Someone is mad at you and Master Gella.
You can sense that?
She is very upset. It is the same woman who was watching Hebron like we were that day.
Really? She’s standing right next to me. Fillion glanced at her. “You have an interest in Insurgo Industries?”
She shot a glare at Master Gella before turning to him. “I do. Which is why I’ve been waiting at this counter for half an hour. And that was after waiting in the number queue for almost two hours.”
“I see. My name is Fillion, by the way. Apprentice Dragonlinked Fillion. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
She opened her mouth, then seemed to lose track of what she was going to say. “I, ah, I’m Master Archivist Elizabeth.”
Master Gella turned from the people sitting nearby and looked like she was going to say something.
Before the master investigator could, Fillion continued. “Master Elizabeth, were you here when the riots broke out?”
She glanced at Master Gella then back at him. “I . . . was. But what does that have to do with anything?”
He took a quick glance around, then stepped closer to her and lowered his voice. “We’re looking into people that may be behind those riots. We were following Hebron, too.”
All trace of irritation and impatience left her expression. “How do you know I was—” Her eyes narrowed. “Wait. You think he and Insurgo Industries are involved with those riots?”
“Perhaps.” Master Gella patted the folders. “It turns out that Insurgo Industries is the parent company of the group most of the criers we think were involved with the riots belong to.”
Master Elizabeth stared at the folders. “It seems they are the parent company for more than one troubling business.”
“Why don’t you join us in a review room,” Master Gella said. “We can discuss this further away from curious ears, and you can examine these records with us. What do you say?”
Master Elizabeth nodded. “Yes. I think I’d like that.”
The room that Muriel led them to was small, but had space enough for the three of them. The clerk left, closing the door behind her.
Master Gella walked around to the other side of the table, sat, and set the folders down. “So, what interest does a master in Archive Craft have in Insurgo Industries?”
Master Elizabeth glanced at Fillion before turning her gaze on Master Gella. She seemed to be studying the special investigator, searching for something. “Archive Craft is my background, ’tis true, but my occupation is investigative reporting.”
Investigative reporter? As he thought on that, he made his way to the side of the table and sat next to Master Gella.
“I’m a free-lance reporter, and while there are a few newspapers in the city, I usually sell my stories to the Stronghold Examiner.” She glanced at him, then walked over and took the seat across the small table from them. She looked at the folders.
Fillion stared at her and frowned. He couldn’t help wondering if she was like Halitos, that reporter from Delcimaar who’d come to interview them all those months ago. He’d been something of a jerk for the most part.
The young woman, she didn’t seem to be that many years his senior, again glanced at him and back at Master Gella. “A friend of mine contacted me about some recent fires in the city. He’s a manager for an insurance company, and his agents investigate fires at buildings his company has policies on. In reviewing their reports, he thought there were troubling similarities among a few of the fires. My preliminary investigations so far have led me to believe that he was right. I think a repeat arsonist is involved.”
“Arsonist?”
She looked at him. “A fire-bug. A person who’s so obsessed with fire that they deliberately start them, especially big ones.”
“What makes you think the fires weren’t accidents?” Master Gella said.
“The fires I’m investigating all had evidence of some kind of liquid accelerant being used.”
Fillion frowned. Accelerant?
“Now,” she said, “while that isn’t unusual in cases of arson, what further ties these all together is that a similar device was found at all of them.”
“Device?” Master Gella narrowed her eyes. “What kind of device?”
Master Elizabeth set a bag on the table. Fillion hadn’t even noticed it before. She opened it and pulled an item out. It was rectangular and looked to be made of metal or maybe painted wood.
“Aside from this one,” she walked around the table, stood next to Fillion, and set it before them, “completely intact devices were not found at all the fires I’m looking into, but metal remains shaped similar to them, melted and deformed, were discovered at the rest, and in each melted heap, there was a steel wire like that.” She pointed to a coil tied with thin ribbon.
Master Gella pulled the item over. She frowned. “I’ve not seen magic symbols like these before.”
“Nor has anyone in town I’ve taken this to.” Master Elizabeth shrugged. “I was told that a tinkerer might be able to determine what the device does.”
Fillion drew his brows together. He’d heard that term somewhere before. “What’s a tinkerer?”
“A machine engineer.”
Fillion blinked. Quillan was a machine engineer. “The guild has one of those.”
“Really?” Master Elizabeth placed her hand on his arm. “Is she any good?”
“Uh,” Fillion glanced at her hand, “I don’t know enough about machinists to judge his ability.”
“He’s good.” Master Gella slid the device back to her. “I actually have him helping me with an investigation of my own.”
“Is that so?” Master Elizabeth took the device, a contemplative look on her face.
“And speaking of investigations, nothing you’ve told us so far explains your interest in Insurgo Industries.” Master Gella crossed her arms and sat back.
“Oh, yes.” She set the device on top of her bag. “Another coincidence with the buildings that burned is that in each case, a man had toured the place, a representative of a company who ended up buying or renting the place and then defaulting. While the company he claimed to represent was different each time, based on witness descriptions, it was the same man. And Insurgo Industries is one of those companies.”
