Page 18 of A Blade of Lies and Spirits

“The talent isn’t illegal, merely using it. After that, it goes to the question: if a tree falls where no one can see it, will you be arrested for felling it?”

So he hadn’t reported it officially. The geas wouldn’t let me do that, damn it.

As we waited by the vehicle, security approached from the house. Even though we hadn’t done anything, I was still a little tired, which annoyed me.

The broad smile on the guard’s face triggered a sigh from me. I’d made him look stupid soon after Dmitri and I came here, and he’d never forgiven me. He hadn’t been fired; security positions here were almost as hereditary as the political positions, but he now got worse shifts.

He was about to screw me over somehow.

“It’s locked up,” said the guard. “So sorry.”

“The lady is about to undertake a mission for Silver, one of the Judges. You’ve heard of him? I think it would be an excellent idea if you let Ms. Quinn in, rather than playing games.” Walker’s calm voice cut across my plan.

I knew of at least three holes in their security I could exploit to get in, but why expose them if Walker could bully me in? And calm authority not pointed at me was hot.

“Who are you, then?” the guard asked.

“An accountant. But the Judge Silver assigned me, too, so I’ll just contact him and let him know my partner can’t retrieve equipment on your authority. Your ID number, please.” Walker tapped his wristcomm.

“Fine,” the guard snapped, pushing a code into his reader.

“I could have gotten in.” I set a brisk pace for two steps, and Walker grabbed my elbow to steady me. The arm worked around my waist, probably appearing lover-like rather than an iron-supporting bar.

“But this way there’s no broken windows or people. I like a calm start to my day,” he answered. The lawn stretched forever in front of us.

FIVE

Alys

Stepping off the Road,the scent of freshly cut grass and flowers made me skip a step. What surrounded us was not a swamp, but the manicured interior of Silsprin, near the administration offices. It was jolting for a brief moment to realize this place existed so close to the swampers’ lands when the two places couldn’t be any different.

“Why here?” I asked. “I thought we were going to the area Outside first.”

Outside was where I saw the Wendigo. It was the place where it was hunting innocent people. Walker was smart enough to know where we needed to go, so the fact we were here didn’t make sense to me.

“First, we get records of tourists who’ve come through, and cross-reference them with people in Durgion on the dates you were there,” he told me with a smirk, like it was obvious.

To be fair, it wasn’t obvious to me. I was a stab first ask questions later kind of lady. However the tiredness from missing part of my soul was enough to make me open to Walker’s way of doing things. Nothing to do with the fact I didn’t have a knee-jerk desire to argue with him, unlike most other people.

So, we headed to the office where Records were kept. It had powered exterior doors that whooshed open at our approach. After we were buzzed in, the clerk’s memory didn’t seem to be that great, it took two reminders from Walker and credit changing hands before he could remember where Records was located.

“Why did you bribe him?” I fumed. “I would’ve enjoyed getting him to cough it up. Why is nobody cooperating? I thought Guilders thought Judges were scary. Silver’s name didn’t get him moving at all.”

“Because people who bribe quietly tend to stick out in memory less than the people who assault and batter the receptionist,” Walker replied. “But this is a low-level investigation. Under Silver’s supervision, yes, but not flagged as high priority in order to keep people from figuring out that their actions are coming home to roost. Makes them easier to scoop up, rather than having to track them down when they scatter and hide.”

Two automated security checks later, we reached the computer area. Records of this type were manually updated to keep hacking risks to a minimum.

The door stuck. I manhandled it open. An automatic light blazed down on a tiny room with a single deskcomm. The chair, hard plastic, wasn’t shaped for any level of comfort for anyone who sat on it. The records could only be accessed on this system, due to security concerns.

My question on why data on the movement of city populations required this level of security had received only a shrug in answer. At least it powered up quickly. I leaned against Walker’s shoulder as he sat at the computer. The motion of muscle under my fingers made a pleasant distraction, and I eyed the desk speculatively.

I nudged him as the screen came up and he started typing. I wasn’t accepting a shrug as an answer. “Why is this so secured?”

“Because these movements can be used to track political and economic deal-making, so access was restricted.” Walker paused typing, as I tugged his braid.

“Will this take long?”

“Alys, why don’t you fly out and go check on the swampers, scout the area while I do this? Just stay in the grav, and it shouldn’t tire you too much.”

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