Tane yawned at the mention of the word. “It’s probably time. I’m not coming up with any more leads. In the morning we’ll go talk to the Vreegs.”
Kadka nodded and stood from the booth. “Tomorrow, then. I have good feeling.”
Tane wasn’t so sure, but he nodded anyway. Maybe pretending would help. “Right,” he said. “Tomorrow we find her.”
Chapter Nine
_____
THE VREEGS’ HOME was part of an old divided brickfront, one of four homes sharing the bones of the same run-down building. Theirs was the second from the left, two narrow floors of a few rooms each. Not a palace, but larger than Tane’s office—apparently Bittik’s wage from the quarry was enough to afford some space for his family, even if the place was long past its best years. Except he’s not making that wage anymore. I wonder how long they’ll be able to keep a roof over their heads.
Tane pulled his hood low over his face before knocking on the door. They’d come early, while the streets were relatively clear, and kept their faces hidden to respect the Vreegs’ wishes. Kadka still stood out a little bit—her size and greyish skin were hard to hide under any close examination—but nobody seemed to have taken notice yet. The leftover drizzle from last night’s rain was a lucky break to justify the hoods. They’d have looked deeply suspicious in sunny weather. The whole thing felt silly to Tane, but then, he supposed the Vreegs would know better than he would what was likely to attract trouble from rabidly pro-magical types. Goblins had been dealing with that sort of thing for centuries.
Bittik Vreeg answered the door, and ushered them inside. “Quickly, quickly.” When they were in, he peeked his head out the door and looked in both directions, satisfying himself that no one was watching.
“No one follows us,” Kadka said, lowering her hood. “I would hear.”
“Good,” said Bittik. “I’m sorry for all this, but if the wrong person saw you… We don’t need any of these Emperor’s Knights types looking our way.” He gestured to a doorway on the right side of the entry hall. “Please, come in. Make yourselves comfortable.”
They followed him through into a small den with a well-used fireplace on the far wall and a well-worn couch on the near one. Kirga was inside, laying a chipped tea-set out on a low table in front of the couch. She looked up as they came in.
“Welcome to our home. I’m sorry for the mess, I’ve just been so worried for Tinga…” She took a deep breath. “Well, sit down. Tea?”
Tane glanced around the room, looking for the mess she was talking about, and found nothing. The furniture and decorations were modest, and none of them close to new, but the place was tidy. “It looks clean to me. You should see my office.” He took a seat on the couch. “Tea would be good, thanks.”
Kadka shook her head. “Not thirsty.” She wasn’t much of a tea drinker.
“Are you sure, Miss Kadka? Would you prefer something else? I can get you anything you like.” Kirga ceased pouring the tea to gaze up at Kadka with something like awe. Of late, her work with Iskar had made her particularly popular among the less privileged members of Thaless society—which apparently included the Vreegs, even if they were too nervous to attend rallies.
“No, no,” Kadka said, holding up a hand. “Is fine. Thank you.”
“Oh.” Kirga sounded slightly disappointed. “Well, help yourself to the biscuits. Please, do tell me if you need anything.”
Bittik had ducked into the next room and came out dragging a pair of wooden chairs, probably from their dining table. Tane hadn’t noticed at first glance, but there weren’t enough seats for everyone, just a patched armchair in the corner beside the couch. Bittik pulled the two chairs up to the opposite side of the tea-table, and made to sit.
“We will take chairs,” Kadka said, reaching out to interrupt him. “Is your home, should have couch.” That hadn’t occurred to Tane at all, which made him feel a bit guilty.
“Oh my, no,” Kirga said. “You are guests, Miss Kadka, and you didn’t have to agree to help us. Please, sit.”
“Well… If you want this way.” Kadka apparently didn’t have the heart to argue after having already turned down Kirga’s tea. She reluctantly took her place on the couch beside Tane, and the Vreegs sat themselves in the chairs across the table.
“So.” Bittik looked at them without much hope. “Have you found Tinga?”
