“By Magorah,” I muttered, disgust curling in my own gut. It was bad enough that humans were peddling the stuff around, but for shifters to be selling it to their own kind now? Incidium was a fine white powder that created an intense euphoria when ingested, and like all other drugs, shifters were normally impervious to it. But thanks to Elnos, we found out that the drugs were being mixed with silver, which was being masked by kalois, the same plant used in the silver poisonings. Since shifters are highly allergic to silver, the substance counteracts our high metabolisms, allowing the drugs to take effect. Once we’d discovered this, the Enforcer’s Guild had started taking a hard stance against drug dealers, and we’d managed to get most of it off the market… or so we’d thought.
“Unless we eradicate the source of these drugs they will continue to be a problem,” Elnos, who seemed to be reading my mind, commented. “And according to Inspector Lakin, there have been more episodes of psychotic breaks in Shiftertown.”
“Is this true?” Fenris demanded, folding his arms over his broad chest. His yellow eyes narrowed, and I resisted the urge to arch a brow as he sized up Lakin. At times Fenris seemed to act more like the mages he lived with than the shifter he clearly was, but his territorial instincts were showing up loud and clear now.
“Not as many as there were when the drug dealing was rampant, but we had an incident just last week with a rabbit shifter,” Lakin said calmly. He met Fenris’s eyes, then lowered them ever so slightly – a submission he likely wouldn’t have granted if they’d been in Shiftertown instead of the Palace. “The Rabbit Clan ended up having to put him down.”
I winced at that. Rabbit shifters weren’t known for their ferocity, or for any sort of violence at all, really. They’d been bred as couriers and spies, not as warriors, and the idea of executing one of their own would be abhorrent to them.
“So, do we have any leads that might get us to the manufacturer?” I demanded. “This can’t continue.”
“The only lead we had was Petros Yantz, and as he is currently in the wind that is not much help to us,” Director Chen admitted. “I’ve assigned the case to the Main Crew, and am hoping they produce results soon.”
Anger bubbled up inside me at that, and I had to force myself to let it go. I wanted to demand that Iannis let me handle the investigation, but I couldn’t have that conversation with everybody else in the room, and besides, my plate was a little full with Sillara’s case right now.
“Well in the meantime, don’t you think we should do something to discourage shifters from buying the drugs?” I asked. “If we can’t stop them from being sold, maybe we can stop them from being bought.”
“What exactly do you have in mind?” Iannis asked, turning toward me, the interest clear in his voice.
“I’m not sure Miss Baine’s suggestion would be effective, at least not in the long run.” Director Chen commented. “Many shifters tend to be too impulsive to be easily deterred from the instant gratification narcotics provide.” I bristled at the condescending undertone to her voice.
“Director Chen,” Iannis warned, but before he could say any more, Lakin spoke up.
“What if we started an urban legend that these drugs cause impotence?”
“Huh.” Elnos tapped his chin, sounding mildly impressed. “That would only work against the male population, but still, it would be a start.”
“We could also spread a similar rumor about female infertility,” I said. “Who’s to say it’s not true, anyway? Silver will kill us in large enough doses; exposure to small quantities over a large period of time could produce all kinds of harmful side-effects.”
“That’s very plausible,” Elnos agreed, nodding. “It might even be true.”
“Excellent,” Iannis said. “Miss Baine and Inspector Lakin can spread the rumors, the sooner the better. In the meantime,” he turned to Director Chen, “I expect you to check in regularly with the Main Crew on their progress.”
“Yes sir.” Director Chen bowed.
“Good. You are dismissed.”
I turned to leave along with everyone else, but Iannis reached out and placed a hand on my bare shoulder. A tingle ran through my body at the skin on skin contact. “Wait.”
“What is it?” I turned toward him, hoping that he wouldn’t notice the blush stinging my cheeks. Iannis’s violet gaze swept me from head to toe, briefly lingering on the hint of cleavage peeking out from beneath my tank top’s neckline, and suddenly I wished I’d traded it in for something a little more loose-fitting.
“I wanted to ask about your progress regarding the banking scheme. Did your investigation turn up anything?”
“No.” Annoyance flickered in my chest. “I’ve been a little pre-occupied.” Truthfully I had completely forgotten about the bank – the shifter disappearances were more important, especially now that my cousin’s daughter was one of the victims.
“Well get it done today,” Iannis ordered. “You are running out of time.”
“Fine.” I wasn’t really sure why the Chief Mage was being so insistent about this when we had bigger things to worry about, but I wasn’t about to push my luck – he’d given me his trust when he allowed me to have the last few mornings off, and I needed to produce results or he wouldn’t do it again. “I’ll have a report to you by tomorrow morning.”