyone, except perhaps Areanath. He was surprised to realize both women were wearing plain tunics and pants, paired with old riding boots, choosing to skip the more traditional white dress. And the younger woman was also without her veil, though she seemed thoroughly unsettled by it's absence. Her hands kept creeping to her face, as if to adjust the missing veil, and her gaze never left the floor or Nevara's face.

"Hasani, in case you haven't realized it, we are in attendance with the former Matriarch of the Coven. I suppose you ladies had to sneak into the city? Hide yourselves among the peasants? You must have realized that you would have been beaten and left for dead if you had shown up in your proper attire. Since, after all, your daughter killed my brother not long ago." He opened his book again, scanning the page to find where he had been interrupted.

"Nevina did not kill Areanath! She loved him!" Navara slumped against the younger girl, Anna. "We all loved him. He was a good man."

Mothlenor's anger flared at her last words, and he hissed at the old witch. "My brother is dead. Your daughter has been punished for it. Now leave, before I have you arrested and tried as well."

Navara lifted her chin, her dead eyes seeming to stare straight into him. "Nevina is not dead. I know it. I would have felt her passing." Her eyes narrowed. "I want my daughter returned to me, and her girls as well."

Mothlenor looked up at her, glaring. "Nevina is dead. And her girls. They were all tried, Nevina was hung in the square, and the girls were left to starve in their cells." He had no idea what had become of Nevina's girls after Ferrand's abuse left two of them dead, but that was an easy enough thing to find out. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hasani's shoulders slump. The man was too soft. He wouldn't do as an adviser for much longer. "It's been long enough now that the only thing I could return to you, Navara, would be their rotting, maggoty bodies. Would that please you enough to leave my tower?"

Navara's eyes widened, but she continued to glare at him. "You are lying. I know it." She began weeping silently. "I know it." She wiped frantically at her face, pushing Anna away when the woman tried to comfort her. "I hope you realize that at least one of the girls with Nevina was your brother's daughter. You've killed your own kin, Mothlenor."

Mothlenor frowned. So his suspicions had been correct. Areanath had been Nevina's infatuate. "Which one?" he asked, interested.

Navara's smiled ruefully at him. "I never knew. Nevina wouldn't tell me. Hell, all of her children could have been his, I have no idea. But now you've killed them all." She wiped at her face again. "You monster."

Mothlenor's anger flared again. "Hasani."

The man jumped at the sound of his name. "Yes, my lord?"

"Escort these women outside the city, then shut all of the gates. We will be moving forward with our plan to shut down traffic into and out of the city. These two will be the last civilians to walk through those gates."

"Yes, my lord."

Mothlenor turned to the women. "Go home, Navara. Run back to your Coven. Enjoy what little time you have left with them, you old witch."

He watched as Hasani took Navara by one elbow, Anna taking the other, and together they escorted the her through the doorway and down the first steps. As soon as they cleared the doorway, Mothlenor flicked the fingers of one hand and slammed the door on their backs. He paused, listening to their retreating steps, and an idea struck him.

He carefully pulled open a drawer in his desk, pulling from it's pillowed spot the precious Dragon's Eye. He had barely framed the thought when the eye flashed brilliantly, and he spied Nevara in its depths. She was walking down the steps to his tower, mere yards away. At her sides, he could clearly make out both Hasani and Anna. Smiling, he let the image die and tucked the stone back where it belonged.

So, the stone didn't work before because I had never seen Nevina's face. Never looked into her eyes.

But it will work now.