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?
Margot opened her mouth, and nothing fell out of it. Kaylin had often daydreamed about Margot at a loss for words; this wasnt exactly how shed hoped it would come about.
I Margot shook her head. I had no intention of saying any such thing, Her fathers business is not her business, and she doesnt ask about him.
Then what in the hells possessed you to do it now?
Sheshe sat in her normal chair, and she asked me ifif I had any further insight into her particular situation.
And that was your answer? Come on, Margot. Youve been running this placesuccessfullyfor too damn many years to just open your mouth and offend someone you consider important.
That was my answer, was the stiff reply. I feltstrange, Private. I felt as ifI could see what would happen. As if it were unfolding before my eyes. I didnt mean to speak the words. The words just came. She spoke very softly, even given the lack of actual customers in her storefront; she had sent them, quietly, on their way. Apparently, whatever it was that was coming out of her mouth was not to be trusted, and she was willing to lose a full days worth of income to make sure it didnt happen again.
So. A cure for baldness that workedinstantlyand a fortune-tellers trick that might also be genuine.
Id keep that last to yourself.
She shrugged. I think its time we visited all of the damn shops on Elani, door-to-door, and had a little talk with the proprietors.
Severn, who didnt dislike Margot as much as Kaylin, had been both less amused at her predicament and less amused by the two incidents than Kaylin. Kaylin let her brain catch up with her sense of humor, and the grin slowly faded from her face, as well. Come on, she told him.
Where are we starting?
Evantons. If were lucky, thatll take up the remainder of the shift, and then some. Im not looking forward to signing out tonight.
CHAPTER 2
Evantons apprentice, Grethan, opened the door before Kaylin managed to touch it. He looked as if he hadnt slept in three days, and judging from his expression, Kaylin and Severn were part of his waking nightmare.
Are you shutting up for the day? Kaylin asked, keeping her voice quiet and low.
He looked confused, and then shook himself. No, he told her. I was justgoing out. For a walk, he added quickly.
She didnt ask him how Evanton was; hed pretty much already answered that question. But she did walk into the cluttered, gloomy front room, and she stopped as she crested the opening between two cases of shelving. The light here was brilliant.
Evanton was wearing his usual apron, and it was decorated with the usual pins and escapee threads of the variety of materials with which he worked. But his eyes were, like the lights in the room, a little too bright. He glanced at her, his hands pulling thread through a thick, dark fabric that lay in a drape across his spindly lap. I was wondering, he said, although it was somewhat muffled, given the pins between his lips, when you would show up.
The Garden
Oh, the Gardens fine. Whatever you did in the fiefs a couple of weeks ago was enough to calm it. It looks normal. No, the Garden is not your problem. He removed the pins and stuck them carefully into one of a half-dozen oddly shaped pincushions by his left arm. Ive almost finished with your cloak, he added, if you want to try it on.
She had the grace to redden. Not now, she told him. Im on duty.
He raised a brow. Have you two been on patrol all morning?
Kaylin nodded.
Notice anything unusual?
She nodded again, but this time more slowly. Note to self: visit Evantons first, next time youre in Elani. What is it, Evanton? Were just about to make a sweep of the street to see if anything else unusual turns up.
I hope youve got a lot of time, the old man replied. He rose and folded the cloth in his lap into a careful bundle. Id offer you tea, but the boys forgotten to fill the bucket.
I can fill it
No. That wont be necessary.
She frowned.
Its not only in the rest of the street that the unusual is occurring, he told her. This morning, when he came in with the water, the water started to speak to him.
Evanton
Yes. He was born deaf, by the standards of the Thaalani. He has always been mind deaf, but he is still Thaalani by birth. In the Elemental Garden, he can hear the waters voice, and through it, some echo of the voice of his people. This is the first time its happened outside of the Garden, and the water was in buckets. It is not, sadly, still in those buckets. I cant get him to drink a glass of water at the moment. He sits and stares at it instead. He frowned. I had heard rumors that you were studying magic with Lord Sanabalis.
