Page 91 of Steel & Thunder
“The book is enchanted through.” Ragnar holds up the book in question. “Specifically so it can’t be burned. Which is fine when protecting your record keeping...”
“But is weird when it’s evidence of a potential crime.” Right?
“Our thoughts exactly.” Ragnar nods before sighing. “The mages were not able to glean any other information from the book or anything about the wards on the storage unit either.”
“What about the symbol on the front?” The eagle’s claw. Okay, it’s probably not an eagle, but it has me thinking about my nightmare this morning which might be creeping me out a little.
“Oh, get this.” Ragnar looks excited. “He’s got the same symbol tattooed on his arm. The captain noticed it when he rolled up his sleeves.”
“What does it mean?” Now I’m excited!
“No idea!” Ragnar throws his hands in the air, a big fake smile on his face.
“Boo,” I pout. “What happens now?”
“Well, we have enough to charge him for the theft.” Khazak stands, walking over to the desk. “But we still do not know where the shipment is.”
“We’ll search his place, but you saw the size of it.” Ragnar shrugs. “Not sure where he could hide that many sets of full plate mail and two dozen swords in there. Not to mention everything else.”
“Councilman Murbank let us know they conducted a full search of the other units after we left this morning. No sign of the goods there either.” Khazak sighs. “The good news is that we will now be able to alert the individuals in this book so steps can be taken to prevent anything from being stolen. David, you and I will take care of contacting everyone on the shipment list and hopefully that will help us gather some more information.” Khazak sounds optimistic as he stands up.
“Yes, Sir.” That sounds like it could be interesting.
“But do you know what comes next for you, my noble deputy?” He walks around the desk and places his hand on Ragnar’s shoulder.
“...What?” Ragnar eyes his friend and superior suspiciously.
“Paperwork.” Khazak grins wide.
“Aww. Sad wood.” I pretend my finger is a tear rolling down my cheek as Ragnar curses at the both of us.
The rest of the day passes in a blur. We visit a few businesses around the city to talk to the owners, all who seem shocked when they learn they may have been targeted for a robbery. Khazak was right; the shipyard doesn’t have even half of the orders on file yet, and the ones that are change their shipping plans immediately. None of them turn up any new info though, and Khazak still can’t seem to find a connection between them.
Councilman Murbank is naturally surprised to learn of his employees’ arrest and offers his apologies. He and Khazak discuss plans for increased security and what sounds like a potential stakeout for the next delivery, but they don’t sound very confident. If the people behind this know we have Thog, they’re probably already changing their plans.
By the time we get home at the end of the day, my feet are fucking sore. I probably have a blister or two, but I think I can say these boots have been officially broken in. Later, while we’re sitting around the dinner table, I wonder what it might take to convince Khazak to give me a foot rub. That and why we seem to be eating fish...again.
“So, this isn’t a complaint, but...is there a reason we’ve had fish at almost every meal for the last few days?” At least every meal that hasn’t been prepared by someone else. It all tastes great, usually some kind of salmon I think, but it seems weird.
“I...may have used all my good cuts of meat last week in my attempts to impress you.” Khazak looks sheepish as he toys with his meal.
Aww, he was trying to use meat to tell me he liked me. “That is...really sweet.”
“I am glad you think so because we will be eating fish for at least a few more days.” Khazak tilts his head toward the icebox, and I laugh. “What?”
“Just thinking about how things might have been different if we had just talked.” I shake my head. I know if things happened differently, we probably wouldn’t be sitting here together right now, but still, what a couple of idiots. “But I guess I’m happy things worked out the way they did,” I tease.
“I guess I am too.” Khazak’s smiling but looks hesitant for some reason. “I had something I wanted to ask you.”
“Everything okay?” I can’t help but be a little anxious after the emotional whiplash over the past week. “I’m not in trouble for something, am I? You’re not gonna actually punish me for running after that guy at work, are you?”
“No, nothing like that.” He shakes his head as he stands to move next to me. “Things have been going rather well and I was wondering... I am not trying to get ahead of myself or make any assumptions, and it would be completely fine if you said no to this, I would not be offended. I—” He pauses, looking at my confused face before sighing to himself. I have to admit—it’s kinda cute seeing him as the flustered one for a change. “—Am very much over thinking this. I just wanted to know how you would feel about wearing this again.”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a familiar chain collar. I feel a twinge of regret, a few bad memories surfacing when I see it. But they pass quickly now that I know a little more about what this means. Not just the collar but the two of us. Which is a little intimidating on its own. I’m not signing up for a commitment, I’m still leaving in two months, but I know it’s important to him.
“I’d be happy to wear your collar, Sir.” I smile and lean forward, tilting my neck so he can remove the thin chain replacement I’ve had on.
His fingertips tickle my neck as they pluck the chain away and replace it with his personal collar. I shiver as the cool metal touches my skin. The two ends of the collar hang down my shoulders, and I watch Khazak’s face as he joins them, pushing the lock closed. He stands there for a moment, admiring me in silence.
