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“I was merely curious as to why Luther even chose to watch in the first place,” said David. “He must be a bolder man than I, because I know that if I encountered the Darksteel Soldier, fleeing would be the only thing on my mind.”

“What are you talking about?” said Meriwether. “Luther probably did not have the opportunity to flee. He was probably trapped in some way.”

“Oh, yes, I’m sure you’re right.”

Meriwether threw him a sideways look but said nothing.

And that was it, the look he’d been hoping for.

David couldn’t offer him any information directly, so instead, he’d tried to plant an idea in Meriwether’s head--a tiny seed of doubt. It would be up to Meriwether to make that seed grow, of course, but that was the whole point. It had to feel like the man had thought of it himself, otherwise David’s name would undoubtedly crop up.

If Meriwether chose to investigate the matter further, he might even find evidence that contradicted Luther’s version of events. Of course, it was also possible that Luther had covered his tracks too thoroughly. It was a rather weak gambit, admittedly, but David didn’t see much reason not to have it in play.

After that, eight days passed with very little progress on any front.

He spent the majority of his time working on Nola. She wasn’t difficult to find. Rather, she came to him. The Abolishers split their manpower, allocating Nola and Karkash to keep tabs on all the princes around the clock, and she visited David the most, often bringing him presents of the bloody sort.

She was surprisingly tight-lipped about their plans, however.

“Always so curious,” she said in that gleeful tone of hers. “The clever prince. What angle are you working, eh?”

This time was different, though. He’d thought of a new strategy. “I’d tell you what angle I’m working, but... honestly, you see, it’s a bit embarrassing.”

“Oh?” Her eyes narrowed, and she stuck her head closer. “Embarrassing how?”

“No, you’ll surely think me foolish.”

“I won’t, I won’t! So tell me!”

“Well, okay. I was wondering how someone might go about becoming a member of Abolish.”

Nola’s eyes lit up. “No shit?!”