Erador paced on the porch. He counted up one each time the board creaked. It was enough to drive out the silence. The rain had stopped and Shade wasn't there to keep him occupied this time. Pia had stopped screaming minutes ago, maybe longer but his swirling gut made him think it wasn’t good. Cade’s face scrunched in annoyance each time the wood emitted sound. Gillian frantically licked the gap in her teeth and clenched the seat.

  Cade grabbed Erador’s sleeve. “Will you stop?”

  Erador leaned against the door. He roughly scratched through his black hair. He hoped the scrapping would drive away the images of Pia, but he couldn't stop thinking about it.

  He rubbed the tip of his boot on a berry and pressed down. Red juice squirted out. Erador moved to the fuzzy berry tree. The fruit was evenly distributed throughout the plant. Erador checked the rest of the bush and it was the same. It was mostly full, but had a few missing berries from last he remembered. Yet the non poisonous tree had a similar pattern of fruit distribution. The berries should’ve fallen by now, but he knew Loma used her crystals to keep it fresh.

  Erador brushed the leaves. “Why are the trees picked this way?”

  “So people don’t get suspicious,” Cade said. “Loma said it looks nicer too.”

  Erador raised an eyebrow at Cade. “Wouldn’t people be suspicious that she’s picking poisonous fruit?”

  “She uses them to dye fabric and yarn.”

  Erador looked around the porch. “Where does she keep those berries?”

  “In a basket by the door.”

  “Did Breck come inside the house?”

  Cade shut his eyes and leaned his head against the window. “No.”

  “Breck didn’t pick these.” Erador rubbed his chin. “Unless he was trying to make it appear that way.”

  “What does it matter?” Cade snapped.

  Erador jerked his head around, ready to defend himself for his observations. But Cade couldn’t hide his concern for Pia through his furious eyes. He cared just as much. He wasn’t the one jumping to conclusions so soon after the event. Pia needed relief, but it felt like energy had left a body as his father would say.

  The door opened and Loma stuck her head out. Her drawn face halted Erador from rushing to the door. He wasn’t sure he wanted to confirm his suspicions. Gillian mimicked the urgency he felt as she jumped up from the seat and cut in front of him.

  “Is she alright?” Gillian pleaded with a desperate cry.

  Loma’s eyes dragged across their faces, her skin seemed to sag more with a frown. The words Erador had been avoiding clamped in his throat. He couldn’t say it, though Loma’s expression already spoke the truth.

  “You best see yourself.” Loma pointed at the bench as Cade went to stand. “You stay and Gillian too. You’ve seen enough.”

  Erador brushed past Loma and she shut the door. Sunlight from the window cast on a blanket covering a mass on the sofa. Strands of black hair stuck out from the knitted edges. Erador froze on the door mat. His knees wanted to collapse, but he forced himself forward and used the armchair for support.

  “It wasn't the berries, was it?” he said.

  “Much worse.” Loma pulled the blanket down from Pia’s face. Her skin was bloated and bruised. Blood leaked from her orifices. Her eyes were gone, replaced by black holes in her head.

  Erador stepped back and his foot snagged on the rug. He caught himself mid-stumble. Her face was stained in his mind. The holes in her head were like an entrance to the Shadow Realm, black and full of nothing but death. Emera shared the same fate. Erador’s stomach heaved as he clamped his hand over his mouth. He turned away, supporting himself on the wall as pressure built in his eyes. It was better Shade wasn't here to see this.

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  “This was no accident,” Loma said, covering the body.

  Erador wiped his face to prepare himself to look at her. He refused to tell Loma about Emera, despite it connecting to Pia’s death. It would raise more suspicions, especially toward himself, though Loma never thought bad of him. He didn’t need to bring Loma more pain, because Pia and Emera weren’t the only ones gone.

  “Breck...” Erador moistened his lips. “He was killed too. He was stabbed.”

  Loma pressed a palm to her chest. Erador looked away to avoid facing her emotions but her eyes already watered. The cry in her voice for an answer had carved a deeper hole in him.

