Page 41 of Fumiko and the Finicky Nestmate
“Why so small a security detail?”
“Not my decision.” The woman smirked. “My theory is quality over quantity.”
Juuyu considered. “You were handpicked, not merely assigned?”
“Some of it’s definitely convenience. Lost Harbor is a short flight up the coast, as the condor flies. But we have roundabout ties to Twineshaft and Mettlebright.”
“Which are?”
Her brow quirked, as if to say, you asked for it. “My daughter’s father is currently part of Spokesperson Twineshaft’s cortege. And that same daughter’s bondmate is apprenticed to Lord Mettlebright’s denmate.”
It was enough for Juuyu to make the appropriate connection. “Melissa Nightspangle is your daughter. Yes, I see the resemblance. I was introduced to her and to her bondmate during the founding of the Reaverson enclave.”
“It’s a small world.” She pushed at rumpled curls and squared her shoulders. “Did I miss anything?”
“Not at all.” He rattled off the date, the time, the Amory’s program schedule, and added, “I wish to accompany you on your usual rounds.”
“Understood.”
After that Mirrim was all business.
Juuyu observed and listened. He searched for and found no gaps in Mirrim’s detail. She was both experienced and exacting. Argent had chosen well.
“Are you aware that many of Spokesperson Mettlebright’s wards are targeted?” he asked.
“Magda told me.” She ushered him through the door that led onto the roof. “Dragons are understandable. Foxes are … all kinds of trouble.”
The Amory was indeed warded against foxes. “Argent already tuned his wards to accept my partner. Sinder is a dragon.”
“Fighting fire with fire?” Mirrim moved from one vantage to the next, scanning the grounds and the streets beyond. “Dragons are impervious to another dragon’s sway. As are phoenixes. And Kith, which gives Magda and I another small edge. Are we meant to be on the watch for a fox?”
“That is a reasonable conclusion.”
She considered him closely. “I don’t think we’re dealing with a fox.”
Juuyu simply asked, “Why not?”
Mirrim’s smile was humorless. “Because if any fox was skilled enough to get past Argent Mettlebright’s wards, they wouldn’t have left any signs. And they wouldn’t have left emptyhanded.”
Juuyu quizzed Mirrim on the signs of tampering she’d reported. As it turned out, those signs weren’t much, but they weren’t nothing.
While on patrol in the galleries, Magda had heard the sound of something drop. Just a small clack and patter.
On Mirrim’s orders, they’d split up, one to investigate the noise, one to confirm that the Junzi was secure. Mirrim found nothing amiss with the Bamboo Stave’s display case. Magda’s investigation yielded a lone gray pebble, which she’d secured.
Insignificant. Dismissible. But odd.
Yes, anyone could have dropped it there at any point during regular business hours. But Magda swore she heard it drop. Eight hours after the cleaning crew finished their work, which included floor-cleaning. And three full hours before the doors opened for employees the next day.
“Someone was here,” said Mirrim.
Juuyu weighed her conviction against the available facts. “What makes you so sure?”
She waved a hand. “A feeling. An instinct.”
“You sensed a presence?”
Her jaw tightened. “I can’t prove it.”
