Page 8 of Blue Embers
Benjamin gave it some thought, rubbing his clean-shaven chin. “Not sure. I believe Ms. Grant bought it herself from an anonymous seller. Why?”
“Just curious.” I stepped toward him, patting him on his shoulder. “I’ll be going now. I just wanted to get you that dagger before Sunday.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you again, Mr. Valentyne. Ms. Grant will be thrilled to get a look at the new piece.”
“Speaking of,” I said. “Where is she this time? I was expecting to give the dagger directly to her. She seemed quite particular about the collection and all the arrangements yesterday.”
“Actually, she called in to say she would be late. She claims she’s ill, which for her must be serious,” he chuckled. “She’s quite committed to this and hasn’t missed much at all since she started working with the museum.”
“Ill?” I cocked my head a bit. “She seemed perfectly fine yesterday.”
“Well, I can assure you she’ll be hard at work later to make up for it.”
As I was about to tell Benjamin that I wasn’t at all concerned over it, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, glancing at the screen to see Draven’s name above the incoming call icon.
“Excuse me,” I said, stepping away to gain a little privacy. Tapping the screen with my thumb, I brought it to my ear. “Draven,” I said into it, meandering back toward the loading dock to leave. “What can I do for you, brother?”
“We’ve found something,” Draven drawled.
“Talk to me,” I said, anxious to know if I could contribute.
“Ares was spotted by someone far up north outside the sectors. A Draak named Saxon Kane says he was unmistakable.”
“Kane. He was one of your generals, if I’m not mistaken.”
“He was more loyal to Valerio, but yes. We go way back,” Draven sighed. “I asked him to build a network since the attack. He moves around so much he’s got contacts all over, in and out of the sectors. Looks like my request paid off.”
“Where was Ares seen?” I asked, walking out the metal door to the back parking lot.
“In the southern parts of the outer territories. Someplace called Ceptin. Who knows if he’s still there, but maybe you could narrow your search to that area and see if anything turns up.”
“I’ll do what I can. I’ve also been trying to narrow down areas where Phyre Glass could be created, but nothing is showing any promise yet. The rebels know how to avoid us, that’s for certain, and money only goes so far in the outer territories. I’m beginning to doubt the trustworthiness of some of my contacts. For all we know, this Haera you told me about has the means to hide from our radar all together. I’m trying to trace possible materials needed to create it since I can’t trace the substance itself. Of course, technology here isn’t as reliable as it was on Kumir. Regardless, I’ll keep trying. Perhaps Saxon can do some scouting for me in the outer territories.”
“I’ll talk to him. Thank you,” Draven expressed.
“No need to thank me,” I dismissed. “I’ll call it even if you and Everly can make it out to the exhibit opening. Having the Archon present would attract quite a lot of attention.”
I could hear Draven’s deep sigh on the other end. He was not the social type or the kind of Draak that enjoyed being in the public eye.
“I’ll think about it,” he groaned, ending the call before I could place an argument on the table.
Getting the man to attend events was hard enough. Making him travel for them was almost impossible. I chuckled, getting into my car and setting the phone on the passenger seat. Remembering I had a potential companion to meet that day, I lazily began the drive back to the manor, somewhat let down by the fact that I didn’t see Persephone that morning. Despite that, I had things to do. Things to focus on. I sped back to the house, eager to confirm everything Draven had told me and perhaps dig for a bit more now that we had a small lead.
Once I’d returned, I retreated to the basement to lock in some searches in my system, hoping I’d find some suspicious exchanges down south that might yield some proof that Ares was in that area. The snake. After he’d disappeared from the gala following the attack, everyone suspected he was in league with the rebels. Finding him might get us answers, but finding him was also the problem.
Ares knew how we functioned. He knew how to avoid us. I worked with haste, entering onto a few questionable sites to monitor black market activity, but once more, nothing I did brought much into the light. Ares was smart. I knew inside he wouldn’t leave a trail, but I found myself hoping he’d slip up anyways.
I searched for a couple of hours through areas of the web that many couldn’t access, but the most I discovered was a trafficking site hosting an auction. A list of six women and a couple young men with photos and descriptions were displayed down the page, all with a current bid beside their images. It took some more digging to confirm the subjects were from a Draak sector. If they weren’t, we had no official jurisdiction, but to my horror, they were. A few had been reported missing by their Draak mates or family members, making it all the worse.
Disgusted, I took on a little sidequest, like I found myself doing every time I surfed the dark web. I was barely sure how I’d stumbled into the bidding war, but once I found it, I plotted a search to uncover the host. When the system zeroed in on him, I sighed, soaking up every bit of information I could and immediately sending it to the nearest Draakir headquarters. They had the means to dispatch security forces to shut the whole thing down and I had just sent them everything they needed and more to locate the culprits. I was happy to do so, but once more, that wasn’t the information we really needed. We needed the location of the Falcon base. Haera’s whereabouts. A laboratory. Anything that could tell us what the hell the rebels were doing and when their next move would be.
Afternoon hit faster than I wanted. I was famished. Burdened with another day of little success, I strolled upstairs to find Malisa rushing to the door with her bag and a book in hand. Standing at the entrance was a beautiful young woman with chocolate skin and a white dress hugging the lush curves of her body. Malisa glanced at me and gestured to the woman.
“Mr. Valentyne,” she said. “Right on time. This is Cora Spencer. Now, I have to get to my group. I didn’t have time to cook, but I can order you some--”
“No need,” I chuckled at the frantic woman, raising my hand. “I’ll manage.”
As soon as Malisa was gone, I took a look at Cora, reading everything I could from her appearance. Her posture. The way she cared for her hair. I stepped closer to her as she moved deeper into the house, watching her exaggerate the sway of her hips. She was stunning in a strictly sexual sort of way, but her eyes didn’t reveal much depth now that I was seeing her in person. Of course, there was no need for that. The women I brought into my home were a distraction to pull me away from the use of my brain. I never expected them to be intelligent.
