He laughed. Most of the office. How bad is it?
Two days a week with Sanabalis.
He raised a brow.
With Lord Sanabalis.
Better. Isnt that the same schedule you were on before the situation in the fiefs? You both survived that.
Mostly. I think he broke a few chairs.
Hed have to. Severn grinned. Gods couldnt break that table.
It was true. The table in the West Roomwhich had been given a much more respectful name before Marcuss time, which meant Kaylin had no idea what it waswas harder than most sword steel. Three nights of off-duty time with the etiquette teacher.
Nights?
She nodded grimly.
Is the teacher someone the Hawks can afford to piss off?
I hope so.
Whos teaching?
I dont know. It doesnt actually say.
Where?
She grimaced. The Imperial Palace.
He winced in genuine sympathy. Im surprised Lord Grammayre approved this.
Kaylin was not known for her love of high society. The Hawklord was not known for his desire to have Kaylin and high society anywhere in the same room. Or city block. Which meant the dictate had come from someone superior to the Hawklord.
Its not optional, Kaylin said glumly. And the worst part is, if I pass, I probably get to do something big. Like meet the Emperor.
Id like to be able to say that wont kill you.
You couldnt, with a straight face.
He shrugged. When do you start?
Two days. I meet SanabalisLord Sanabalisfor Magical Studies
Magical Studies? Does it actually say that?
Those are the exact words. Dont look at me, I didnt write itin the afternoon tomorrow. She dropped the schedule into her locker with as much care as she generally dropped dirty towels.
Elani street was not a hub of activity in the morning. It wasnt exactly deserted, but it was quiet, and the usual consumers of love potions and extracts to combat baldness, impotence, and unwanted weight were lingering on the other side of storefronts. Remembering her mood the last time shed walked this beat, Kaylin took care not to knock over offending sandwich boards. On the other hand, she also took the same care not to read them.
Kaylin?
Hmm? She was looking at the cross section of charms in a small case in one windowMortimers Magnificent Magicand glanced at her partners reflection in the glass.
Youre rubbing your arms.
She looked down and realized he was right. Theyre sort of itchy, she said.
He raised one brow. Sort of itchy?
The marks that adorned most of the insides of her arms were, like the ones that covered her inner thighs and half of her back, weather vanes for magic. Kaylin hesitated. It doesnt feel the way it normally does when theres strong magic. Itstheyre just sort of itchy.
And theyve never been like that before.
She frowned. Shed had fleas once, while cat-sitting for an elderly neighbor. The itch wasnt quite the same, but it was similar.
She started to tell him as much, and was interrupted midsentence by someone screaming.
It was, as screams went, a joyful, ecstatic sound, which meant their hands fell to their clubs without drawing them. But theylike every other busybody suddenly crowding the streetsturned at the sound of the voice. It was distinctly male, and probably a lot higher than it normally was. Bouncing a glance between each other, they shrugged and headed toward the noise.
The scream slowly gathered enough coherence to form words, and the words, to Kaylins surprise, had something to do with hair. And having hair. When they reached the small wagon set up on the streetand Kaylin made a small note to check for permits, as that was one of the Dragon Emperors innovations on tax collectionthe crowds had formed a thin wall.
The people who lived above the various shops in Elani street had learned, with time and experience, to be enormously cynical. Exposure to every promise of love, hair, or sexual prowess known to manor woman, for that mattertended to have that effect, as did the more esoteric promise to tease out the truth about the future and your destined greatness in it. They had pretty much heardand seenit all.
And given the charlatans who masqueraded as merchants on much of the street, both the permanent residents and the officers of the Law who patrolled it knew that it wasnt beyond them to hire an actor to suddenly be miraculously cured of baldness, impotence, or blindness.
Kaylin assumed that the man who was almost crying in joy was one of these actors. But if he was, he was damn good. She started to ask him his name, stopped as he almost hugged her, and then turned to glance at the merchant whose wagon this technically was.
