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"Remove them," Dex said.
Bain nodded once and held out his hand to Kerina.
From her hip, she pulled a small knife. The blade on it was only long enough to cut small things like food. She handed it to Bain and gave him a sardonic smile.
He waved for Urla to turn around, and sliced through the rope around her ankles, then wrists.
She shook out both and sat with her legs crossed at her knees, arms folded over her breasts."I don't know anything about the witch's family," she said. "I was told to goad her, nothing more. I was going to get a bag of money for it."
"Is that all?" Dex asked. "That sounds harmless enough."
A flash of relief crossed Urla's features. "Yes, that was everything."
"Horseshit," Kerina snapped. "I can tell a lie when I see one. You're laced in it."
I looked at her in confusion. Did she mean that literally? I could smell emotions and Bain could sense them. Was it possible the woman couldseethem?"
Urla dropped her arms and sat up. "I swear to Hades, that's all I know."
Kerina sauntered forward. "Why bother to try to kill you then, if that's all you know?"
Urla squirmed. "Because I saw the person who offered me the job," she suggested. "I could point them out if I saw them again."
"Can you describe them?" Bain asked.
"They—" Urla started.
"Without lying," Kerina said.
"Yes, preferably without that," Dex agreed.
Urla looked toward the ground. "It was a woman. She had long dark hair and was dressed all in black."
"That only describes half the city." Kerina turned and stalked a few steps away before she turned back. "What else?"
"She… She had a mole on the side of her nose," Urla said after a moment.
"And?" Kerina prompted.
"A northerner accent," Urla added.
"That figures," Kerina said, "since those guards came from there too."
Dex sighed. "If the north of the Vault is trying to start a war, I'm going to be annoyed."
Bain snorted softly. "Just annoyed?"
"No," Dex said. "Veryannoyed."
"Ah." Bain nodded.
"Why would they?" I asked.
"They're a long way from here," Dex explained. "Some think that means they don't fall under the Alpha's rule. They have their own Keeper and a city smaller than this. More like a large town. It's landlocked, for the most part. What coast they do have is only accessible over the Onyx Mountains. Every now and again, they try to expand their Keeper's influence to include an accessible seaport."
"And every century or so, the Alpha has to put down a rebellion," Kerina said. She was back in her spot against the doorframe and was cleaning her nails with the tip of her blade.
"Let me guess, the last time was a hundred years ago?" I asked.
