Saved by Magic: a Baine Chronicles novel (The Baine Chronicles: Fenris's Story Book 3)

by Jasmine Walt

  Garrett stared at me intently for a long moment. “Uncuff him, please,” he ordered Captain Skonel. “It is clear that a mistake was made.”

  “Uncuff him?” Skonel gave me an uneasy look. “But why did he not say—and that alarm, it should not have rung for a shifter—”

  “Now. And leave us. I need to speak to him privately.” Garrett’s voice brooked no argument. Being in charge of Federal Security had made him more imperious than ever.

  The captain glowered, but he motioned to his enforcers to do as Garrett asked. I held in a sigh of relief as the cuffs came free and rubbed my smarting wrists as the captain and his enforcers took their leave of us. Skonel was furious at the insult of being kicked out of his own office, but he had little choice considering Garrett outranked him.

  The door closed behind us, and a tense silence filled the room. I met Garrett’s eyes steadily, betraying nothing. Long seconds passed as he continued to study me as though I were a particularly vexing puzzle.

  “Why did you let Iannis and Sunaya think you were dead?” he finally asked, and I blinked in surprise. That was certainly not the first question I expected. “You caused both of them unnecessary heartache.”

  “I…” I stalled for a moment as I quickly scrambled together a plausible story. I could hardly say that I had left to save them and me from Garrett’s own probing, after he had come dangerously close to the truth. “I was badly injured during the quake when I helped Sunaya and Rusalia escape that collapsed building. I don’t really remember how I escaped, to be honest, but I’m pretty sure I was hit on the head because I was dazed when I woke up and couldn’t remember anything for a little while. By the time I regained my memories, I decided it was simpler to stay away. It gets…tiring, being the third wheel in Iannis and Sunaya’s relationship, if you catch my meaning.” I tried to look wistful, as though I’d had to suppress my feelings for Sunaya and found it painful. “I thought it might be easier for all of us to let them move on without me.”

  Garrett nodded sympathetically. “I know all too well what that’s like,” he said, and then gave a little laugh. “You know, I actually suspected you of somehow being Polar ar’Tollis until Sunaya told me the truth.”

  “Oh?” I asked, keeping my expression carefully blank even as my heart raced. What “truth” had Sunaya told him? One false step now could sink all of us. I held my breath, willing him to give me a clue.

  “Yes, she explained everything to me,” Garrett said. Was that a small grin on his face? “I completely understand that you wouldn’t want to advertise that you are Polar’s bastard son, brought up like some guilty secret that had to be hidden away. It must be hard enough to be a shifter amongst mages without everyone knowing that you’re a hybrid.”

  Stunned, but pleased, at the strange narrative that Sunaya had spun, I managed a laugh of my own. “I’m afraid I’m not half the mage my father was,” I said. “My shifter blood has prevented me from inheriting his full magical strength.”

  “Your father was? Do you know if he’s dead, then?” Garrett immediately asked, looking like a keen bloodhound all of a sudden.

  “I do not know for sure,” I said, hiding my annoyance at Garrett’s eagerness to execute me, “but I have a feeling he is no longer alive, and Lord Iannis agrees. Life as a fugitive would not have suited him. My father was a proud man.”

  “That’s very interesting,” Garrett mused. “Though I can hardly take your word for it. We need proof before we can stop hunting him, but at this point I’d just as soon find him dead than alive.”

  “Of course.” I hid a shiver. Sunaya might have fooled Garrett for now, but it was clear that he had not yet given up.

  “So, how much of his magic did you inherit, as well as his taste for studying those old scrolls? Sunaya is also a hybrid and yet very strong, but of course we do not know how much power her unknown father had or has.” Garrett sounded like he had considered the issue more than once. “I suppose inheritance varies from family to family. In any case, you must not continue to hide yourself like this. Your grandparents have been staying in Solantha for months, hoping that you will resurface.”

  “My grandparents?” I reeled back, not bothering to hide my shock.

