“The closets aren’t that big, but we don’t have a lot of stuff yet,” Forrest said, poking his head into one of them.
“I think you should have this room, shopa.” Mo’ata took her other hand, and like a weird train of follow-the-leader, entered the last—and most spacious—bedroom. It faced the exterior wall, and through the windows she could just make out a row of buildings across a square of vegetation faded to brown and pink for the winter.
“We would overlook the park?” she asked, turning to Mo’ata. She hadn’t noticed earlier, too caught up in her imaginings of what the space would be like when they’d moved in.
“Yes,” Sana said from behind them. “Would you like to see where your quorin would be housed?”
“Of course!” Blue charged after the other woman, dragging her prida after her. If Beast’s stalls were at all acceptable, they were taking this apartment.
They gathered at the inn’s communal dining hall later that evening.
Blue had ordered stew, unsure when she would have it again. Just as soon as I figure how to make it.
She took another bite, savoring the flavor, before diving into her new favorite subject once again. “So, how long do you think it will be before the stuff we left with the clan arrives? You did send off for it, right? Oh, we can put Derrick’s picture on that bit of wall beside the doorway to our hall,” she said to Forrest, who was watching her with a sort of bemused indulgence. She ignored it. “How hard would it be to put up shelves? Felix, do you make furniture?”
This last startled the mercenary out of his thoughts, and he gave her the same look as Forrest. “I have, yes, but I don’t have the resources here on Karran.”
She was both thrilled and disappointed. Thrilled to learn this new bit about the mercenary and disappointed he couldn’t just make whatever they needed. What did you imagine, Blue? He’d wave a hand and conjure you a dresser?
“But if we find some solid pieces I can work with, the carving itself doesn’t take up much space. I’d have to do it between assignments, of course.” He took another bite of his own meal, a vegetable-pasta dish Blue had tried once. The flavors had been… interesting.
“I know where we can get some,” Mo’ata said. “A trader that does business with the clan occasionally. He operates out of a little shop in the central district. We already have bedframes and the table. I’ll put in an order for a few clothes storage units and shelves. Anything else we can take our time with, I think.”
She took another bite, thinking as she chewed. “We’ll need sheets and dishes and whatever we need to cook with. Which someone will have to show me how to use, by the way. Also, I’m adequate—I had to be living the last couple years with my mom, who does not cook—but I’m not really the type to slave away in the kitchen. Maybe we need a rotation or something?”
Forrest snorted. “I can cook. And we’ll figure it out. We can keep eating out for a few days, at least.”
“We will go hunting for the necessities tomorrow, shopa. Until you start at the Academy, and Forrest at the university, we should use the time to get settled.”
She narrowed her eyes. “And look into whatever you’re now investigating? You know, if it’s at the Academy, I’m soon to be in the perfect place to snoop.”
Felix laughed. “I knew she would catch that.”
Mo’ata narrowed his eyes while Blue pulled hers wide, doing her best imitation of the piquets when they wanted extra food—innocent, cute, and irresistible.
“We are not investigating it yet,” her First Priden said. “When we have approval from the boss, I may”—he held up a hand when Blue grinned—“may ask you to observe for certain indicators. But that will be all. There will be no snooping, as you put it.”
“I can help with compiling and sorting info too. Just like I did on Padilra.”
“We have a deal, Blue.” Not shopa, Blue. “When you have proven your capabilities and finished your terms at the Ministry’s Academy, then we will bring you in further. And it will still be as a provisional agent.” He rapped his knuckles on the table. “And this is not the time or place to discuss this.”
Blue sighed but held her argument. He was right—it was not the place and they did have an agreement. But, was that a smile on his lips, despite his stern words?
Mo’ata’s comm pinged, but he ignored it. “Now, let us finish the list of things to buy tomorrow. Since we acquired much of it the other day, I am hoping we can get a majority of the shopping done, at least enough to move into the rooms the next day. That will allow Forrest to go to his interview without being distracted and both of you to start your studies with clear heads.”
“Yeah, and I’m supposed to get uniforms.”
“We will have to be very efficient. Luckily, we can now have everything sent directly to the apartment.”
The stables had been perfect. Blue had warned Sana that Beast could be a bit grumpy sometimes, and she had assigned him a stall toward the end. The other mounts housed there ranged from the feathered and clawed valk of the southern plains of Karran to the feline pouma imported from Cularna. None were as clever as her Beast, of course, but they had certainly been interesting. According to Sana, the valk were used mostly in racing and the pouma for leisure riding. The ones housed at the complex were the property of some of the wealthier students.
Mo’ata’s mount would be put up next to Beast, and Forrest’s across from him. They would act as buffers against the other animals as well as the other residents. The ones that had adopted Felix and Levi had already been returned to the clan lands. The bond had not been deep, and they had grown too restless to keep in the city.
After the tour was over, Mo’ata and Sana briefly negotiated a couple of points, and then the contract was signed. When Blue tried to ask how much the apartment was, both had brushed aside her concerns.
It only made her more determined to figure out a way to contribute.
