Erador held the four cards in his shaking hand. Eli the bat, Breck the wolf, Pia the mammoth, and Sescina the dove. His eyes were bloodshot and dark circles rimmed them. He looked past the cards at the bat banner in the throne room, when it should be gone. He’d been looking over each banner to see if there was some kind of order to the killings.

  He grabbed Eonidas’s arm as he walked by. “Why is the bat still up? Wasn’t it sent with Eli?”

  Eonidas leaned closer and whispered, “Judgment doesn’t think he’s dead.”

  “He can’t see it,” Erador said. “Why does that matter?”

  Eonidas looked at the cards Erador held. “What’s wrong?”

  Erador searched the throne room. “Where’s Aminria?”

  “She went home. Said she’s tired of being in the manor.”

  “You let her?” Erador sighed when he shrugged. “Can you tell Dethil to meet me at Aminria’s and bring a Warden Tower deck.”

  Eonidas nodded.

  Erador rushed outside the manor, down the steps and through the village. It was dark, only a sliver of light on the horizon. He reached Aminria’s porch and banged on the door. The wind chimes whispered in the crisp breeze, as if they were trying to tell him to be patient but he banged harder and called her name.

  Aminria ripped open the door and tugged her unbuttoned shirt closed. “Are you mad? The sun is barely up.”

  He showed the cards. “I need to talk.”

  “I’m not playing—”

  “That’s not what this is about.” He squeezed past her, catching a whiff of her sweet perfume and she shut the door. “Dethil is on his way.”

  Aminria let out a sigh, plopped on her couch and buttoned her shirt. “Not your theories again.”

  “I found Sescina’s card.”

  She sat straight. “You’re lying?” Aminria pushed the last button through the hole slowly, her voice lacked emotion, but she couldn’t mask the fear in her eyes.

  “I wish I was.” He sat on the coffee table and handed her the cards.

  Aminria shuffled through them, stopping on the dove. “Where did you find it?”

  “Right before I found Sescina. It was by the swing.”

  “Are you sure it wasn’t left from a game?” she said, handing the cards back to him.

  “No… Look at the condition of it,” Erador said, holding the blood-stained card that wasn’t dirty, bent, or morphed from moisture.

  Aminria reached for it, but a knock sounded at the door. Before she could force herself up, Erador bounded for the knob and ripped it open.

  Dethil scratched his head. “You wanted me?”

  Erador swiped the box of cards from him and went to the coffee table. He dumped them out and pulled out each animal that matched an existing Paradin. He didn’t notice that Dethil shut the door and wandered beside him. Aminria breathed onto Erador’s neck causing his skin to tingle uncomfortably, but he didn’t bother to wave her away. He laid the cards in order of how the banners were arranged in the throne room, including the ones that were taken down.

  “This is how the banners are aligned.”

  “Why the bat?” Dethil said.

  “Oddly, it’s still there.” Erador recalled the violent messages in the Raven’s cage. “What if the Raven is working with Yuni, playing mind games? The messages in his cage say he wants every Paradin dead. I think there's an order.”

  “This is it?” Dethil said, crouching beside him.

  “Eli died first and his banner was near the end. It’s not by age.” Erador moved the cards he found near the bodies and placed them in order by death: Eli, Breck, Pia, Sescina.

  Aminria tapped her lip. “I can see wanting the caregivers gone first to make it harder on Judgment, but… they weren’t first.”

  “Or are they weaker?” Dethil said.

  “No,” Erador said. “Breck wasn’t weak.”

  “Mentally weak,” Aminria said.

  “Then a lot of us should’ve been first and I think Eli was the strongest mentally.”

  “How come Pia isn’t before Breck?” Aminria said. “She was poisoned first.”

  “I think they were trying to weaken them both so they could finish them off easier.”

  The clock ticked through the silence. Erador had no idea what the order could be. He glanced over the cards again, as he gnawed his lip. Erador relaxed oo the sofa and sighed. His gaze flicked to a wooden figurine of a blue jay.

  Erador picked it up and looked at the initials CL at the bottom. “Where did you get this?”

  “In the manor,” Aminria said. “They were being thrown away.”

  It was from the shelf above the door in his father’s room. He had rearranged them from smallest to tallest, but Mikra put them back how they were.

  Erador gathered the cards and left the house and returned to the throne room. Dethil kept on his tail and Aminria was close behind. He went to his father’s room, but he was asleep. Mikra swept a broom by the bed unaware of their presence. Erador looked above the door on the shelf but the statues were gone.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Erador inched toward Mikra and stopped at arms length, hoping it was close enough for him to hear. The smell of rose berry perfumed entered his nostrils, causing his thoughts to wander, but he refocused as Aminria and Dethil reached him. Erador’s voice echoed as he called Mikra. Jumping, Mikra swept around, poking Erador in the ribs with the broom. Recoiling, Erador gripped his chest, regretting that he spoke too loud.

  “Where are the figurines?” Erador asked, pointing to the shelf.

  “Lord Judgment didn’t want them anymore,” Mikra said.

  “What was the order?” Erador said, handing him the cards.

  Mikra looked at him strangely, but rested the broom against the wall and laid the cards on the dresser, rearranging them in a row. He did them based on whatever card was next in his hand, further making Erador anticipate the outcome. Dethil and Aminria watched intently. When Mikra placed the fox before them all, it threw Erador off.

  “What?” Erador said. “Are you sure the fox is first?”

  “Yes,” Mikra said, signing. “I know the exact order.”

  “Why are they in this order?”

