Page 58 of By Mistake
Oresti stood, rolling his shoulders and stretching, as dozing off in cramped quarters followed by fooling around in cramped quarters wasn't actually the smartest of ideas.
Shimari's eyes glowed brighter.At first, there was nothing.Then he heard shuffling, squeaking, the soft rush of tiny footsteps.
Then he saw the moving lumps of shadow in the dark.Heard cries of alarm.Then shouts and screams."How do you control rats?That's not really your thing, is it?"
"Come on, I made certain to drive them out of these back rooms."Shimari led the way, though how he knew the way, Oresti didn't bother to ask.Once they were in the office, the door closed behind them, all the rats conveniently gone, Shimari added, "Any creature bound to death heeds my call, and rats are always found where death dwells."
"Well, that is certainly true.They've ruined more than one body I was trying to examine," Oresti said.He broke the useless locks on the cabinets built into the wall, flipped the front panels open, and slid them back.Stacks and stacks of files loomed at him, and he sighed at the sloppy bookkeeping before setting to work."How long do I have?"
"Approximately five minutes, then I won't be able to keep them from coming back to clear out stragglers."
Oresti opened files quickly, shoving anything that looked remotely accurate into the satchel he'd brought along precisely for this purpose.When he found an entire stack that looked likeexactlywhat he sought, he shoved the whole thing inside, and the one beneath it, causing his satchel to nearly burst from volume and weight."All right, let's go."
Shimari stepped in close, grabbed him by the arms, and then they were gone—and back in the palace, in his private chambers.
"That is going to take getting used to," Oresti said.He dropped the satchel on the parlor table and did some more stretching."Thank you.That was all so much easier with you there.I'd have been there for at least a couple more hours yet, and had much more trouble sneaking back out."
Shimari grinned, all teeth and mischief."Even had time for a little fun, Your Highness."
Oresti liked it better when Shimari called himdarling, but there was something in the slightly bratty way he saidYour Highnessthat was appealing too."Never thought I'd see the day I let someone suck my cock while I was working, but here we are."He went into the bedroom, where Andrus was fast asleep.He was utterly still, not shifting or snoring or anything, and slightly pale."So summoning Kressen went fine?"
"Depends on your definition of fine," an unfamiliar voice said sourly.
Oresti turned sharply, staring through the doorway where a tall, beautiful man dressed in black and gold with long silver hair stood beside Shimari with his arms crossed.He looked Oresti over and seemed to find him wanting.Oresti bowed."Kressen of the Blood, an honor to meet you."
"You didn't bow tome," Shimari said with amusement."I think you threatened me."
"You deserved it," Kressen retorted.
Oresti asked, "What brings you to see us?"
"He wants to whine and complain like usual," Shimari said before Kressen could speak."He's less a demon of blood and more one of whining."
"You're one to talk," Kressen said without any heat."The little aura-reader is taking a nap, and the dryad has flitted off somewhere.I thought I might go explore the city and came to see if Shimari wanted to go with me."
"That sounds like a terrible idea," Oresti replied."So I assume I'll see you this evening?I'll be here reading through these files for a few hours, then going to the courthouse to pull the matching copies there."
"Sounds dreadful.Enjoy.We'll tell Greivs you're here."Then they departed, a sleek black cat and an absurdly fluffy white one with dark brown fur at the ears, feet, and end of his tail.
Rolling his eyes at them, Oresti ordered food and then sat down to empty the satchel.He wound up with about thirty-six files.He fetched pen and paper and opened the first one.When food arrived just a few minutes later, he ate absently while poring over the files, until he had a list of twenty-three that, judging by the listed crime and length of sentence, made no sense for the destination.
Greivs appeared as he was putting everything away and locking his desk."Looks like I arrived at just the right time."
"Indeed.I'm off to the courthouse to find the matching files.Did you want to come?"
"Sure, though I have dinner with Coret at nine.Since we are bound to the same demon now, we are trying to get to know one another."
"How is Kressen?I met him briefly, but he didn't give much of anything away."
"Rightfully pissed off.He does not like 'wretched, greedy, backstabbing humans' even a little.But he seems to obey Shimari even when he wants to kill him."Greivs shrugged."I suppose we'll see how it goes."
"Suppose so."Oresti dressed quickly, dropped a soft kiss on Andrus's brow, and then shrugged on his coat as they headed off."I haven't seen him or Shimari since they left to go explore town a few hours ago.I should probably be concerned about that, but also, what could I really do to stop it?"Other than issue a command, which he refused to do.Whatever the binding, he would not treat Shimari like a slave or a pet.
Fond amusement flittered briefly through his mind, soft and insubstantial, and then was gone.
"So how did you get the records from the depot?"
Oresti related the tale as they walked, enjoying Greivs amusement over the matter as he had been more somber than usual lately—understandably—and probably needed some lightheartedness.Especially since this mess was far from over, and Greivs was now directly involved, instead of simply helping him here and there.
