Page 75 of Veiled Justice
Channing grimaced. ‘Both my parents were wizards, but my mum died in childbirth. Da blamed the witches for not saving her, and he eschewed magic and the Other after that.’
‘Completely?’ I asked in surprise.
‘Yeah. I was raised wholly Common.’ He pressed his lips together. ‘I don’t think Da would ever have introduced me to theOther, but my mum’s parents insisted. He did it finally when I was sixteen.’
I kept my face blank with effort. Sixteen was incredibly old to be introduced to the existence of magic. Channing was young, early twenties. He’d only known magic was real for a handful of years.
‘Thank you for telling me,’ I said finally. Thackeray was right to insist on it, this changed everything. I’d been treating Channing like he’d been raised Other, that he knew all the fundamentals, but he didn’t. If he was going to become an effective partner, we were going to need to plug all the holes in his knowledge.
Channing hesitated. ‘You want to go for a beer, ma’am? To celebrate?’
I recognised it for the olive branch that it was, but a wide yawn cracked my face. ‘I appreciate the offer, Channing, but I’m done in. It’s been a long couple of days.’ Besides, I wanted to tell Rupe to his face that he was free and clear.
‘Of course.’ He stood and turned to leave before hesitating and turning back to me. ‘I know I’m young and I’ve a lot to learn – more than most – but I swear it will be my honour to learn from you. Thackeray isn’t the only legend here.’ He walked out, leaving the door open.
‘Oof,’ I muttered. ‘Don’t put me on a pedestal, kid, I’ll only fall.’
‘You know that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness,’ Krieg said as he slid into my office.
I studied him. ‘Is that so?’
‘Apparently.’ He didn’t sit. ‘You’re tired, Inspector. Allow me to drive you home.’
‘I’m not going home.’ I sent the files to Thackeray’s private email and a brisk email to Rupert’s boss about the arrests we’d made, confirming that my brother was no longer a person of interest, then shut down my computer.
‘I’ll drive you wherever you need to go,’ Krieg offered.
I rubbed my eyes. ‘Stop being so damned perfect, Krieg. It makes you hard to resist.’
‘I’m pleased about that – but I’m not perfect. Far from it. Spend time with me and you’ll find out.’
I’d be damned if I didn’t want to do exactly that. I stood. ‘I’m going to my mum’s house for Sunday dinner.’ Before I could censor myself, I asked, ‘You want to come?’
He smiled. ‘Definitely.’
‘Me, too!’ Loki trilled.
‘Yes,’ I smiled. ‘You, too. Come on, Bird.’
‘After you, Pigdog!’
Chapter 40
Krieg locked the car door. As we approached the front door, another ogre melted out of the shadows: Maktel. Loki let out a screech in warning. ‘Your Excellence,’ Maktel greeted Krieg.
‘All quiet?’ he asked.
‘Yes, Your Excellence.’
‘Good. Carry on.’
Maktel melted back into the shadows.
‘What was that?’ I demanded.
‘What?’
‘Why is Maktel here?’