From who?
Private, please. I gather from your sour expression that the rumors are true. You might wish to speak with Lord Sanabalis about the events on Elani at your earliest convenience. If we are lucky, he will be unaware of the difficulties you might encounter.
And if were not?
He will already know, and it will mean that the difficulties are present across a much wider area of the city.
What will it mean to him?
What it should mean to you, if youve been studying for any length of time, was the curt reply. But Evanton did relent. There has been a significant and sudden shift in the magical potential of an area that is at least as broad as Elani.
Kaylin froze. Severn, are you thinking what Im thinking?
Im thinking that our sample sizeof threeis more than enough for the day. We should return to the office immediately.
Evanton frowned, although with his face it was sometimes difficult to tell. Something unusual happened outside of the confines of this particular neighborhood.
Yes. An enchantment laid against some of the windows in the Halls of Law has developed a more commanding and distinct personality than it possessed a few days ago.
Evanton closed his eyes. Go, Private, Corporal. Speak with the Hawklord now.
Speaking with the Hawklord was not at the top of Kaylins list of things to do before the end of her shift. Or at all. He wasthey all wereaware of the shortcomings in an education that didnt include the rich and the powerful on this side of the Ablayne. For one, power in the fiefs usually meant brute force; manners were what you developed when you wanted to avoid pissing off the brute force in question. Marcus had once told her that manners in the rest of Elantra were exactly the same thing, but Kaylin knew they werent. In the fiefs, the best manners were often either silence or total invisibility.
Here, you were actually expected to talk and interact. Without obvious groveling or fawning, and without obvious fear.
Severn caught her hand.
What?
Stop rubbing your arm like that. Youll take your skin off.
Like that would be a bad thing. But she did stop. I should have known, she added. You suspected?
Like that would be a bad thing. But she did stop. I should have known, she added. You suspected?
I wondered.
The Halls loomed in a distance that was growing shorter as they walked; they werent patrolling, so there was no need for a leisurely pace. They also werent running because running Hawks made people nervous.
Tanner took one look at her face and stepped to one side. Trouble? he asked them both.
Possible trouble, Kaylin replied. They breezed through the Aerie and the halls that led to the office that was Kaylins second home. Marcus was at his desk, and he roared when he caught sight of them. Kaylin cringed.
Here. Now.
Only a suicidal idiot would have ignored that tone of voice. Or the claws that were adding new runnels to scant clear desk surface. Both she and Severn made their way to the safe side of his deskthe one he wasnt on. Kaylin lifted her chin, exposing her throat. Marcus actually glowered at it as if he was considering his options; his eyes were a very deep orange, and about as far from his usual golden color as they could get when death wasnt involved.
In your rounds in Elani today did you happen to encounter anyone significant? he growled, his voice on the lower end of the Leontine scale. The office had fallenmostlysilent; total silence would probably occur only in the event of the deaths of everyone in it.
Alyssa Larienne.
Lady Alyssa Larienne. She is the daughter of one of the oldestand wealthiesthuman families in Elantra. Her father is a member of significance in the human Caste Court. Her mother is the daughter of the castelord. If you wanted to make my life more difficult when dealing with the human Caste Court, you couldnt have chosen a better person to offend.
Well, there is her father. This time, Kaylin kept her mouth shut.
I expect there to be a good explanation for this.
I wasnt the one who actually offended her, if that helps.
He snarled, which meant it didnt. What happened?
Shes a client of Margots.
Youre telling mewith a straight face and your job on the linethat Margot offended her.
Yes, sir.
How?
Thats part of why were here
Stick with this part, for now. Report on the rest later.
Yes, sir. She took a deep breath. Lady Alyssa arrived for her usual appointment. Today, Margot chose to tell her that her father, Garavan Larienne, was to be arrested for embezzlement.
Breathing would have made more noise than the combined contents of the office now did.
