Page 101 of By the Horns
“The maid has a name,” I chide him. “She’s a person. And just…be safe, yes?”
“You make it sound like there’s a delightful incentive to be safe.”
“Oh, there is. The best incentive.” I grin slyly up at him. “We find a nice, quiet room, lock the door behind us, and work on our team building.”
“Now you’re talking.” He tilts my face up and then stoops down. His muzzle brushes against my lips, and I find it achingly sweet that he goesout of his way to give me a kiss. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Let’s go wake up Arrod and Kipp and give them the good news.”
Rooster’s response comesin after lunch.
Because of course it does.
Raptor is gone, his gear pack strapped to his back, an extra weapon at his belt. He’d disappeared down the street, heading for the drop zone in the early-morning sunlight. I sit with Kipp and Arrod, picking at lunch as Marta cleans dishes at the sink. I don’t have any appetite, and I’m glad I haven’t eaten much, because the moment I see the missive, my gut clenches and a sour taste rises in my throat.
The slitherskin at the door is a faint orange-pink color, with a bright yellow belly and vivid green eyes. She has a little frill on her head past her brows, and Kipp doesn’t greet her with the usual belly-rubbing that means two slitherskin are talking to each other. They just exchange shy looks. I wonder if this is the lady friend. He hands her a coin and brings the parchment over to me.
I run a hand over the note.
It looks different than the missive that came earlier. The parchment is thicker, the wax seal ornate and showy, with the imprint of a rooster in a circle stamped with the guild’s logo. The lettering along the edge of the parchment is neat and tidy, and it has Raptor’s name on it.
Not mine. Just Raptor’s. Rooster doesn’t know how involved I am.
I glance up at Arrod and Kipp, who are watching me. The only sound is that of Marta moving about in the kitchen down the hall. “I don’t know when he’ll be back.”
“You should read it,” Arrod says encouragingly. “What if it needs to be answered right away? And it’s not like Raptor would mind, because it’s you. He loves everything you do.”
Kipp makes a chirping sound that I interpret as agreement.
I clutch the scroll and bite my lip. Raptor wouldn’t care. I know he wouldn’t. It’s just…do I want to see what Head Guild Master Rooster has said? Or can I wait?
I…can’t. I tear open the parchment and stare at it with shakinghands. The writing is pretty, but the lettering is cramped and I have to read slowly, my lips moving as I do.
Raptor,
I have decided. We will not resort to illegal methods to solve our problems. The guild’s reputation is above reproach and we will not do anything to harm that, despite the costs. What we lose now might be nothing compared to what we would lose if we were to dabble in unsavory choices. I will notify you on any updates to our situation, but until then, we wait for the criminals to show themselves.
Head Guild Master Rooster
It’s a no.
I…don’t know how I feel about that. Limply, I hold the parchment out to Kipp, since he and Arrod are both practically squirming with anticipation.
Arrod takes the letter and reads it aloud, with far more skill than I did. “I don’t understand what he means,” he says after a long moment. “What illegal methods? What problems? I thought the guild was looking for Hemmen’s murderer?”
I eye the two of them and then our surroundings. It feels too open to talk about mancers and thievery right here. We need privacy. I grab Arrod by his sleeve and gesture that Kipp should follow, and head into our dorm’s sleeping quarters. Once the three of us are inside, I shut the doors and lean against them. “The guild has a thief. Or multiple thieves.”
“And this is who Hemmen was involved with?” Arrod asks. “The thieves?”
“It seems so. Whoever is stealing artifacts from the archives is using repeaters and then murdering them when they’re done.”
Arrod sits on the edge of the nearest bed, his expression shocked. “Are…are we next?”
“Are you working with thieves?”
“Not that I know of! But how do I know if they’re a thief or not?” He jumps to his feet, pointing at me. “Wait! The messages in the books—are you a thief?”
Kipp blows out a breath. He shakes his head and hops up on the bed, gesturing at Arrod to look at him. He signs a few things and then glances over at me. The look on his face is full of reproach as he turns back to Arrod, waiting.
“Sorry, Gwenna,” Arrod says. “I panicked. I know you’re not a thief.”
