He knocked again, harder.
“I said get lost.”
“I have a sizeable amount of money,” Felix lied,“and I’m told you’re the best apothecary in town. Was I misinformed? Should I take my business elsewhere?”
A long pause, then more footsteps, and as the door unlatched, Felix slammed against it.
The man stumbled back, throwing out a slew of curses, and when he caught his balance, he bolted for the counter, reaching for the rifle hanging on the wall. His hand only made it halfway there before Felix called on his power, sending out the order to stop.
The shop owner froze.
Felix hummed in disapproval. “Are we really going to do this the difficult way?”
He released the man and waited to see if he’d try again.
He did not.
“You sold this to someone,” Felix said as he set the bottle on the countertop. “What was he here for?”
When the man didn’t reply, Felix gave him a warning glare that seemed to do the trick.
“Looking for a magic suppressor.”
“Andisthis a magic suppressor?” Felix was fairly certain those didn’t exist.
“Filthytrucagh,” the man muttered. “Get out. Now.”
Trucaghwas the name the worst kind of people liked to use for wielders. It meantfoul-blood. And it pissed Felix off every time.
With a dramatic sigh, he summoned his power again, just enough to ensure his eyes were glowing gold. “I assure you, the difficult way will be far less enjoyable for you than it will be for me. Personally, I’m looking forward to it.”
This was all an unnecessary dance. He could easily force the answers from the man’s mouth with an order. But he’d made a deal with Marlow that he’d at least give them a chance first. It was a waste of time.
The man took a nervous step back. “No, it’s nothing. A scam. But it’s harmless. I’m hardly the first apothecary to take advantage of a desperate customer.”
Felix flexed his fingers as impatience veered quickly toward irritation. “I need to find the individual who purchased this. Do you know where he was headed?” Even as he asked it, he knew the question was pointless. August didn’t make small talk. Why would he have told this man anything?
“No,” the man said. An expected response. But when he added, “I can help you track him down, for a price,” Felix’s mouth twitched with interest.
“And how would you do that?”
The man drew a strange caern from his pocket and set it on the counter.
“A finding token?” Marlow asked.
The man nodded. “I slipped him the other.”
Felix’s eyes narrowed. “And why would you do that?” Of course, he knew the answer.
“Big demand for wielders, and not many out wandering anymore.”
Not many alive anymore, Felix corrected silently.
Ashcroft and his elixir were like a damned plague. He had specialists in Bedwyck creating that poison for the shops to sell, and even now, with the horrible side effects on full display, nonwielders were still desperate to get their greedy hands on it.
Felix remained perpetually amazed by the sheer idiocy of humanity.
He shook his head. “You were going to sell the second token to Ashcroft’s people.”