  “The berries might have been involved.” Erador moved to the basket by the door. Green leaves and a few smooth berries were at the bottom. “Breck got sick from eating the poisonous ones. I think someone gave him them. Maybe they wanted him sick and defenseless like Pia, so they could finish him off.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  Loma dropped into the armchair. Her forehead pressed into her hand. A tearful gasp burst from her throat. “But Pia... someone used—”

  “Crystal magic.”

  Loma rubbed her eye and looked at him. “How did you come to that?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Erador pointed at the covered corpse. “No element can do this.”

  “I understand but this...” She sat up and shook her head. “I’ve never heard of a case this bad.”

  “She was unconscious for several hours.” Erador rubbed the few hairs on his chin. “Someone made her breathe it in her sleep.”

  Loma pushed herself out of the seat. “But why?”

  “Fuck.” Erador pressed his palms on either side of his head. “Yuni was in the room with Pia before we saw her. She could’ve done it then.”

  “Was she awake?”

  “Yes.”

  Loma shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  “Maybe she trusted Yuni?” Erador said. “Maybe she said it would make her feel better.”

  “It could’ve been in her sleep too. It can take time to build in the body. How was she when you first saw her?”

  “She couldn’t remember anything from the night before. Not the berries, not getting sick.” Erador leaned his elbows on the armchair. “The card... She was going to show me the mark of a Paradin who blackmailed her. She implied that Yuni isn't human. She could’ve known more.”

  “She was blackmailed?”

  “Yes, remember when you told me Eli overheard Aminria and I talking about the crystal from the Raven’s cage?”

  She nodded.

  “It was Pia. She knows who let him out. Eli took the blame to protect her.”

  Loma pressed her chest and sat back down. “I had no idea.” Her saddened gaze looked at Pia on the couch. “That poor girl. Why didn’t she tell someone sooner? Did you find out who?”

  Erador looked away, anger building knowing that he was close. “No. She vomited on the cards.”

  “They knew.” Loma used the armrest to support her rising body. “They knew she was going to tell.” She faced him. “How long was she asleep?”

  “Hours.”

  “Anyone could’ve seen her. Yuni has access to crystals but...”

  “What about yours?” Erador looked into her room. “Are any missing?”

  Loma rushed to her bedroom and clicked open her chest. Bright colored lights erupted onto the ceiling. She rummaged around before she shut it.

  “They’re here.” Loma returned to the sitting room. “I’m not saying Yuni is innocent, Erador, but the crystals could’ve been stolen from her or they were ordered to do it.”

  “But since Yuni came here things have been different. The crops and now the deaths.” Erador clenched a fist to his mouth. “She has to be a part of it.”

  “You’re running on anger,” Loma said, grabbing his sleeve. “Calm your emotions and think. You can’t declare she killed Pia. Yes, it was from crystals, but that doesn’t mean Yuni did it. Maybe someone is trying to get rid of her, so your father won’t get better.”

  Erador dropped his head. “I’ll look like the villain.”

  “Exactly.”

  What if Baubie was involved? If Pia knew what Yuni was, then he had a reason to kill her. For Breck, he didn't know what the motive could be.

  Erador looked back at the basket by the door. “Are there any more of those poisonous berry trees around Lucrethia?”

  “I have yet to see one, but the berries wouldn’t have killed them,” Loma said. “A few make you ill, but if you ate hundreds, maybe it could kill you... Maybe.”

  Maybe those extra berries were given to Breck to weaken him before he was stabbed. Erador’s abdomen burned like acid was eating his stomach from the inside out. With how Emera, Pia, and Breck died, Eli being murdered seemed more like truth.

  “I’m going to see if Sescina is done exhuming Breck’s body.”

  Erador stepped toward the door and Loma grabbed his arm. “Be careful of who you accuse and who you trust. You never know who’s on your side.”

  Loma gave her sad look that drove into his heart. He wasn’t going to rethink what he was doing. He was already in danger as a Paradin and with these deaths, they all were.