Ana and Din Mysteries, #3
A Trade of Blood
by Robert Jackson Bennett
Contents
Chapter 29
Overview
Din delivers Burilis Burav’s journal to Ana, who confirms it details animal experiments but no human training of the guiding web, implying an unknown actor. With leads exhausted, Tauri wrestles with futility and invites Din to the bathhouse. Din, despite warnings, goes to meet Tauri, deepening their personal connection as the investigation stalls.
Summary
Din returns to the Green Drover and reports to Ana, handing over Burilis Burav’s journal found in the forest lab near ancient ruins. He recounts finding Jalin dead by suicide. Ana combs the journal and is disturbed to find extensive animal protocols but no mention of humans, concluding Burav did not train the web to act on people. The true trainer remains unknown and currently not actionable.
Din visits Tauri at the Orbiis office and summarizes Ana’s view. Tauri laments that, despite uncovering Burav’s history, the real killer remains at large and may never strike again, leaving only reports to file. He reveals a yearning for change amid the Empire’s inertia and, fragile from decontamination and disappointment, suggests meeting at the bathhouse.
Din checks the canton jailhouse: Seriv says Fotia is pursuing a Burav drover to the south, while Ippeas remains despondent. Din can offer no comfort from the day’s grim findings.
Conflicted by duty and desire, Din wanders Lacanthim, then yields to temptation. At the bathhouse, guided to a private room already arranged by Tauri, Din enters to the scent of apricot and spice and Tauri’s quiet welcome, choosing closeness even as the case stalls and the identity of the human trainer of the web remains unresolved.
Who Appears
- Din (Kol)Narrator; delivers Burav’s journal to Ana, processes stalled leads, struggles with temptation, and meets Tauri at the bathhouse.
- TauriOrbiis officer; anguished by lack of progress, desires change, and invites Din to a private bath, deepening their bond.
- AnaInvestigator; studies Burav’s journal and concludes it lacks any human training, implying an unknown actor behind the web murders.
- SerivCanton jailer; reports Fotia’s pursuit of a Burav drover and notes Ippeas’s low spirits.