He lookedslack-jawed and surprised. He didnt even bother to school his expression, which clearly meant he was new to this. Not new to fleecing people, she thought sourly, just new to success. When he took a look at the Hawk that sat dead center on her tabard, he straightened up, and the slack lines of his face tightened into something that might have looked like a grinon a corpse.
Officer, he said, in that loud, booming voice that demanded attention. Or witnesses. How can I help you on this fine morning? He had to speak loudly, because the man was continuing his loud, joyful exclamations.
Id like to see your permits, Kaylin replied. She spoke clearly and calmly, but her voice traveled about as far as it would have had she shouted. It was one of the more useful things shed learned in the Halls of Law. She held out one hand.
But thatsthats outrageous!
Take it up with the Emperor, Kaylin replied, although she did secretly have some sympathy for the man. Or the merchants guild, as they supported it.
I am a member in good standing of the guild, and I can assure you
She lifted a hand. Its not technically illegal for you to claim to be a member in good standing of a guild, she told him, keeping her voice level, but lowering it slightly. But if youre new here, its really, really stupid to claim to be a member of the merchants guild if youre not. Glancing at his wagon, which looked well serviced but definitely aged, she shrugged.
I am not new to the city, the man replied. But Ive been traveling to far lands in order to bring the citizens of Elantra the finest, the most rare, of mystical unguents and
And you still need a permit to sell them here, or in any of the market streets or their boundaries. She turned. Lifting her voice, she said, Okay, people, its time to pack it in. Mr.
Stravaganza.
The things people expected her to be able to repeat with a straight damn face. Kaylin stopped herself from either laughing or snorting. Mr. Stravaganza is new enough to the City that hes failed to acquire the proper permits for peddling his wares in the streets. In order to avoid the very heavy fines associated with the lack of permit, he is now closed for business until he makes the journey to the Imperial Tax Offices to acquire said permit.
Severn, on the other hand, was looking at the bottle hed casually picked up from the makeshift display. It was small, long, and stoppered. The merchant started to speak, and then stopped the words from falling out of his mouth. Please, Officer, he said to Severn. My gift to a man who defends our city. He even managed to say this with a more or less straight face.
Severn nodded and carefully pocketed the bottle. As he already had a headful of hair, Kaylin waited while the merchant packed up and started moving down the street. Then she looked at her partner. What gives? she said, gesturing toward his pocket.
I dont know, was the unusually serious reply. But that man wasnt acting. Id be willing to bet that he actually thinks the fact that he now has hair is due to the contents of this bottle.
You cant believe that, she said, voice flat.
Severn shrugged. Lets just make sure Mr. Stravaganza crosses the border of our jurisdiction. When hes S.E.P., we can continue our rounds.
The wagon made it past the borders and into the realm of Somebody Elses Problem without further incident. Kaylin and Severn did not, however, make it to the end of their shift in the same way. They corrected their loose pattern of patrol once they returned to the street; as the day had progressed, Elani had become more crowded. This was normal.
Some of the later arrivals were very richly clothed, and came in fine carriages, disembarking with the help of their men; some wore clothing that had been too small a year ago, with patches at elbows and threads of different colors around cuffs and shoulders.
All of them, rich, poor, and shades in between, sought the same things. At a distance, Kaylin saw one carriage stop before the doors of Margot. Margot, with her flame-red hair, her regal and impressive presence, and her damn charisma. Margots storefront was, like the woman whose name was plastered in gold leaf across the windows, dramatic and evenKaylin admitted grudginglyattractive. It implied wealth, power, and a certain spare style.
To Kaylin, it also heavily implied fraudbut it wasnt the type of fraud for which the woman could be thrown in jail.
The doors opened and the unknown but obviously well-heeled woman entered the shop. This wasnt unusual, and at least the woman in question had the money to throw away; far too many of the clientele that frequented Elani street in various shades of desperation didnt.
Severn gave Kaylin a very pointed look, and she shrugged. Shes got the money. No ones going hungry if she throws it away on something stupid. She started to walk, forcing Severn to fall in beside her. Her own feelings about most of Elanis less genuine merchants were well-known.
