The high-pitched whistle of Lakin’s steambike drew my attention away from the dirigible, and I turned my head to see him enter the parking lot. He wore a helmet with a visor that covered his face, and the wind blew his long leather coat out behind him, which I had to admit looked pretty badass. Maybe I should get myself one of those things.
With what money?
I sighed, shoving my hands into the achingly empty pockets of my own leather jacket. Right. I was really going to have to do something about my money situation soon. The reward I got for my part in uncovering the silver murder conspiracy was drying out in my bank account, and the small stipend I received from the Mages Guild as an apprentice wasn’t enough to cover my living expenses. If I didn’t convince the Chief Mage to let me take on work at the Guild soon, I really was going to have to move back into the Palace. Most people in my situation would have happily taken Iannis’s offer of free room and board without a second thought, but I knew the moment I did that I would lose my connection to the outside world. If I cloistered myself away in the Palace long enough, it would be all too easy to turn into one of these lofty, ice-hearted mages and lose touch with myself. And I’d be damned if that was going to happen.
“Morning,” Lakin said as he tugged off his helmet. His blond hair was slightly tousled, making him look positively boyish as he grinned at me, and I was surprised at the answering flutter in my stomach. “You ready to twist some arms?”
“You bet.” I grinned back as I hopped off my bike.
We drew curious looks from the Enforcer trainees manning the front desk as we walked in through the front door, which I guess was only to be expected – Lakin was new in town, and I was something of a conundrum. When I’d dragged the Chief Mage into the silver murders, I’d brought the scrutiny of his office down on the Enforcer’s Guild, and Captain Galling hadn’t forgiven me for making him look bad. But on the other hand, I had the Chief Mage on my side, so Captain Galling couldn’t do anything overt to make my life miserable. As a result, the other Enforcers weren’t sure how to react around me. Some were exceedingly polite, while others glared daggers at me and whispered nasty things about me when they thought I wasn’t within hearing distance. I didn’t know where the foreman of Sillara’s crew stood, or whether his attitude toward me would make this easier or harder.
Lakin and I crossed the lobby, our boots clopping against the scuffed tile, and headed toward the elevator on the other side. The rickety box spit us out on the fourth floor, where the smaller crews’ desks were located – while there were a few Enforcers like me who worked solo, the majority of us worked as crews, each headed up by a foreman who answered to the Guild Captain. I sent a silent prayer up to Magorah, the shifter god, that Sillara’s crew would still be here.
It wasn’t too hard to find them – they were a group of five shifters, clustered toward the far left end of the room as their foreman, Laro Vanit, read off the names on their docket for today. I pursed my lips as I caught sight of the long list – there were at least twenty names on there, more than enough for their crew, and I wished I could snag one of their bounties for myself.
But that wasn’t what I was here for.
“Excuse me, Foreman Vanit,” I said after he was done. “Can I talk to you and your crew for a moment?”
Vanit turned slowly to face me, and if I were a lesser woman I would have been intimidated by the glare he shot my way. A brawny black male with tawny lion shifter eyes, a shaved head and blocky features, he stood a head and a half taller than me, and was looking at me as though I was vermin spawn.
Guess he was a member of the “I Hate Sunaya” camp. Tension curled its stiff fingers around my shoulders, and I stood up straighter, meeting his fiery gaze with my own.
“What do you want, Baine?” he snapped, folding his arms over his chest. He wore standard black mercenary leathers that were only a few shades darker than his skin, making him look like a creature of the night. “As you can see, we’re a little busy around here. Unlike you, some of us have to work for a living.”
The other shifters in his crew snickered, and I clenched my teeth at the insult. But if I rose to the bait, this would degenerate very quickly into a fight, and I needed to stay focused on getting those files.
“This is Inspector Lakin from Shiftertown,” I said, gesturing to Lakin, who was quietly assessing the group from my left. “He’s investigating Sillara’s death, and needs to study the cases she was working on before she died. We were hoping you guys would point us to her files.”
One or two of the crew members shifted uncomfortably at the mention of Lakin’s name, but the rest looked bored or hostile. Like me, these shifters were all clanless, and wouldn’t consider Lakin an authority figure.
“Hmph. I don’t know about that,” Vanit said, turning his tawny glare onto Lakin. “Last I checked, Sillara’s death wasn’t a homicide. Why would you need to dig into it more?”
“It turns out the coroner was mistaken,” Lakin said evenly, his eyes gleaming with impatience. “Sillara died of silver poisoning, just like Petros Yantz’s other victims. Since she was a member of Shiftertown’s tiger clan, her murder falls under my jurisdiction.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Vanit admitted, his scowl lessening slightly. But it returned with a vengeance as his gaze switched back to me. “I’d like to help you, Inspector Lakin, but since you’re attached to this sell-out over here I’m afraid you’ll have to appeal to Captain Galling directly. And as I recall, he’s out of town.” He gave me a vicious grin, baring his fangs.