  Mikra tapped his finger on the dresser. “I’m not supposed to say.”

  “I need to know,” Erador said.

  Mikra looked at Judgment who snored and leaned closer to Erador. “Lord Judgment doesn't want anyone to be upset.”

  “Upset? Is this some hierarchy system?”

  Mikra didn’t need to say it. Erador’s father had made it clear that he liked some of his followers more than others.

  “It’s by his favorites,” Erador mumbled as he looked at the order. “These are the ones he likes the least. Fox, wolf, mammoth, rabbit, dove... Wait...” He placed his hand on the rabbit card. “Fedra is before Sescina?”

  Mikra didn’t respond, but Erador checked the rest of the order: seahorse, coyote, scorpion, blue jay, gorilla, jaguar, moth, bat, and octopus.

  Erador wasn’t concerned he wasn’t the highest, in fact he didn’t expect to be, but this order was not what he thought. Haven was first which meant she should’ve already been killed and Fedra was supposed to die before Sescina. Eli on the other hand was second to last, so maybe he did die of natural causes. Did the murderer get the order wrong or did Mikra?

  “This has to be wrong,” Erador said.

  “See,” Aminria said, pointing at the cards. “There isn’t an order. They’re killing us when they get the chance.”

  “Listen to me.” Erador raised his voice and pointed at the shelf. “The bat is here, but there was one more bat figurine. Where does it go?”

  Mikra pointed to the spot before Cade.

  Erador looked between Mikra’s finger and the bat card. “Which one is Eli?”

  Mikra raised his shoulders.

  “Then who is the other one?” Dethil said.

  Mikra shook his head.

  “You never asked?” Erador said, raising his voice. “Isn’t it strange that there are two bats?”

  “Maybe it was a mistake,” Dethil said.

  “Like the bat banner being back on the wall?” Erador raised his voice, pointing toward the door. “No other Paradins have a bat. They left.”

  “You don’t need to yell at him,” Aminria said.

  Erador looked from her to Mikra as he got a whiff of the roseberry perfume again. He leaned toward Mikra, noticing that it was oddly strong by him and he remembered how Aminria yelled at him the day before Sescina died.

  “I see how it is,” Erador said. “It seems that some are quick to defend people because they’re biased.” He leaned toward Mikra. “How much did you have to fuck her to get her on your side?”

  “Shut up!” Aminria narrowed her eyes. “You act like you don’t have favorites?”

  Erador raised his chin, cocking his head. “I see people for who they are.”

  “Haven isn’t dead,” Aminria said, pointing at the cards. “She’s the first one in this order.”

  “That doesn’t make her a killer.” Erador cocked his head at Mikra. “Maybe the order is wrong.”

  Erador pressed his palms on the dresser as he meticulously looked at the order again. It wasn’t just a way for him to memorize it, something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t see this order as chance. Not when the cards were near the dead.

  His stomach dipped at the idea that Fedra and Haven could be traitors. He lightly touched the fox card. No. Haven only had disagreements with Judgment, but Fedra on the other hand—her life was destroyed by Gillian’s mistakes. Gillian wasn’t a Paradin and neither was Hawth, but that didn’t mean they weren’t involved. He glimpsed at the bat again. Hawth was a scant, so he had no chance of becoming a Paradin, but Gillian can.

  “At what point was Judgment going to make Gillian one of us?” Erador asked.

  “When she went through the necessary training,” Aminria said.

  Erador wanted that to be right but Judgment made exceptions, his son being one of them. He didn’t want to think about Pia again and how her mark was likely forced on her because she was a devote caregiver. As much as Erador felt like a fraud with his mark, Gillian didn’t deserve one. He wouldn’t put it past his father for having Gillian placed high in his ranking, but he wasn’t sure a bat fit her.

  Hawth just patrolled the grounds and fed the Raven. A vesper was said to be a human-like bat, but Erador never found a flame on him. Plus, Hawth needed other criteria to fit that mark, not just look like it. Hawth was anything but sneaky, quiet, and smart. He was loud, annoying, and stupid and he had no element to be a Paradin.

  “Where’s Gillian? She wasn’t at the meeting.” Erador turned toward the others but they were lost. “When was the last time any of you saw her?”

  “I haven’t seen her for a while,” Dethil said.

  Erador looked to Aminria suspiciously.

  “What?” she said.

  “You’ve spent more time with her than most of us.”

  “I have no idea.” Aminria hugged herself. “The last time I saw her was weeks ago.”

  “She could be dead,” Dethil said.

  “Isn’t that what you wanted?” Mikra said with relief. “She has caused us too many problems.”

  While he couldn’t disagree, it was how Mikra said it that bothered Erador. Maybe it had to do with his speech.

  “Her missing isn’t a good thing,” Erador said. “She could be involved in our deaths.”

  “I doubit it,” Aminria said. “I don’t think she could kill us, even if she was threatened. She’d fall to pieces and tell Judgment.”

  “Maybe she left.” Dethil’s eye widened. “What if she died?”

  “She’s disappeared before,” Erador said.

  That was likely because she didn’t feel like she belonged. It didn’t seem likely that she would be killing them out of vengeance. If anything, Erador should’ve been first. It didn’t mean she wasn’t involved, no matter how much he wanted to tell himself she wasn’t. He suspected too many people and he didn’t have enough evidence to help. He would have to start with Fedra.

  “Don’t tell anyone yet,” Erador said, gathering the cards in the order they were placed.

  “Still not confident in your theories?” Aminria said, raising a brow.

  He didn’t bother to respond to her condescending tone and left the room.