  “Yes. They’re convinced that you must still be alive, since your body was never recovered. They’ll be very happy that their intuition was on target.”

  “That can’t be right,” I said, trying and failing to wrap my mind around the idea that my parents had come all the way to Canalo looking for me. “My father always told me that they were too proud of their mage lineage to accept a shifter into their family.” Certainly, if I had fathered a secret wolf shifter child, I would not have expected them to welcome it.

  “Maybe they were once upon a time, but that is certainly not the case now,” Garrett said. “Your grandfather was quite anxious and saddened when he heard you had perished in the quake. There is no reason for you not to seek them out, or to deny your heritage anymore. Sensible people do not blame children for their parents’ sins.”

  I shook my head, stunned at Garrett’s unexpected compassion. I was so used to seeing him as my enemy that I wasn’t sure how to handle his earnest efforts to help me.

  “Do you know where my grandparents are staying?” I finally asked, deciding to play along. I might as well track them down to see if they really were my parents. Was the old mage who went to see Boon Lakin my father? An unexpected cocktail of joy and anxiety filled my heart. I hadn’t seen my parents in years…what would they think if they knew that Fenris and Polar were the same person? Did I dare tell them the truth?

  “Yes, they’re staying at a hotel right here in town. The Golden something-or-other,” Garrett said, screwing up his face as he tried to remember.

  “The Golden Wave?” I guessed. It was a small but elegant hotel on the outskirts of the Mages Quarter that I’d passed on more than one occasion.

  “Yes, that sounds right. Why don’t we get you something to eat, and then you can be on your way?”

  17

  Fenris

  “Tell the captain we’re leaving,” Garrett said to the captain’s deputy, who was loitering just outside the office. Captain Skonel and the enforcers from earlier were nowhere to be found, which wasn’t surprising—the captain wouldn’t want to hang out in his own waiting room, for everyone to see he had been kicked out. “I don’t expect to be back again today, but if he has need of me he knows how to reach me.”

  “Before we go,” I said, slowing to a stop, “I want Enforcer Meltin investigated. It seems he has an illicit arrangement with the brothel owners and gang leaders downtown, which is how I ended up in this unfortunate situation in the first place.”

  The deputy’s face hardened, and I could tell that he was just as reluctant to take criticism about his Guild as the captain was. “I’d also appreciate it if Meltin returned my coin purse to me,” I said pointedly.

  “Yes, see to it that it gets done,” Garrett said briskly. “We can’t have corruption in the ranks, especially at a time like this.”

  “Yes, sir,” the deputy said with a sharp nod, though his scent told me he was seething inwardly. He turned to go back into his office, and I reluctantly followed Garrett to the elevator. Despite my hunger, I wasn’t looking forward to sharing a meal with him, but it was the least I could do after he rescued me, and I saw no way to avoid it without rousing renewed suspicion.

  “So this Enforcer Meltin is responsible for putting you in a jail cell?” Garrett asked as we walked out of the building. Not a single person stopped us, though at close to two in the morning there weren’t many people around. “How exactly did that happen?”

  “It’s a long story,” I said, reluctant to discuss it out in the open. “Perhaps best told over some food.”

  Garrett agreed, and he took me to a twenty-four-hour diner a few blocks away that the enforcers liked to frequent. There were one or two enforcers seated in booths, nursing coffee, but other than that the place was empty
, and we easily found a table that ensured us a measure of privacy. The wooden tables were shiny from use, and nicked here and there. The electrical light was flickering strangely, but the scent of warm food from the kitchens was highly appetizing, and I placed a huge order.

  It was very strange to be sitting with Garrett, but I forced myself to get over it. As I devoured multiple burgers and milkshakes I told him about the human trafficking ring I had stumbled over, and that Meltin had falsely charged me with stealing from a brothel in order to keep me from digging too deeply.

  “So were you working for Iannis, as you had told the captain, or not?” Garrett asked, his brow furrowed. “I thought you said that you planned to stay away from him and Sunaya.”