Which led her back to the current almost-investigation. What had been that latest incoming message? Was it from “the boss”?
Blue shoveled in another bite of stew, hurrying through her meal. Where had her patience gone? She reminded herself of Dean Gravin’s words and consciously slowed herself. There’s plenty of time for adventures.
Finally, everyone was done eating, and Mo’ata led the way up to their rooms. They gathered in Blue’s, the new unofficial meeting place.
“Well?” she asked, unable to contain herself any longer, despite her self-admonishments.
Forrest snorted, Felix grinned, and Mo’ata shook his head, that same almost smile making an appearance. Levi nodded. “I agree. I would like to know what the message said.”
Mo’ata sighed, the sound dramatic and playful. He was teasing, and her heart swelled with love… and frustration. Taking a seat at the small table, he finally took out his comm and pulled up the message.
As he read, his expression grew more and more grim. Blue watched closely, trying to glean anything from his expression besides “it’s bad.”
After a few minutes, he typed on the screen, and new pings went off around the room. He’d forwarded something. To everyone. Then he set his comm aside and locked gazes with Blue. “The boss has agreed to Zeynar’s terms. He does not want this to turn into another crystal incident, and he wants Zeynar’s resources. The Order has never had a very good foothold in Martika, and he sees this as an opportunity.” He drew in a breath. “He has also agreed to move your status up to probationary agent as of today.”
Blue suppressed her grin. She knew how hard this was for her clansman. “You’d still rather I had my adventures with something less dangerous.”
He shrugged and gave her a rueful look. “Can you really blame me? There is plenty to explore in the worlds that does not throw you in the way of poisoners and maniacs. Like cliff jumping in the Brill Mountains.”
Did her over-protective clansman just suggest she jump off a cliff?
He pointed at her. “And you will resume your weapo
ns and defense training, and it will be in addition to whatever the Academy provides. We should never have let it fall out.” The last he muttered to himself.
She did smile at that, but kept it gentle. “Thank you.” A pause. “I love you.”
Mo’ata snorted but answered her smile with one of his own. “Do not attempt to placate me with gentle words, shopa.”
She was back to shopa. Her shoulders fell in relief. Good.
“Your assignments for tonight are to study the data that has already been gathered. I have forwarded the reports sent in by the Order’s agents, as well as what we have so far from Zeynar. I am sure we will have the rest from him or his guards shortly.”
“Am I canceling my bodyguard job?” Felix looked up briefly from his study of the documents.
He didn’t waste any time in digging into them. In fact, he’d been distant since the visit to the apartment. Blue opened her mouth to ask him about it, then paused. Now was not the time. I wonder if there will be a time.
“No. As I suspected, our instructions are to proceed as we have begun to keep our covers in place. Levi, your cover is not really a cover at all as a new Order recruit. You will, however, also need to proceed to your first assignment. You are starting at the headquarters here in Tremmir?”
The Prizzoli nodded. “Yes. I am to be under Agent Ikil in the illegal substances department. Surveillance at first.”
Mo’ata’s lip twitched. “Sometimes I wonder if the boss can see into the future,” he murmured. “Good,” he directed to Levi. “That leaves you in the perfect position to liaise with those agents on what we find. And having a live eye on those investigations is always better than a report.”
Blue absorbed all this. She’d known Levi was reporting to the agency soon for his first assignment. But Felix?
“Wait. Bodyguard job?” she asked.
“My… commander is being most insistent.” Felix set down his comm and crossed his arms, causing the muscles to bunch. “My leave is up. Either I start taking jobs here in the city and provide the guild with their portion or I return to the main unit to be assigned by them. So I have picked up a bodyguard detail for a merchant from Turamm. It is here in Tremmir, but it is an in-residence job.”
“Oh.” She studied him. He talked as though he was a small piece in a very large machine, as though he had no control over where he went. But his father was a general? Wouldn’t that give him more influence over where he spent his time? Maybe not.
Sana had said she was a “collector of cultures.” Maybe Blue should pick the woman’s brain before making a fool of herself.
“I should only be gone for a ten-day. And since a majority of the incidents have occurred on Turamm, it may be a good opportunity. The man will have servants and employees who will no doubt gossip. I may be able to pick up something new,” he said, tone musing.
“It’s a good strategy,” Blue said. “Um, we’ll miss you?”
Felix snorted. “Are you unsure of this?”
“Hah. No, I just wasn’t sure what to say,” she admitted. “When does it start?”
“The day before you are to report to the Academy, so I will be here to help with setting up the apartment.” He grinned at her. “And hopefully by the time I am back, you will have figured out how to prepare a proper meal.”
Blue chucked a pillow at him. “Maybe we’ll make you do all the cooking, like you did on the way to Firik.”
“And you will notice that most of the time you ended up doing most of the work,” he shot back with a smirk.
Blue thought back on it. She did usually had ended up preparing most of the meals, for one reason or another. Either Felix had handed it off to her or asked for help stirring or chopping, or… “Fiend,” she said with a little snarl.
He tossed the pillow back to her, his shoulders shaking with silent chuckles.
