The last question game I’d played had ended up with me narrowly avoiding being chopped up for parts in a cockamamie Dream Market in Hedon. While we were now in the real world, I was kind of gun-shy about doing that, because Ivan was still a criminal.
On the other hand, thanks to my association with the Queen, it was doubtful he’d risk hurting me, and I think I secretly amused him. Besides, if all else failed, my magic trumped his.
I picked up the other half of the sandwich. “All right, but I won’t dish on the Queen or anything that falls under a confidentiality agreement.”
“Ask away.” He popped the lid on the Tupperware and put it in the fridge.
“Do you know any necromancers?”
Ivan scooped up avocado skins and pits and deposited them in a countertop composter. “Did you know that necromancy is highly forbidden in Judaism?”
“I did not and that counts as your question, whereas you have not answered mine.”
“Neatly done.” He was silent as he wiped down the island counter. “There was this one guy I heard rumors of during my incarceration.” He winked. “If you want his name, you gotta ask.”
“What was his name, Rebbe?” I polished off the first half of my sandwich and wiped my mouth with a paper napkin that he handed me.
“No clue. He was known as the Shidduch.”
“A Jewish male matchmaker.”
Ivan pointed the rag at me. “Now why would a young secular person such as yourself know that?”
I grinned. “That’s your second question. You made this delicious sandwich so I’ll let you rescind, if you like.”
“Eh. I have a natural curiosity about people. Rachel says it’ll get me into trouble one day. I stand by the question.”
“My grandparents were very religious. That’s how they met. Why do you think this Shidduch was a necromancer?”
“Supposedly, he was a Charmer. Say you were in the market for some military compound blueprints that only a certain general had access to. If you traveled in the right circles and had enough money, the Shidduch would charm that general and you’d have your plans.”
“I’m familiar with how Charmers work.”
“There you go, then. My turn,” Ivan said. “What’s your magic?”
“I’m Mundane.” I swallowed my last bite of shrimp. That had been a mighty fine sandwich.
“Don’t insult my intelligence.”
I slid off the barstool. “I’m not going to hurt you,” I said, waiting for his nod, before I picked him up. With one hand.
“Enhanced strength,” he said, once I’d set him on his feet.
“Yeah. Low level.”
“Why hide it? That’s not worth being Rogue for.”
“You checked me out?”
Off my look of surprise, he tapped his finger to his nose. “That attempted murder hit close to my daughter. You bet, I checked you out.”
“It wasn’t on purpose. I grew up Mundane. A recent accident kicked it in. Rare, but it happens. I registered with House Pacifica pretty much right afterward, but there’s some kind of backlog processing it.” Like indefinitely.
“Fascinating.”
“Back to the Shidduch,” I said. “Charm isn’t necromancy.”
“Is that a question?”
“In this context? Yes.”
“I knew a guy, Moishe, who’d been charmed by this Shidduch. Moishe was still himself, except not. He’d always been kind of goofy but after the compulsion happened, he became sly. Cruel. A lifelong boozer who just up and quit. Never touched a drop again. There was something off about the whole situation.”
“Yeah, that could be necromancy. The living take on qualities of the deceased spirits inside them,” I said. Gunter had enough agency to carry out his revenge against Alfie. “The possessed remain cognizant, if not always in control.” Like Mayan smoking Gunter’s preferred brand of cigarettes, despite her abhorrence of smoking. At least whatever magic he’d possessed during his life hadn’t transferred over. Last night might have ended very differently.
Mrs. Hudson scrabbled against my pant leg and I picked her up and put her in my lap, scratching her ears. “If the Shidduch is the same man that I’m looking for, it’s quite the clever handle. A matchmaker introduces two people to be wed. This necromancer introduces a deceased spirit to a living person and weds it to them somehow. Any idea how to find him?”
“I can get you to someone who does. Provided you tell me what exactly was the deal with the feather that compelled Omar. How did the two men who originally stole it off the archeological site fit into this? Who was the German you were so worried about?”
“That’s more than one question.”
“That’s my price.”
Answering meant telling him about Chariot, but how else could I track down this Shidduch and learn if it was Jonah? Chances were it was, because necromancers were exceedingly rare, but either way, he had to be stopped as quickly as possible.
Ivan was the most expedient route to end this, but as genial as he came off, I’d never trust him with that kind of information.
“Thanks for the sandwich.” I put Mrs. Hudson down, wrapping the leash firmly around my wrist.
Ivan stepped between me and the doorway. “It’s like that, then?”
I stood up and met his eyes. “It’s like that.”
He shifted his weight and my magic danced under my skin. I watched him for any sign of his light magic, ready to lock my armor into place.
“You let my dad choose,” he said. “You kept my daughter’s magic safe.”
“Huh? Oh. Yeah. I did.” Ivan’s father, Abraham, was one of the original architects of Hedon, and when the foundational magic needed to be fixed, the Queen had forcibly recruited me in gaining Abraham’s assistance. My methods had gotten the job done, but put me on her shit list. “Did he enjoy the wedding?”
Ivan smiled fondly. “He danced with Shannon. I haven’t seen him dance since Mama—” He shook off the sorrow that flashed across his face. “You did a mitzvah for my family. Hedon. Go to the Green Olive and talk to the owner.”
“Alfie?”
“Who’s Alfie? Name’s Gunter.”
That was going to be tough… but not impossible.
Chapter 22
“I don’t have an endless supply of tokens,” Miles bitched.
