“The hell do you know about this orb?” asked Benen, and Gus cringed, but he didn’t answer. “Right, then, after you.”
Gus let out a small exclamation that got lost in his throat as Benen shoved him through the door. He stepped through and pulled it shut behind them before Gus could raise further objections, though he did regain his balance and whirl to stare behind Benen.
“Look what you’ve done,” he said.
Benen turned. The door they’d entered through was gone; bookshelves ran the length of this wall as though a door had never even existed. Benen followed them, but bookshelves lined the entirety of the room, no other doors in evidence. Across from where they stood, steps led down into the center of the room, where a depression was lined with more bookshelves, about waist-high, and couches in the corners. Three other sets of stairs led out of the middle of the floor up to this main level, where the taller bookshelves were.
Gus had been right about the tempting nature of the room. This was nicer than most personal libraries Benen had seen in wealthy Jewylle on Ilben residents’ homes. Still, Benen wasn’t about to let Gus think he was right about any of this.
“If there’s a way in, there’s a way out,” he said, and Gus gaped at him. He grinned at the thief. At the moment, he almost enjoyed being trapped in a room with his opposite—someone who stole for a living. It reminded him he gave that up, and it made Benen feel all the better for it. The small amount of nostalgia he’d felt picking the door couldn’t take away his pride that he’d made it, that he wasn’t the one about to be arrested the moment they were out of this maze.
“By all that is—look, sir, the orb is a challenge and a solution. It is meant to solve disputes and smooth relations. Repair relationships. Bring together opponents who must have some civil relations. You cannot solve this maze by barreling through it.”
“Oh, you’re saying we have to be friends?” asked Benen, only half listening to what Gus was saying. He wandered around the exterior series of shelves, having a look at the contents. “Interesting tactic.”
“It’s not a tactic, damn you.”
“It’s not even as fun as flirting. Friends. I’m not even friends with my coworkers.”
“That is because you’re a stubborn ass,” said Gus, following several steps behind Benen, who was beginning to really enjoy the man’s irritation. “You want to know what I know of the orb? It is this: before Josen Nevgeradel came to have it, it was in the possession of a woman who used it to solve marriage disputes, sibling rivalries, enemies’ quarrels, et cetera and so on. It is powerful magic. Relationship magic.”
“How can I tell if you did your schoolwork or are pulling all this out of your ass?” asked Benen. Nothing he was seeing pointed to a secret door, but then the exit was probably not obvious.
“I’ve done my research. And while I didn’t kill Nevgeradel, I did know he had it and I did very much want it. So there you have it. A confession. An explanation. Obviously you are already aware I broke into your police station for it. I would have simply stolen it from the merchant, but I’m afraid somebody murdered him first. And you are doing your best to get us trapped in here for an eternity.”
Benen pulled a random book off the shelf, curious that none seemed to be labeled on the spines, and ran a finger over the cover. No title, no author, here either. He opened the book to blank pages and flipped through them to find them all empty. Perhaps this had been made for bookkeeping, or to record daily thoughts. He replaced it.
“I don’t much trust you or your explanations at all at this point,” said Benen, trying the book next to it. This one was also blank. He frowned, replaced it, and moved down the shelf. “I’m supposed to believe you pinch very particular rare magical items after research only? What kind of thief does that?”
“One like me,” said Gus. “What are you looking for?”
Benen turned the third book he’d opened so the blank pages were facing Gus and watched the man’s reaction. His green eyes grew huge and his already pale face drained of blood. Benen closed and replaced the book, then gestured to the shelves.
“They’re all like that. Empty.”
“A whole library devoid of content,” said Gus in a whisper. “I don’t understand.”
“No?”
“No,” said Gus, and stalked off down the steps. Benen watched as he pulled a few books off shelves there, flipped through them, replaced them. After confirming for himself everything was blank, he crossed to a corner seat and fell onto the cushions, looking miserable. Benen followed him down the stairs but remained standing opposite.
