A Clash of Shadows by Elí Freysson Read Free Book Online

darkness by this point.
    Serdra herself just glanced about a bit and signalled Katja to continue.
    Should I maybe carry her around too? Katja thought grumpily and then scolded herself for breaking concentration.
    She went slowly around the room and searched for the unpleasant feeling sorcery caused. She stroked her fingertips about the cabinet and touched feather quills, papers, inkwells, a hair brush, books, a lockbox and a mug. The curse would have been greatly enhanced if cast in place and with an object connected to the victim. Even though Aron Vogn had apparently not spent that much time here this was an important part of the investigation.
    She moved to the bed and crawled into it with her eyes closed. There was a faint odour of sweat and hair and she stroked the pillow.
    Nothing there. It was just a pillow.
    Katja heard a clinking as Serdra produced two lockpicks. The woman motioned for the trunk.
    Katja sighed silently and received them. She had hoped it wouldn’t come to this.
    She felt for the lock and slid the picks in. She had once tested her skills on a lock from Veifano at the homestead and was greatly relieved to find this wasn’t one of those masterpieces. The lock opened with a sound that felt far too loud and then the lid opened with a creaking that seemed to echo.
    Going through the belongings of a recently dead man made her squirm but there was no way around it. His spirit would hopefully be pacified by being avenged.
    There were clothes, jewelry, money, fine drinking mugs and knives. Katja stilled her mind and waited for the past.
    Again her peering was in vain.
    Well then.
    She closed the trunk carefully and prepared for the next step. The step that worried her the most. She would have to go down, to the servants.
    Something touched her shoulder and Katja looked to the side and saw Serdra was handing her a large wooden candlestick. For a moment she was about to use her past-sight on it but then realised she was to use it as a weapon if it came to violence.
    She took it. It was at least better than using the knife against innocent people.
    Katja walked to the door and opened it into the hallway. They had discussed all this beneath the bridge. If discovered she should preferably stun the person and then run up, from where they’d leap from the window and Katja would hopefully remember how to roll on landing. Then they would flee to a darker street.
    If she messed this up.
    The hallway sported doors into a lounge, a guest room and a storeroom. Katja took a quick peek into each room to be sure she wouldn’t run into someone on the way back, and then snuck to the stairs.
    The black abyss awaited her like the maw of a predator. This would be dangerous. She had certainly tasted danger before, but this was a new kind.
    I don’t want to fight innocent servants.
    She pressed her foot down on the top step to check for creaking. The sound was barely audible and would hardly have awoken a mouse, so she stepped on the second one with more confidence. Little by little she made her way down to the floor and stopped.
    Here she did hear slow breathing from a room on her right and the footsteps of a fire lighter out in the street and nothing else.
    Katja entered the kitchen. It was smaller than the one in the homestead, but she got a feeling that it was even more impressive in the light of day. She doubted Aron Vogn had done much cooking on his own but she still tried stroking knives, bowls, dishes, pitchers and pots. One of the chairs had been left by the dining table and Katja indulged herself sat down in it. She placed her hands on the table and scanned the place.
    Nothing. She sensed nothing here but the normal aroma of normal life. Either she was fumbling terribly or they were in the wrong place.
    She got up and walked to the bedroom.
    Focus, Katja. Focus.
    Katja grasped the handle and turned it. The hinges squealed a bit and Katja resorted to lifting the door a bit to cause less friction. She opened a crack wide