Warbreaker (Warbreaker #1)(98)

With that, he turned and walked toward the second group.

“This is very interesting, Your Grace,” Llarimar said. “But I really don’t see the point.”

“I’m just curious,” Lightsong said.

“Excuse me, Your Grace,” Llarimar said. “But you’re not really the curious type.”

Lightsong continued walking. The things he was doing, he did mostly without thinking. They just felt natural. He approached the next group. “You were the ones who saw the intruder in the hallway, right?” Lightsong said to them.

The men nodded. One shot a glance back at Mercystar’s palace. The lawn in front of it was now crowded with a colorful assortment of priests and servants, both Mercystar’s and Lightsong’s own.

“Tell me what happened,” Lightsong said.

“We were walking through the servants’ hallway,” one said. “We’d been released for the evening, and were going to go out into the city to a nearby tavern.”

“Then we saw someone in the hallway,” another said. “He didn’t belong there.”

“Describe him,” Lightsong said.

“Big man,” one said. The others nodded. “Had ragged clothing and a beard. Kind of dirty-looking.”

“No,” another said. “The clothing was old, but the man wasn’t dirty. Just slovenly.”

Lightsong nodded. “Continue.”

“Well, there isn’t much to say,” one of the men said. “He attacked us. Threw an Awakened rope at poor Taff, who got tied up immediately. Rariv and I ran for help. Lolan stayed behind.”

Lightsong looked at the third man. “You stayed back? Why?”

“To help Taff, of course,” the man said.

Lying, Lightsong thought. Looks too nervous. “Really?” he said, stepping closer.

The man looked down. “Well, mostly. I mean, there was the sword, too . . .”

“Oh, right,” another said. “He threw a sword at us. Strangest thing.”

“He didn’t draw it?” Lightsong asked. “He threw it?”

The men shook their heads. “He threw it at us, sheath and all. Lolan picked it up.”

“I thought I’d fight him,” Lolan said.

“Interesting,” Lightsong said. “So you two left?”

“Yeah,” one of the men said. “When we came back with the others—after getting around that blasted squirrel—we found Lolan on the ground, unconscious, and poor Taff . . . well, he was still tied up, though the rope wasn’t Awakened anymore. He’d been stabbed straight through.”

“You saw him die?”

“No,” Lolan said, bringing his hands up in denial. He had—Lightsong noticed—a ban dage on one hand. “The intruder knocked me out with a fist to the head.”

“But you had the sword,” Lightsong said.

“It was too big to use,” the man said, looking down.

“So he threw the sword at you, then ran up and punched you?” Lightsong said.

The man nodded.

“And your hand?” Lightsong asked.

The man paused, unconsciously retracting his hand. “It got twisted. Nothing important.”

“And you need a ban dage for a twisted wrist?” Lightsong said, raising an eyebrow. “Show me.”

The man hesitated.

“Show me, or lose your soul, my son,” Lightsong said in what he hoped was a suitably divine voice.

The man slowly extended his hand. Llarimar stepped forward and removed the bandage.

The hand was completely grey, drained of color.

Impossible, Lightsong thought with shock. Awakening doesn’t do that to living flesh. It can’t draw color from someone alive, only objects. Floor boards, clothing, furniture.

The man withdrew his hand.

“What is that?” Lightsong asked.

“I don’t know,” the man said. “I woke up, and it was like that.”

“Is that so?” Lightsong said flatly. “And I’m to believe that you had nothing else to do with this? That you weren’t working with the intruder?”

The man fell to his knees suddenly, beginning to cry. “Please, my lord! Don’t take my soul. I’m not the best of men. I go to the brothels. I cheat when we gamble.”

The other two looked startled at this.

“But I didn’t know anything about this intruder,” Lolan continued. “Please, you have to believe me. I just wanted that sword. That beautiful, black sword! I wanted to draw it, swing it, attack the man with it. I reached for it and while I was distracted, he attacked me. But I didn’t see him kill Taff! I promise, I hadn’t ever seen this intruder before! You have to believe me!”

Lightsong paused. “I do,” he finally said. “Let this be a warning. Be good. Stop cheating.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Lightsong nodded to the men, then he and Llarimar left them behind.

“I actually kind of feel like a god,” Lightsong said. “Did you see me make that man repent?”

“Amazing, Your Grace,” Llarimar said.

“So what do you think about their testimonies?” Lightsong said. “Something strange is going on, isn’t it?”