Page 4 of Where Exorcists Cannot Lie

I cleared my throat. “Will you behave? I’d rather not bind you, but I will do so if you force me.”

Morhh laughed and rested his hands behind him, leaning backwards in a languid manner. “You’ve never dealt with an Alpha Demon before, have you Little Mage?”

“My name is Tazãr Bao. Your aura might be strong but don’t flatter yourself. I could take you.”

“Oh, I’d take every precaution and plenty of time ensuring that you could,” Morhh gave an inconspicuous upward jerk of his hips. It didn’t make it any less lewd, though. I would have rolled my eyes at his immature antics, but I found myself too occupied dealing with the onset of dry mouth syndrome. “However,” he continued, “it’s not flattering yourself if you can back it up. So, by all means, have at it, Exorcist. Go ahead with your search.”

He felt confident. Too confident. And rightly so, it turned out.

I uttered the incantation, using my fingers to form a complex seal designed to counteract high-level concealment spells. One that had never once failed me in locating and revealing hidden effects.

Nothing materialised.

I schooled my face, but despite myself, I felt impressed by the sophisticated protection Morhh had set in place. To his detriment, however, I had a trump card up my sleeve.

I let out a theatrical sigh. “Well done, demon. Regardless of your skill, I will get what I came for. If not by Magic, then by resorting to good ole jealousy. Care to watch?”

I strolled past the bed and moved towards the corner of the room, flashing Morhh a small smile. Once my hips touched the windowsill, I turned and started walking, my elbow brushing the wall, taking long strides and counting them out aloud.

“One, two, three, four.” I halted. “It should be right about here, shouldn’t it?”

As I went to kneel, I couldn’t refrain from casting him a glance.

To my disappointment, Morhh’s features showed signs of neither anxiety nor aggravation, even if he observed me with an expression of mild interest.

I devoted my attention to the section located some four thumbs off the floor. Even though none of the wall’s wood panels looked or felt unusual or sounded hollow after tampering with them for a while, I managed to manipulate one into folding back on itself. Some further fiddling allowed me to work out a way to remove a couple of boards altogether. My efforts exposed a vast cavity inside the partition.

I beamed, staring at two large wooden crates, stacked on top of each other.

Bullseye.

“You see, I like being thorough,” I said conversationally, turning to face Morhh and rising. For effect, I flicked a non-existent speck of dust off my silks. “Just in case, I went to the trouble of calling on all those ditched lovers who you’ve angered enough to file a report against you. You’re careful and trust nobody, so they knew nothing of use. Except for one who fancied themselves a bit of a snooper and spied you twice crouching in this exact spot, caressing the panelling. And here we are.”

Morhh’s eyes slitted yet his countenance remained unruffled. “Humans. So inconveniently territorial,” he muttered, a trace of distaste saturating his words.

“What can I say?” I scoffed. “Pardon some of us for having this irrational dislike for being two-timed. Well, in your case more like three or four-timed.”

Morhh, the cheek of him, waved his hand in a manner reminiscent of an emperor forgiving the transgressions of his subjects. “Very well, Little Mage. You’ve found my stash. Now what?”

“My name is Tazãr Bao,” I said without much inflexion. “Now—”

As if on cue, Jiminta and the thinner and taller of the two lads appeared in the corridor, poking their heads through the gap in the door.

“Downstairs is clean, Master Bao,” Orgo said. “Adyn stayed there to keep an eye on things.”

“The innkeeper had this on him.” Jiminta turned a red paper talisman in her fingers, her wide-eyed demeanour hinting at animation.

“Excellent. Come in and let me see.” I extended my hand.

I bit my lip watching the juniors approach. They kept taking stealthy peeks at Morhh—who lounged on the bed semi-naked—a uniform blush darkening their cheeks.

Once the talisman rested in the palm of my hand, I sent my Magic forth to appraise it.

Judging by the intense concentration appearing on the apprentices’ faces, they braced for the worst.

“It’s a… garlic breath prevention charm.” I snorted as both juniors gave a loud exhale. “I think we can let that slip. Instead, have a look at that.” I pointed to the nook in the wall. “Take one box each. Put it on the table over there and crack it open.”

The moment the lids came off, I approached the loot to give it a quick check and ensure it held nothing vicious before having the juniors examine it in detail. I let my hands hover over the crates crammed full of innocent-looking everyday objects, each placed in an individual organza drawstring bag. All of them contained a built-in spell or an amulet of sorts. Bracelets, hairpins, wind chimes, little figurines and animal collars were the most abundant. Apart from plain metal and ceramic discs for wearing inside one’s pocket or money pouch, I also noticed a wad of paper talismans—the kind that activated upon rubbing against a pulse point. Satisfied with the results of my review, I stepped back from the table and allowed the juniors better access.

---