“You’ve got a case?” Annia’s eyebrows arched as she straightened in her seat, curiosity gleaming in her dark eyes. “I haven’t seen you around here in forever. When did you have time to grab a case?”
“Well, it’s not an Enforcer’s Guild case,” I admitted. “It’s something that Inspector Lakin is working on, and I’ve agreed to help him with it.”
“Really? He’s paying you for it?”
“I wish.” My mouth twisted into a grimace. “No, actually I’m doing this one pro-bono. It’s connected to the silver murders, and more specifically, Sillara’s death.”
“Oh.” Annia set her pen down – she’d liked Sillara too. “Well that’s a whole different story, then. What can I do to help?”
I pulled out the betting tickets and handed them to Annia. “Lakin and I found these at the house of a reporter who went missing recently. They’ve got the name of a business on the back of it, and I was hoping you might know what and where it is, because it sounds familiar to me.”
“The Dirty Habit?” Annia asked, her brown eyes sparking with recognition. “Sure, that’s a gambling den in Turain. Legal stuff, usually cards and pool. I’ve been there once or twice.”
“Right.” That explained why I’d never been there. I stayed away from gambling joints – I was bad enough at managing money as it was, and didn’t need another reason to spend it. Turain was further up the coast, outside Solantha County but definitely still part of the State of Canalo. “You a regular over there?”
“Not really.” Annia handed the slips back to me, then picked up her pen and turned her eyes back towards the stack of forms in front of her. “I’ve only been there once, about two years ago when I was running down a lead.”
“Well, I’ve recently gained a reputation for being good at paperwork at the Mages Guild,” I said wryly. “What do you say I use my newfound skill to help you out, and then you come with me to Turain to check out this gambling den and see if something doesn’t pop?”
“Hmm.” Annia dragged her front teeth over her bottom lip as she considered. “That sounds a lot like work.”
“Aww, c’mon Annia.” I nudged her shoulder. “For Sillara, right?”
“Okay. But only if you can help me get this done in the next hour. I still fully intend to enjoy some downtime today, so if I’m here longer than that I’m not going.”
I grimaced as I reached for the stack of papers next to Annia’s elbow and drew them toward me. “Well, I always do like a challenge.”
We finished with time to spare, and rode across the bridge and up the coast to Turain – a little over an hour’s ride on my bike. The gambling den was located in Turain’s Maintown, so I used a magical illusion to disguise myself as a petite blonde human with hazel eyes and a beach tan, exchanging my leathers for a short silver dress and black, knee high boots.
Annia, still dressed in the same black denim she’d worn to the Guild, rolled her eyes at my clubby getup. “You planning on taking someone home tonight?” she asked, arching a dark red brow.
“No.” I batted my eyelashes and looped an arm around her waist, clinging close. “But we’re a lesbian couple now, and I have to look the part. You’re the stud, and I’m the femme.”
Annia snorted. “Would have been nice if you’d filled me in on the plan before we got here. Are you going by a different name, then?”
“Nadia.” The name popped from my lips, and it took me a moment to remember that it was the name the Chief Mage had given me when we’d gone similarly undercover at a bar in Solantha’s Maintown. Warmth spread through me as I remembered how casual he’d been, looping his arms around my waist and sitting me down in his lap as if I’d actually been his girlfriend. He’d glamoured himself up to look like a young human college student, and he’d played the part so well it had been a little disconcerting.
“Alright Nadia.” Annia’s lips twitched with laughter as I squeezed her arm, and she tugged me a little closer to her body, playing the part. “Let’s do this.”
We walked into the club, a black-painted cinder block building on the corner of the street, and were assailed by a haze of cigarette smoke. Instantly, I broke into a coughing fit, and held up my hand, my eyes watering. I hated cigarettes with a passion – I was ridiculously sensitive to the smoke and it always had this effect on me.
“Get it together,” Annia hissed in my ear. “People are staring.” Sure enough, a few of the patrons seated around the various round tables set up throughout the space were turning to look at me, their eyebrows raised as if to say ‘What? You’ve never been around smoke before?’ I wanted to bare my teeth at them and tell them to fuck off, but that didn’t go with the sweet, girlish persona I was affecting, so instead I turned and buried my nose in Annia’s jacket to try and regain my composure.
“Nice,” she muttered, but she stroked a hand across my back comfortingly.
“Can I get you ladies anything?” The bartender asked. “Maybe some water for your girl?” He gazed pointedly at me.
“Oh yeah, that’d be great.” Annia tugged me over to the bar, and I forced myself to pull my face away from her jacket and sit down on one of the stools. Fortunately, the smoke happened to be coming from a group sitting in a corner at the opposite end of the room, and the smell was less pungent here. “Can you get a glass of water for her, and a scotch for me? I could do with something strong to get me started.”