Page 5 of The Study of Poisons
“Then change the law. If the goods aren’t illegal, we can tax them and not have to spend all this bloody time and money on arresting people and shutting them down.”
“No. I don’t want Sitians in my territory.”
“They’re already here. It’s impossible to keep them out.”
“Only a few and you find them quick enough.”
“Not all Sitians are magicians. In fact, only a fraction—”
“No. I like the idea of setting up our own black market. But once you run everyone out of business, you’ll shut it down.”
Another temporary solution, but it could net some useful information. “Yes, sir.”
“What else have you learned?”
“I’ve been keeping an eye on a woman named Star. She calls herself Captain Star and a few of my people are working undercover in her organization.”
“Aside from impersonating an officer, what has this woman done?”
“She’s the leader of an information network. She buys and sells secrets, and she runs a gambling den. She also has a few undesirables working for her.”
“Undesirables?”
“Assassins on retainer, muscles for hire, thieves, and blackmailers. Basically, she has a hand in every illegal activity in Castletown.”
“Is she a threat to me?” the Commander asked.
“No. She’s smart enough to keep her activities well away from the castle, but I expect she’ll want to expand her operation and will become more dangerous with time.”
“And you’ll be able to tell when she goes from minor threat to major?”
“Yes. Right now, we’re gathering a great deal of useful information and it’s worth letting her continue.”
“All right. Keep me informed of your progress.”
“Yes, sir.”
Dismissed, Valek returned to the kitchen for a quick bite before doing his rounds. Although he trusted the guards, he liked to check the security of the castle complex. He stopped in his office to strap on his sword and then headed outside.
The castle sat in the middle of a large square area surrounded by a high wall. There were four entrances, each named after the direction they faced. Valek would have preferred to permanently close the east and west gates to reduce the security risk, but he didn’t want to trap those inside should an invading army break through one of the gates.
The sunlight glinted off the stained-glass windows of the four towers at each corner of the castle. It was the only attempt at symmetry in the structure’s design. Other than the large rectangle that served as the castle’s base, the rest was a haphazard stack of squares, triangles, cylinders, octagons, and he swore there was a rhombus in there somewhere along with a dodecagon. At least it made it easier for Valek to climb the walls. Mostly. Some of those strange angles were treacherous.
According to the history books, three hundred years ago a young prince had been overly fond of his toy blocks and had declared that, when he was king, he’d live in a castle built of colorful blocks and located as far away from the northern ice sheet as possible. Wasted money as far as Valek was concerned, but he had no love for the monarchy. Quite the opposite. His role in the Commander’s takeover fifteen years ago had been to assassinate the King and his family.
After checking that all was well at the gates, Valek headed to the training yards to watch the Commander’s soldiers. The yards sat in front of the L-shaped barracks that were tucked into the northeast and southeast corners of the complex.
He leaned on the wooden fence and scanned the soldiers. Valek recognized most of them, having sparred with many. The ones that wore green and black were from MD-5, General Brazell’s district. The general had arrived with a full retinue of soldiers, advisers, and servants. Interesting how the Commander’s people avoided interacting with Brazell’s.
At this point in their careers, the Commander’s soldiers were all well trained and didn’t have a set training schedule, but most worked out each evening and morning to stay in shape and keep their fighting skills sharp. New recruits were sent to the other military districts for basic training. Only the best was assigned to the Commander’s castle. And the best of the best was promoted to the Commander’s elite unit. Of course, that led to a number of inflated egos. Valek grinned. He enjoyed deflating those egos.
A man spotted Valek and approached. “Fancy a challenge, sir?”
He wore the standard training uniform of a sleeveless tank top and short pants. Wiry and lean, the man sported a goatee and a smirk. A scar ran from his right temple and replaced the lower half of his right ear.
Valek straightened. “It depends.”
“On what?”
