I didn’t miss the challenge in his tone.
I straightened up. “Well, if Irwin doesn’t trip over his own feet and die, we’ll have a comparative map soon. We can charge runners to observe the new hot spots for signs of unusual activity. If we’re lucky, they’ll arrest someone with more magic than they should have for questioning—andiftheir source is one of Kleos’s reserve, we can try to make them talk about where they got it. But that’s a lot of ifs. Today, the best actionable plan would be to check on the known dealers in town. I’m sure the inquisitors have a list. François?”
“Fuck if I know. I only got ze job today,” he reminded me.
“They have one,” Gideon confirmed. “Go on.”
“Well, François will get us the list. I’m guessing it’ll have a few names. We’ll go in teams of two, carefully—ourselves, not curse-happy runners throwing accusations. While I doubt we’ll get answers, we’ll be able to tell who’s dodgy.”
Gideon snorted. “They’re all dodgy, Silver.” He rolled the map carefully before placing it in a thin cylinder—likely to avoid messing with the spell by folding it. “All right. You each have your assignments.”
I inhaled sharply. “You’re implementing my plan?”
“Why not? It’s a decent strategy given what we know so far—which is next to nothing.” He shrugged. “Isla, you’re with me. Silver, take Cas. François, let us know when Irwin gets the bloody map.”
I tried not to groan.
Noticing my expression, Gideon pointed out, “Isla’s a novice. You’re a new protector. I can’t pair you up. And you’re going on a mission abroad later this week. Might as well get used to each other.”
I hated that I couldn’t argue. Turning back to the ridiculously tall, dark, and handsome newcomer, I stated, “You need a fucking shirt.”
He had the gall to chuckle. “Why, am I distracting you, pet?”
“Because it’s November, it’s fucking snowing outside, and while protectors don’t have uniforms, we have badges. You can’t pin a badge on your nipple.” While my list of arguments started out weak, the last one seemed valid.
The smug prick retrieved a badge just like mine from his back pocket, before pinning it to his belt buckle. “There. Happy?”
My jaw ticked.
“Ecstatic.”
I was going to murder him before the week was out.
13
CAS
The Frenchman procured the list within minutes, and Gideon handed us half of the folders—six places to visit.
The snake wisely opted to remain behind, sunning by the window. I couldn’t blame him. I was relatively uninterested by the whole affair myself, albeit a little curious about how it would wrap up in the end.
I had my own suspicions as to whom might have fought it useful to raid the brand-new goddess’s energy and to what ends, but there was no point in sharing my thoughts with the party. It would just end up opening the door to too many questions I had no way to answer truthfully.
The mystery of the whole affair amused me. In the old days, they would have shot a bird and read the entrails for the answers. A little more gruesome perhaps, but more expedient if one had the skills.
“You never told me about the thief you dealt with.”
Silver titled her head. “Hm?”
“The one you mentioned in my sleep.”
“Oh.” She led the way down the flight of stairs, swift despite her little legs, either because she liked to go fast, or because she wanted to put as much space between us as possible.
If the latter, she was disappointed. I didn’t even have to hurry to catch up.
“There’s a network of artifact thieves who target the archives. It’s a whole system. See, the archives in Highvale are open to the public, like a great museum full of the knowledge and history of the city. The world, really. Only the regular mortals consider it myth, rather than reality. And the way we preserve those artefact makes them worth an absolute fortune outside of Highvale. So, occasionally, some people try to nab something. The thief grabbed a small chest of historically relevant items—weapons, armor. It was retrieved relatively recently and still being processed by the archivist, which means that the weapons weren’t stored with dangerous items.”
I was surprised to hear her expound, expecting a two-word answer, probably grunted.
