Norian was still talking while I threw clothes into a bag with the help of Taff, one of my new assistants. I packed mostly jeans—then braided my hair, tossed in shampoo and toiletries, closed my bag and asked Norian where his bag was. He was still blathering about something and hadn't realized I'd tuned him out long ago.
"Norian, do I have to put a hand over your mouth?" I stood before him with hands on my hips. He grinned. "My bag is in my office," he said. I folded us to his office, he picked up his bag and we were off to Darthin.
* * *
"This is the headquarters for the ASD on Darthin," Norian explained as we dropped our bags off in the cramped sleeping quarters. Four small, low-walled cubicles painted white with no doors lay before me, coupled with two undersized, tiled showers, a single toilet and two sinks. A supply of extra towels, sheets and blankets were hidden inside a cramped closet, and all of it was fronted by a tiny kitchen area located behind an outer office with a desk. The building was hidden in a business complex, too, and had a fake sign out front. Go figure.
"I'm hungry. Feel like going out?" Norian hefted his bag onto the small bed inside his cubicle. "Go ahead; you get the one next door." With only a low wall separating each bed, there would be no privacy. I wasn't sure I was up to seeing Norian in his undies, or letting him see me in my PJs. It shouldn't worry me, though; I'd already seen him naked once, when he'd climbed into the hot tub with everybody else. Norian was compact and muscular, no doubt about that.
"Have you been here before? Where are we going first? What do we have to investigate?" I dumped my bag on the bed next door. I could see Norian's head and shoulders easily over the low wall that separated our cubicles. Yep—no privacy. Or anything close, even.
"Lissa Beth, you'll just have to trust me."
"Honey, I don't trust many people, and nobody calls me Lissa Beth."
"Lissa Beth, we'll be eating local cuisine first. I'll let you know our next move after that. Get used to the name," Norian's eyes crinkled around the corners when he smiled.
"I can put you through a wall, I'll have you know."
"Yes. I know that about you. Come on, stop being a grump."
"I wasn't being a grump," I grumped as I followed him out the door.
* * *
"This is a type of hare that is raised here for meat," Norian ordered for both of us. We ended up with pocket sandwiches stuffed with spiced meat, lettuce and vegetables. The food was good, as long as I didn't think about little, fluffy bunnies while I ate. Another man, carrying a plate of food, walked up and sat across from us at our outdoor table—it was late spring on Darthin, with perfect weather for dining outside.
"Well?" Norian asked.
"Got two leads—we can track tonight," the man said, lifting his sandwich and biting into it.
"Lissa Beth, this is Lendill Schaff, my second-in-command," Norian introduced us. I nodded to him, assuming he was more than aware of who I was even without Norian calling me Lissa Beth.
"The vids don't do you justice and I thought they looked pretty damn good," Lendill took another bite of his sandwich. I had no idea how to respond to that, so I didn't. Lendill had short, almost-blond hair, dark blue eyes, a slightly crooked nose (as if he'd broken it in a fight or two) and a nice mouth. He was taller than Norian, too—Lendill stood at six feet, even.
We followed Lendill away from the sandwich shop after our meal and hopped onto the public bus, which took us toward the downtown area. The buses all ran on a track and were computer operated—no drivers needed. The workday was over so the bus wasn't crowded; it was only half-full, if that. We got off after a while and walked about twelve blocks until we came to a barricaded building. Lendill led us to the back of the squat, ugly brick structure, opening a door there with a key.
"Three city workers were murdered in this building," Lendill said, leading us inside. I knew that already, just by the scents. Those deaths had been bloody, too; I smelled the blood before we ever got to the room where they'd been killed. Of course, the scents of the killers were now mixed with the scents of the local investigators and medical personnel who'd been called to the scene. I wouldn't be able to sort it all out unless I was introduced to each of the emergency responders, and that would be next to impossible. A buzz and a blurring of images appeared whenever I attempted to Look, and that spelled power to me. Could be wizards, warlocks or a number of other possibilities.
"Was there any connection among the three? Did they work together, on the same shift or anything?"
"Sometimes—they worked maintenance; usually on the sewer and water lines." Lendill had done some legwork already."Did they work together on anything recently?" I continued my questioning.
"A busted water line below street level, located three blocks from city hall a few days ago," Lendill replied.
