Chapter 37

After eating every last egg in The Stony Mug's kitchen and most of the sausage, I was starting to feel like myself again, but I'd had a bad feeling about Ziola going to the guildhall. I felt guilty for cleaning out Ralph's kitchen, but I'd make it up to him later. He was giving Lysander, his kitchen boy, instructions on ordering more food for the day's menu when I left.

Moving as swiftly as I could without attracting attention, I reached the guildhall and paused in the main room. Only one or two of the directors ever came in that early in the morning, and the floor was deserted. Out of habit, I glanced at the message board and found two notes with my name on them—both from Lorget, both saying he needed to see me right away. I threw them in the unlit hearth and made my way upstairs.

As I neared the second floor, I could hear voices coming from Lorget's office. I padded down the hallway with its creaky floorboards so silently only another shifter's hearing would have picked up any sound. The door was open, and I recognized Ziola's and a male's voices. I also caught the tang of blood in the air, metallic and coppery, like the sharp bite of iron.

My pulse spiked, and I shot forward. If he had hurt her, there would be hell to pay. When I reached the doorway, Polix was dragging Ziola up by her hair, and a thin line of blood oozed from a shallow cut on her neck. After a moment of shock at seeing Polix, a coldness swept through me, and I drew the knife Petra had given me. The only sound in my ears was the rapid drumming of my heart.

When he saw me, Polix hauled Ziola up higher onto her toes to use her as a shield. "Get out of the way. She's taking me to the artifact you stole from Scepter Seraphim."

I played with my knife and kept my face expressionless. Fortunately, human Polix would be unable to smell my fear. "That's nice. But she doesn't know where it is."

Polix glanced down at the top of Ziola's head and curled his lip. "You lying bitch—"

I cut him off. "If you hurt her, I'll just kill you." I shrugged. "So, let her go."

"You'll still kill me."

I dropped my knife to the floor next to my foot and held up my empty hands. "You can hand me over to the Enforcers and get your reward."

Ziola struggled, but Polix tightened his grip. I held her angry gaze and tried to will her to trust me. After a moment, she subsided.

"Who told you about that?" Polix squinted at me suspiciously.

I gave him a tight smile and raised an eyebrow. "Afraid your Enforcer friends might have loose lips?"

His brow wrinkled and his knife hand twitched. I regretted baiting him while he had a blade to Ziola's throat. He shook his head and said, "Take off your vest. I know you keep daggers in there."

As I reached to unfasten it, Polix barked, "Slowly. If you try anything, I'll slit her throat."

I nodded and removed my vest, being careful not to make any threatening movements. Tossing it a few feet away, I once again raised my hands.

"Your boot."

With a sigh, I pulled up my trouser leg and extracted a stiletto from my boot. "There. You're armed and I'm not. Let her go."

Polix dragged Ziola behind Lorget's desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a piece of twine. "I'm binding both of you for delivery to the Enforcers."

I merely stood and waited. He'd have to let her go to tie a knot. Polix sliced the twine into two pieces, stuck the knife between his teeth, and rapidly bound Ziola's hands. Stepping back around the desk, he shoved Ziola into Lorget's armchair. "Stay there, or he's dead."

I could see the fury smoldering in her narrowed eyes and prayed to all the gods that she didn't move.

As soon as Polix moved away from her, I stretched out my hand and said, "Return."

Instantly, the enchanted dagger leaped from the floor into my hand as if I held a lodestone. The moment it made contact, I flipped it and threw. It flew true and impaled Polix in the eye. For a second, the only sounds were Ziola's sharp intake of breath and the clatter of Polix's knife hitting the floor. Then he toppled like a felled tree and landed with a thud on Lorget's fancy carpet.

My knees felt suddenly weak as I crossed the room in two strides to pull Ziola from the chair. "Are you alright?" I stroked her hair and patted her body, frantically trying to assure myself that she was not seriously hurt.

"I'll be fine. Untie my hands."

"What?" I said stupidly, then realized the twine still bound her wrists. I snatched a paper knife off Lorget's desk and sliced her free. Then I resumed checking her for injury until she slapped my hands away.

"I said I'll be fine," she insisted, her tone filled with exasperation. "But I don't think Lorget will be."

Reluctantly, I turned away from her and went to Lorget. "He's breathing," I said.

"We have to get him help," Ziola said.

"There is a healer nearby that the guild uses. I'll carry him."

"Are you sure he should be moved?"

"No, but I'm not leaving you here and I don't think Lorget should be left alone."

Just then, the thump of the front door closing reached my ears, and I snapped my head toward the office door. "Someone's here," I said.

Ziola's brow wrinkled. "How do you know?"

"I heard the door."

She raised one eyebrow and cocked her head.

"Stay with Lorget. I'll see who it is."

Scooping up my vest so that I had weapons, I raced down the stairs two at a time. Emil was staring morosely at the nearly empty message board. He turned as I entered and frowned. "I was hoping there'd be some new assignments, but still nothing."

"Forget that. Go to the healers and bring one back. Lorget is unconscious."

Thankfully, he didn't waste time with unnecessary questions and sprinted out the door. I returned to Lorget's office and took Ziola into my arms, squeezing her tight.

"Can't breathe," she gasped and pushed at my chest.

I loosened my hold very slightly and asked, "Are you really alright?"

She peered up into my face and said, "Will you stop fussing! You're worse than a mother griffin with eggs. I've never seen you like this."

I chuckled. "I've never seen me like this, either."

Reaching up, Ziola stroked my cheek and then stood on tiptoe to press her soft lips to mine. The kiss was intoxicating, and my heart swelled as she threaded her arms around my neck and tugged me closer. I lost myself in her embrace, forgetting about everything else. It wasn't until someone cleared their throat that I remembered where we were. I broke the kiss and turned to see the healer standing in the doorway with Emil behind her.

"I trust we're not interrupting?" she asked with a note of sarcasm. "I understood there was a critically ill man here."

"Yes," I said, stepping away from Ziola. "I'd like you to look at Ziola as well."

The healer pursed her lips. "She does not appear to be in any imminent danger."

"She hit her head." I glared at the healer.

"Refrain from strenuous activity for a few days. That includes vigorous sex."

Ziola's cheeks turned red, and she said, "Don't mind him. He's suddenly very protective."

"I can see that." The healer picked her way around Lorget's stacks of books to the desk. She pointed to Polix with the knife still protruding from his eye as she passed. "That one is beyond my help."

"Um, yes," I said. Her manner was a bit disconcerting, even for someone with my gallows sense of humor.

When the healer reached Lorget, she put down her satchel, checked his pulse, and peeled back his eyelid. "Go away and let me examine him. Take the corpse with you."

I extracted my knife from Polix's face and wiped it on his shirt. Grabbing one foot, I dragged him into the hallway and pushed the door shut.

Emil stared at Polix for a moment and said, "He always was a smarmy bastard." With that, he picked up the other foot, and together we hauled the body down the steps.