Let me get this straight. Margot told Alyssa Larienne that the Chancellor of the Exchequer was to be arraigned for embezzlement.
Yes, sir.
And your part in this was?
Lady Alyssa demanded that I arrest Margot for slander. I personally would love to arrest Margot for anything she could possibly
Marcus flexed his claws. Kaylin took this as a sign that she should answer his questions, and only his questions. I asked Lady Alyssa what Margot had said. She declined to repeat it. She did not decline to repeat her demand.
Marcuss eyes were still orange.
She did, however, take offense at the idea that I didnt immediately recognize the crest on her carriage or her own import, since obviously either of those would lead me to arrest Margot on the spot, and said she would take it up with Lord Grammayre personally.
Marcus growled. This is extremely unfortunate. I would like you to request that Margot come into the office for debriefing.
Kaylins jaw nearly dropped. What?
Which part of that sentence wasnt clear?
Severn cleared his throat. When would you like us to request Margots cooperation with the Halls of Law?
After you finish speaking with Lord Grammayre. Youre early, he added, his eyes narrowing. Please tell me there is no other emergency in Elani. Oddly enough, when he said this, his eyes began to shade into a more acceptable bronze.
Severn was notably silent.
It would save me paperwork and ulcers if I just chained you to a desk, Private. Go talk to the Hawklord. Now.
Private, Kaylin whispered, as they walked quickly up the spiral staircase. As if you werent there at all.
You seem to be fairly good at attracting trouble in spite of your assigned partner, Severn replied, with a faint smile.
If Margot has somehow blown things for an ongoing investigation She didnt finish, because they reached the Hawklords tower door. Theyd bypassed his office, but Kaylin didnt expect him to be in his office; he rarely conducted his meetings there. For one, it was as crowded and cluttered as any busy persons office. It also wasnt as imposing as the more austere and architecturally impressive tower itself.
This, Kaylin muttered, as Severn placed his palm firmly across the doorward of the closed tower doors, is worse than magic. This is politics.
On the bright side, Severn replied, as the door swung inward, this is probably making etiquette lessons look a lot more inviting.
The Hawklord was standing in front of his perfect, oval mirror. In and of itself, this was not a bad sign. The mirror, however, reflected no part of the room, which meant he was accessing Records. Kaylin could see nothing but a blank, black surface. He glanced over his shoulder as she and Severn walked into the room, and she stopped almost immediately.
His eyes were blue.
Blue, in the Aerians, like blue in the Barrani, was not a good sign. With luck, it meant anger. With less luck, it meant fury. In either case, it meant tread carefully. Likewise, the Hawklords wings were high above his shoulders. They werent fully extended; they were loosely gathered. Shed seen loosely gathered Aerian wings strike and break bone exactly once.
She offered the Hawklord a perfect salute. Severn, by her side, did likewise.
Alyssa Larienne came to this tower just over an hour ago, he said without preamble. Sergeant Kassan attempted to detain her by taking a detailed report of the incident which had angered her.
Kaylin winced.
As a result she left the Halls some fifteen minutes before your arrival. The Hawklords wings twitched. His eyes were still a very glacial blue. She did not appreciate the filing of an incident report. I was assured that Sergeant Kassan was polite and respectful.
She probably doesnt have much to do with Leontines on a daily basis, Kaylin pointed out. She might not have been able to tell.
That, the Hawklord said, and he did grimace, is my profound hope. What happened in Elani street, Private Neya?
Kaylin stared straight ahead. She wanted to at least look at Severn, because she could read minute changes in his expression well enough to be guided by them. But in the Hawklords current mood that might be career-limiting.
Were not entirely sure, sir. We cut our patrol short to report, she told Lord Grammayre. After we visited Evanton.
The Hawklords face became about as inviting and open as the stone walls that enclosed them. Continue.
There were three incidents in the space of a few hours of which were aware. With your permission, well canvass the merchants and residents of the street tomorrow to see how many others we missed.