  “I did,” I said. “But a couple of weeks ago, I learned by chance that there is a plot against the Convention or the wedding…I’ve not yet found out which. I came back to warn Iannis, of course, only to find that he was mysteriously gone.”

  “Indeed, at the worst possible time.” I could tell that Garrett was not very upset about it—he probably thought it would improve his own chances to be named the Minister’s successor. “Why did you not come straight to me with what you learned, or at least to Director Chen?”

  Why indeed? I shrugged. “There was not enough information to act on. I wanted to find out more first. That was why I have been haunting such a bad part of town. The human trafficking was just bad luck. I didn’t tell Skonel what I was really after, since I suspect that there are moles in his organization. Too many enforcers hate mages, and your quarrel with the captain tonight will not have improved matters.”

  Garrett scowled. “The man failed to inform me that they had taken a mage prisoner—you, as it happens—and I only found out by chance. He exceeded his jurisdiction, but I’ll be surprised if he does it again.”

  So that was what they had argued about. I had reservations about Garrett’s increasing powers, but for once they were working to my advantage.

  “I did have a friend send warnings to you and Director Chen,” I said. “And I was going to contact you again when I had more information.”

  “We get dozens of those every day, mostly from crackpots.” Garrett sighed. “I already had an uneasy feeling, and we have stepped up security as much as possible outside Dara. Not even a flea is going to get into the Convention without being thoroughly checked. But until now, I was not truly inclined to take an anonymous warning—or several—too seriously.”

  I told him about the Resistance veterans being assembled and the strange hand signs I had observed. Garrett stopped eating and listened intently. “So there are a whole lot of men from out of state waiting for something to happen, and they’re given money to cover their living costs in the meantime?”

  “Yes.” I described the fellows who had been lurking on a building site. “That gives us some leverage,” Garrett said at once. “The bosses have to know what these supernumerary workers are, and who placed them there. I’m actually not too surprised. You don’t get far in the construction business by being ethical and honest.”

  “I know.” I vividly remembered the corruption we had so recently dealt with, before the earthquake.

  “But we don’t know exactly how they intend to strike. With only days before the Convention starts, I won’t pussyfoot around—I’ll round up anyone who might be in the know and make them talk.” From the determination in his face, I had no doubt Garrett would act on that intention immediately.

  “I wish you didn’t have to resort to such desperate measures,” I said. “I had hoped I would be able to find out who is behind this on my own.”

  “Without our resources and authority to arrest people, you had little chance,” Garrett pointed out. “Thorgana’s missing husband is a prime suspect, of course, but we have been unable to locate him, despite our best efforts. I put my best men on it, but he seems to have completely vanished from the face of Recca. For all we know, he’s dead.”

  “Well, there was a large network to finance and direct the Resistance. Do you have a list of her main deputies?” I asked.

  “Yes, and I’ve been tracking them down. I’ve managed to find a few, but these bastards are tricky—more often than not, they poison themselves before I can get anything useful out of them.”

  “Fanatics.” I shuddered at the thought of being so blindly committed to a cause that I was willing to kill myself without hesitation. “That’s not very helpful.”

  “Do you suppose they have another anti-magic device?” Garrett asked. “We destroyed the one we found out about, but it’s possible Thorgana had another up her sleeve. If she somehow got that into the Convention venue, or anywhere close to the government, we’d all be sunk.” He glowered, and I could tell that the notion was highly unsettling to him.

  “I have a feeling it is something more violent,” I said. “I wish Iannis and Sunaya were here. Sunaya has a knack for finding out dangerous secrets just in time to prevent the worst.”

  Garrett nodded. “That she does. Their absence has made my job significantly harder, and the Convention is starting in a few days. It’s going to take place regardless of whether Iannis arrives on time, but if he’s going to miss his own wedding, he will be a laughingstock. It would also be humiliating for Sunaya.” He drank from his beer and put the glass down on the wooden tabletop. “Speaking of Sunaya, if she does make it back in time, she’ll appreciate it if you attend the wedding. No need to let her see how you feel about her.”

