manual for the Saghred?” My words
were for his ears alone. Thanks to our saboteur, I didn’t know who could be
listening.
He
looked honestly baffled. “A what?”
“User’s
manual, directions, instructions, why the damned thing fought two master
spellsingers, but rolled over and went to sleep when Piaras sang to it.”
“The
Scriptorium has several books on the Saghred.”
“Good.
I want to read them.”
“They’re
in Old Goblin.”
“Not
a problem. I read Old Goblin.”
Mychael
seemed reluctant. I knew why.
I
waited a few seconds until my voice wouldn’t sound as exasperated as I felt.
“Yes, the Saghred’s been in my head,” I said through only partially clenched
teeth. “And I am well aware that you can’t entirely trust me as long as there’s
a chance it will come back. But do you really think it’s going to help our
cause to keep me locked away and stupid? If any of those books can tell
me how to unhook myself from that rock, I want to know about it. And I’m not
the only one in danger here.” I glanced at Piaras; he was talking earnestly
with Ronan Cayle. I lowered my voice even further. “I want to know everything
that Sarad Nukpana knows, and then some.”
Mychael
hesitated, but not for long. “I’ll make the arrangements.”
“Sir?”
came a familiar voice from the doorway.
It
was Riston. I couldn’t help but notice that he had a bad case of bedhead, and
he still looked a little dazed. Piaras winced apologetically. Phaelan’s laugh
came out as a snort.
“Sir,
the chief watcher is here to see you.” Riston looked puzzled. “And he said he
brought you a hairbrush.”
Chapter 6
The
man in Mychael’s office was wearing enough leather armor and blades to make him feel secure in the nastiest
sections of town. I’d once found out the hard way that when a man was that big
and that heavily armed and wearing an expression that grim, it was good to wait
and be properly introduced.
Mychael
greeted him with a warm handshake. I couldn’t help but notice that Mychael’s
entire hand vanished in the man’s enormous paw.
“Raine,
this is our chief watcher, Sedge Rinker. Sedge, this is Raine Benares.”
I
crossed the office and cautiously extended my hand. Members of my family were
generally greeted with hand- cuffs by law enforcement, not hand shakes .
Rinker hesitated a moment, then took my hand in a firm yet surprisingly gentle
handshake.
“I
was in the square this morning and saw what you did.” Rinker’s voice was a
basso rumble. “Impressive work—and I don’t mind saying a little scary.”
I
grinned. I couldn’t imagine anything scaring this man. “I scared me, too,” I
told him.
Sedge
Rinker didn’t look like a man who sat behind a desk all day. His dark beard was
trimmed neatly enough, but he hadn’t fussed with it. His hair was efficiently
short, but style wasn’t something he bothered with or cared about. However, his
armor and weapons were of the highest quality and in immaculate condition. I’d
seen his like among watch officers many times—they were utterly devoted to
their work and the people they protected.
“Did
you get anything useful from those two Nightshades?” he asked Mychael.
I
gave Mychael a sharp look. “You took two alive?”
“We
did.”
“And?”
“And
our investigation is ongoing.”
It
was his paladin voice, the voice that wasn’t about to tell me anything. His
expression wasn’t volunteering information, either.
Rinker
looked uneasily from Mychael to me. He’d assumed Mychael trusted me. So had I.
“Janek
Tawl is a friend of mine,” Rinker told me, deftly changing the subject. “He
says you’re the best seeker he knows. I was glad to find out you were visiting
us.”
Janek
Tawl was a friend of mine, too. As chief watcher of the Sorcerers District back
home in Mermeia, Janek’s path had crossed mine on a regular basis. Janek
occasionally sought my expertise as a seeker, and from time to time he was able
to give me
were for his ears alone. Thanks to our saboteur, I didn’t know who could be
listening.
He
looked honestly baffled. “A what?”
“User’s
manual, directions, instructions, why the damned thing fought two master
spellsingers, but rolled over and went to sleep when Piaras sang to it.”
“The
Scriptorium has several books on the Saghred.”
“Good.
I want to read them.”
“They’re
in Old Goblin.”
“Not
a problem. I read Old Goblin.”
Mychael
seemed reluctant. I knew why.
I
waited a few seconds until my voice wouldn’t sound as exasperated as I felt.
“Yes, the Saghred’s been in my head,” I said through only partially clenched
teeth. “And I am well aware that you can’t entirely trust me as long as there’s
a chance it will come back. But do you really think it’s going to help our
cause to keep me locked away and stupid? If any of those books can tell
me how to unhook myself from that rock, I want to know about it. And I’m not
the only one in danger here.” I glanced at Piaras; he was talking earnestly
with Ronan Cayle. I lowered my voice even further. “I want to know everything
that Sarad Nukpana knows, and then some.”
Mychael
hesitated, but not for long. “I’ll make the arrangements.”
“Sir?”
came a familiar voice from the doorway.
It
was Riston. I couldn’t help but notice that he had a bad case of bedhead, and
he still looked a little dazed. Piaras winced apologetically. Phaelan’s laugh
came out as a snort.
“Sir,
the chief watcher is here to see you.” Riston looked puzzled. “And he said he
brought you a hairbrush.”
Chapter 6
The
man in Mychael’s office was wearing enough leather armor and blades to make him feel secure in the nastiest
sections of town. I’d once found out the hard way that when a man was that big
and that heavily armed and wearing an expression that grim, it was good to wait
and be properly introduced.
Mychael
greeted him with a warm handshake. I couldn’t help but notice that Mychael’s
entire hand vanished in the man’s enormous paw.
“Raine,
this is our chief watcher, Sedge Rinker. Sedge, this is Raine Benares.”
I
crossed the office and cautiously extended my hand. Members of my family were
generally greeted with hand- cuffs by law enforcement, not hand shakes .
Rinker hesitated a moment, then took my hand in a firm yet surprisingly gentle
handshake.
“I
was in the square this morning and saw what you did.” Rinker’s voice was a
basso rumble. “Impressive work—and I don’t mind saying a little scary.”
I
grinned. I couldn’t imagine anything scaring this man. “I scared me, too,” I
told him.
Sedge
Rinker didn’t look like a man who sat behind a desk all day. His dark beard was
trimmed neatly enough, but he hadn’t fussed with it. His hair was efficiently
short, but style wasn’t something he bothered with or cared about. However, his
armor and weapons were of the highest quality and in immaculate condition. I’d
seen his like among watch officers many times—they were utterly devoted to
their work and the people they protected.
“Did
you get anything useful from those two Nightshades?” he asked Mychael.
I
gave Mychael a sharp look. “You took two alive?”
“We
did.”
“And?”
“And
our investigation is ongoing.”
It
was his paladin voice, the voice that wasn’t about to tell me anything. His
expression wasn’t volunteering information, either.
Rinker
looked uneasily from Mychael to me. He’d assumed Mychael trusted me. So had I.
“Janek
Tawl is a friend of mine,” Rinker told me, deftly changing the subject. “He
says you’re the best seeker he knows. I was glad to find out you were visiting
us.”
Janek
Tawl was a friend of mine, too. As chief watcher of the Sorcerers District back
home in Mermeia, Janek’s path had crossed mine on a regular basis. Janek
occasionally sought my expertise as a seeker, and from time to time he was able
to give me
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