Free The Queen of Lies by Michael J. Bode

offer.”
    Heath shrugged. He had a couple of them himself, and he understood. They were almost too beautiful to sell. “You didn’t show that to the Invocari, did you?”
    “I didn’t even realize both things happened on the same night until you brought it up today,” Red said. “When the creepers came back a few weeks later, I thought they were looking for the shard. I knew if I told them, they’d have confiscated it.”
    “They probably would have,” Heath said, “but they weren’t looking for it. That man’s been at the near the scene of every killing that’s happened. From what I hear, he hasn’t been sneaky about it either.”
    “Could he have killed all those people?” Red asked. “Why choose Hilta’s boyfriend? He was nobody special.”
    Heath shrugged. “I have no clue, which makes this guy very, very dangerous.”
    “Curious he would pick this establishment. Patreans aren’t susceptible to the sleeping death.”
    Heath cocked his head. “Really?”
    “The warmasters keep extensive archives of every death. Millions of troops over the centuries, camped out for months at a time. Never a single death showing the telltale signs. Most of us think it’s because we don’t have dreams when we sleep. It must be so strange to hallucinate every night.”
    “I never knew that,” Heath said. He’d known a lot of Fodders in his time, but they never made mention of that fact. Of course when you were running in street gangs, the topic of dreams rarely came up in conversation. For all he knew, Patreans never cried either.
    “Most people never ask.” She shrugged. “Our creators probably didn’t see the point in giving us dreams. Like fear, it seems they’d be a distraction to a warrior.”
    “When did Milk Eyes finally leave?” It seemed a fitting enough name for the mysterious man.
    “I don’t know.” Red said. “I let him stay in that corner as long as he liked. Told the troops to give him his privacy. At some point I stopped even noticing him, and then the corner was empty. It was a couple hours from dawn when I realized it, but he could have been gone longer. That’s all I know. No one else spoke to him, as far as I know.”
    Heath smiled and stood. “Thank you for your time. If I may…”
    He put his hand on her shoulder. She recoiled at first, her fist ready to strike, but then she felt his Light. His hand glowed golden where his dark fingers touched her dusky skin. The energy flowed through her body, tracing along her veins in gentle pulses of illumination. She gasped and shut her eyes as the energy cycled through her. She clenched the edge of her chair then moaned softly. Heath removed his hand, and her head lolled forward.
    Red placed a hand on her back and looked at him in disbelief. “The pain—it’s gone.”
    “It’ll come back. Like you said, the injury wasn’t properly treated. But I did remove the inflammation between your spinal discs. It should be a lot easier to manage. Don’t tell anybody I did this,” he said, placing a finger over his lips.
    “Secrets are my trade, Mr. Heath,” Red said proudly.
    “Mine too.” He bowed slightly and let himself out of the office.
    Sword was buckling his trousers when he came out of Hilta’s room. Heath had been waiting only a couple of minutes, and Red had informed the boys to keep his cup full, but he projected total impatience. His friend was acting more impulsive than usual in his new skin, and Heath was considering giving this vessel an early retirement.
    “You fucked her,” Heath stated, feeling slightly sick to his stomach. It was the second time he felt nauseated in as many days.
    Sword plopped himself down next to Heath and threw his arm around his shoulder. “Don’t get jealous. There’s plenty of this big hilt to go around. These Fodder bodies have some fucking stamina.”
    “I appreciate the irony of me lecturing you on morality.” Heath sipped some more wine. “But her boyfriend just died. That’s low,