“Well,” said Tane, “not exactly. But we’ve seen her. She’s alive.”
Kirga’s eyes lit up. “You saw her? Where was she? How did she look?” Tane couldn’t help but notice that she directed the questions to Kadka, even though he’d been the one speaking.
“Looked… healthy,” Kadka said. “But there is trouble too. She is sneaking out of house where we come looking for kidnapper, man called Heynes. He is inside, dead.”
“Oh!” Kirga gasped. “You don’t think… she wouldn’t have—”
“No, she didn’t do it,” Tane clarified. “We think it was a spell gone wrong. But she ran, and there was someone else chasing her, which interfered with us catching up. I’m afraid she’s involved in something dangerous, because someone is after her. It looks like this other investigator was hired to track her down.”
Bittik and Kirga exchanged a look, and took each other’s hands.
“She’s alive, Bittik,” Kirga breathed—more hopefully than Tane had expected, given the news that Tinga was being hunted by an unknown party. “Our girl is alive. And she’s still out there.”
“We were prepared for something much worse,” Bittik explained. “This isn’t good news, but it’s better than it could have been. What… what do you think she might have gotten into?”
“Hoped you tell us,” said Kadka. “You know her best. What trouble does she get in? Where does she go to get away?”
“The only trouble she’s been in lately is those Silver Dawn rallies,” said Bittik. “I warned her, but she didn’t want to listen. She snuck out a few times.”
“She’s always been stubborn,” said Kirga. “Of course we tried to punish her, but it never stopped her.”
“Especially after she met that other girl there,” Bittik said, clearly disapproving.
“Other girl?” Tane asked, taking a sip of his tea. “Can I ask who that was?”
“Cestra was her name,” said Bittik.
Tane nodded. “We’ve heard of her. She’s missing too. I think Tinga might be looking for her. That’s probably why she was sneaking around the kidnapper’s house.”
“Oh, that would be so like her,” said Kirga, her voice catching in her throat. “Tinga isn’t one to stand by when she sees something unfair. And she was so fond of Cestra.”
“Anything else you know about this girl?” Kadka asked. “Can only help us find Tinga.”
Bittik shrugged. “Didn’t know her very well. She was only here a few times. Human girl. Polite, but she filled Tinga’s head with some dangerous ideas.”
“Oh, I don’t think so, dear.” Kirga shook her head. “No, Cestra was very sweet. I think… she always said she was living in an orphan’s home, but her clothes and the way she was always so happy to wash up here… I think she was embarrassed to tell us she had nowhere to go. Tinga must have known, and the idea of her friend living like that… She would have gotten involved in these protests no matter what Cestra said. And the quarry letting you go only made things worse.”
“You’re probably right,” Bittik said, and hung his head. “I wish I’d never told her. That fool girl, she wanted to bring Thorpe Manufacturies down around their ears.”
If anything, that made Tane like her more. Thorpe Manufacturies was one of the largest artifact producers in the Protectorate, with a number of factories and quarries across Greenstone, but he didn’t think much of their work—they built cheap to cut costs, and their prices didn’t show it. “Is that who you worked for?” he asked.
“I never had the chance,” Bittik said bitterly. “I worked in the Uestas quarries for thirty years.” Uestas Artifa
cts was a smaller manufacturer, mostly limited to Thaless rather than the entire nation, but Tane had always respected their product. “Made my way up to foreman before Thorpe bought the place. Soon as they did, they cut out everyone they didn’t like. Goblins and kobolds mostly. Wasn’t just us, either. They bought up several quarries. Lot of friends lost their jobs too.”
“That’s not legal,” Tane said indignantly. “You can’t deny work because of race in Audland.”
“That’s what Tinga said.” Bittik spread his hands, and there was anger in his voice. “But do you think it matters? Ask them, and they’ll have a different reason, and the coin to make the courts believe it. Maybe it’s easier for a human, but not for us.”
Kadka scowled. “Is same for orcs. Laws are not always enough. You said before, this is why Tinga runs away?”
Bittik sighed. “That was my fault.”
