“Fine.”
She knew what she needed to do. Exactly what Minox would do if he was here. “You want to head out to East Maradaine?”
“What for?”
“That robbery,” Satrine said. “There’s something hinky there.”
“Sure there is,” Kellman said. “I mean, the guy refused to tell us what was stolen.”
“You don’t think that’s odd?”
“Course I do,” Kellman said. “But that means we’ve got no chance of breaking down the rest of it. I mean, maybe Welling would look at it and see some sort of pattern in the roads or the phase of the moons and figure it all out, but . . .” He shook his head. “I know I ain’t like that.”
“It’s fine,” she lied. “I’m tired of his sewage, anyway.”
“Well, it’s safe to go into the archives today,” Kellman said. “He took the day off.”
She shrugged, acting like she didn’t care. Her whole body was filled with worry for him. She hoped he was right, whatever he was planning. She got up from her desk. If nothing else, some activity would occupy her attention.
“Have we eaten?” Satrine asked. “One thing about working with Minox, you never missed a meal.”
“I could eat,” Kellman said, putting the finished report on a clerk’s desk. “Anything in mind?”
“Somewhere between here and East Maradaine,” she said. “I want one more round of talking to the staff. Maybe someone saw something. Maybe someone will let it slip what was taken.”
“I like where your head’s at, Tricky,” Kellman said. “Let’s do it.”
She got up and double-checked her handstick and crossbow. Ready for anything.
She was certain Minox was as well. She trusted he knew what he was doing.
Minox found the grounds of the University of Maradaine fascinating. On some level, he envied these children, being able to study for its own sake, but he knew that he would not have been happy in this environment. He could dig through records, research and analyze, but he needed that to have a practical end. The abstraction of university study never appealed to him.
But if his magic had developed at a normal age, he would have been obliged to have come for study, to master his magic, to join a Circle. He wondered if Veranix Calbert bristled at being here, or if he relished it. But since the young man used his magic to fight the drug lords and Fenmere as the Thorn, he suspected that Veranix wasn’t a pure academic in his outlook.
After a few minutes of walking through the grounds, Minox realized he had made a gross tactical error. He did not know exactly how to find Veranix on campus. He was here as a civilian, so he had no authority as an officer of the Constabulary. Even if he had tried to exert his authority, it could easily be called into question. Investigating on campus required writs and permissions, and since he was not operating in an official capacity, he could hardly call upon that authority.
So he needed a different way to find Veranix, and before the campus cadets became too suspicious of what he was up to.
Veranix had that rope, which was magical in nature, that he used in his fight as the Thorn. Minox had formed a connection to it, was able to use it much the same way he was able to use his magical hand. Perhaps he could sense it, and that could lead him to Veranix.
He closed his eyes and tried to reach out with his magical senses. Feel his way to the rope, get any sense of direction or location.
“Sir, what are you doing?”
Minox opened his eyes to see a young, dark-skinned woman standing in front of him, long-handled gardening tool in her hand.
“Sorry, miss, I—”
“You’re standing in the pathway. My crew needs to work here.”
“Your crew?” Minox looked to where she gestured, a few young men in work clothes.
“The grounds crew, sir. We’ve got to clear the weeds on the pathway, tend to the—”
“Of course,” Minox said, stepping out of her way. There was something familiar about her, but he couldn’t quite place it. “It’s just—”
The words his brother had quoted this morning came to him. “Be guided by those who tend to the path.”
“I’m looking for Veranix Calbert.”
She startled for just a moment, then turned away. “I don’t work with the students, sir. I’m just in charge of the grounds.”
Dissembling.
“No, you know him,” Minox said, moving closer to her. The twitch of her eye, the tightness of her jaw, it all spoke volumes. “You know he’s the—”
“Keep that up, all down to the south gate,” she ordered her men. Then she spun on her heel to face Minox, her grip on her tool tightening to strike. “You better walk away, mister, or I—”
“I need his help,” Minox said, sensing she was protective of Veranix. Now he remembered why she was familiar. When he and Veranix stopped Enzin Hence in his monstrous form, she had been there. She was his friend. “I’m In—Minox Welling, I—”
Her grip relaxed. “You gave him the files.” She grabbed him by the arm and led him away from the walkway, to the shade of a tree. “What’s going on?”
“I’ve been tracking a lead, which involves the missing children of Dentonhill, and I suspect it is tied to the Circle of the Blue Hand. I was going to investigate their abandoned chapterhouse, but thought it unwise to go alone. I had hoped—”
“Veranix would join you,” she said. “And he would, but he’s not around. He’s—he’s taking care of something else.”
“When will he return?”
She shook her head. “You think it’s urgent?”
“I think lives are already at risk, yes, but I—” He hesitated. “I can’t involve the Constabulary on this. It’s—”
“I get it,” she said, pursing her lips in thought. “Give me five minutes.”
“What will happen in that time?” he asked.
“I’ll be ready to come with you,” she said. “Where’s this chapterhouse?”
“Price Street. Number 106.”
“Wait here.”
She jogged off, and he waited as instructed. She
