“If Elluvian kills?”
“He’ll argue self-defense, and the Emperor will accept that—as long as the person killed is Barrani.” The Wolflord’s voice barked over the beginning of witness testimony, and Records froze. “Rosen. My office.”
“I’ll leave you with Records,” she said, grimacing as she rose. She reached for her cane. “You’ll get used to Helmat’s tone. This one is too controlled; it meansdrop everything else.”
“Trouble?”
“You work for the Halls of Law,” she replied. “There’s always trouble. Most of it won’t concern your investigation.”
“There is a faster way to do that.”
Severn glanced to the side. Elluvian had come to stand beside Rosen’s unoccupied chair. Severn was surprised, but not enough to jump or draw defensive weapons. Given Elluvian’s race, this said something. Elluvian smiled briefly. “Instincts,” he said, “are important. You were aware of my presence.”
Severn shrugged.
“You shouldn’t have been. I was making every attempt to remain unnoticed. I have observed that human men seem to be less guarded around human females. I accept that this is true in many cases. Having met An’Tellarus, you will understand why that is not the norm for my kin.”
“And Cassandre.”
Elluvian inclined his head. “What are you looking for?”
“Anything,” was the instant reply. “Anything that these cases might have in common. Witnesses. Location. The Tha’alani quarter wasn’t as heavily guarded back then?”
“Not in the same way, no. But even now it is not impossible for the intrepid to leave the quarter should they desire to do so.”
“Would a death that didn’t appear to be murder also exist in Records?”
“If one of the Tha’alani were to drop dead in the streets, it’s likely that witnesses who cared enough to comment would call for the Swords. But no, not all such cases would be contained in Records.”
“Not the Records of the Halls of Law.”
Elluvian watched the boy. “You would, as I said, make an outstanding Hawk.”
Severn said nothing.
“It is where the young woman is.”
“If she’s happy there, she won’t want to see me.”
“She is not officially a Hawk. She is too young. You are, if you have not lied about your age, considered adult by Imperial Law. Tell me, do you know anything about the marks she bears?”
Severn stiffened, and the silence he offered was a wall—a windowless, doorless wall.
“It is not from your interview that I have come across this information. The marks are known.”
Severn’s silence became less a wall and more a blade.
Elluvian smiled. “Very well. If you wish to access Records to find commonality, you can choose the person in question—the witness you are currently viewing, for example. You can then bring up any other cases in which the witness was involved—either as witness or criminal.”
Severn tried this. The witness he had chosen had been involved in two petty crimes—pickpocketing—and had served as witness in three other cases.
“The crime didn’t take place in the warrens,” Severn noted. “None of the crimes did.”
“No.” Elluvian was well aware of the location at which bodies had been discovered. “Not given witness testimony.”
Severn, however, was no longer listening. The mirror moved constantly between flickering images. Tha’alani corpses. Street locations. Witnesses. Lists of injuries taken.
Severn shook his head, as if the information was not quite what he was searching for. He expanded the search, or attempted to expand it. The mirror resisted him until Elluvian, far more annoyed by this than Severn seemed to be, took over the search. There was nothing in Records to which Elluvian did not have access.