Marked by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #4)(33)

Nearly an hour later, I met the others back in the reception hall. “We found nothing,” I told the Legal Secretary, doing my best to keep the frustration out of my voice. “I don’t know how much lead time they had, but it was enough that they managed to take every single shred of useful paperwork they had. They could be burning it or dumping it in the bay right now, for all we know,” I added in disgust.

“That is unfortunate,” the Legal Secretary acknowledged, “but our primary purpose in coming here was to shut down the Herald, and we’ve done that. We’ve broken various components in their printing presses to ensure they cannot simply start back up when we’ve left, and have told all the staff to leave and not come back.” He turned his head to give the receptionist a beady-eyed stare. “That includes you, Miss.”

The brunette sniffed, then rose from her chair, her things already gathered, and left the building with her head held high. I eyed her as she joined the continuous stream of humans filing out through the main lobby, and was half-tempted to arrest her just for being a bitch. Not to mention the whole ‘aiding and abetting terrorists’ thing. But we didn’t have the space to hold every single person who was allied with the Resistance, and unless we found out she was actually engaging in criminal activity I couldn’t justify apprehending her.

“As soon as the rest of the humans have cleared out of here, we should return to the Palace,” the Legal Secretary announced as more humans passed us. Quite a few of them gave us dirty looks, but many more had stricken, hopeless expressions on their faces, and my heart twisted with sympathy. “Our work here is done.”

“No, it’s not,” I said.

The Legal Secretary’s eyes turned frosty. “Excuse me?”

“Those humans.” I pointed to the thinning crowd. “You need to see about putting them back to work somehow. Surely the Mages Guild can afford to set aside some gold for rebuilding projects.”

“It hardly makes sense to rebuild when the city is still undergoing attacks, Miss Baine,” the Legal Secretary said coldly. “Besides, it is no concern of mine what these humans do now. They should not have worked for a company with such questionable morals and loyalties.”

“Are you f*cking serious?” I shouted, stepping forward into the Legal Secretary’s personal space. I wanted to slap the shit out of him, but physical altercations with mages, especially ones who were well trained, weren’t a smart idea. “These people don’t have a clue! Whatever their bosses were up to, the rest are just trying to keep their heads down and put food on their families’ tables.” I took a deep breath, meeting his uncomprehending and outraged eyes. “As a mage, you wouldn’t know of their troubles, but food is scarce, and they’re not even certain they’ll have homes to return to at the end of the day. This is not their fault, and by sending them home today, jobless, all you’re doing is reinforcing the idea that the Mages Guild is evil.” Fenris looked almost as outraged as the mages, but I ploughed on, determined to have my say. Was there no way I could make them see what was so obvious to me? “The Herald fed their families, and the Mages Guild just put them out of work. Who do you think they’re going to blame for their hungry children? Because I can tell you right now, it’s not the Resistance. You’re creating more enemies every day by refusing to acknowledge the needs of the people.”

“Miss Baine may have a point,” one of the other mages said quietly, and the Legal Secretary looked at him in surprise. “Idle hands may easily be turned to destructive pursuits. If we don’t find a way to keep the population occupied, they will likely join the revolt.”

The Legal Secretary sighed, then turned back to look at me. “This is hardly my department,” he said stiffly, “but I will speak to the Chief Mage, and perhaps he can figure out what to do next.”

“Great.” I’d be checking in with Iannis myself on this, but for now, I had something more important to do. “Do you have any idea where I might be able to get a ride?” I asked, turning to Fenris.

He frowned. “Why? Where are you planning on going?”

I told him about the tin company I’d run across in the grocery store, and its possible connection to the Resistance. “I’m tired of running around in circles on this,” I told him. “It’s about time we start pulling on threads, and this is the only real one I’ve got.”

“I’ll come with you,” Fenris decided. “We’ll return to the Palace for some food, since I know you’re starving, and I’ll arrange transportation.”

“Great,” I said, and that was when the windows exploded.





14





“Get down!” I screamed, grabbing Fenris by the collar. I threw us both to the ground, heedless of the glass sprayed all across the floor, and began crawling for the dubious safety of the reception desk. More windows exploded under the onslaught of gunfire, raining glass everywhere, and my ears rang from the deafening noise.

I heard the mages, who had ducked for cover as well, simultaneously speak a series of Words. The burnt-sugar scent of magic laced the air, and the hair along my arms stood as I felt energy ripple through the room. I peeked over the top of the desk just in time to see a blue force field ripple into existence, spreading across the front wall, and I sighed in relief as I watched a bullet ricochet off it.