Chapter Sixteen
The next morning, a servant knocked on my door and told me that the Chief Mage required my presence in the audience chamber for an important meeting. Groaning, I dragged myself out of bed and made myself as presentable as I could – I’d spent most of the night tossing and turning, my mind replaying my outing with Iannis over and over.
As soon as we’d gotten into the cab, Iannis had dropped the illusion, and along with it the lax, easygoing manner he’d adopted in his human guise. I’d plied him with questions about how he’d blended in with the humans so easily and why, even though he seemed to acknowledge the importance and validity of technology, he didn’t really use it in his palace, but he blew me off and told me to be quiet. He’d spent most of the time staring pensively out the window, and I’d left him alone.
Hopefully, whatever had been going through his mind last night would result in positive action this morning.
When I arrived at the audience chamber, I was surprised to see Captain Galling of the Enforcer’s Guild there, along with three other people I didn’t know. Iannis was standing behind his desk, and I caught a glimpse of Fenris standing next to him in wolf form, his bushy brown tail sticking out from behind the stone desk.
“Miss Baine.” The Chief Mage nodded at me in greeting. “I’d like to introduce you to Lalia Chen, the future Director of the Mage’s Guild, and her apprentice, Benalin Liu.” He gestured to the two mages on his right.
“Pleased to meet you, Miss Baine.” Director Chen nodded at me, and I automatically returned the gesture. She was a beautiful woman, with ivory skin and a head full of fine, glossy dark hair that was pulled back from her oval face into a ponytail. Her willowy form was clothed in deep red robes embroidered in gold and tied with a sash at her trim waist. The apprentice, a slender man with close-cropped dark hair, bowed, though hesitantly. The look in his glittering eyes told me he wasn’t at all happy about having to show deference to someone like me.
“And you as well,” I told the Director, too surprised to remember to be snarky. I didn’t recognize either of these mages from the party, which meant they had to be from somewhere outside of Solantha. Their accents placed them as Northian, though they clearly were both of Garian ancestry. Had Iannis actually intended on picking a replacement from any of the mages who’d been to the banquet? Or was there some other reason he’d called them all together that night that I wasn’t aware of? “I hadn’t realized a replacement had been found so quickly.”
Director Chen smiled slightly. “My appointment is not yet official,” she said in a quiet voice that was like river water flowing over smooth pebbles – deceptively calm with a hidden strength behind it. “Lord Iannis wishes to test me first, before officially instating me.”
“Well, that makes sense.” I turned to the third man, who wore the same blue uniform as all the other Privacy Guard employees, except that he had gold epaulets on his shoulders and the sword swinging from his hip was more fancy than others I’d seen.
“I’m guessing you’re Privacy Guard’s Regional Director for Solantha?” Privacy Guard was a worldwide company, and each branch had a Director that oversaw the operations for that particular location.
“I am.” The Regional Director inclined his shining head of black hair, a little stiffly. His dark blue eyes were as hard as his face, his thin lips showing no emotion. He turned to Iannis. “Are we ready to proceed with this meeting now that the girl is here, my Lord?”
The Chief Mage’s violet eyes flashed. “The ‘girl’, as you so daringly put it, is my apprentice, Mr. Channing,” he said, and the Regional Director’s cheeks flushed. “I expect you to treat her with the respect befitting her station.”
I opened my mouth to protest, not at all sure I liked where this was going – sure, I wanted to be respected just as much as anyone else, but on my own terms and not because of my association with the Chief Mage. But the Regional Director apologized before I could say anything, and Iannis took that as a sign the meeting could get underway.
“It has come to my attention these past few days that the people I depend upon have not all been doing their jobs,” the Chief Mage said. He pinned each person in the room with a penetrating stare, and though not one moved a muscle, the air thickened with tension. “Amongst other things, the last Director was not passing on crucial reports to me, instead choosing to handle things as he saw fit, which is why he is being replaced.” He gestured to Chen, who inclined her head fractionally.
