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“As I was just explaining to your brother, Hadrian’s absence will not go unnoticed,” Magnus said. “I was contemplating the ways his death could be explained, but you’ve opened my eyes to the difficulties of allowing city-dwellers to know of his death at all.”
“Do we need to reveal it at all?” I asked. “Does he have friends here, people who will notice that he’s dead?”
The question was eerily like the one that had just been asked about Barthold back at the cottage.
“Hadrian has only been here since the spring,” Sai explained. I’m not certain if he’s made good friends, but he did spend time with some of the other councilors and noblemen outside of the work he was doing for me. His absence will be noticed.”
“Has he made any enemies in the city?” I asked. “Anyone who might be a reasonable suspect in his murder? Someone who isn’t a wolf?”
“Let’s not go condemning anyone for a murder they didn’t commit,” Magnus said, raising a hand to stop my line of thought. He glanced to Sai. “I believe it would be far easier to make an excuse for his absence for the remainder of the meetings, and then to invent a reason he returned to the Old Realm immediately and without notice.”
“I agree,” Sai said as though he and Magnus had already discussed that, “but how do you propose to dispose of the body without anyone seeing? I’m not certain I could even get him out of the palace without some of the servants seeing.”
“Which servants from Father’s reign are still working here?” I asked. “Is Donnel still here? Or Amos?”
“They are,” Sai said with a tired nod.
“Then get them to help,” I went on. “They were unfailingly loyal to father, they tried to help when Gomez took over, and I could have sworn I saw them here during my stay this past winter.”
Sai looked glumly at me at that statement. “I’m sure they’ll help, and that they’ll keep everything a secret, but disposing of a body isn’t like tossing an apple core onto the rubbish heap.”
“You’ll have to incinerate it,” Magnus said. “It’s the most efficient way to take care of these sorts of things so that no one finds out.”
Sai swallowed sickly, turning slightly green. Even I thought Magnus was cold to suggest something like that. The thing was, though, he was right.
“What about this afternoon’s meetings?” Sai asked. From the way he took a breath and tried to stand straighter, he still thought the meetings had a chance of deciding things. “What do I tell my councilors and the other delegates?”
Magnus laughed and shook his head. “The only people you have to worry about are your men, and the only thing you have to tell them is that the wolves have put the health and safety of their pups over circular discussions about trade and travel.”
That made Sai slump in defeat. “The meetings aren’t productive, I know,” he said. “I don’t know how to make my people see the writing on the wall.”
“Write in bigger, bolder strokes,” Magnus said, his expression seeming to say that much was obvious. He shifted his weight and made an impatient sound. “The cities aren’t going to change their ways overnight, and definitely not without a good reason. And now, with these murders, we’ve all taken a dozen large steps backward.
“Jorgen’s idea of reinstating faires is a good one,” he continued, as if summarizing a summit that had already ended. “Let that be the outcome of these meetings. I doubt Jorgen and Hati, or Olympus, would mind one bit if you took credit for the idea. Distract them with frivolity. Let your people see wolves again. Let them see how prosperous and healthy we are and what we can do for them.”
He paused, glanced to me, then over to Peter, Neil, and Genny, before saying, “There is a wolf meeting ground between here and Klovisgard. A major summit was held there last year. I’m certain I can get Jorgen and Hati to agree to hold a faire there—one that is not under the auspices of any Kostya city, but not part of any of the wolf kingdoms either. Encourage as many people as possible to bring their wares and their money to it. Good Port will have a presence there as well, and it might even be possible to draw wolves from the eastern forest. And who knows? Perhaps Boris and Yates and those traitors in Tesladom will come as well.”
“When do you propose we have this faire?” Sai asked with a helpless shrug. “The autumn is already half over.”
“As soon as possible,” Magnus said. “As soon as it can be arranged. Time is of the essence.”
“But—” Sai started.
“Can we save this negotiation until after someone has fetched Donnel and Amos to get rid of this body?” I interrupted. “And we’ll need to start spreading around a good excuse about why Hardian isn’t at lunch or supper, or whatever other things he’s meant to be attending.”
“I quite agree,” Magnus said, grinning at me. He glanced to Sai and said, “Your wayward little brother can be quite useful and intelligent, when he’s not being an arrogant brat.”
I was ready to pummel Magnus for that, but Sai laughed. Anything that made Sai laugh at this point was forgivable.
Laughing seemed to be just what Sai needed to start thinking clearly again. He stood a little straighter, even though he still stared down at Hadrian’s covered body, and after a few more seconds of thought he said, “I’ll stay here and keep watch over Hadrian. Jace, you know the palace and Donnel and Amos. See if you can find them and send them here. Magnus, you, Peter, and Neil should probably return to Sebald’s cottage to assist with that…tidying. Perhaps…perhaps we could invent a story about Sebald’s friend departing for the Old Realm as Hadrian’s page.”
My brow flew up. That was a novel idea. I wasn’t certain whether it was a good one, but as long as I didn’t have to worry about how to explain a murder and possibly damage city-wolf relations even more, I didn’t care.
“Are you certain you wouldn’t like help?” Magnus asked Sai with an unusual note of compassion.
Sai glanced up to him, then broke into a tired but grateful smile. “If you don’t mind, I’d like a few minutes alone with my old friend. I…I have some final things I’d like to say to him.”
I glanced askance at Sai, but really, it wasn’t any of my business whether my brother wanted to talk to a dead spy or not.
