Page 31 of The Study of Fire
Valek looped around the neighborhood, seeking magic. Since he was immune, the magic didn’t affect him, but he’d feel a sticky sensation on his skin when it was in use nearby. The main streets remained quiet and there were no signs anyone was awake at this late hour. All the windows were black. When he entered the alley behind Bea’s house, he paused to allow his eyes to adjust to the darkness. The moon was waning toward new and not as bright as previous nights. Plus, the residences to each side blocked most of the moonlight.
He moved carefully down the narrow alley. Having used them often in his line of work, Valek appreciated their existence. Unfortunately, so did others. While this neighborhood appeared to be safe, he assumed danger lurked in every shadow.
Halfway through the alley, Valek spotted a thin yellow glow coming from a second story window. Someone was awake. The magician or a person unable to sleep? Only one way to find out. Valek climbed up the wall of the house. When he reached the window, he peeked in through the small gap.
A young girl, perhaps fifteen years old, paced the length of her bedroom. Her eyes were puffy and red, and she clutched a handkerchief in one hand and a stuffed dog in another. Stopping suddenly, she perched on the edge of the bed. She pressed the dog to her chest, closed her eyes, and took a few deep breaths.
Magic brushed his face and retreated. He waited for a cry of alarm or for her to jump up and extinguish the lantern, but nothing happened. Another pulse touched him, and then a third. Confused at first, Valek realized she must be practicing how to control her magic. While he could sense her power, he couldn’t determine what she was trying to do. However, he suspected she had the ability to mentally communicate with another person, which was why poor Bea and the others experienced the new magician’s nightmares.
Valek climbed down to the alley. The number forty-three was on the back door. Circling around to the front, he noted the street’s name was Peach Lane, which meant the alley was called Peach Alley by default. He patrolled the streets in case the magician returned to bed and accidentally targeted another victim.
Before he could plan how to solve the problem, Valek needed more information. If the magician had been moving from house to house to avoid detection, he needed to know who organized the effort.
At dawn, he returned to the safe house. Inrick and Hildred sat at the table eating breakfast. Valek joined them.
“Another boring night?” Inrick asked as he set a cup of tea in front of Valek.
“No. I rescued a damsel-in-distress.” He explained about the encounter with Bea, and how he found the person responsible for the incidents.
“Your persistence paid off. Well done,” Hildred said.
“Did you…er…take care of her?” Inrick asked.
“Not yet. We need to discover who else is involved. Inrick, I want you to watch the house today and see who comes and goes. I’ll keep an eye on it at night in case she loses control again.”
“There are records of all the home and business owners at the watch station,” Hildred said. “Do you want me to request permission to view them?”
“That’s a great idea. But I’ll do it this morning.”
After breakfast, Hildred went to bed, Inrick left for his stake out, and Valek headed to the watch station. The records room was open to the public, but a person had to have a good reason for wanting to access them.
“Busy night?” Captain Ryda asked when he stopped in her office.
“Did your patrollers report me?”
“Not you specifically. They said they didn’t recognize you as one of their team members and the situation seemed dodgy. That woman wasn’t like the others, so they let you go. However, they followed you to twenty-five Cucumber Court and then lost you. Did you find the person responsible for the incidents?” Hope laced her voice.
“I think so. I’m going to need a few days to sort it out. Can you keep your patrollers away from the area during that time?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I don’t want to spook them into moving to another location.”
“All right. Do you need any help from my people?”
“Not at this time, but I do need access to the records room.”
“I already checked. Twenty-five Cucumber Court is owned by Bea and Evert. She works for a baker, and he works for a local farmer, picking fruit and vegetables. No criminal history for either of them. No children.”
“That’s good to know, but I need to look up their neighbors.”
“Of course.” Ryda led him downstairs.
There were two wings of the underground level. One contained the jail cells and the other held the town’s records.
A patroller guarded the door. He was slouched against it with his eyes half closed, but he straightened to attention when he spotted the captain. “Back so soon, Captain?”
She smiled. “Please let this man into the records room. He can stay as long as he needs.”