“However,” the Chief Mage continued. “I have been going through the reports myself, and there are still important issues that are not being passed through the correct channels. For example,” he turned his hawk-like gaze on Captain Galling, “I should have found out about this drug issue from you, not the Herald.” He picked up a copy of the paper I’d slapped on his desk yesterday, and something inside me warmed. Finally, someone was taking this seriously!
Captain Galling’s cheeks reddened as his eyes flickered over the headline. “The papers are just speculating,” he argued. “My main crew has been investigating the rumors, and I planned on sending a full report as soon as I had more concrete information –”
“Which would be never,” I interrupted, folding my arms. Captain Galling slashed a glare my way, and I pushed away the tremor of fear in my belly – he might be my boss as an Enforcer, but Iannis outranked him. “The Main Crew only put their attention on jobs that result in bounties, and usually go after the easiest ones. Since investigating rumors pays exactly zilch, I think it’s safe to say I’ll be cold in my grave by the time they get around to it.”
“How dare you –”
“Captain Galling,” the Chief Mage interrupted. “Is this true?”
The Captain snapped his mouth shut and turned his frigid gaze back to Iannis. “It is true that the Main Crew isn’t getting paid for the task,” he said finally. “That isn’t how our reward structure works – we pay per head.”
“Well, it sounds like you need to come up with some better incentives, and perhaps a better Crew,” the Chief Mage said firmly. “I’ll give you one week to sort it out, and I’ll be coming by to inspect things at the Enforcer’s Guild myself. If I don’t like what I see, I’m afraid I’ll have to replace you.”
“Yes, sir.” Captain Galling clenched his jaw. My insides squirmed as he shot me a hateful glare out of the corner of his eye, but I stiffened my shoulders and lifted my chin. I knew well enough that sometimes you had to make enemies in order to get anything done around here – it seemed that was all I was doing these days. Though Captain Galling wasn’t the worst of the lot, things had still fallen down under his watch, and he needed to be held accountable for it.
“Good.” The Chief Mage turned to Director Chen. “I want you and your apprentice to spend the next week gathering intelligence in the city, incognito. I went out myself last night and there is a significant amount of discontent. I want you to adopt different guises to suit whichever communities you are in, and report everything you hear back to me.”
Director Chen blinked, but otherwise managed to cover her surprise. “As you wish,” she said, bowing, and her apprentice followed suit. I was impressed at how graciously she accepted the assignment, which would normally be delegated far below her on the chain of command – but then, she did have to prove herself. “We will leave right away.”
The others filed out of the room, leaving Iannis, Fenris, and myself behind. As the double doors closed, Fenris changed from wolf to human form. He leaned his hip against the desk casually, as if we were in the study or in the Chief Mage’s private chambers rather than the more formal audience room.
Iannis arched a brow. “I assume you have something to say?”
Fenris nodded. “I would like to conduct a parallel investigation myself, with Sunaya’s help.”
The Chief Mage’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not certain that is an appropriate use of my apprentice’s time,” he said. “We already spent a significant amount of time investig
ating last night.” His eyes flickered as he slanted his gaze toward me. Heat curled in my belly as I remembered how casual he’d been, and the way his body had felt against mine. I broke contact before the warmth spread to my cheeks, not wanting him to know I was still affected by the memory.
“Perhaps, but we both know this situation has been weighing on her mind since before she got here, and her knowledge and connections could be useful,” Fenris insisted. “I will be with her the whole time, so it is not as if she’ll be without protection.”
The Chief Mage pondered this for a long moment before he finally spoke, looking at me. “Give me your hands.”
My pulse spiked. “Why?”
He didn’t answer, just held his hands out, palms up, in a gesture that was becoming familiar. Sighing, I placed my hands in his, wondering what kind of magical diagnostic he was going to run on me this time.
A bolt of energy lanced through me, and I gasped as a current of magic passed through us, like an electrical circuit being completed. Iannis’s eyes glowed as he looked down at me, and I imagined that I was glowing too – the amount of magical energy emanating from my center was so great I could probably power an entire grid block.
Eventually the magical surge died off, but the circle within my chest seemed to burn a little brighter. “Did… did you just increase my power level?” I asked, my voice more breathless than I would have liked.
