Burned by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #1)(58)

“I’m guessing you’re Privacy Guard’s Regional Director for Solantha?” Privacy Guard was a worldwide company, and each branch had a Director that oversaw the operations for that particular location.

“I am.” The Regional Director inclined his shining head of black hair, a little stiffly. His dark blue eyes were as hard as his face, his thin lips showing no emotion. He turned to Iannis. “Are we ready to proceed with this meeting now that the girl is here, my Lord?”

The Chief Mage’s violet eyes flashed. “The ‘girl’, as you so daringly put it, is my apprentice, Mr. Channing,” he said, and the Regional Director’s cheeks flushed. “I expect you to treat her with the respect befitting her station.”

I opened my mouth to protest, not at all sure I liked where this was going – sure, I wanted to be respected just as much as anyone else, but on my own terms and not because of my association with the Chief Mage. But the Regional Director apologized before I could say anything, and Iannis took that as a sign the meeting could get underway.

“It has come to my attention these past few days that the people I depend upon have not all been doing their jobs,” the Chief Mage said. He pinned each person in the room with a penetrating stare, and though not one moved a muscle, the air thickened with tension. “Amongst other things, the last Director was not passing on crucial reports to me, instead choosing to handle things as he saw fit, which is why he is being replaced.” He gestured to Chen, who inclined her head fractionally.

“However,” the Chief Mage continued. “I have been going through the reports myself, and there are still important issues that are not being passed through the correct channels. For example,” he turned his hawk-like gaze on Captain Galling, “I should have found out about this drug issue from you, not the Herald.” He picked up a copy of the paper I’d slapped on his desk yesterday, and something inside me warmed. Finally, someone was taking this seriously!

Captain Galling’s cheeks reddened as his eyes flickered over the headline. “The papers are just speculating,” he argued. “My main crew has been investigating the rumors, and I planned on sending a full report as soon as I had more concrete information –”

“Which would be never,” I interrupted, folding my arms. Captain Galling slashed a glare my way, and I pushed away the tremor of fear in my belly – he might be my boss as an Enforcer, but Iannis outranked him. “The Main Crew only put their attention on jobs that result in bounties, and usually go after the easiest ones. Since investigating rumors pays exactly zilch, I think it’s safe to say I’ll be cold in my grave by the time they get around to it.”

“How dare you –”

“Captain Galling,” the Chief Mage interrupted. “Is this true?”

The Captain snapped his mouth shut and turned his frigid gaze back to Iannis. “It is true that the Main Crew isn’t getting paid for the task,” he said finally. “That isn’t how our reward structure works – we pay per head.”

“Well, it sounds like you need to come up with some better incentives, and perhaps a better Crew,” the Chief Mage said firmly. “I’ll give you one week to sort it out, and I’ll be coming by to inspect things at the Enforcer’s Guild myself. If I don’t like what I see, I’m afraid I’ll have to replace you.”

“Yes, sir.” Captain Galling clenched his jaw. My insides squirmed as he shot me a hateful glare out of the corner of his eye, but I stiffened my shoulders and lifted my chin. I knew well enough that sometimes you had to make enemies in order to get anything done around here – it seemed that was all I was doing these days. Though Captain Galling wasn’t the worst of the lot, things had still fallen down under his watch, and he needed to be held accountable for it.

“Good.” The Chief Mage turned to Director Chen. “I want you and your apprentice to spend the next week gathering intelligence in the city, incognito. I went out myself last night and there is a significant amount of discontent. I want you to adopt different guises to suit whichever communities you are in, and report everything you hear back to me.”

Director Chen blinked, but otherwise managed to cover her surprise. “As you wish,” she said, bowing, and her apprentice followed suit. I was impressed at how graciously she accepted the assignment, which would normally be delegated far below her on the chain of command – but then, she did have to prove herself. “We will leave right away.”

The others filed out of the room, leaving Iannis, Fenris, and myself behind. As the double doors closed, Fenris changed from wolf to human form. He leaned his hip against the desk casually, as if we were in the study or in the Chief Mage’s private chambers rather than the more formal audience room.

Iannis arched a brow. “I assume you have something to say?”

Fenris nodded. “I would like to conduct a parallel investigation myself, with Sunaya’s help.”

The Chief Mage’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not certain that is an appropriate use of my apprentice’s time,” he said. “We already spent a significant amount of time investigating last night.” His eyes flickered as he slanted his gaze toward me. Heat curled in my belly as I remembered how casual he’d been, and the way his body had felt against mine. I broke contact before the warmth spread to my cheeks, not wanting him to know I was still affected by the memory.