Goblin Precinct (Dragon Precinct) (19 page)

But for this interview, Danthres wanted Morenn very much at ease. If that was possible under the circumstances.

Taking the seat next to her, Danthres folded her hands on the battered wooden table, which caused it to tilt slightly. Looking down, she saw that someone had removed the folded over parchment that had been placed under one of the legs to keep the table steady.

Ignoring the wobbly table, she said to Morenn, “First of all, let me apologize for Fanthral.”

“Is he really hunting down lords for the latest attempt at an elven government?”

Danthres nodded. “Believe me, I don’t want him here, either, but our captain forced him on us. It’s bizarre, actually—they fought against each other in the war, and now they act like old friends.”

Morenn regarded her curiously. “I hadn’t realized there were any women in the Castle Guard.”

“And I hadn’t realized there were any women mages. So I suppose we’re even.”

“Are you the only one?”

“No.” Danthres shook her head. “I’m the only one who has rank, however. Most of the ones we do have are assigned to Unicorn Precinct. The crimes there tend to be of a much less violent nature.”

“As if we can’t handle ourselves.” Morenn snorted. “Men may be larger, but women, in my experience, fight nastier.”

Danthres chuckled. “If you don’t mind my asking, how did you become a mage?”

Morenn rolled her eyes. “So many have asked me that. It’s like asking you how you came to have blond hair. It wasn’t as if I had a choice. My facility for magic was obvious early on.” She leaned back in her chair. “I was an orphan in Velessa, raised by Temisan monks. They saw my potential, and trained me as best they could, but religious magic is minor at best, so they sent me to the local brotherhood representative.”

Danthres held up a hand before Morenn could go on. “Let me guess—an old man with a superiority complex, a dismissive tone of voice, and who never even looked at you when he spoke to you?”

That got Morenn to laugh. It was quite musical and pleasant, very much a higher-pitched version of Torin’s. “How
ever
did you know that?”

“Please. We’re on our second brotherhood representative. On the face of it, Gunderson is nothing like Ythran, yet in all the ways that matter, they’re exactly alike.”

Morenn nodded. “In any case, this wizard—his name was Vastar—simply said, ‘Women cannot wield magic,’ and teleported me away. So I went to see him again, this time casting a spell right in front of him. He said that anyone can buy a spell and pretend to cast it. I tried four more times, but he refused to even acknowledge me.” She sighed. “How did you manage it?”

“Well, there’s no actual proviso
against
women in the Castle Guard. It wasn’t easy, mind you, but the fact that I don’t give a shit what anybody thinks of me helps immensely.”

“I can imagine.”

Danthres smiled. “And, to be fair, I had help. Captain Brisban was in charge when I signed on, and he was miserable, but after he died the death he so richly deserved, Osric took over, and he almost immediately promoted me. Ten years later, he considers my partner and I to be his top detectives, and the shitbrains I served with in Goblin back in the day are either still guards or retired or dead.”

“Living well can be a good way to get back at those who wrong you,” Morenn said while nodding sagely. “That’s why I created Bliss.”

Grateful that she had led the conversation there without Danthres having to push it, she asked, “I was going to ask about that. Why
did
you create Bliss?”

She leaned forward again, resting her elbows on the uneven table. “I wanted to prove that my magic could be good for something. It took me
years
—with some help from the Temisan monks, priestesses, and priests—to teach myself magic. One in particular was very helpful, a cleric named Genero.”

Danthres rolled her eyes.

“You know Brother Genero?”

She nodded. “Torin and I handled the murders of Gan Brightblade, Olthar lothSirhans, and—”

“That was
you
?” Morenn went wide-eyed.

“Yes, it was us,” Danthres said pointedly. While she knew damn well how good she was, she also knew that she was better with Torin—and, conversely, that he was better with her. “Genero spent most of the time hindering our investigation.”

Morenn grinned. “Let me guess—he thought he was doing it for your own good?” At Danthres’s nod, Morenn said, “Of course. I’ll always be grateful to Brother Genero for his aid, but he is a bit full of himself.”

“A bit? He’s so full of himself, there are practically two of him. He and what remained of that little band of heroes didn’t even leave town until after midsummer, and before they did . . .” Danthres shuddered at the memory.

“In any case,” Morenn said, “I simply wished to prove that magic could be used to help people, and that I could make a contribution.”

Danthres stared at her. “
That
was your goal?”

“Of course. I wanted to give people something that would make them happy.”

“Yes, so happy that they continue to take the drug in higher and higher quantities until they can’t handle it anymore.” Danthres tried to keep the harshness out of her voice, but the thought of Hawk made that hard.

Wincing, Morenn at least had the good grace to sound abashed. “I know, I know. I’m
trying
to perfect it, and I’m getting close, but I need the right components. Once we get the money from Gavin—”

“Gavin?”

“It was a deal Kempog brokered with that sycophant of his, Urgoth.” Morenn shuddered, not hiding the contempt she felt for her partner in drug distribution. “Gavin was going to take a massive shipment onto the sea. He’s supposed to pay us today, actually.”

Danthres stood up, not willing to let Morenn see her anger just yet. With that one name, the wizard managed to piss away a great deal of the good will Danthres had toward her.

Then she turned around, and Morenn recoiled from the fury in Danthres’s expression as if the lieutenant had slapped her.

“Do you know how Gavin was raising that coin?”

“I don’t—”

“He robbed the Cliff’s End Bank. Three robberies, in fact, just to pay for that big package of your precious drug. His third robbery, though, was somewhat less successful, and it ended with both Gavin and one of my fellow lieutenants being killed.”

“What?” The word came out of Morenn’s mouth as a croak. “Gavin’s dead?”

“As is a detective in the Guard—and my friend.”