“Anything else you care to tell me?” asked Benen. He took a step closer and Gus sighed, leaned forward to bury his head in his hands.
“I wanted it to solve a family problem,” he said.
“What kind of problem?”
“A delicate one. I’d heard about the orb because Nevgeradel was boasting. He wanted a rich buyer.”
Benen frowned. How Gus could hear what was being leaked to the ears of the wealthy was suspicious. Maybe when he wasn’t in thief’s clothes, he went around mimicking someone wealthy—with his accent, his mannerisms, Benen could believe Gus might pass in certain settings for someone in a different class than his own. This would also explain the niche nature of his thievery. Still, he wanted to challenge Gus on it.
“I’m supposed to believe you hear rich person gossip.”
“I have my ways. When I heard about the orb, and what it had been used for, well—you really can’t blame me for thinking it could solve the problem of my sister’s failed engagement, now could you?”
Benen scoffed. Family honor. He hated shit to do with family honor. It was at least the third largest motivator for murder, he’d noticed, and a whole lot of nothing. People needed to move on with their lives, roll with events better.
“Some reason why she couldn’t just get engaged again?”
Gus sighed and waved a hand.
“You wouldn’t understand, now would you?”
“What’s the point?” asked Benen, and Gus looked up at him, met his eye. He smiled a little, but sadly.
“She loved him. At least, she said she did. And it was a good match. She’s secondborn, so she is not expecting an inheritance, you see, and—”
“Inheritance?” Benen didn’t care that he was interrupting. No one from the streets of Jewylle on Ilben expected an inheritance. Not unless they’d conned one out of some dying old fool. “I don’t understand.”
“I told you you wouldn’t.”
“Did your family fall out of its class?” asked Benen, trying to run through his mental list of families he’d heard of that had lost money.
“No. We have valuables. If you know what I mean.”
Benen frowned at a bookshelf. He could think of a few reasons for that—thieving from the rich ran in the family and Gus’s had a few choice pieces that needed to stay hidden for a while before being sold, an older sibling or parent had been in prison and had ill-gotten wealth buried somewhere, a relative had stashed away something small under a floorboard and no one had pinched from it yet, and other options were all not impossible.
“I’d tell you to share with her, but you look too greedy for that.”
Gus blinked at him, then started laughing. He appeared genuinely amused. Benen glared.
“You think I’m the eldest? No, no—we have an older brother. And as she’s secondborn…” Gus trailed off, spread his hands, and leaned back into the couch. “That’s why I’m here. I picked the wrong night to rob the station, I suppose. You were there.”
It practically sounded like flirting again. Gus spread his legs with the motion of his hands and Benen’s eyes were drawn to the movement, to his crotch. He yanked his gaze away, but Gus had regained whatever confidence he’d previously had and was grinning at Benen now. He wasn’t even embarrassed where Benen’s gaze had strayed, and he had to know just how tight his clothing was.
“I didn’t drink enough wakeleaf tea f
or this,” said Benen, and stalked off up the stairs to feel around for a latch or button of some sort on one of the shelves. Failing that, he’d pull every book down if he had to. As he worked on the problem, he tried not to let his mind wander to just how he’d gotten here, stuck in an orb’s spell with a thief, and he very much tried not to let himself examine the feeling that he was starting to be somewhat drawn to Gus, who was beginning to grow on him. Benen liked that Gus lacked the gruffness most criminals seemed to have, that even being in the police force had not helped Benen rid himself of.
“That isn’t going to work,” said Gus from the couch. Benen had made it about a quarter of the way down one of the walls.
“You have any better ideas, feel free to get up off your ass and try them out.”
Benen heard Gus sigh but not the man’s steps as he approached, light of foot. Benen did see Gus out of the corner of his eye and turned to glare. Gus ran a hand through his hair and Benen found he couldn’t keep the glare up—Gus almost looked embarrassed.
“This isn’t going to work because solving the maze or any aspect of it is only one part of breaking free from the orb’s spell. You cannot do it alone because we must do it together.”
