The office door closed with a soft click and Darius was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Compiling the report on the events in Bushtabhar had taken him longer than he’d anticipated. Especially as the Grand Master had been meticulous in questioning him about any discrepancies between what had been in earlier reports and the findings on the ground. Leigher supplemented the report, although in truth he merely confirmed that he had assigned a team of cryptographers to decipher the logbook provided by Bleist and assured the Grand Master that work on the post-mortem examinations was ongoing. On this second point, the problem remained that the field agent had most likely died from a curse, which entailed the implementation of a series of specialist procedures and safety measures. The medical team were unable to specify when information could be expected from them.
Earl tossed the documents onto the desk and sat down in the armchair usually occupied by Evis. Ever since Darius had been officially assigned an aide-de-camp, Captain Forth had ceased to accompany him and had turned his attention to Ed’heer’s affairs. Naturally, now that Rex was searching for further clues in Bushtabhar, Harven had taken over the duties of aide-de-camp. First thing in the morning, along with two other Ruby Guards, he had arrived at the estate to escort the commander to the Palace of Light. The presence of the heavily armed guards was reassuring, but it was not quite the same as the friendly support of the soldiers from Ed’heer.
A knock at the door interrupted Darius’s free-flowing train of thought.
‘Come in,’ he called out into the room.
Harven appeared in the doorway with an apologetic expression.
‘One of the officials has come to inform you, sir, that a certain Count Borr Veson has presented himself at reception, requesting a meeting with the colonel.’
Bleist felt he recognised the name. He furrowed his brow, trying to remember who it was. He’d had so much on his hands lately that a lot had slipped his mind.
‘Ah! Yes, Count Veson, I remember.’ He smiled, but