Morenn blinked several times. “Lieutenant, I’m sorry, truly—I had no idea that Gavin was stealing the money, and I certainly had no idea it would lead to two deaths.”

“Oh, more than that. Fanthral out there has a burr in his armor because he’s supposed to bring Elthor lothSerra back to elf country. But he can’t, because lothSerra took a considerable amount of Bliss, and then died. That, by the way, is how you were found out. If the ODs had continued to be people nobody important cared about, our M.E. would never have even known that Bliss was created with magic. But an elf lord died, so now we’re all hip-deep in shit.”

For several seconds, there was silence, except for the now-heavy breathing of Morenn, who was visibly upset by what Danthres had told her.

“Lieutenant, again, I’m sorry. None of this was what I intended. I’ll be happy to turn myself in, and be tried on whatever charges there might be as relates to your friend’s death and the theft at the bank.”

“Would that it were that simple.” Danthres started to pace the interrogation room. “The problem, Morenn, is that the Brotherhood of Wizards wants two things. The first is for you to eliminate all traces of Bliss.”

The wizard’s mouth fell open. “That’s not possible.”

“Really? I was under the impression that all spells can be counteracted.”

Morenn nodded. “All right, it’s
possible
, but it’s a spectacularly bad idea. If I do that, the city-state will be overrun with depressed people desperate for more Bliss, and getting incredibly sick from withdrawal.”

“Wonderful.” Danthres rolled her eyes. “Somehow, I doubt that the brotherhood knows about that—or cares.”

“You and I both know they don’t.” Morenn sighed. “What’s the second thing they want?”

Danthres pointed at Morenn. “You. Back in those restraints. Probably to ‘deal with’ you.”

Another shudder. “I’d rather stay here and face your magistrate’s justice. I’m willing to admit that I was culpable in what happened with Gavin, and I’ll accept whatever punishment is deemed acceptable. Better that than face the brotherhood.”

Now Danthres just stared incredulously. “Are you
that
naïve? Do you honestly think that you—or I—have a
choice
here?”

“There’s always a choice, Lieutenant.”

“Yes, and you made yours when you decided to train as a wizard. It’s not like it’s a secret that the
Brother
hood of Wizards doesn’t allow women. And you also
chose
to market a drug that, by your own admission just a couple of minutes ago, you haven’t perfected yet. I went to the body shop the other day, and it is piled high and deep with Bliss ODs.”

Tightly, Morenn said, “I have already told you, Lieutenant, I will accept the consequences of that action.”

“And what of the other actions? You were told that the brotherhood wouldn’t allow you to practice magic. In fact, you were—again, by your own admission to me just a few minutes ago—told
several times
. Yet you went ahead anyhow.”

“Because the exclusion of women from practicing magic is ridiculous!” Morenn punctuated her point by slamming her palm on the table.

“Yes, of
course
, it’s ridiculous. The world is quite well filled with ridiculous rules and laws and traditions, and sometimes it’s necessary to protest them and declare their ridiculousness for all to see.” Danthres walked over to the table and put her hands on it, leaning in to stare closely at Morenn. “But you also have to accept that such actions may have very serious consequences.”

They stared at each other for several seconds. Danthres saw fear building in Morenn’s eyes. She had obviously known intellectually what she had done, but now she was
feeling
what she’d done, right down to her bones.

Finally, Morenn whispered, “You can’t turn me over to the brotherhood.”

“Really?” Danthres straightened and barked a bitter laugh. “I’ve tried defying the brotherhood in the past, and it’s never ended well for me. I’ve also seen them get what they want more often than not.”

Morenn sat up straight. “When have they not gotten what they wanted?”

Smirking, Danthres said, “Like any organization, they have their issues. But they’re very powerful, and their reach is long.” She sat down and put a gloved hand on Morenn’s hands, currently resting on her lap. “Look, Morenn, I have no wish to turn you over to those sanctimonious shitbrains, but I don’t see that I have any choice. Do you?”

Silence greeted Danthres’s question.

EIGHTEEN

UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES, LADY MEERKA WOULD HAVE avoided this meeting at all costs.

She absolutely detested dealing with the politics of running the city-state. It always involved personalities and politeness and knowing who to snub and who to be nice to and so much other nonsense that she just couldn’t bear it. She was willing to put up with state dinners—though even then, she insisted on staying at the main table with her daughters, since she understood how to talk to
them
—but that was as far as it went. Albin was good with people, and he knew how to form a consensus and make friends and compromise and all that other idiocy she had no patience with.

Given a choice, she preferred numbers. They didn’t lie, or tell you one thing and do something else, or act nice to you when they didn’t like you. Numbers made sense. They brought order to the chaos of life.

That was why she stuck with handling the city-state’s finances. It made sense to her, and as an added bonus, she was very good at it. She had discovered the irregularities in the Hazlars’ accounting, and brought it to Albin’s attention. He then took it upon himself to exile them from Cliff’s End—though it was done in such a way that they could save face, an effort Meerka would not have bothered with.

Now the Cliff’s End Bank was the only bank in the demesne, which had concerned Meerka, but nobody had stepped up to open a new one, and the Grovises at least didn’t try to embezzle money from the citizenry.

The events of the past two days were of great concern to Meerka, and she should have been meeting with Harcort Grovis and his brother Fentin to discuss what to do about these three robberies. While on her way to
this
meeting, a pageboy had informed her that the Castle Guard had captured the malefactors, so at least the money was likely to be recovered. But she needed to speak with them about security. Until Sir Rommett had informed her that the bank had discontinued their security system with the Brotherhood of Wizards, Meerka had not known about it. She had studied the Castle Guard’s reports about such things, and robberies of the type recently perpetrated had a tendency to be repeated, and that was simply unacceptable on any level.