Benen let his hand drop from where he was feeling underneath the top of a shelf.
“I understand working with others isn’t exactly a strength of yours,” began Gus, but Benen interrupted him.
“You and I can’t work together. You’re a thief and I’m an Assistant Detective.”
“And you’re from Jewylle on Ilben’s underbelly and I…am certainly not,” said Gus, then grinned broadly. Benen passed a hand over his face and was rewarded with a shower of dried blood from his beard. He felt disgusting and at the moment wondered why the room had to be a library. A kitchen, a garden, anyplace with water to wash would have been better than this.
Benen’s mind raced and he frowned at Gus.
“You did this on purpose. You knew what the orb did and wanted to force me to work with you.” He shook his head. Regardless, he needed to get out. “It’s not going to stop me from locking you up once we’re through here. We’re not friends.”
“The point of this exercise is it must be genuine. You have no choice.” Gus paused, reached out a hand. He stopped just short of touching Benen’s arm. “Besides, I don’t believe you hate me that much.”
“You kicked me in the face.”
“And you nearly dislocated my arms. Which are still sore, by the way. We can call a truce.”
“You really won’t stab me in the back,” said Benen, and Gus shrugged.
“You won’t take my word on it, therefore it hardly matters that I say it.”
“I want you to say it,” said Benen, wondering whether Gus would go for it, would obey. He did.
“I swear I will not stab you in the back. Could we move on to addressing this problem together? I suggest that there are four doors out of this room, one across from each set of steps. Unfortunately, I cannot remember which one we came in on.”
“That one.” Benen pointed. “If we’re keeping with our pattern, that means to turn right we should try to open that door there. Assuming you’re right.”
“See, we’re working together well already.”
“Don’t get cocky, asshole. You’re still a criminal.”
Benen followed Gus around to the correct section of books and they both began searching, pulling books down, running their fingers over the wood, looking for something that would trip open the door. As much as Benen knew he should be angry for having to get along with Gus, he found himself enjoying working with the man. Thea often had him behind a desk, so he didn’t get much opportunity for hands-on work, and he felt comfortable enough around Gus, so much so that when they met in the middle and their shoulders bumped, Benen didn’t immediately bristle.
“Nothing?” he asked, and licked his lips. He could still taste blood.
“Nothing. There are other shelves above and below this one.”
Benen nodded and they set to checking all of those, too, while he sneaked glances at Gus’s slender, nimble fingers. Thieving fingers. Beautiful, thieving fingers, very unlike Benen’s shorter, stouter ones. They bumped shoulders again and Gus mumbled some kind of apology, but Benen decided he’d enjoy himself. At least until they got back and he’d haul this man’s ass to the cell. He and Thea and Raldina could work out the rest of the murder investigation then, now he knew what the orb did.
“Still nothing,” said Gus as he finished the bottom shelf. “The only one we haven’t checked is up near the ceiling. Give me a boost?”
“Don’t try anything,” said Benen, and locked his fingers together.
Gus balanced the toe of his other shoe on a bookshelf, but still his weight was heavy on Benen’s hands.
“You don’t look this heavy,” muttered Benen through gritted teeth.
“I’m apparently that good at deception. Let me down and we’ll move over to the other half of the shelf.”
Benen wiped his hands on his pants like Gus’s shoes were dirty, trying to rub some of the ache out of his palms. He considered what to do if they didn’t end up finding some way to activate the door and tried not to think that Gus could have been right about entering this room to begin with. He locked his fingers again and grunted as he lifted Gus up.
“Aha.” Gus found what he was looking for immediately and a section of shelving creaked open a few feet away. “Lovely little button. What are the odds the magic made one because we were looking for it?”
“Don’t care. Get down.”
Benen’s arms were tired and he slipped a little as he let Gus down. Benen moved to steady Gus, ended up with a hand on Gus’s arm, one on his ass. It was a nice ass.
