Gilded Latten Bones

She was nervous.

'How much is the cold costing?'

'Less than you might think. It is an investment in our future. We can keep food fresh in here, too.'

I do fuss about money. Someone has to make people think a little before they empty my pockets.

I was the despair of Dean and the Dead Man, and of Singe after she helped herself to a place in my life, because I am disinclined to work any harder than necessary to avoid ending up ranting on the steps of the Chancellery in hopes somebody will be amused enough to toss a coin into my tips box.

I heard harsh talk about poorhouses as those fine business minds missed the fact that the poorhouses were shutting down. Without a war there was no need for sweatshops to make things soldiers needed.

Life, I will confess, has been generous to me. Big bags of money have wandered in just when they would be most welcome. I bought a house. I have investments that generate income enough to keep the place up and to house its occupants in comfort-though that is mostly Singe's fault.

Singe is a big part of my luck.

I got no sense that the Dead Man was remotely close to awake.

Singe asked, 'You're going to do what Belinda wants?' Her crisis had passed. Contractions were back. She was an amazement. Ratpeople voice boxes aren't made for colloquial human speech.

'It's Morley, Singe. I have to.'

'And Tinnie? This could poison. .'

'I have to. If she can't understand, we've both been wasting our time.'

'Wow.'

Yeah. I was terrified. That might be the case. Tinnie turned into a different woman once she was sure she made herself the only woman in my life.

Things men associated with the dark side of a redheaded woman became exaggerated immediately.

I will stipulate that the plus side remained as marvelous as ever.

'All right.'

Singe sounded like she was having trouble believing what she heard. 'Since I know you will head straight for this Ice and Fire place, I'll handle Tinnie.'

I started to protest, then grinned. People don't handle Tinnie. Tinnie handles people. 'Wrangle away. And good luck.'

'Are we likely to make money out of this, Garrett?'

'No. This time is for love.'

'That is the way you think most times. Maybe we'll get lucky this time, too.'

9

Singe made sure I was armed and ready for the older, less friendly TunFaire before she let me leave. 'I will pray to the human gods that the Civil Guard doesn't roust you. You aren't a good liar. They'll pat you down ten seconds after they stop you.'

And my record as one of the finest subjects of the Karentine Crown would not tilt the balance away from an arrest for possession of proscribed weaponry.

Singe would not let me go with anything less. And, 'Even though this does not look like a situation where we will need the Dead Man, I'll try to wake him up.'

'Singe, you are a treasure.'

That was a wonderful straight line. I regretted it before I finished saying it. Singe, however, confounded heaven and earth by disdaining her opportunity. 'I know. I have trouble imagining how you have survived without me. Get along. No! Wait! What about your other friends?'

Symptomatic of my reduced status, I asked, 'What? Who?'

'Saucerhead. Winger. Playmate. Half a dozen others.'

'Oh. Them.' At the moment Mama Garrett's boy didn't have much of a positive attitude toward her second favorite son. I had done so little to keep in touch. 'I guess you could, like quietly, let them know there's a situation. Without mentioning what happened to Morley. But I don't think we'll be asking them to get involved.'

Singe just shook her head.

I needed to get out there and make my special ratgirl happy by finding the real, missing Garrett.

10

Fire and Ice wasn't hard to find. It was a well-known establishment on the frontier of Elf Town, serving the needs of the successful working man. Meaning it wasn't quite the upscale hook shop I expected but it wasn't rodent's belly nasty, either. It was a place where shopkeepers and skilled tradesmen could relax of an evening. A throwback kind of place, actually, because it didn't make its money on volume, nor entirely on marketing its keystone service.

I expect the relaxed atmosphere was one way the house competed for scarce disposable income-much of which, these days, ends up in TunFaire's gaudy theaters.

Play-going was all the rage, in part because a man could take his wife. And the wives knew that.

I gave my name at the door. It was no shibboleth. I tried Belinda's.

There was the magic.

A veteran brunette-absolutely a heartbreaker not long ago-turned up quickly. She had something special going. I was tempted to fail to remember that I was taken.

'You came from Miss Contague?'

'She asked me to keep watch on your injured guest.'

She considered my claim. She considered me. She consulted some recollection. She decided that I was the real thing, though she was not prepared to be impressed. My feelings were bruised. I was willing to be impressed by her. And I was as fine a specimen of former Marine as you're likely to find still vertical. I had my dings and scars but they just let you know that I was the genuine article.

'All right. Come with me.' After a glare that dared me to even think about running with that.

We passed through the fancy public lounge works, entirely uninhabited at the moment. Potential witnesses had been cleared out. In the back, where delicacies comestible and sensual got prepared, I spied several toothsome lasses enjoying a light repast and steadfastly taking no interest whatsoever in anyone passing through. Two appeared to be full-blood elf girls. The others were nearly as gorgeous.

'Stop slobbering on the carpet.'

'Sorry. I don't get out much anymore.'

'Here's a suggestion. Keep your hands to yourself while you're here.' Then she snorted. She was one of those people who can't keep their laughter out of their noses. It took me a few seconds to get the joke.

'I'm taken,' I said stiffly.

'Most of our clients are.' We came to a narrow, steep back stair.

'I'm Garrett,' I said, though my name had failed to awe anyone yet.

'I know. I've heard of you. I'm aware of your reputation.'

'Damn! I didn't know I had one. It's probably all lies and exaggerations. Who are you?'

'You can call me Miss Tea. If I find out that you're tolerable, I'll let you call me Mike.'

'Mike?' One of those? Here? 'I had a brother we called Mikey.'

'For Michel.' That was a hard 'ch.' 'He didn't come back?'

'No. It broke my mother's heart.' She gave up. She'd already lost my father and hers, and some brothers, to the terrible beast of war.

Mike turned a little less hard-ass. Very little. Like almost every human in Karenta she shared the experience. 'You were luckier.'