Ana and Din Mysteries, #3
A Trade of Blood
by Robert Jackson Bennett
Contents
Chapter 23
Overview
Kol and Tauri exhume the Armenta children and confirm all were infected by the web. Sagma’s neck bruising suggests strangulation rather than hanging, and Lyimo’s limited sprouting implies an early, bungled infection. A puncture on Lyimo’s back matches a Burav tughra ring, pointing to Jalin Burav—who is discovered to have fled the medikkers, escalating the chase.
Summary
Kol travels with Tauri and Orbiis officers to the Armenta lands, passing the reeking flensing halls and bone piles. At the sepulcher, Tauri orders precautions against leakage and begins opening the vine cocoons of the three deceased Armenta children: Gevma, Sagma, and Lyimo.
Gevma’s and Sagma’s caskets are packed with old fungal stalks, confirming web infection; both bodies are unusually well preserved. Sagma’s neck shows a thin, smooth bruise inconsistent with hanging, suggesting strangulation by a narrow, smooth ligature. Lyimo’s casket, however, contains only scant stalks, implying a less mature infection or a bungled first attempt.
While stripping the bodies for containment, Kol finds a small bruise and shallow slit near Lyimo’s shoulder blade. Memory and deduction connect the slit’s length to the pointed crest on a Burav tughra ring and the bruise to a knuckle strike, indicating a ring-driven jab. Kol concludes only Jalin Burav habitually wore the tughra ring, implicating him.
They return to Lacanthim. Tauri, physically and emotionally strained by his attunement to airborne detritus and disgust at the cattle industry’s waste, confides his burdens. Kol asks Fotia to investigate the circumstances of Sagma’s discovery, suspecting staging.
At the medikker facility, chaos reigns: Jalin Burav has escaped through a window despite ongoing, painful treatment. Tauri can summon trackers, but time is needed, leaving Kol facing an urgent manhunt and difficult explanations to Ana.
Who Appears
- Kol (Din)Iudex narrator; assists exhumations, spots forensic clues, deduces Jalin Burav’s involvement, and coordinates next investigative steps.
- TauriOrbiis commander; leads the exhumations, explains fungal risks, reveals attunement to environmental data, and shares disdain for the flensing halls.
- Fotia ArmentaArmenta ally; present at sepulcher, agrees to discreetly investigate Sagma’s death scene and household accounts.
- Trikao ArmentaPatriarch; authorizes exhumations, worries about telling his frail sister, visibly shaken by revelations.
- Sagma ArmentaDeceased daughter; coffin shows web infection; neck bruising suggests strangulation, challenging the reported hanging.
- Lyimo ArmentaDeceased son; minimal fungal sprouting indicates an early or botched infection; back wound matches a Burav tughra ring jab.
- Gevma ArmentaDeceased son; coffin packed with fungal stalks, confirming infection; no additional anomalies noted beyond prior head injury.
- Jalin BuravBurav heir; implicated by ring-shaped wound evidence; found to have escaped the medikker facility, triggering an urgent search.
- Orbiis officersAssist Tauri with containment, cocoon opening, and handling of infected remains.
- Medikker staff and custodusReport Jalin Burav’s escape and failed sedation; unable to contain him during treatment.