“Thank you,” said Gus, pulling Benen’s hand off his arm. Benen removed his hand from the man’s ass and both of them glanced away, saying nothing for a moment. “Shall we?”
“Yeah,” muttered Benen, and they went through the door.
* * * *
There had been times, back in the real station in Jewylle on Ilben, when Benen had found the walls boring, depressing. When they’d weighed on him, whitewashed brick looming, an intimidating setting if you were a criminal but soulless if you had to work there. But that was nothing compared to now, the endlessness of the maze, the stale air and featureless walls. If they hadn’t been taking right turns at every junction he was certain they’d wander forever, and even with their pattern he felt completely lost.
Gus yawned loudly, still in the lead, and Benen stifled a sympathetic yawn, replaced it with his slowly steeping annoyance.
“Just how long’s this puzzle supposed to last?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” said Gus, pausing at the latest convergence of corridors. He picked at something under a fingernail before turning right. “Until the magic is satisfied, I’d imagine.”
“I think I hate you. Did you have to go and turn the orb?”
“I am not sure what you would’ve had me do. You were going to arrest me.”
“Should’ve been arrested then,” said Benen. “For all you knew, the orb did something completely different than you thought.” He frowned at Gus’s back when he shrugged. “You really would have let your sister get sucked in here?”
“Well, it wouldn’t have started anyplace so dreary as a police station. I would have suggested nicer surroundings.”
Benen ground his teeth. That wasn’t what he meant and Gus had to know it. If he didn’t appreciate being pulled into a scenario where he made friends with an enemy, he very much doubted anyone else would care to be forced to patch things up with an ex. He opened his mouth to say something about it but Gus had come to a halt in front of another door much like the last.
“Imagine a thief who’s shit at picking locks,” said Benen, pulling out the toolkit and brushing past Gus.
“As I said, I’m a bit of an amateur still.”
“And here I was thinking you were trying your damnedest not to go
into that room.” Benen paused, listened for the lock to click, then went for the handle. “Thought I wouldn’t be able to manage it if you couldn’t?”
“I,” began Gus, then, “What is that smell?”
“Soap and water,” said Benen, relieved. The room smelled like a bathhouse and steam even rolled out as he pulled on the door. Just what he wanted. He recalled Gus suggesting the magic put a button in place to release them from the room once they’d gotten along enough and wondered whether it was giving him a way to clean up. “Would be nice to get this blood off my face.”
“I’m not—” began Gus again, but Benen grabbed his arm and dragged him into the bath with him. The door shut and then sealed behind them, leaving nothing but a seamless stretch of tile in its place.
This room was as big as the library had been, again with a depression in the middle, this time for the bath. Steam roiled off the water, probably the perfect temperature, and the far wall across from them was hung with mirrors. Towels, soaps, and benches were scattered around, and Benen took a deep breath. This place was better than the public baths. He was struck with envy of those people who could regularly afford magic—or their own luxurious baths.
“Thank you. I wanted to be stuck in a room again,” said Gus.
“It’s all part of solving the maze, unless you’re lying to me?” Benen frowned at Gus, who ran a hand through his hair again.
“I’m not lying, I’m simply not particularly keen on this room. This is a spell focused on repairing relationships, and while it has been used for everyone from business rivals to feuding family members, I’m beginning to doubt it has the correct impression of us.”
“It’s a bath. I’m covered in my own blood. Never used a public bath before?”
“Of course I—”
“Then stop spluttering.” Benen moved to a bench and began undressing, looking forward to the hot water. Arresting Gus without a face full of dried blood would look better to Thea, too—less like the thief had gotten the better of him at any point. And Benen had gotten into the habit of trying to make himself seem less rough, more educated than he was. Detectives didn’t like feeling as though they were working with street criminals, so Benen played the part of a middle-class career officer as best he could. That meant keeping himself clean, making himself seem above petty scuffling, even with suspects. It meant covering up his scars.
The Officer and the Thief Page 3