Kirga put a hand on his arm. “That’s not true. She—”
“It is,” Bittik said firmly. “I was too hard with her. She was so upset. Wanted to tell somebody, maybe a lawyer. I got angry, raised my voice when I shouldn’t have.” He looked up at Tane and Kadka. “But you have to understand, we can’t afford that kind of attention. Especially not with things the way they are right now. And no one is going to hire a troublemaker. Better to keep my head down and have a chance at getting new work.”
“But you said Tinga couldn’t take an injustice lying down.” A fragment of an idea was forming in Tane’s mind. “If she wanted to hurt Thorpe, she might have started poking around.”
Kirga’s face went pale. “You don’t think… if they’re the ones after her, with their resources…”
Right. Should have kept that one to myself. “I’m just thinking out loud,” Tane said, hoping to calm her. “I wouldn’t worry about it yet.” He stood up. “In any case, I think it’s time we got on our way. You’ve given us some things to look into, and the sooner we find her, the better.”
Kadka rose as well. “We will find her. I promise you this.”
Kirga Vreeg looked up at her with tears of gratitude in her eyes. “Thank you so much, Miss Kadka. I knew you were the one to help us with this.”
What am I, her assistant? None of their clients had ever fawned over him like that. “Come on, Kadka,” Tane said. “We’ve got work to do. Thank you for the tea, Kirga.” He started for the door.
When they’d said their goodbyes and made their way outside with their hoods back in place, Kadka grinned at him. “Don’t be jealous, Carver. Is not good look on you.”
“I’m not jealous,” he protested. “It’s just, I’d talk and they’d look at you. You’d have thought I was just there to carry your things.”
“You mean way most look at me?” She shot back, raising an eyebrow.
“That’s not what I…” But he couldn’t come up with anything convincing. “Alright, that’s probably fair.”
“Vreegs are kind to you, at least. When is me, usually is like I am monster.”
“Well now I feel like a big baby.” Tane rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry.”
Kadka shrugged. “Is fine. Maybe you learn something. Now, we go to this Thorpe place, yes?”
Tane nodded, happy to change the subject. “I’ve got a feeling they’re part of this. We know Lefty usually works for bigger clients, and they fit the bill. I’m thinking maybe Tinga brought Cestra with her to snoop around there, and maybe they saw something they shouldn’t have. Could be Cestra wasn’t taken like the others at all—maybe she was caught.”
“So Tinga blames self maybe,” suggested Kadka. “If she is like her parents say, she will not stop looking. And closer she gets, easier she is for someone else to find.”
“She’s smart,” said Tane. “Just the fact that she hasn’t been caught yet proves that. She won’t expose herself if she can help it. But you’re right—if they’re involved, she’s not going to stay out of Thorpe’s business.” He started down the street. “Which means we need to be there too. Let’s go.”
Chapter Ten
_____
THORPE MANUFACTURIES BASED their operations in Greenstone, where they’d opened their first factory nearly a century ago. The building was a huge brick monolith that would have dwarfed everything around it anywhere else; here on Ancryst Avenue, it was just one of many. The green haze that always hung in the air in this part of the city was thicker here, pouring from the stacks atop the ancryst processing facility next door. A half-hearted attempt had been made to beautify the grounds with some shrubbery, but the plants looked discolored and unhealthy against the greenish air, leaves drooping under the simple effort of existence.
Tane didn’t much like this part of the city. Fine ancryst dust tickled his lungs every time he took a breath, until he had to cough to clear his chest. It hadn’t been so bad the previous night in the heavy rain, but today’s light drizzle wasn’t enough to keep it down. He cleared his throat. “At least in Porthaven you just have to get used to the smell—you’re not breathing in fish dust.”
Kadka looked up at the greenish sky, frowning. “True. This is part of magic I don’t like.”
“You’re not alone there.” Tane held his breath as they approached the building. “Come on, it won’t be so bad inside.”
“Think someone important talks to us?” Kadka asked, glancing at the highest floors of the factory.
