“Then why haven’t you already done it?”
He looked affronted. “I wouldnever,” he said, with great dignity, spoiled somewhat by the bite of Thimblet that followed.
“What sort of ward?” asked Tandri, who had clearly been listening in. “Optical trigger? Anima proximity? Using a precision focus?”
“Er, anima proximity. And the focus could be anything. A pigeon?”
“Why would you want to track whether a pigeon flew over the building?” asked Tandri.
“Well, it was just anexample,” said Hemington. “As I said, what it does isn’t important. I’d just like to study the stability, range, and accuracy of the ward’s response.”
Viv sighed in resignation. “If I don’t have to hear any more about it, then go right ahead. Unless….” She looked at Tandri. “Unless Ishouldcare?”
She was nervous that this would somehow expose the secret under the floor, but objecting more strenuously might accomplish the same thing. If he had some means of investigating specifically for the Stone, she wouldn’t know anyway, so perhaps it was best just to go with it, for now.
“It’ll be fine,” said Tandri.
“Itoldyou it would be unnoticeable,” huffed Hemington.
“Unnoticeable isn’t the same as harmless,” said Viv mildly. “But yeah, go ahead.”
“I… thank you.”
“How was the Thimblet?” she asked with a sly smile.
“The what?”
She pointed at his now empty hands.
He’d eaten the whole thing.
* * *
Things had been going far too smoothlyfor far too long, and if Viv had been out in the wilderness or on a campaign or camped outside a beast’s lair, a premonition of impending misfortune would have prickled along her spine.
While she and Tandri shut down for the evening, Lack appeared outside the shop with Tandri’s unwelcome admirer Kellin and at least six or eight others.
As Viv stood blocking the doorway, she reflected that she really should not have let her vigilance lapse.
“What is it?” asked Tandri, dropping the mug she’d been cleaning into the wash-water and moving to look around Viv’s side. She froze at the sight of Kellin, her eyes darting to the men and women behind him.
They bristled with enough knives to warrant concern. Viv found herself wishing that Amity would show up, but the dire-cat was frustratingly absent.
Viv wasn’t particularly worried about the knives forherself, but Tandri’s presence threw off her mental calculus of risk entirely. The succubus had witnessed her last encounter with Lack, but there was no Gatewarden present this time to uphold the illusion of law. Alone, Viv never feared for her own skin. With Tandri beside her, brute strength felt like no defense at all.
“Congratulations on your ongoing success,” said Lack, doffing his hat and executing a half bow.
Viv couldn’t decide if it was intended to be mocking or not.
“End of the month already, is it?” she asked grimly. “Could have sworn there were a few more days.”
Lack nodded agreeably. “Indeed. You know, it’s not readily apparent, but the trickiest part of my job is ensuring that things go smoothly. That there are noproblems. You see, if there is blood, or bones get broken, or property meets misfortune, that’s afailure. It’s just not a foundation for good business. The Madrigal wantsgoodbusiness. Repeatable business. And diligence on my part is key to making that happen.”
“Hi, Tandri,” said Kellin, with a possessive smile in her direction.
Lack frowned at him.
Tandri glanced at Viv, eyes wide.