She slowed, and after a moment she added, I know there are worse things, Severn. Im trying.
His silence was a comfortable silence; she fit into it, and he let her. But they hadnt reached the corner before they heard shouting, and they glanced once at each other before turning on their heels and heading back down the street.
The well-dressed woman who had entered Margots was in the process of leaving it in high, high dudgeon. Margot waseven at this distancean unusual shade of pale that almost looked bad with her hair. Kaylin tried not to let the momentary pettiness of satisfaction distract her, and failed miserably; Margot was demonstrably still healthy, her store was still in one piece, and at this distance it didnt appear that any Imperial Laws had been broken.
Please, Lady, Margot was saying. I assure you
I am done with your assurances, Margot, was the icy reply. The woman turned, caught sight of the Hawks, and drew herself to her full height. Officers, she said coldly. I demand that you arrest thisthis womanfor slander.
While we would dearly love to arrest this woman in the course of our duties, Kaylin said carefully, most of what she says is confined to private meetings. Nor is what she says to her clients maliciouslyor at least publiclyspread.
No? The woman still spoke as if winter were language. She spokein public
I spoke in private, Margot said quickly. In the confines of my own establishment
You spoke in front of your other clients, the woman snapped. When my father hears of this, you will be finished here, do you understand? You will be languishing in the Imperial jail!
It was too much to hope that she would climb the steps to the open door of her carriage and leave. She turned once again to Kaylin; Severn was, as usual, enjoying the advantage of having kept his mouth shut. It was a neat trick, and Kaylin wishedfor the thousandth timethat she could learn it. Or, rather, had already learned it.
You will arrest thisthis charlatan immediately.
Maam, we need to have something to arrest her for.
Ive already told you
You havent told us what she said, Kaylin replied. Given the heightening of color across the womans cheeks, the fact that this was required seemed to further enrage her.
Do you know who I am?
It was the kind of question that Kaylin most hated, and it was the chief reason that her duties were not supposed to take her anywhere where it could, with such genuine outrage, be asked. No, maam, Im afraid I havent had the privilege.
Her eyes rounded, and out of the corner of her eye, Kaylin saw that Margot was wincing.
Who, may I ask, are you? the woman now said.
Private Neya, of the Hawks.
And you are somehow supposed to be responsible for safeguarding the people of this fair city when you clearly fail to recognize something as significant as the crest upon this carriage?
Kaylin opened her mouth to reply, but a reply was clearly no longer desiredor acceptable.
Very well, Private. I will speak with Lord Grammayre myself. She spoke very clear, pointed High Barrani to her driver, and then stomped her way up the step and into the carriage. Had she been responsible for closing its door herself, it would have probably shattered. As it was, the footman did a much more careful job.
They watched the carriage drive away.
I suppose theres not much chance that shes just going to go home and stew? she asked Severn.
No.
Is she important enough to gain immediate audience with the Hawklord?
Margot sputtered before Severn could answer, but that was fine. Severns expression was pretty damn clear. She is Lady Alyssa of the Larienne family. Did you truly not recognize her?
Larienne. Larienne. Like most of the wealthy families in Elantra, they sported a mock-Barrani name. Something about it was familiar. Go on.
Her father is Garavan Larienne, the head of the family. He is also the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Kaylin turned to Severn. How bad is it going to be?
Oh, probably a few inches of paper on Marcuss desk.
She wilted. All right, Margot. Since Im going to be on report in a matter of hours
Hour, Severn said quietly.
What the hell did you say that offended her so badly?
Id prefer not to repeat it.
Kaylin sourly told her what she could do with her preferences.
So let me get this straight. Lady Alyssa comes to you for advice about her love life
She is Garavans only daughter. Margot was now subdued. She was still off her color. And shes been a client for only a few months. She is, of course, concerned with her greater destiny.
Im not. What Im concerned with is the statement Corporal Handred has taken from some of your other clients. You told Lady Alyssa that her father was going to be charged with embezzlement, and the family fortunes would be in steep decline? You?