Bound by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #2)(48)

The blood drained from Myrna’s face. “Are you saying that Tylin was taken from us because we weren’t making our payments?”

“We can’t be sure,” Lakin said gently. “But we’re not ruling it out, either.”

The color abruptly rushed back into Myrna’s face, turning her skin bright red. “I knew we never should have taken on that loan!” she growled, jumping to her feet. She bared her fangs as she began pacing back and forth across the rug, her expression livid. “I’m going to kill Tyron when he gets home!”

The toddler let out a distressed wail at the sound of her mother’s voice, and Myrna’s expression softened as she dropped down to her knees in front of the playpen to scoop up her daughter.

“Don’t worry, Liv,” she cooed, rocking the small child. “Mommy’s okay. You don’t need to be upset.” She dropped a kiss on the top of her daughter’s curly head and I heard her whisper, “I’m just so glad I still have you here.”

My heart ached at the pain in her voice, and for once I was glad to be unattached – I couldn’t imagine what it would be like if I had a child and he was taken from me. I may not have been a mother, but the maternal instinct stirred inside me at the sight of this woman’s pain, and for a moment I wanted to comfort her.

But I didn’t, because I knew she wouldn’t accept comfort, not from an outcast like me.

“So was it your husband’s idea to seek out a loan in order to make the repairs on your house?” Lakin asked.

Myrna placed her toddler back in the playpen, then turned toward us, a simmering anger burning behind her eyes. “Yes, it was Tyron’s idea to take advantage of the interest-free loans being advertised. He was initially only going to take out enough money to fix the bare necessities, but Sandin Federal offered him five times the amount, and it was more money than Tyron and I had ever seen in our lives. I couldn’t find it in me to be angry when he came skipping home with that pouch of gold in his hand. But I’m angry now.” Her lower lip trembled as she clenched her fists. “If I’d known that money was going to bring tragedy down on my family, I would have made him return it right away.”

“So did you receive any threats from Sandin Federal?” I asked. “Anything beyond the usual late payment notices?”

Myrna hesitated. “Not at first, no, and never directly. But there were a few times I heard Tyron arguing with what sounded like a creditor, so it’s entirely possible we were threatened and I just never knew.” She bared her fangs. “Just you wait until he gets home. I am absolutely going to murder him!”

Lakin and I exchanged a look, and I had a feeling he was going to send one of his deputies around to make sure Myrna didn’t follow through on her threat.

We didn’t get much more out of Myrna after that, so we moved onto the rest of the interviews on our list. About half of the victims had family in Rowanville while the other half were within the state of Canalo but out of town, so Lakin made some phone calls while I hopped on my bike to pay a few house calls. The shifters in Rowanville I could handle – they didn’t have the same level of prejudice against me that the Shiftertown residents did. One for one, we found out the same thing – all of the victims, or their families, had taken a loan from Sandin Federal Bank at some point within the year, and each of them had failed to make payments.

“Well,” Lakin said after we’d finished exchanging reports. “The evidence seems pretty conclusive at this point. The investor has got to be someone with significant control at Sandin Federal Bank, and access to confidential files.”

“No kidding.” An image of Warin Danrian’s fear-filled eyes flashed in my mind. “I think it’s time we head back to Sandin Federal ourselves to find out what Mr. Danrian was hiding. I have a feeling he knows exactly who that damned investor is, and where we can find him.”





15





Unfortunately for us, someone had already arrived at Sandin Federal Bank by the time we got there – the Mages Guild. Several horse-drawn carriages were parked in the small lot outside the bank, their doors stamped with the Guild’s Logo – a seven-pointed star with a different rune hovering above each point, and an ornate ‘M’ stamped in the center. Two Privacy Guard employees stood watch in front of the doors, dressed in their blue uniforms, their eyes narrowed on Lakin and me as we pulled into the parking lot. Their white-gloved hands rested on the hilts of their short swords, ready for trouble, and their backs were ramrod straight.

“Ugh,” Lakin muttered as he pulled off his helmet. “I hate these guys.”

I nodded my agreement. Privacy Guard was a nation-wide company that contracted guards out to companies and government agencies like the Mages Guild. Some of the guards were decent, but a lot of them were *s, and I’d been at the receiving end of their swords on more than one occasion. I’d nearly been beaten to death by a group of them during my first night at Solantha Palace, back when I was still a prisoner rather than an apprentice. And though these guards weren’t the same ones who’d attacked me, I couldn’t help stiffening at the sight of them.

Get it together, Naya. These guards are the least of your problems.

“Let’s go find out what the hell is going on,” I said to Lakin, and strode up to the guards.