Page 24 of Warrioress

The street was as empty as she expected. The snow was heavy enough to discourage even the children from frolicking outside. She shivered as snow melted and penetrated her clothing. It was tempting to turn back, but the soft light from Saint Ann’s Bakery drew her like a beacon. Rubbing her hands together briskly, she headed down the road at a fast clip, the lanterns from the store growing brighter the closer she got to it. Stepping inside, however, was pure bliss as the cozy heat of the bakery and the sweet and earthy scent of fresh baked goods filled her nose. The bell jingled as she stepped inside, and Ann popped up from where she had been bent behind the counter, a cheerful smile on her face.

“Uma! I was wondering when I was going to see you. I thought perhaps you decided to abandon my humble shop for Mother Kennedy two blocks down.”

Uma grinned back at her as she stomped the snow from her boots at the entrance and headed to the counter, her gaze flicking among the baked goods on display. “Mother Kennedy’s? Perish the thought. I have just been stuck at the station dealing with things, but it seems to be more under control now, allowing me to escape for a few minutes.”

She hummed quietly to herself as her gaze skimmed over the marked-down goods on display around the counter, her mouth salivating. Sweet rolls stuffed with custards, jam tarts, twisted bread coated with cinnamon and sugar... and a surprising number of cookies and cakes still left over.

“Do you have hot cider today?” she queried.

Ann laughed in response. “Of course! When do I not have hot cider for you? Just the usual jug, or you going to spoil yourself and go for two this time?”

She considered and shook her head. “Six, I think—if you offer discounts for a half-dozen,” she added as she peered at the baker with a sly smile.

The woman laughed and waved a hand. “For you, we will work out a good discount.”

Uma straightened, her smile widening. “Excellent! In that case I will take four jelly rolls, seven of the cream.” Would the Ragoru like something that sweet? She pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Two dozen of the twists.” Her gaze landed on some meat pies marked down from the morning and she brightened. “And all of the meat pies.” There were ten of them there and she mentally winced at how much that was going to come to, but she suspected the boys needed the extra calories now more than ever.

Ann’s eyebrows went up as she listened, but she nodded and quickly wrapped and bagged Uma’s selection. “Are you unnaturally hungry, or...”

“I am taking care of... guests,” Uma replied. “The station is hosting a triad of Ragoru until I can escort them from citadel lands.”

Ann paused and looked up at her in surprise, a twist gripped in a paper in her hand. “Ragoru? They are locked in the station? Did they do something...” she swallowed nervously, “bad?”

Uma shook her head. “No, nothing bad,” she quickly soothed. The last thing she wanted was for word to get around that there were dangerous Ragoru running loose through the citadel. “More just a complaint from some of the gentlemen at the tavern and an incident that happened earlier of another triad being poisoned that we haven’t yet solved. It is better for their safety to keep them within the station and see to it that they make the border territory without incident.”

Ann visibly relaxed and pursed her lips as she bagged the twist and grabbed a new sheet of paper to fetch another. “The gentlemen’s club is up to its usual antics again, are they?”

Uma shrugged in reply. Although there were several men who had been recognizable members of the club, she couldn’t swear by it that it was intentional rabblerousing from the club. She wouldn’t put it past them, however.

“The club was the biggest supporter of the Order.” Ann sighed. “It is no wonder that they would intentionally cause trouble after the changes were made in the citadel’s laws and laws throughout the western continent from the capital. They protested it quite loudly.”

She had forgotten that. Uma grimaced to herself, but her expression shifted into a puzzled frown as she silently watched Ann fill her order. Was the culprit that she was looking for somehow affiliated with the gentlemen’s club? It was unusual for a man to hold such a lowly position—how had she overlooked that? Perhaps it was because the tavern was owned by a gentleman, and she assumed that he had offered gainful employment to some of the rehabilitated lawless who had been found lacking by the merchant class and founding families. But it was quite possible that the scene had been staged for the purpose of the gentlemen’s club.

If so, her hands were going to be tied until she returned to the citadel and had time to gather enough evidence to secure a search warrant, if they even allowed her to have it since the club was outside her jurisdiction. But at very least she would do her part to see that the culprit was apprehended and unable to make trouble again.

The door jangled, drawing Uma’s attention. Although she refrained from turning to see who entered, her eyes slid toward it as she listened to the customers stomping off their feet at the entrance and the grating, boisterous laugh of a particular warder, Ava. It was a pity that the Council decided to not make the warders subject to the regulation of the Guardsmen Guild or else Uma would have had her guts for garters a long time ago from some of the things she had heard. The only thing that kept her from dealing with the woman herself rather than just collecting evidence to submit to the appropriate office was the shit storm it would cause.

“I tell you, Kris, it’s disgusting. I see them with her around town and want to vomit every time,” Ava complained to her companion. “Fucking Ragoru. Filthy creatures. I can’t even imagine how depraved that woman must be to allow them to mount her. Not my business, of course, except that they interfere with my ability to oversee my own matters in my assigned zone. I can’t even walk on the same street by happenstance without one of those creatures glowering at me. As it is, I can’t return to my street for a few more days still due to the agreement they forced out of me.”

Uma’s brow inched up. That was news to her. A case like that would have had to been filed and the reason for it investigated. The only reason it wouldn’t be was if Ava didn’t want her supervisors to know what she was up to. She cast a casual glance toward Ann to see if she was listening—she didn’t want her to fall into trouble due to the careless talk behind her—but the baker had the obvious good sense to ignore the conversation between her customers as she moved along the display case.

The other person—Kris—clucked her tongue in commiseration. “I just can’t believe that it would be Betani of all people. She finally crawled up out of the gutter with her brood, and now she’s playing bitch to a triad. I would expect it of some of the ladies in the pleasure district. But a woman like Betani? I am completely shocked.”

“I am as well. I’m telling you it was a mistake for the Council to even agree to this—and the High Council in the capital even ratified it, which is worse. Not that we are obligated to do everything they tell us to do, which is why there are loyal citizens out there trying to overturn things. Ragoru won’t be tolerated much longer,” Ava replied with a chuckle.

“Are you saying that they are endorsing the return of the Order?”

“Shh,” Ava hissed. “Of course not. At least not really. The Order may have kept the Ragoru in line, but no one really wants them to have control of the citadel again.”

There was a sound of movement and Uma knew without looking that the other woman slid closer to the warder.

“But there is some cooperation?” Kris whispered.

There was a squeak of wet boots, and from the corner of her eyes Uma watched as Ava shifted nervously.

“I wouldn’t know about it,” Ava muttered and cleared her throat. “Some subjects are better to not be discussed.”

Yeah... right. Uma rolled her eyes but smiled when Ava set the large bag filled with her order on top of the counter and heaved several jugs beside it, each fitted into a leather carrying harness with a long strap. Ignoring the gossipy bitches behind her, Uma stepped forward and dug out her coin bag.

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