He was standing, hands folded behind his bare back, looking out the window. The gigantic snake that hadn’t left his side any more than Amavi had left mine slithered along the ceiling right above him. I wondered if he had a name.
Gideon and Isla were also already inside, arguing over a map.
“Ah, François, Silver.” Gideon beckoned us over. “Come have a look at this.”
The map of the vale showed several glowing points, some brighter than others.
“What’s that showing us?” I wondered.
“Magic use in real time. The brightness indicates the potency of the spells. It’s pretty normal to have thousands of spells used here.” He pointed to a cluster of dots concentrated in the Hall of Truce. “And at the schools or colleges,” he added, indicating the buildings. “Not to mention the temples.”
“Isn’teveryoneusing magic all the time in Highvale?”
“I mean, yes, but the majority of the inhabitants of the city have low energy reserves, which means that their spells would be of lower intensity. There are far more brighter spots than there should be.”
I frowned at the map. “It would be useful to have readings from a couple of weeks ago.
“Irwin’s fetching some from the archives, and we’re recording fluctuations. His job is spotting unusual areas with more magic over the next few days.”
I had to admit that was the perfect assignment for him. He might not even piss his pants.
“What are we doing in the meantime?”
“Kleos said she had hundreds of charged crystals.” Gideon gestured to François. “One of his contacts in Paris got back to us, reporting an upcoming auction for a large magical reserve. I want to know if it includes Kleos’s. That’ll tell us whether we’re dealing with a city-wide or a worldwide issue.”
“Worldwide would be better,” Isla said. “More spread out. I’d take one crystal in every city than hundreds in ours.”
“Agreed—but fifty could be enough to raze an entire city, especially in the hands of inexperienced little fuckers high on power. Either way, we need answers.”
Cas’s index finger tapped his thigh. As silent and still as he had been until now, I noticed the minute move. Or maybe I was just hyperaware of him. I wanted to blame his injection of power for it.
“Any input, Cas?” I demanded, voice tight.
He turned slowly, taking his time before speaking. “You’re too direct. Honest. Obvious. That’ll get you killed.”
Gideon and I exchanged a glance.
“How so?”
“The Paris lot will be part of the shipment you’re looking for,” he said casually. “And you’ll assume it’s spread out. You’ll relax, prioritize other jobs, look everywhere from one end of the world to the other. And ninety percent of the weapons will remain right here under your noses, until they’re ready to be used against you.”
We all stared at him in silence.
He shrugged. “That’s what I’d do, anyway.”
“Crooked motherfucker. You’re right, it has to remain a priority no matter what we find in Paris. But if we can recover them, it’s one problem we don’t have to fix later.”
“I’ll go,” I said. “I’ll recognize Kleos’s magic.”
“We should all go,” Isla said. “Whether it’s a dozen or a hundred crystals full of magic, that’s a full team sort of mission.”
“Right, because a network of international magic smugglers is totally going to open their doors to a team of Highvale protectors.” Gideon rolled his eyes. “François, you know Paris, and it’s your old Huntsmen buddies who gave us the intel. You two can pose as a couple of lovers in for a little excitement. Buy, steal, destroy the goods if you can—but the priority is to identify them and report back.”
“Paris.” François moaned. “I can eat good food again.”
“You were a Huntsman in the city?” Cas asked.
François nodded. “A good job, but I am a morning person. Huntsmen are creatures of ze night—we ’unt rogue vampires mostly.”
