The latecomers arrived. One of the men demanded, ?What became of the party in the Camellia Grotto?? His voice had a whiny, nasal quality. My hackles rose. It reeked of arrogance and contempt. I hadn?t heard its like since I joined the Black Company. People in Beryl hadn?t used that tone.
They don?t know the Black Company in Opal, I told myself. Not yet, they don?t.
The voice hit Raven like a sledge whack on the back of the head. He stiffened. For a moment his eyes were pure ice. Then a smile crinkled their corners?as evil a smile as I have ever seen.
The Captain whispered, ?I know why Jalena suffered his attack of indigestion.?
We sat motionless, frozen by deadly imminence. Raven turned slowly, rising. Those three saw his face.
Whiny-voice choked. His male companion began shaking. The woman opened her mouth. Nothing came out.
Where Raven got the knife I do not know. It went almost too fast to follow. Whiny-voice bled from a cut throat. His friend had steel in his heart. And Raven had the woman?s throat in his left hand.
?No. Please,? she whispered without force. She expected no mercy.
Raven squeezed, forced her to her knees. Her face purpled, bloated. Her tongue rolled out. She seized his wrist, shuddered. He lifted her, stared into her eyes till they rolled up and she sagged. She shuddered again, died.
Raven jerked his hand away. He stared at that rigid, shaking claw. His face was ghastly. He surrendered to the all-over shakes.
?Croaker!? the Captain snapped. ?Don?t you claim to be a physician??
?Yeah.? People were reacting. The whole garden was watching. I checked Whiny-voice. Dead as a stone. So was his sidekick. I turned to the woman.
Raven knelt. He held her left hand. There were tears in his eyes. He removed a gold wedding band, pocketed it. That was all he took, though she sported a fortune in jewelry.
I met his gaze over the body. The ice was in his eyes again. It dared me to voice my guess.