She looked at the folders. “A few of those companies have imaginary addresses—the streets or building numbers listed don’t even exist, and several others have completely empty offices that don’t even have a sign with the name of the business. The office of one company Insurgo Industries owns, a pest control business, is only the merest pretense of being an actual business. While there is a sign on the front door, the locked offices are completely empty of furniture of any kind save a poor excuse for a desk. Aside from that lone desk, the only other things in there are several crates in the back room. And as far as I’ve been able to determine, the substance those crates are filled with has nothing whatsoever to do with controlling vermin.”
She shrugged. “At any rate, Insurgo Industries was next on my list to investigate.”
Master Gella narrowed her eyes. “And how do you know that the pest control offices, which you said were locked, are completely empty?”
Fillion grunted. Good question.
Master Elizabeth’s cheeks flushed. “I, ah, have my ways.”
“Indeed.” The faint smile faded from Master Gella’s lips. “It seems there may be more to these people than even we suspected.”
Why would the group Hebron belongs to burn buildings, though? Unless . . . Fillion turned to Master Elizabeth. “Those fires you investigated, was there any evidence the buildings had been occupied by anyone when they burned?”
“Occupied?”
“Yeah. Do you think they were attempting to destroy evidence of what they’d been up to?”
That one location they’d learned about from the train robbers had been cleaned out before they got a chance to investigate it. What if fire were used in cases they had no
time to do so?
Master Elizabeth shook her head. “From the reports I read on them, the buildings in question were unoccupied, and even had they been used covertly, as far as I saw, what was left after the fire didn’t appear to be anything more than what you’d find in empty buildings—the burned remains of roof and wall timbers, and such.” She raised a hand. “However, whatever accelerant they used burns very hot at the heart of the fires. Any evidence like what you speak of may have completely burned away.”
Master Gella drummed her fingers on the folders. “I mislike not knowing what else these people might be up to. Perhaps we can help each other.”
She glanced at the strange device and looked at Master Elizabeth. “This friend of yours at the insurance company, can we speak with him? He might have more information about those buildings.”
Master Elizabeth looked worried. “No, you can’t.”
Fillion frowned and was about to ask a question.
Master Gella was faster. “Why not?”
“Because he’s gone missing, and I think that whoever is behind these companies has something to do with his disappearance.”
+ + + + +
His hair, though fairly short, was still pulled about as Huemac flew them to the Guildhall. The only concession Doronal allowed right now to the power of the rushing air was the flying goggles. Without them, his eyes would soon be dry and he’d not be able to enjoy the incredible vista stretching to the horizon in every direction.
He’d been happy, before. Well, content at least. But now? He was as a man who’d only had dry crackers to eat his whole life and then was given a perfectly ripe plum. The firm but yielding texture and the explosion of intense flavor were revelations of all that had been missed.
He leaned down and patted Huemac on the neck and felt his bond-mate’s answering rumble through the saddle. A memory of blonde hair splayed across a pillow and Millinith’s soft lips curved in a smile brought a smile to his own lips and an increase in the beating of his heart.
He was more than happy to make time for the new things in his life. Still, he had responsibilities. And he would discharge those responsibilities as before. Even the new ones.
“We need to expand.”
Lord Baronel’s pronouncement at the last meeting had taken Doronal by surprise. “My lord?”
“The number of people in the Caer is growing fairly rapidly, as are the inquiries about available positions. I credit the Dragon Craft Guild with that. Unfortunately, the Housing Hall is near to full, and besides which, there are only so many positions available here. What I want to do is create the groundwork for others to be able to try for holdings around my land.”
He nodded. “I see.”
“I also want to expand the Caer’s interests to include lumber. Our stands of both hard and softwood trees are large and the demand for such will only grow with the expansion of rail lines. And as nahual patrols expand, people will start moving back to the countryside where they will need homes and such, and thus the demand for lumber in that regard will grow as well. If we manage it properly, the Caer will have lumber to sell for generations to come.”
That had all been interesting to Doronal, but he wasn’t sure where his responsibility would lie.
“The first step in all of this will be to lay the foundation for the expansion, and the first step of that is paved roads. I need you to organize enchanting of the cobbles and gravel to extend our roads to the edge of my land. The road north was converted to pavers as far as the Guildhall and doesn’t warrant extending beyond it yet, but I want the west, east, and south roads completed entirely to the edge of my holding.”
That had been easier said than done, especially as many of those involved with Magic Craft had left the Caer and the craft for Dragon Craft. He actually felt a little guilty about that, as he occasionally contemplated leaving himself. He was torn between his position as head of the craft hall in the Caer, and his desire to learn more about Huemac, not to mention the interesting new things both Aeron and the newest dragonlinked were discovering about sorcery. Because of the incredible way triple symmetry was used in the shield spell, he was researching sorcery for anything that had to do with symmetry and was surprised and excited by the fact that there was almost nothing on the subject.
