Ana and Din Mysteries, #3
A Trade of Blood
by Robert Jackson Bennett
Contents
Chapter 10
Overview
Ana learns Din’s sister is betrothed into the Armentas, chastises Din’s response, and connects the forest lights’ emergence to Lyimo Armenta’s suicide three years prior. She outlines a pragmatic, human-centered view of the crimes amid Khanum relics, then plans visits to the Armentas and Orbiis. Din reflects on Ana’s hidden Khanum-like alterations and her enforced silence.
Summary
Ana reacts to Din’s revelation that his sister Fotia is the arriving Armenta betrothed, removing her blindfold in shock and scolding Din for failing basic familial courtesies. Din steers the discussion back to the case.
Ana identifies a missed link: the strange lights in the forest began roughly three years ago, the same time Lyimo Armenta killed himself. She rejects superstitious explanations, favoring human motives—feud, money, land—while acknowledging the complications posed by ancient Khanum works.
She recounts the Khanum’s fragmented history—tribes like the Daavir and the Daljen, the Daljen’s earlier disappearance, and the Empire’s uneasy coexistence with inexplicable relics. Ana declares there are no gods, asserting that only human-made order exists amid nature’s chaos.
Ana sets next steps: visit the Armentas to seek order in Velona’s children’s deaths and recruit the Orbiis to examine Zansay Burav’s remains. Alone, Din reflects on Ana’s revelation from the previous year that she bears Khanum-like alterations yet is constrained from speaking about them, leaving him questioning her nature and the purpose behind reviving such power in her.
Who Appears
- AnaDin’s superior; shocked by Fotia’s betrothal, links forest lights to Lyimo’s death, expounds on Khanum history, sets investigative next steps.
- DinNarrator; reveals Fotia’s betrothal, misses the lights–Lyimo link, seeks to refocus on the case, reflects on Ana’s concealed alterations.
- Lyimo ArmentaDeceased Armenta heir; his suicide three years ago is tied temporally to the forest lights’ first appearance.
- Zansay BuravDeceased Burav; slated for Orbiis examination to glean clues about the guiding web and the murders.
- Velona ArmentaMatriarch; target of upcoming visit as Ana seeks order in her children’s deaths.