“I did.” He held my gaze for a long moment, then seemed to remember himself and dropped my hands. “You’re ready, and I want you to be able to defend yourself with your magic if need be.” He hesitated. “Come back safely.”
For once, I actually smiled at him. “Don’t worry,” I said as I followed Fenris out the door. “I’ll make sure to come back in one piece. Someone needs to be around to keep you on your toes.”
As I closed the door behind me, I could swear I caught a glimpse of a smile on his lips.
“I am not getting on that thing.”
I stared in amazement as Fenris folded his arms across his broad chest and tucked his chin in. There was no other word for it – the man was pouting.
“Yes, you are,” I said calmly, offering him my spare helmet for the third time. “It’ll be faster if we take the steambike.”
His boxy jaw tightened as he glared at my steambike, his yellow eyes scouring every surface of the gleaming black and steel frame as if hoping to find some grave flaw. “Those things are dangerous,” he snapped. “I don’t have any problem taking a few extra minutes between destinations if it means my life.”
I rolled my eyes. “Quit being such a baby.” I shoved my spare helmet into his chest, and he grabbed it instinctively before it fell to the ground. “I’m an excellent rider, so you’ll be fine. If it makes you feel better I’ll make like I’m a little old lady, okay?”
“You’re not a little old lady,” he muttered, but he put on the helmet, which did a lot to cover his scowl. Shaking my head, I put my own helmet on and straddled the bike. I waited until he was in position behind me before I started it up and peeled off into the street.
“Fenris,” I snapped mentally as Fenris’s arms tightened with bruising force around my waist. “You’re crushing my ribs here!”
“You said you were going to drive like an old granny!” Fenris whined as I careened around a corner where a stately villa perched. A female mage in long, pink robes snatched her toddler up from the dirt at the sight of me, her beautiful face pinched in a disapproving scowl. I grinned at her through my visor even though I doubted she could see, and waved at the little girl.
“Clearly you and I have different ideas about what old-granny-driving is like,” I retorted, more to be petty than anything else. But I slowed down a little now that we were approaching traffic and unwieldy steamcars began to clog up the streets.
Ten minutes later, we pulled up outside the Enforcer’s Guild building in Rowanville. I parked the bike outside the tall, stained grey building with its cracked windows, and waited for Fenris to regain his footing before we went inside.
“I’m taking a cab home,” he snapped as we walked through the thick steel double doors. His tanned complexion had gone a little pale. “That was horrific.”
I slapped him on the back. “Aww, c’mon,” I said cheerfully. “You’ll get used to it.” Truthfully, though, I found his reaction a bit strange – we shifters, as a species, don’t fear much, and even though we don’t all ride steambikes, it isn’t because we’re afraid of them. I wasn’t sure what his deal was.
The Enforcer trainees who’d been stuck on front desk duty glanced up as we entered, their eyes widening as they caught sight of me. I ignored their gaping stares, and led Fenris past them and into the waiting room. Our footsteps rang against the cracked tile as we traversed the wide space, past visitors sitting on ratty couches drinking cups of bad coffee and munching on stale sandwiches. Most of these people were here to see an Enforcer about a case regarding a loved one – others, like the tattooed, emaciated human slouched in an armchair, were here to be questioned.
“We’re going to see the Main Crew?” Fenris asked as I strode up to the bank of elevators and punched the call button.
I nodded. “I’m hoping Nila and Brin will be there, at least.” I wanted to knock them around a bit for not working harder on solving Roanas’s murder, and I also wanted to find out what they’d done with my weapons.
We took the rickety elevator up to the third floor, where the Main Crew’s offices were – and by offices, I meant a huge open space with drab grey walls and carpet scattered with cheap plywood desks and chairs that would turn your ass to stone if you sat in them too long.
Since Enforcers hated paperwork, there were few people at their desks, but the ones that were here lifted their heads to stare at me. Some of the stares were curious, some disdainful, and others downright green with jealousy. The jealous gazes were mostly from the few low-level mage Enforcers – they would all kill to be the Chief Mage’s apprentice, I knew, and it wouldn’t matter to them that I hadn’t asked for the position.
