Point of Knives (20 page)

“Dame van Duiren’s surviving man confessed that his comrade had shot Old Steen when he wouldn’t say what he’d done with the gold,” Rathe said, “and then Grandad set on them. The other man killed Grandad, but by then they’d lost Old Steen, and the house was stirring. I think that’s the last of it, sir.”

“Caillavet Vair reports that she found your questions interesting, but she’s disappointed in the lack of follow up.” Rainart Fourie looked at the neat stack of paper on his desk. “And Head Point Mirremay has filed a formal complaint of interference in a matter that properly belonged to Point of Knives.”

“I sent Maseigne everything I’d found that pointed to the University,” Rathe said. “It wasn’t much, but she got all I had.”

“Descriptions of two magists—no, one magist and someone who might have been a member of the University—who visited Dame van Duiren,” Fourie said. “Sketchy descriptions, at that.”

“It was all I had,” Rathe said again.

Fourie nodded. “As for Mirremay—well, I can’t agree with the complaint, and I will not uphold it. However….” He looked at his papers again. “I believe it would be wise to reassign you, Rathe.”

He lifted one of the sheets, and handed it across. Rathe took it warily, frowning as he read the clerk’s neat hand. “Point of Dreams?”

“Senior Adjunct Point at Point of Dreams.” Fourie gave a thin smile. “Trijn’s been complaining that we don’t give her the best people. I hope this will silence her.”

Dreams took precedence over Hopes: it was a promotion, and wrapped in a compliment. Rathe shook himself, unable quite to believe what he was hearing. The silence stretched for a long moment before he found words. “Thank you, Surintendant.”

Fourie waved a hand. “Go. And stay out of Point of Knives.”

“Yes, Surintendant,” Rathe said, and hastily effaced himself.

It still hadn’t sunk in by the time he’d crossed the Hopes-Point Bridge. Senior Adjunct at a higher station—no, he hadn’t expected anything like that, had thought he’d be lucky to get away with a scolding, and possibly a token fine for poaching on Mirremay’s turf. Senior Adjunct at Dreams….

“Nico!”

Rathe started, looked sideways to see Eslingen beckoning from the doorway of a lace-maker’s shop. “Philip?”

“Inside,” Eslingen said, and Rathe followed him into the sweet-smelling shadows. “I’ve had a clever idea.”

“Oh?” Rathe knew he sounded wary, and Eslingen grinned.

“Do you like theater, Adjunct Point?”

In spite of himself, Rathe laughed. “I’d better. I’ve just been reassigned to Point of Dreams.”

“All the better,” Eslingen said.

“Oh?” Rathe said again.

“Theaters are—mostly—in Point of Dreams,” Eslingen said, sounding faintly smug. “So that will be convenient. And theaters, I’ve discovered, have private boxes that can be rented for a quite affordable fee. Sometimes including supper.”

“Philip, you’re mad.”

“I have a box,” Eslingen said. “For tonight’s play at the Galenon. Would you care to join me?”

“So you’ve forgiven me for losing the key?” Rathe asked.

“I never blamed you,” Eslingen answered. “Caiazzo’s still not very happy about the whole situation—thus the private box.”

“What’s the play?” Rathe asked.

“Does it matter?”

Rathe laughed. Eslingen held out one of the slips of wood that served as the marker, and Rathe accepted it. “Now who’s dangerous to know?”

Eslingen swept him a bow. “I do my level best. Until tonight, Adjunct Point.”

“Until tonight,” Rathe answered. The promotion would be worth it after all.

Thanks to the usual suspects: Jo Graham, Amy Griswold, Don Sakers, Thomas Atkison, Carl Cipra, the First Readers on LJ, Alex Jeffers for the design, and Ben Baldwin for the cover.

Melissa Scott is from Little Rock, Arkansas, and studied history at Harvard College and Brandeis University, where she earned her PhD in the Comparative History program with a dissertation titled “Victory of the Ancients: Tactics, Technology, and the Use of Classical Precedent.” She is the author of more than twenty science fiction and fantasy novels, most with queer themes and characters, and has won Lambda Literary Awards for
Trouble and Her Friends
,
Shadow Man
, and
Point of Dreams
, the last written with her late partner, Lisa A. Barnett. She has also won a Spectrum Award for
Shadow Man
and again in 2010 for the short story “The Rocky Side of the Sky” (
Periphery
, Lethe Press) as well as the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. She can be found on LiveJournal at mescott.livejournal.com.