Huemac’s banking descent brought Doronal back to the matter at hand.
It had taken some creative scheduling, but the enchanting shifts were now planned. All he needed was the raw material for the setts, which Lord Baronel mistakenly called cobbles. The only problem was that the raw material normally came from the quarry, which the Caer no longer owned.
Huemac landed on the wide ledge and folded his wings. He chirped in the direction of the dragon den and an answering chirp came from within. Itzel.
Doronal smiled, unstrapped, and hopped down. Is she here?
She is not. Itzel says she wonders if you would like to meet her for lunch.
Have Itzel tell her I will. He patted Huemac on the shoulder and headed to the bedroom door. Don’t have too much fun while I’m eating.
The big dragon padded toward the entrance of the den. There is something else you do that I would like to try with Itzel.
Be sure to ask Itzel about it first, please.
That is a good point. Millinith got angry when she was unable to concentrate during a meeting because of what Itzel and I were doing. Then Itzel got upset, too.
Precisely. I’ll ask her if she has anything to do early tomorrow. If not, perhaps we can spend the night and you two can do as you please. The excitement he felt at the prospect was echoed through the link.
Okay!
He tossed his goggles on Millinith’s bed and unbuttoned the riding jacket as he headed off to meet her.
He rounded a corner and saw her outside the cafeteria doorway, speaking with Liflin.
Doronal’s lips pulled into a smile and his heart beat a little faster. He slowed his pace to gain a bit more time to watch her. She was utterly fascinating to him. Every little thing she did was like a sorcerous thread, thin as spider’s silk, connecting his heart to her. They tugged at him more and more, lately, and he reveled in it.
As he drew closer, his smile faded somewhat. She was worried about something. Her movements were shorter, constrained, and she had a faint crease between her brows. Her expression was a little pinched, too.
She saw him, smiled, and turned back to Liflin. “See how many you can contact. I’d like to finalize their number before we add them as a new class.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Thank you. We’ll talk more about this later.”
“Master Doronal.” Liflin gave him a quick nod and a smile before leaving.
Doronal turned to Millinith. “Did I keep you waiting long?”
“No.” She raised her brows. “Hungry?”
He nodded. “Very.” He pulled his lips into a little smirk. “I could eat some food, too.”
Her eyes widened slightly and her cheeks flushed. A short laugh burst from her lips. “You and Huemac are perfectly matched, I swear.”
Smiling, she took his hand and they walked into the cafeteria.
He’d hold off asking her what that conversation had been about. Whatever it was had troubled her. “I have a request from the Caer.”
“Oh?” She grabbed a tray and moved in front of the servers.
He did the same. “Lord Baronel wants to pave the other roads on his land.”
She pointed out a few food items and they were placed on her tray. “Ah, and he needs granite for the setts, doesn’t he?”
He smiled. Another sorcerous thread. “Exactly.”
“I think we have several tons extra from enchanting the rooms. You’re more than welcome to any or all of it. We’ll likely have more later, too, as we expand.”
Doronal followed her to the head table. “That will be perfect. We’re going to open a new quarry a couple of hills down, but it will take a few months for it to be ready to produce, and he wants
to get started on the roads as soon as possible.”
He pulled his lunch off the tray. “How are things going in Bataan-Mok?”
“They’re moving forward, though progress is slower than I’d like. Fala continues to interfere in one way or another. We’ve got a number of people keeping an eye out for her.”
“Well, with the resumption of the marble shipments, the dragon dens, at least, will remain on schedule.”
“Indeed.” She turned to him. “I’d like your opinion on something.”
“Of course.”
“We’re thinking of selling off parts of the operations there.”
“Oh?”
“The Corpus Order was involved with a great number of things, some of which are far beyond the scope of what any guild would normally partake in.”
“Such as?”
“Agave farming and processing, for one.”
“Ah, yes. Renata and Polandra once mentioned that almost half of the Order was involved with that in one way or another.”
“Exactly. And farming and processing agave makes no sense for the Dragon Craft Guild. It has nothing to do with dragons in any way, and is much too big a concern to be considered community service, such as digging wells and construction assistance.”
He rubbed his lip. While all that was true, it would be reckless to just completely toss away a source of income before they were certain what the expenses at the guild branch would eventually be. But, mayhap they weren’t tossing it away?
He looked at her. “You’re going to sell the agave plants to a company and lease the farmland and processing buildings to them? The sale to also include a right to purchase?”
She smiled and chuckled. “Yes. That’s it exactly. At least to start. We may sell the farmland to them later on.”
He nodded. “And how much will your Bataan-Mok income drop?”
Millinith scrunched her nose. “The gross, by about eighty percent.”
He almost choked on his drink.
She raised her hand. “But! The number of employees working there will be cut in half, and we won’t have to pay, feed, or house them anymore, nor will we have the day-to-day maintenance on the farming and production equipment and buildings. Thus, the net loss might be around twenty percent. Cirtis is looking into more exact figures.”
Of Gods, Trees, and a Sapling: Dragonlinked Chronicles Volume 4 Page 40