I scanned the desks for Brin and Nila, but there was no sign of them. Bastards were probably avoiding me on purpose.
“Hey Baine,” a blond Enforcer in the back sneered. “Nice of you to join us again. You finally tired of living it up in Solantha Place?”
“Fuck off, Widler.” I paused to glare at him. “I’ve been out like, a day and a half now. Sorry if I bruised your tender little heart by not coming to visit right away.”
“Oh I don’t know that my heart’s the one that’s bruised.” Widler rose from his beat up metal chair and leaned his hip on his desk, a snide grin on his handsome face. He stroked the five o’clock shadow dusting his jaw as he regarded me with sharp green eyes that weren’t at all friendly – but then, he was part of the Main Crew. “It’s the Foreman you’ve really stuck it to. You should’ve known better than to go tattling to the Chief Mage about us. He’s gonna make your life a living hell.”
“Now that’s where you’re wrong, Widler.” I stepped right up into his space, shoving my face into his, and his green eyes widened a little. “I’m here to make his life a living hell – in fact, all of your lives a living hell, for sitting here on your lazy asses instead of getting out there on the streets and finding out who’s behind the drug trafficking and the silver murders.” I held up a hand and let a trickle of magic flow into my palm, which burst into crackling blue-green flame. “Wanna know what your flesh smells like when it’s on fire?”
Widler’s nostrils flared in outrage, his green eyes narrowing on me. “You wouldn’t dare,” he hissed as I gave him a fang-toothed grin, but I could smell the beads of sweat trickling from his pores. “Not in front of witnesses.”
I shrugged. “How do you know I can’t do some kind of magic spell to make them all forget?” I reached out with my flaming hand until it was close enough to singe his sideburns. “After all, I’m apprenticed to one of the most powerful mages in the country.”
�
�F-fuck off.” Widler stumbled back until his hips hit the desk.
“Sunaya.” Fenris’s hand was on my shoulder, a combination of amusement and alarm in his deep voice. “I think you’ve made your point.”
“I dunno. I think he’s still being a dick.” I shrugged, but extinguished the flame. “Truth is, though, I don’t have time to stand around here and shoot the shit with you, Widler. I’m here to see the Foreman… and you’re coming with me,” I decided on the spur of the moment.
I grabbed his ear and dragged him across the room, ignoring his yelps as I made my way to the Crew Foreman’s office – the only real office on this floor, a corner room encased in concrete walls that were newer than the actual building and featured a long, glass door. The blinds were open, so I could see the Foreman was in there, his dark head ducked down as he hunched over his desk, poring over some report. I kicked open the door, and he jerked up, splashing coffee from the mug in his hands all over his desk.
“Baine!” he barked, his swarthy features contorting with fury as he grabbed for a tissue to mop up the spill. His eyes narrowed as he caught sight of Widler, whose ear was still firmly in my grasp. “How dare you show up in my office like this!”
“Oww, oww, oww, oww, oww!” Widler finally yanked his ear from my grip, and scurried to hide behind his Lord and Master. He glared daggers at me from behind the Foreman’s black leather chair, which was a hell of a lot nicer than any of the other chairs outside his office. His desk was solid wood, too, and he had some nice-looking weapons displayed on the walls, along with several paintings of half-naked women in provocative poses. I twisted my mouth at the sight – each time a new crew foreman took the office, they got to redecorate it however they liked, but this definitely crossed a line.
“Foreman Vance.” I propped my hip up on the corner of his desk – something I would have never had the balls to do before. I jerked my thumb to the largest painting on the wall, of a dark-skinned Sandian lying on a bed of rose petals. Her sari was half undone, exposing her nipples, and she stared provocatively out of the painting through long-lashed, half-lidded eyes rimmed with kohl. “This what you jerk off to on your lunch break every afternoon?”
Burned by Magic: a New Adult Fantasy Novel (The Baine Chronicles Book 1) Page 18
