Read Online Worlds Apart by Marlene Dotterer - Free Book Online

blue
awnings lending a cheerful air to the red exterior. That was,
perhaps, a false impression, but Clive considered it a decent
enough place to work. Most of his job was in the field,
anyway.
    Magger seemed to relax as they
entered the building, and Clive sent him a quizzical glance.
“What's wrong, Maggot? Don't like crowds?”
    Magger's thick lips bent into a
grimace. “What if I don't? Ain't a crime.”
    Clive shrugged, his interest
waning. He pushed the goblin into an elevator, with an apologetic
grin to the two female clerks who stopped several feet away. He
held the door for them, but they shook their heads, one of them
waving her hand in front of her face. Clive understood. It would
take a while for Magger's stink to clear from this car. Goblins
smelled worse than ever when they were anxious.
    That stink would cause a problem
if he questioned Magger at his desk. After a moment's thought,
Clive told the car to take them to the detention level. Might as
well get the little beast settled in and question him
later.
    He took his time signing Magger
into detention, letting the goblin get a good look at the maddened
rabble currently in the common room. The social order of the room
flowed in a restless wave, changing with the species or power level
of those in attendance. The only common theme was a disregard for
the welfare of others. Magger watched them, his bulging lips
pressed tight, his chin lifted in offended resolve.
    When Clive put a hand on Magger’s
back, he jerked away. “I demand a private cell,” he
said.
    The nearest guard snorted at this.
Clive scratched his head, as if giving it thought. Then he
shrugged. “None available. Sorry, Maggot.”
    Magger dropped the injured pride
act and let honest fear show through. “You can't put me in there
with those creatures! They'll kill me!”
    “Nah, they won't. They're a fairly
sophisticated bunch. They know they can't kill you.” Clive waved
him into the hands of the guard and stepped back. “I wouldn't wait
too long to give me the answers I need, though. We do have cells
for prisoners who cooperate.”
    “I don't have anything to tell
you, honest.” Magger raised his bound hands. “I swear I don't know
anything.”
    Clive stepped into the hallway,
tossing a brief salute to the goblin as he left. The closing door
cut off the sound of Magger's screech.
    He'd just sat at his desk on the
fourth floor to write his report when footsteps approached from
behind. He closed his eyes for the briefest moment, begged the
Sisters to grant him favor, and turned to face his elvin
boss.
    Kasia Windblood towered above him
at six-foot-six, her short black hair pushed behind the elegant
points of her ears. Stern bangs did not hide the displeased arch of
her brows, nor the spark in her blue eyes. Still, he noted the
trace of amusement in her expression and knew her anger wasn't
directed at him.
    “A goblin,” she said.
    “He's got information we need,”
Clive explained. “Isn't disposed to give it to us. A few days with
the rabble will loosen him up.”
    “Oh? He's not the one who was
crossing the portal?”
    “He crossed over, all right.”
Clive flicked a finger at his desk. “I'm still writing my report,
but the short story is, there's a new crime boss in action, sending
scouts into the Flatlands to look for something. Or prepare for
something.” He held up a hand to forestall her next question. “That
crime boss is a werewolf.”
    Her reaction was gratifying.
“What? Are you sure? Oh, fuck-a-pixie, of course you're
sure.” She turned and leaned against his desk, her glare enough to
burn a hole in the floor. “Do you know who he is?”
    “No, I don't know who he is.”
Clive bit back a condescending tone. She wasn't trying to insinuate
that he knew every werewolf in Kaarmanesh. “But he's been through
the portal at least once, and he's set up a weird hex several yards
away in the Flatlands. He's a witch, too. Has a ward on it that I
can't begin to decipher.”