neat. Another door opened to a smaller office with three desks in it, all three of which were empty. The room smelled a bit musty. Paet turned on the witchlamp on the wall, and the office filled with a warm yellow glow.
'This is the Shadows' Den,' he said. 'This is your office.'
Silverdun ran his finger along one of the desktops, leaving a line in the dust there. 'Hasn't been used in a while,' he said.
'It's been a while since we've had anyone to use it,' said Paet. 'It's about time, too.,'
'Where does the front door lead?' asked Ironfoot.
'Turns back in on itself,' said Paet. 'Very handy if you need to induce a gag reflex.'
'Three desks,' said Silverdun.
'Hm?' said Paet.
'In the so-called Shadows' Den. There are three desks, and only two of us.
Paet smiled. 'Ah, yes. I thought Everess would have told you. You've got a colleague. She'll be joining us shortly. Everess is bringing her.'
Ironfoot and Silverdun shared another glance. She?
'In the meantime I've got work to do. Get yourselves acquainted with things; have Brei show you where to find things like pens and ink and so forth. When Everess shows up, we'll talk.'
'Excuse me, Paet?' asked Ironfoot.
'Yes?'
'Where's my laboratory?'
'I'm sorry?'
'My lab. Everess promised me a lab. For my research.'
Paet smiled. 'Did he?' he said.
'Yes, he did.'
'Hm.'
Paet went into his office and shut the door, leaving Ironfoot and Silverdun alone in the mission room.
'That was interesting,' said Ironfoot.
'Pens,' said Silverdun.
'Indeed.'
'I was expecting something quite a lot more sinister, weren't you?'
'I was expecting a lab.'
'It seems nothing is quite what we expected.'
Ironfoot smiled. 'It'll all fall out. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I'll go consult with Brei about those pens.' He made for the stairs.
'Like hell,' said Silverdun, following. 'I saw her first. Besides, you've got your Eastern analyst on the hook already.'
There were footsteps on the stairs. Silverdun looked up and saw Everess descending, followed by a vision in a white dress who was, quite simply, the most beautiful woman Silverdun had ever seen. Their eyes met, and Silverdun nearly lost his breath.
When Everess had told her that she'd be working with two men, Sela hadn't thought much about it. She'd assumed that these men would be like Everess himself, fat and officious, though it occurred to her as she stood on the steps, staring, that it was a foolish notion. The man at the bottom of the stairs was nothing like Everess. His hair was long and dark, and it flowed beautifully when he turned his head to look at her. When she looked into his eyes, she felt dizzy. Those eyes.
Was this love? Did it really happen this fast?
There was another man standing next to him, but Sela barely noticed him. She stared until the dark-haired man finally tore his eyes away from her, but even before he did, a thread wove itself between them, red and orange and gold. When it connected it felt as though it were pulling taut, drawing her physically toward him. It was silly, of course; the threads existed only in her imagination. She could neither feel nor actually see them. But still.
She noticed that Everess was looking at her strangely. 'Have you and Silverdun met already?' he asked.
Silverdun. His name was Silverdun.
'I'm sure I would remember,' said Silverdun, approaching as she and Everess continued down the stairs. The other man rolled his eyes from some reason that Sela couldn't quite make out. No matter how deeply she was able