“I think if they’re involved, they’ll know Tinga’s name,” said Tane. “When they hear it, they either throw us out or invite us in to hear more. I’d certainly prefer to get upstairs and have a look around, but both ways tell us something. Assuming our message gets past the door.”
Kadka nodded. “Stick to story, and should be no problem, yes?”
“Let’s test that theory.” Tane pushed open the doors and stepped inside with Kadka just behind.
The doors opened into a large lobby area, where a sprite woman perched on a tiny desk set atop a much larger one—apparently not all the clerks were sprite-sized. There was very little separating the entry area from the vast openness of the factory floor, where what looked like thousands of people of every size and race were busy at long tables, assembling bits of brass and copper with glittering gems and pieces of pale green ancryst. It was like Bastian’s illicit warehouse manufactury on a much grander scale—and those facilities were hardly small, despite the diminutive size of their owner. Along one side, a staircase ascended toward the high ceiling and the floors above. That was where they needed to get. Anyone important enough to know anything would be up there in the offices and research laboratories, well above the menial labor on the floor.
“Can I help you?” The sprite woman looked up from her little desk. Her eyes widened a little bit when she saw Kadka.
“My name is Tane—”
“Carver!” the woman finished for him in an excited squeak, her wings fluttering behind her back. “And that’s Kadka! You’re the Magebreakers!”
It took everything Tane had not to visibly cringe. “Ah. You’ve heard of us, then.”
“Are you here investigating something?” She was clearly hoping they were. “What is it? The Knights of the Emperor?”
“Is nothing like that,” said Kadka. “Just looking for girl who runs away.”
“Ah,” the sprite woman looked slightly disappointed, but she perked up immediately. “Well, I hope you find her. What can I do to help? I’m Jasmine, by the way. Jasmine Sunblossom.”
“Well, Jasmine, we hoped we could talk to somebody upstairs.” Tane leaned in conspiratorially. “We don’t want to embarrass anyone, but we’ve got reason to believe that this girl might be lying about her age to get work. You know how the Senate is about underage labor laws. Better for everyone if we handle this without an official investigation.” They’d worked out that story in advance—something that would convince a desk clerk to relay their message.
Jasmine nodded knowingly. “These young people, they’re in such a hurry to be adults. Well, let me see what I can do.” H
er eyes took on the distant look that came with a sending. A moment passed, and then, “Oh my. Miss Thorpe would like to see you personally. That’s quite unusual without an appointment, you know!”
“We’re honored,” Tane said, unable to keep the dry edge from his voice. That was easy. We must be on to something.
Jasmine didn’t appear to notice. “Come with me, I’ll show you the way.” She fluttered up into the air and beckoned for them to follow.
They walked along the outside edge of the factory floor and up the long flight of stairs, past the second floor landing and up to the third and highest level. A set of sliding metal doors sat closed at each landing, with a glyphed copper panel to one side. Presumably an ancryst lift. They worked on the same principle as the underground discs that carried people across Thaless: an ancryst platform levitated by magical fields. In factories like this, they were used to carry heavy goods that couldn’t be easily hauled up stairs. Tane thanked the Astra silently that they’d taken the stairs instead—since the rail accident that had stolen his parents from him, he didn’t much like travelling by ancryst machine, even if only for a few floors.
On the third floor. Jasmine led them by several closed doors to a final one at the end of a long hall, marked with a plaque that read Felisa Thorpe. Tane had heard the name before: she was the head of the Thorpe family and chief operator of their businesses, though he didn’t know much about her beyond that.
Jasmine was too small to open the door by hand; instead, she did it with a few muttered words in the lingua and a gesture at the handle. It swung open. Inside, a well-dressed, meticulously groomed human man sat behind a reception desk in a small waiting room. At the far end, another door presumably led into Miss Thorpe’s office proper.
“I have the Magebreakers here for Miss Thorpe, Julian,” Jasmine said. “Is she free?”
The man—Julian—gave a short nod. “I’ll bring them in, Jasmine. Thank you.”
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