Page 132 of The Tainted Cup

“So I have concluded, ma’am,” said Ana. “And I thank you for being here to discuss this.”

“I thought Jolgalgan was dead,” said Fayazi. “And her crackler. That was the news being bandied about.”

“They are. But the conspiracy against you goes beyond that, I amafraid. An immunis in the Apothetikals was murdered in her office last night. The threats continue.”

“Immunis Dolabra,” explained Vashta to Fayazi, “wishes only to interview you and your staff personally to attempt to identify the threat. It is purely a precautionary measure.”

“Before I ask any questions, however,” said Ana, “I would like to review all we know about the circumstances thus far—about the movements of Jolgalgan, your father, Kaygi Haza, and even Commander Blas—for I have had discovered many revelations in the past few days. Only once the nature of those crimes is established might the threat to you be made clear, madam. Would that be acceptable?”

Fayazi looked to her Sublimes. Both nodded.

“It is acceptable,” said Fayazi.

Ana grinned. “Excellent. Let us begin.”

—

“I WILL NOTbother any of you with reviewing the death of Commander Blas,” Ana said. “I resolved that weeks ago, and we know now that the identity of the murderer was Captain Kiz Jolgalgan, of the Apoths, now dead. Instead I will move forward to the day of the party at the halls of the Hazas, for that concerns us most. Do we have any protest there?”

Again, Fayazi looked to her Sublimes. They shrugged. “We see no problems there,” said Fayazi.

“Very good!” Ana stood up, hands clasped behind her back. “At that time, Jolgalgan was already on the Haza estate grounds. The crackler Ditelus had already lifted the trellis gate, allowing her to slip inside and secrete herself away in a small, shallow hole some several dozen span from the back patio of the house. She had the poison—this dappleglass—and she meant to use it. When she finally heard the sounds of the party, she rose, slipped out of the hole, replaced her cover, and joined the crowd, and no one was any the wiser.” She raised a finger. “But here we come to the first unusual thing about Jolgalgan—for she was already very familiar with the grounds, withthe house, with the rooms and the halls. For she hadbeen there before.Many times, in fact.”

“Jolgalgan?” sniffed Fayazi. “Atourhouse? I think that most unlikely…”

“I’m afraid it’s not,” said Ana. “I amsurethat you were quite unaware of all this, Madam Haza, but your father practiced the very common and not at all unexceptional institution ofpatronage—the selection and encouragement of key officers in the Iyalets.” Fayazi opened her mouth to object, but Ana thundered along: “This is, of course, not illegal. There are no laws forbidding it. And as I said, it is very common, especially here in Talagray. Why, I expect that even the commander-prificto has known the attentions of the gentry now and again…”

“I have known entreaties,” said Vashta frostily, “but not for many years.”

“Of course,” said Ana, bowing. “Kaygi Haza was like many gentrymen in this fashion. He had a small circle of officers he met with, encouraged, and occasionally gave gifts to—and Jolgalgan wasalsoone such officer. For how else could she have known of his bath? How else could she have so easily navigated the servants’ passageways, and known which door to use? The answer is, Kaygi Haza had brought her there before himself, likely many times—as a friend.” A languid wave of her hand, acknowledging her point. “Now that Jolgalgan was in the estate, she then used her knowledge and her altered vision to navigate the dark passageways without a light, ascending to the roof. And there, she delivered the killing blow, dropping the dappleglass into the boiler above the steam room. At that point, her goal here was accomplished. Jolgalgan rejoined the party and left with the throng. Kaygi Haza took his steams after the party—and then, sadly, he was to perish before the morning.

“But!” Ana said. “The story does not end there. For Kaygi Haza had other business that night—asecond,smaller party. A private affair he intended to hold for the officers to whom he was extending patronage—the same circle of officers that had once includedJolgalgan.” She recited aloud: “That would be…Princeps Atha Lapfir, Signum Misik Jilki, Princeps Keste Pisak, Captain Atos Koris, Captain Kilem Terez, Princeps Donelek Sandik, Princeps Kise Sira, Princeps Alaus Vanduo, Signum Suo Akmuo, and finally, Signum Ginklas Loveh. The ten dead Engineers. All of them came to the halls of the Hazas later to…taste thedelightsof the house. And the halls of the Hazas, of course, offer delights beyond compare…”

Fayazi had gone very still. Her violet eyes flicked to me, then back to Ana. I could see her wishing to object further but abstaining out of fear of what Ana might say next; she surely did not wish to disclose her own, very illegal courtesans before Vashta.

“That is a fascinating tale,” Fayazi said finally. “But you have not mentioned anything untoward or dangerous. You have given no indication, for example, of how the ten Engineers were also poisoned, if they were even at my house—nor how any of this might threaten me.”

“I amgladyou asked,” said Ana, grinning. “For that question confounded me for a goodish bit. Yet then I realized…We already knew that the poisoning of the Engineers was different from the deaths of both Kaygi Haza and Commander Blas. They died much later, at irregular times, and their blooms issued from different parts of their bodies. This suggests they werepoisoneddifferently, too.” She turned her blindfolded face to me. “Din saw the answer, of course. He just didn’t know.”

Everyone looked at me. I simply frowned, for I had no idea at all what she meant.

“Madam Haza,” said Ana. “Am I correct in recalling that your father had a bejeweled ewer from which he enjoyed drinking wine?”

Fayazi reluctantly said, “He did. He had several, in fact.”

“I see. And did he often enjoy drinking wine,” asked Ana softly, “while he took hisbath?”

Lightning danced up my bones then, and the memory surfaced in my mind: there, in the old man’s bath, a stone ledge; and all along it,many faded red rings from many past wine cups.

“He…he did…” said Fayazi.

“Then it’s as I thought,” said Ana. “On that very night, in his bath, Kaygi Haza enjoyed a cup ofwinefrom his favorite ewer, right as the air was full of steam—and dappleglass spores. The ewer he drank from sat open to the air and was now tainted. And that same ewer was then used later at this secret meeting of Kaygi Haza’s favored Engineers, to pour the wine for all those young people who had come to indulge themselves. And then they drank. They drank, unaware that whatever poured forth from such a vessel now carried death itself—inevitable, painful, and awful.”

—

A HORRIFIED SILENCEhung over the courtroom.

“Truly?” asked Vashta, aghast. “Do you truly thinkthisis how such a tragedy began?”