Page 306 of Night's Fall
I gasped.
“He did it?”Iasked.
“Evidence gathered at the scene indicates that yes, he did.Withouta doubt.”
“He beat a twelve-year-old child to death?”Isnapped.
“Yes.”
My voice was rising. “Whywould he do that?”
“Perhaps when he returns toNocturn, we’ll find out.”
Good gods.
That poor child.
My eyes went to the door then back to my mate. “Whereare the king and thePrimeMinistergoing?”
“To do a live broadcast to announce the pretender king,Arnaud, launched an attack on theCelestialPalacetonight.Alongwith the fact that, for centuries,Sky’sEdgehas been clandestinely harboring and breeding trolls for military use.AndNight’sFallconsiders this an act of war, and as such, theEdgeis in criminal breach of at least four statutes of theInterRealmAccordof 1933.Further,Arnaudwill be returned toNocturnto be questioned in the murder ofTulaLongshot, before he’s moved to theCenterto answer to charges pertaining to the breaches of theAccord.However, ifPrinceTanynis crowned king within forty-eight hours, and any remaining trolls are transported to theCenterfor assessment and confinement,Night’sFallwill not be moved to retaliate against the realm ofSky’sEdge.”
I was having trouble breathing, but stillImanaged to get out, “Whereare kingsDagsbrunandNiall?”
“They’re returning to their realms to discuss with their president and prime minister respectively, making public announcements of alliance withNight’sFallin its war withSky’sEdge.”
Well, one could say, while we were drinking, chatting, andIwas reading aboutAerinandIphelia,Alekseiand all the rest had been busy.
My gaze drifted to the crafts gliding back toNocturn.
AndIasked anxiously, “Doesthis seem a bit easy to you?”
“It does and it doesn’t,” he replied.
I returned my attention to him.
“The defense bots are a new acquisition toSceptredIsle,” he stated.
That was surprising.
“They are?”
He nodded. “Yes.Theywere assigned here after the first assassination attempt on me.Thiswas known by the military, theRS,Fatherand me.NotErrol.”
Hmm.
“As such,” he carried on, “we believeArnauddidn’t know we had an army of bots readily available to defend the island.Botswhose modern weapon capability would easily penetrate troll skin.Wehad agents providing security, but the additional bots doubled their number, and completely outnumbered the trolls, something he didn’t envisage.However, although preliminarily, the trolls were expected to occupy the island, they were not ultimately expected to survive, or triumph, as obviously, the military would have eventually launched a counteroffensive.”
WhenInodded, he carried on.
“Therefore, their mission was simply to wreak havoc and make a statement.WebelieveArnaudanticipated and planned for a good deal more carnage, if not the annihilation of three royal families, as well as what was perhaps his main target,Tanyn.Weknow he had a least one operator among the guests at theMasque.Webelieve this male reported back toArnaudthat his plan had not succeeded, and in a fit of rage, and the timing of death appears to corroborate this, he murdered his ‘true love,’ beat a hasty retreat to his craft and attempted to flee back toSky’sEdge.”
“Why would he come all the way down toNight’sFallif he never intended to show at theMasque?”Iasked.
“It makes no sense,”Alekseiagreed. “Butsome killers return to the scene of the crime or involve themselves in the investigation to get some sick thrill reliving their deeds.Perhapsit’s something like that.”
Perhaps it was.
I took a surreptitious look around at the remaining personnel in the room, all of which were conferring, or working on tablets, the displays in front of them or theirPalms, thoughInotedBainonandCormachad left the room.