"Any fingerprints or other evidence at the scene?" Norian asked.
"Nothing, boss. The victims' throats were slashed; no weapons, footprints or fingerprints were found and we don't know how they got into the building to begin with—the doors were locked and the alarm was set. This is a city-owned facility and the workers can come here during breaks for lunch or to take a quick shower if they've been doing dirty work."
"Somehow, all three of them ended up here, at the same time. The door was shut and locked already—none of the three used their code to get in or set the alarm, and then all of them were killed. The killer managed to get in and out without setting off the alarm or using anyone's code—the employee who set the code last was here two days before the murders. He also has a solid alibi." Norian shook his head.
"Well, if a wizard or warlock is involved, or someone else with power, it would be easy," I muttered. Erland could circumvent electronics and surveillance equipment with half a thought. He could also transport several people at once—without blinking.
"That's a nasty thought—if Black Mist has managed to hire or coerce a wizard." Norian didn't sound happy. "We haven't had any evidence of this before, but then they might be desperate after a bunch of their top assassins were killed not long ago. We're still trying to figure that out."
I knew, but I wasn't about to let that slip—Erland and Wylend had sent out some of their own and Solar Red, Red Hand and Black Mist had all gotten hit. They didn't know that I knew, but I did. They'd complained, too, that they hadn't been able to find Black Mist's or Solar Red's headquarters—they'd settled for temples on several worlds, and managed to find a few Black Mist operatives who'd moved in with Solar Red or Red Hand at those temples.
I hadn't told Erland, either, but I'd gone Looking for Black Mist myself, and what I'd found, or in this case hadn't found, worried me greatly. There was a blurring of information surrounding Black Mist, just as there was a buzz blocking information on the murders we were investigating. If Black Mist was able to block me from finding them, then somebody connected to the organization likely held a great deal of power. We'd have to track Black Mist by normal methods. I couldn't find them otherwise, and that was quite aggravating.
"Can we go to the last place the three victims worked together?" Norian asked, interrupting my thoughts.
"I'm ahead of you, boss—that's next on the list," Lendill said. We walked ten blocks or so and then Lendill attempted to manhandle the heavy, steel cover that concealed an entrance into the city's sewers. After watching him struggle for a while with the heavy weight, I moved him aside and lifted the cover off easily. Lendill quirked an eyebrow at me. Norian didn't even blink.
"They couldn't find a nicer smelling place to work?" I complained as we climbed down a narrow metal ladder and dropped into the round, brick-lined tunnel.
"Lissa Beth, are you going to complain the whole thirty years we work together?" Norian was back to smiling.
"More than likely," I muttered. "If you don't like it, feel free to go to the Charter Members and demand another Liaison."
"That will not happen. They were quite insistent I work with you on this. I am stuck with you and you with me."
"Are you sure they said thirty years? That seems too long to me," I was back to being grumpy.
"I thought you were immortal—thirty years is no time at all," Norian pointed out as we followed Lendill.
"Is it part of your job description to be a thorn in my side and to continuously point out the obvious?" I wanted to poke Norian in the ribs.
"It is. In fact, I asked for that stipulation to be added to my contract shortly before I came to Le-Ath Veronis."
"So, tact and diplomacy aren't your strong suit?" I had to stop myself from elbowing Norian. As tight and muscular as his body was, he might not even feel it if I did.
"If I had either of those things, I'd be working as an ambassador for the Alliance." Norian was grinning again. Choosing to ignore Norian for a while, I turned my attention to our surroundings. Dim lights shone over our heads; otherwise, Lendill and Norian would have been walking blindly through the sewer. We branched off to the right after a while, until we came to the recent repair. New brick and mortar patched a hole large enough for a man to crawl inside on one wall. My skin itched. Something was wrong here and it had me worried.
"Norian, I think you and Lendill should stand back," I said, and turning my arm to mist I reached through the wall, found what had been placed inside and drew it out. If we'd torn the brick out, a device would have been tripped and the bombers would be notified. Instead, I'd moved around that, pulling out the detonation device itself.
Lendill cursed and Norian had some choice words to offer as well. "Boss, what are we going to do with that?" Lendill asked when he ran out of expletives. I wanted to point out that neither one of them was holding the stupid bomb, but decided against it. For now, I was faced with handling a bomb. That was a new experience for me, and one I had no real desire to repeat.