Page 43 of The Tree of Spirits
“So, Miss Winters.” Isidora set down a cup of tea on the table in front of me. She had the body and grace of a ballerina. “What can I do for the Castle?”
I braced my feet against the floor, sitting up taller. The only problem with the luxurious sofa was it was really slippery. “Actually, I’m not here on official Castle business.”
“Oh?” Isidora took a dainty sip from her own teacup. The flowers painted on the porcelain perfectly matched the dress she was wearing. “Then why are you here?”
“It’s a long story. But suffice it to say, I’m looking into a robbery at Raytan’s Removals.” I paused, watching her for her reaction. She gave none. “And an explosion that destroyed the contents of one of their shipments. It wounded four of their employees.”
“The removal business is a dangerous one.”
That sounded like a threat. Maybe Xael was right about them. Maybe they were trying to take out a rival business.
“You and Raytan are competitors,” I said.
Isidora made a derisive noise. “We are hardly on the same level.”
“Care to clarify?”
She primly folded her hands together on her lap. “We operate completely differently. The Metamorphs brute-force their way through their removals. Whereas we employ both finesse and skill. A little telekinesis can go a long way, Miss Winters. Our approach is far safer than the Metamorphs’. And there’s a much lower rate of material damage.”
I took a sip of my tea. It tasted like strawberries with a splash of mint. “And yet you’ve lost a lot of business to Raytan.”
Isidora crinkled her pretty little nose. “Yes,” she admitted. “Our bookings are down since Raytan set up shop in the Emporium last year. People go to Raytan’s Removals because his employees look big and strong. And prospective clients think that’s the profile of a good removals company. A misconception, of course.”
“I see there’s no love lost between you and the Metamorphs.”
Isidora set down her teacup a little harder than she’d likely intended. It clinked loudly against the saucer. “I wouldn’t sabotage Raytan, if that’s what you’re implying.Weare notsavages, unlike the Metamorphs. We don’t need to stoop to such crude, despicable methods. We’re going to beat them because we are better, not because we cheated.”
I rose to my feet. “Thank you for seeing me. I think I should go now.”
“Yes,” she said stiffly, rising. “I really think you should.”
When I stepped out of the building, Rane was waiting for me.
“Raytan said you were here. How’s it going?”
I didn’t have a good answer to that, so all I said was, “Let’s walk.”
I needed to think. I needed tomove. But after a few blocks of moving and thinking, I still had no idea what to make of this messy situation. Silent brooding hadn’t helped; maybe talking about it would.
“This whole thing feels fishy,” I said. “First, Raytan’s trucks are stolen. And then, when he tracks one of them down, someone’s unloaded all the cargo and just left it there. And they left the trucks there too. I mean, what kind of thief leaves the treasure behind?”
“A stupid one?” Rane suggested.
“And then the cargo crates all exploded, along with all the stuff in them.”
“That explains the singe marks on your shirt,” Rane commented.
I looked down. “What? Where?”
“Don’t worry about it,” she told me. “You can hardly notice them.”
I knew she was lying to make me feel better, but my mind was too ensnared in this mystery to care.
“So there were magical explosives hidden inside the supply crates.” I peeked into a magic shop, then, seeing it was closed, continued on. “But a lot of care was taken so that no one was seriously wounded or killed in the explosion. That doesn’t soundlike something a mortal enemy would do. And as for the Elves being behind it…” I shook my head. “Ok, Isidora was kind of condescending toward the Metamorphs, but I don’t think she’d resort to hiding bombs in their crates. She’s way too proud to do something so underhanded.”
Rane stopped walking. “Wait, what? Raytan thinks Isidora is behind all this?”
I shrugged. “Some of his guys do, anyway.”
