Page 21 of The Study of Fire
After a quick stop for breakfast, Valek returned to his office and paused as the pleasant scent of lemon greeted him. The thick dust that had coated everything except the top of his desk was gone. He hoped Brede hadn’t worked too late into the night to get it all done. At least, everything remained in its place. It might appear that the clutter was haphazard and disorganized, but Valek knew exactly what each pile contained.
Over the next couple of days, Valek barely saw his new housekeeper, but there was plenty of evidence of his presence. New candle sticks waited to be lit each day. His inkpots practically overflowed. And fresh wood was stacked in the bin next to his brazier.
With the days, and especially the nights, becoming colder and colder, Brede had closed the window against the chill. Valek would have admonished him, but Mr. Spider had plenty of bugs in his web. He wondered if Brede had rehomed a few insects, letting them into Valek’s office, hoping Mr. Spider’s web would catch them. Perhaps Brede thought that, if the bugs were outside the castle walls, being eaten by a spider would be a natural death. Unfortunately, Valek had encountered plenty of spider webs in the wild—usually with his face. A shudder rippled up his spine at the memories.
Valek huffed at the direction his thoughts had gone. As if he didn’t have anything else to do or worry about other than Brede’s moral compass on insects. He settled behind his desk and read through reports.
Nothing worrisome caught his eye, and Valek enjoyed another three-day quiet spell. Normally, Valek would appreciate the downtime, but with Ari, Janco, Trevar, and Adrik on missions, the castle was too quiet.
A report from Trevar and Adrik arrived a week after they’d left. It had taken them several days just to get the baiters to talk to them, and the dealers still didn’t trust them. Everyone was skittish, their nerves frayed. Trevar and Adrik hadn’t found the source of the citizen’s strange behavior. Yet.
He smiled at the dark lines under the word ‘yet.’ Trevar probably worried they’d be taken off the case for lack of results.
They reported that the incidents occurred at random intervals. Some nights two or three people ran amuck, while other nights no one.
Valek considered the information. They’d only been on the case for seven days, not enough time to really know if it was random or not. Then he remembered he had a book on statistical probabilities. Striding to his conference table, he reached his stack of math books. Except, the statistics manual wasn’t on the top where he’d left it.
A quick scan of the spines revealed it to be the fourth one down. The books in this pile had been rearranged in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. Valek checked the other piles. They’d all been alphabetized. He didn’t know whether to be upset or impressed.
While technically the books had been moved, they also remained in their proper stacks. Valek could still easily find them. He decided it was a minor infraction and not worth mentioning to Brede.
Reading through the manual, Valek discovered he needed more data in order to establish if there was a pattern. He glanced out the window. If he hurried, he’d be able to catch Captain Ryda before she left for the day.
His suite was empty. Brede must have finished. Valek took the steps to his bedroom two at a time. After a quick check of his security measures, he entered. Stripping off his adviser’s uniform shirt, he opened his closet. In order to not attract attention, he needed a disguise. Perhaps a kitchen uniform, or castle messenger uniform. Either one would work as long as they were in the Commander’s colors of red and black. Even though Castletown was officially in MD-6, it was under the Commander’s jurisdiction.
Valek paused. He had various uniforms tailored to fit him with the colors of all eight military districts. They all hung in his overflowing closet. Except, now they were grouped by color.
Brede.
Granted, finding what he needed was much quicker, but… He sighed, grabbed the messenger uniform and changed. He’d talk to Brede later. Maybe.
* * *
The civilian watch house in Castletown resembled all the watch houses in Ixia. It was a sprawling two-story brick building with jail cells below ground level. The main entrance had a double-wide wooden door that led into a lobby. Uncomfortable chairs ringed the space. A handful of people occupied them. No one smiled, or made eye contact, or moved. They sat in silence, staring into the distance. Creepy.
A long desk blocked the only other doorway, but to get through that one, a person had to get permission from the patrol officer who sat behind the desk.
“I’ve a message for Captain Ryda,” Valek said to the patrol officer.
Without looking up, the man held out a thick hand. “Give it here, I’ll send it back.”
“I’ve orders to give it to her directly.”
“She’s busy.” He twitched his fingers, indicating Valek should hand over the message.
Valek lowered his voice and leaned in. “I have a message from Adviser Valek.”
“Good for you. If you want to wait…” He stabbed a stubby finger at the chairs. “Be my guest.” The patrol officer returned to his work.
Angling his body so the others in the room wouldn’t see, Valek drew his cloud-kissed dagger in one smooth motion and pressed the tip to the officer’s throat. The man froze and finally met Valek’s gaze. He paled.
“I hope you enjoyed your little power trip, Officer, because it’s over. Mybosswon’t let me take no for an answer. Do you understand?”
“Yeah. But it’s on you if she kicks you out.”
“I’m willing to take that chance.”
The man tipped his head. “Go on.”