  “Yes, I want to be there,” I admitted, and my smile was genuine. “And I have moved on, so it won’t even be painful.”

  Gratitude welled up inside me, and I made a mental note to thank Sunaya heartily when I saw her again. Thanks to her skillful manipulation of the truth, I could attend the wedding and walk about openly as Fenris without fear. Perhaps I might even be able to move back to Solantha and live close to my friends. A giddy rush of joy filled me, and I sat back in my chair, suddenly overwhelmed with the magnitude of it all.

  “Are you all right?” Garrett asked, looking concerned.

  “I’m fine.” I waved him off, then sat up so I could take another bite of my burger. We talked for a bit longer, until Garrett finally said, with a huge yawn, that he was going to take himself off to bed. I had no choice but to let him pay the bill since I was copperless, and he brushed aside my offer to reimburse him. I promised to inform Garrett of any new discoveries, and he seemed satisfied with that. He even offered to let me be there when he finally caught the responsible parties, but I took that to be an empty promise. In the clear light of day, he’d revert to the ice-cold official I had known for years.

  As I watched Garrett from the booth window as he walked up the street, the tension that had been digging into my shoulders finally left my body. I had never seen Garrett behave so affably before, except once with Sunaya. He had a crush on her, which was why he had been so sympathetic when I’d insinuated I’d felt the same and had kept away for that reason. But I couldn’t let myself forget that he was still an enemy—if he ever discovered the truth, he would not hesitate to arrest me and have me executed. Sunaya must have been awfully convincing when she told Garrett I was my own son.

  The absurdity of it all had me chuckling in the booth, and the waitress gave me a strange look as she passed. Of all the solutions to this maddening problem, that was the last thing I would have thought of. Only Sunaya would have come up with such a far-fetched tale and have Garrett believing it!

  Shaking my head, I left the diner. The full moon beckoned overhead, a song in my veins, and even more insistent was the tug on my serapha charm that told me Mina was safe in our hotel room, waiting for me.

  It would take a long time to get back to the Marwale without a steamcar, but it was too late to rent one, and I had no intention of staying away from Mina any longer than I had to. Giving in to the lure of the full moon, I shifted into wolf form, then loped down the deserted street, my veins singing with anticipation.

  I couldn’t wait to
see her again.

  18

  Mina

  Warm hands slid over me, stirring me from a deep slumber. For a minute, I thought I had to be dreaming, and I rolled over, burying my face into the pillow as I attempted to burrow deeper into the dream. The hands were strong and calloused, and Fenris’s masculine scent teased me, making me miss him fiercely. If dream Fenris was all I had right now, I would gladly take him.

  But then those hands pulled me back against a hard, bare chest, and my eyes popped open. This wasn’t a dream. I was here in my hotel room, hints of dawn streaming through the blinds and gilding everything in a golden-pink light. And Fenris…

  “By the Lady,” I gasped, turning in his arms. “How did you get back?”

  “Shh.” Fenris slipped his hands into my hair, stroking a thumb across my right cheekbone. “I missed you,” he growled right before he kissed me. His tongue teased the seam of my mouth, making me forget my questions as hunger stirred within me. Opening to him, I kissed him back, stroking his tongue with mine as I ran my hand down his broad back. His muscles flexed beneath my touch, and he grabbed my butt, his strong fingers digging in lightly as he pulled me flush against him.

  A bolt of desire struck me as I felt his length press against my belly—he was fully hard, and fully naked. Abandoning his back, I reached between us, and he groaned against my mouth as I wrapped my fingers around his cock and gently began to massage him.

  “Yes,” he panted, placing his big hand atop mine and moving it faster. “Like that.”

  I stroked him for a few minutes, taking pleasure in the way the planes of his face grew taut, his yellow eyes blazing with need for me. Eventually, he batted my hand aside with a growl, then flipped me onto my back and pushed my nightgown up around my hips. I cried out as he entered me in one smooth motion, pleasure rippling through me as he filled me to the brim.