Page 99 of The Study of Poisons
“All I did was swap the bottles; I swear.”
“Who gave you the bottle to swap?”
“I don’t know. Some guy in a bar in Castletown. He wore a merchant uniform. That’s all I know.”
“Did he pay you to do anything else?” Valek asked.
“No. No. Just swap the bottles. Said it was my patriotic duty.”
Valek glanced at Kenda. “What do you think? Is he telling the truth?”
“I can have my guys work on him, see what else hecoughsup besides blood.”
“Hmmm…tempting.”
Emmet jumped to his feet. “That’s all I did, I swear!”
“Can you describe the man?” Valek asked.
“Uh…yeah. Tall guy, thin. Really thin like all bones. One of his front teeth was broken in half. He kept running his tongue under it.”
Recognizing the man as an infamous southern assassin who favored using My Love to poison people, Valek and Kenda exchanged a glance. He must now be doing jobs for Star. Lovely.
“What else did he tell you?” Valek asked.
“He warned me not to drink from his bottle. That’s all.”
Valek looked at Kenda. “Take him to the holding cells, we’ll deal with him after the Sitians leave.”
“Yes, sir. Come on, Emmet.”
Kenda led the man out. Valek picked up the glass and sipped the cognac. He hadn’t lied, it was smooth. He settled behind his desk and savored the liquor.
* * *
The Commander heldthe negotiations with the Sitians in the war room. Valek attended every session, acting as adviser, food taster, and magic sensor. Ambrose had invited two of his other advisers—Dema and Chelle—to the talks. They both primarily worked with commerce and natural resources. However, the Commander cross-trained all his advisers in various positions along with a required course on leadership.
Irys’s companions were introduced: Gozal, an accountant; Eva, an expert in logistics; Mevin, a supply chain manager; and Pinnet, a page who would record the minutes of the meetings and draw up any forms or documents. Smart choices.
The first order of business was to establish a trade treaty.
“Ixian resources that we would be interested in purchasing are diamonds, white coal, wool, and metal ore,” Irys said.
“No diamonds. As for the rest…” The Commander looked at Dema.
She had long black hair and her skin tone matched the Sitians. Dema flipped through a leather-bound book. “We’ve plenty of wool and ores. We’re more limited on the white coal but should be able to sell you a few tons.”
“Is there a reason you’ve taken diamonds off the table?” Irys asked the Commander.
“Yes. They’re mine.”
Irys looked at Valek as if trying to determine if the Commander was joking or not. He wasn’t. The dead King of Ixia had taken all the diamonds the Commander’s family risked their lives to mine from the mountains, paying them barely enough to survive.
“Do you know the Sitian black market sellsyourdiamonds?” she asked.
“I did not.” He scowled at Valek.
“There’s only so much my corps can do,” he said. “Diamonds are small.”
