Page 16 of Sweetwater and the Witch

“Except for the Sweetwaters.”

“Our families go back a long way.”

“I know,” Ethan said. “Go on, tell me about Spooner.”

“All we’ve got at the moment is a rumor that he may be using the convention as a cover to meet with an unknown individual who may have a lead on a very hot find in the Underworld. Arcane and the Council want to know the name of that person.”

“Definehot find.”

“At this point we have no idea what it is,” Gabriel said. “What I can tell you with confidence is that if Spooner is interested, Arcane and the Guilds are interested.”

“Maybe the hot find is just another routine amber or quartz strike. Indie prospectors file claims for new discoveries all the time and then try to sell them to a big company.”

“Yes, but most of those discoveries don’t amount to much,” Gabriel said. “The fact that Spooner may be planning to set up a secret meeting indicates that whatever he’s after is big.”

“And may be completely legitimate. There’s no law against staking a claim to a new amber or quartz mine.”

“No, but there are laws that forbid possession of Alien artifacts of any kind that may have unknown or potentially dangerous properties.”

“You mean weapons-grade Alien tech,” Ethan said.

“Discoveries that fall into that category must be turned over to the government authorities immediately.”

Ethan reflected briefly and shook his head. “No one has ever discovered much in the way of working Alien technology, let alone Alien weaponry. What makes you think this hot find may be different?”

“Let’s just say that if this is in any way connected to a new version of Vortex, we need to know about it.”

“All you want is a name?” Ethan asked.

“Yes.” Gabriel paused for emphasis. “No further action is required, at least not at this time.”

Ethan drank some of his beer and set the bottle on the table. “Meaning?”

“Meaning no further action is required.”

“Good. Because I’m a tech guy. I don’t do thefurther actionstuff.”

“Just get us a name,” Gabriel said.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks,” Gabriel said. He started to say something else but his phone pinged. He glanced down, grimaced, and reluctantly got to his feet. “I’ve got to be on my way. Aiden, my administrative assistant, just reminded me my fiancée and I have an appointment with the wedding planner this afternoon. Something about finalizing the catering menu.”

Ethan gave him a sympathetic smile. “Your upcoming wedding is going to be a major event here in town. I hear the studio is planning to coordinate the release of that movie they’re making about you,Guild Boss, with the festivities.”

“Don’t remind me. Lucy and I would be happy to keep the whole thing low profile, but Aiden insists we have to pull out all the stops. Says it has to be an old-fashioned formal Guild-style Covenant Marriage wedding. He’s renting the ballroom at the Amber Palace. The good news is that I get to wear the formal Guild boss uniform instead of a tux, but that’s about the only good news.”

“Your administrative assistant is in charge of your wedding?”

Gabriel looked grim. “Aiden is on a mission to rebrand the Guild here in Illusion Town. Says the wedding of the new Guild boss—that would be me—should be a headline-making event. Claims it will be good for the image of the organization.”

“He’s probably right,” Ethan said. “Illusion Town loves big, flashy events. Consider yourself lucky. At least you’ve got an actual fiancée.”

“This is true,” Gabriel said. He looked remarkably cheered by the observation. “That reminds me, how are things going with the matchmaking agency? Or should I not ask?”

“Got another date tonight,” Ethan said. He smiled a little. Unlike the previous nine matches, he was looking forward to this one.

“Yeah?” Gabriel’s brows rose. “How many dates does this make?”

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