Page 21 of A Blade of Death and Magic

If Walker trusted him, I would. Also, he was just a kid and no one in their right mind would leave him alone with Dmitri.

His expression changed, a gleam of hope lighting his face. “Do you think Mr. Dumont would be up for it?”

“I do. Though you need to brush up on your game-playing and babysitting skills as well as your bodyguarding skills. At least until his nanny comes back.”

His mouth twisted. It was almost a smile. “I could do that, if it would get me out of here.”

Dimitri came running back and I checked my Comm. It was close to the time for me to leave.

Dressing in work clothes after playing didn’t take long, and Walker lived close to the Wardens headquarters.

Yet, I still ran late. It was a point of honor.

I stepped through the door to Silver’s office five minutes after the meeting time. Whatever marks of his encounter with the elf had been fixed. Even with quick-drying paint, the aroma of wood shavings, paint, and dust, was overpowering. A new terrarium sat next to the window. It contained three scorpions, large and black.

I gave Silver an innocent sidelong glance. He’d found the scorpions I set loose in his office. It was actually nice of him to not have killed them, but nicer if he’d sent them back to their home.

He gazed back at me, one brow quirked.

“I decided to make them comfortable. It must’ve been a long walk on such short legs.” Silver activated the holo as I sat, dreading the slideshow. Instead, a map appeared on the opposite wall, detailing the two great lakes, Siras and Miraj in blues and greens, shading to red on the western edges. A dot appeared on the map, close to one of the lakes. Amazement suspended my voice. No slides? I must be doing something right!

“This county is administered by Ross Cohen, the President’s younger brother.” Silver’s eyes didn’t leave the map. “This is where Tuuli Lahtinen vanished after her parents were killed in a house fire. Flint is still searching for the forensic findings on their bodies. They appear to have been misfiled.”

Silver pressed another key. A hurried young woman’s voice sounded.

“I’m Tuuli Lahtinen, Id 89012UHKVT. Mr. Cohen and Ms. Cook summoned a big spirit, and it may have possessed Mel Cohen. He had my parents there, and they died. It hurt me, too, but people rescued me. Please come and help.” It was the voice of a young woman, not a little girl, the simple word choice might come from shock. The quaver in it made my fingers tap on the table.

“When was the recording taken?”

“Eight years ago,” Silver replied. “Flint found it this morning. It wasn’t attached to the orders that sent a team to pick her up on suspicion of murder.”

“What happened?”

“The team landed at the coordinates. An hour later, the vehicle ceased transmitting; a second team found it floating in the lake, in several pieces. The bodies weren’t recovered. That report fell under a seal from the executive branch; the case number through error was identical to that of another investigation.”

“That seems to keep happening.” The entire incident where Tuuli Lahtinen had vanished, and Melissa Cohen-Rossi had suddenly changed personality completely, and now this recording conveniently misfiled. Somebody high up was messing with evidence but didn’t have the technical chops to make it vanish entirely.

“That it does.”

“Canthe Wendigo be summoned? I thought you needed a name for the unique spirits, and it’s pure hunger, so it would be really dangerous to call without any safeguards…” My voice faded as Silver smiled at me, brilliant as a diamond. It completely changed his face.

Was this what his approval looked like? I’d never seen it before, it felt really strange. But if cooperating could get the gem off me, I’d deal with it.

“At the Ball, something was feeding on sex energy being generated by Melissa Cohen-Rossi’s party. Could they have found a way to feed it that, rather than meat; or maybe it’s a similar spirit?” I asked the question in a tentative voice. That was what I’d sensed, but I wanted confirmation it was possible. Say what you would about Silver, and I did, he knew his magic.

“Theoretically, it could be done, though given the Wendigo’s nature, it would be very difficult. I’ll research it. For your first question, I see two possible situations. One, the Wendigo decided to answer an unspecified summoning. Two, persons technically unknown did a specific summoning and, in the process, created a lesser spirit. The second is very unlikely and I think we can discount the possibility. I don’t think Ross Cohen did this on his own, either.”

He called up two summoning circles and projected them over his desk. “With an unspecified summoning, they could also possibly hook a lesser spirit with similar powers and preferences, though weaker. Bargaining with and controlling after the spirit arrives is a very precise and very dangerous process. What power or knowledge they needed the spirit for must be a prize worth risking their lives for. I’m happy you’re actively participating in this investigation.” He met my gaze, expression intent.

Caught by his eyes, it was hard to remember that he was a patronizing dick. Damn, I’d forgotten the first rule, never look Silver in the eye, that’s where his odd power was. I glanced away, collecting my thoughts.

“So, you mean they tried to summon something big, but didn’t make it specific, and the Wendigo answered? That’s suicidal, right?” I asked.

“Generally. I infer from the message that they used Tuuli Lahtinen’s parents as the sacrifice to feed whatever they called and help bind it. There would be no bodies once it was done feeding, so no evidence of murder. It’ll be interesting what the forensics say and who did the report. I like finding people who’ve been bribed, even if it’s almost been a decade.”

Silver leaned forward, putting his fingertips together. “This murder and cover up reach all the way to the Presidency. It links to your investigation of the Wendigo and the corruption in Greene’s territory. The fact someone sent Greene to kill you is complicated by us not knowing precisely why- was it to stop your investigation into the Wendigo? Or was it to distract me from looking into the corruption, figuring that if Greene killed you he’d be executed as a scapegoat and the investigation dropped?”

His tone was musing but his eyes were hard when I dared to look.

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