The rest of the night was spent wading through the reports. She struggled with the more technical aspects, but the translation program Trev had installed helped, and Mo’ata or Felix explained anything else she couldn’t figure out. By the time she’d finished, Forrest, Levi, and Felix had retreated to their rooms and it was long past the time she usually went to bed. Mo’ata was still at the table where he’d set up a mini–command post, sorting through reports and information on both his comm and the larger tablet.
Words swam in Blue’s head, and her vision blurred. She’d managed to get the gist of the situation—seizures, dead bodies, colored fingertips, and damaged brains occurring in incidents spread over the open worlds—but the significance of the details was eluding her. Then there was the vial that had been found near the body on Zeynar’s estate and the name Nya had given him before her death. And those mysterious words, “Follow the blue…”
She didn’t understand the medical references made or the significance in the brain bleeds, even though the reports went over them in detail. According to what Trev’s man had sent, Nya had been suspected because of a mark on the vial, something that was a near perfect match for the symbol she’d used in the Aromachists’ Guild. Blue studied the image attached. It looked like a coiling serpent with wings.
The answer was on the tip of her brain, like when you couldn’t remember the words to a song, then woke up at three in the morning singing. She felt as though the pieces were there before her, but she couldn’t see how they fit. Tossing her own tablet aside, she growled in frustration.
Mo’ata appeared before her. “Enough, shopa. You need to get some rest. There is still much to do tomorrow, and exhausting your mind now will help no one.”
“You’re right. Dammit, even if these were translated perfectly into English, I’m not sure I’d understand the reports. They’re full of medical speak and chemicals.”
“And it will only get worse. Zeynar has promised an analysis of the substance contained in the vial as soon as his people complete it. As well as a comprehensive autopsy on the body.” He set down his own comm and joined her on the edge of the bed. “It is a stroke of luck, really. Often it takes months, or years, to gather as much as we’ve gotten from him. Unless the Order is called in directly, in situations such as this, we only have what others think to report.”
“Like where Trev’s people originally said ‘discolored fingertips’ but not what color.”
“Exactly. With the crystals, the first kidnappings happened months before they were even connected, and then it was months again before we got the break we needed to solve the case.”
The break they needed… “So, me setting off an accidental portal was a ‘break,’ huh?”
He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Best break of my life, shopa.”
She looked into his hazel eyes. “If I stop and go to bed, so do you.”
His gaze dropped to her lips. “I suppose that is only fair.”
She teased a finger along the ridge of his bicep, tracing one of his tattoos. “Plus, you’ll be working hard, hauling around all the stuff I’m going to make you pay for.” There was one more thing she needed to bring up, and she wanted to do it now, before it became lost in the flurry of tasks and school and to-dos that her life would soon be.
She peeked up at her clansman. “I’d like to bring in Levi, officially. And maybe Felix. Or at least offer the opportunity. How—” She swallowed at the light that entered Mo’ata’s eyes. “How does that normally go, exactly?”
He grasped her hand in his, halting her teasing touch. “You are growing, my shopa. And it is done just as you are doing. The shopa will approach the First Priden. If a consensus is reached, the man is then approached. Often there is a trial period, or what you would call dating. It is a time for the new pairing to grow in intimacy.” The flash of his grin told her all she needed to know about that. “It is also when all members of the prida can get to know the new man. Then, after a time, if the two are still in accord, the shopa and proposed member of the prida come before the other members for a vote.” His fingers tightened around hers. “It is usually
more of a formality than anything, but as you saw with Mo’ran, it is still a necessity. The final decision must be up to the prida as a whole. And before you ask, yes, the shopa has a vote as well.”
Blue turned his words over in her mind. It was very much as D’rama had explained it. “So, then how do we come to a consensus on Levi and Felix?”
He bent down and leaned forward until his lips hovered just over hers. “Oh, we long ago did that. I have simply been waiting for you to realize it. But enough talk about them. This is my night with you.” He closed the last bit of distance between them, his kiss gentle but containing a heat she knew would burn soon enough.
Blue returned it, marveling that this amazing man wanted her as he did. She hoped to never lose that thrill.
Chapter 11
JASON
“Sir, I do not believe—”
“Agent Peterson. These are your new orders.” His handler, Borran, crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.
“These are for Falass.” He read through the orders again, his fingers gripping the edge tight enough to wrinkle the paper.
The Ministry held onto a few old traditions. All new orders to agents were given in hard copy as well as through transmission. Those orders had to be handed to the assignee by his superior, and confirmation of both receipt and acceptance had to be registered in person.
And these new orders made no sense.
Agent Borran ignored the flurry of activity around them as his gaze bore into Jason. His desk, a clear plexi that showed every print and spill and speck of dust, sat in a corner of the large room that housed the External Security department. Voices blended into dull noise, and monitors beeped. A majority of the space was allocated to the handlers, but along one wall were two doors—one to the command center for special operations, fully enclosed and surveillance proof, and one to the director’s office. Those walls were plexi, giving Director Janas a clear view of her domain.
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