Marked by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #4)(38)

“My nose isn’t as well trained as yours,” Fenris said once we were outside and headed back to our vehicle, “but as far as I could tell, the man seemed truthful. Do you concur?”

“I do,” I said as I got into the steamcar. “If there’s more to this story – and I’m sure there is – the manager doesn’t know about it. The Benefactor has not only done a great job of covering his tracks, he’s also ensured that the people he deals with can’t give much away, since they know next to nothing themselves.”

“Will you consult with the Finance Secretary, then, regarding the Sandin Federal connection?” Fenris asked as he started the steamcar and guided us back down to the dirt road. “I imagine he could be quite helpful in this matter.”

“First chance I get,” I decided, settling into my seat for the ride. “Now hurry up and get us back.”



Somewhere along the drive back home, Fenris developed a lead foot. We got back to the Palace in half the time it had taken us to get to Timbran’s, which was a good thing because I was getting antsy to move on with the investigation. Fenris, it turned out, had matters of his own to deal with, so I left him to take care of returning the steamcar, and headed toward the Mages Guild to enlist the Finance Secretary’s help.

Unfortunately, Cirin wasn’t in his office, and I didn’t think he’d appreciate it if I enlisted one of the few overloaded staff he had left to help me, without his permission. Annoyed, I went to see if I could speak to Iannis, but Dira informed me he was out again, dealing with the prisoner crisis. Damn. These problems were stacking themselves on top of each other, and I knew if I could just get a few moments to talk to Iannis, my suggestions might help him figure out a solution.

If we could keep our hands off each other, that was.

Shoving my hands into my pockets, I headed back out of the Guild offices, trying to figure out what to do next. My feet took me in the direction of the West Wing, and the next thing I knew, I was standing outside the library. Hmm. Libraries were supposed to be good resources of information, right? Maybe there was something in there that could help me.

“Good afternoon, Miss Baine,” Janta said, pushing up her spectacles as I entered. She was dressed in set of daisy-yellow robes today, her silver hair braided into a coil and wrapped around her head. Once again, she was all alone. “Is there something I can help you find today?”

“Maybe.” I dragged a hand through my hair, wondering how to phrase my request. “Umm, is there a way to find out who the owners of a company in another state are?”

Janta smiled. “But of course. The library has a nation-wide company directory, and updates are published biannually. It’s never entirely up to date, but close enough.”

“Really?” I grinned, surprised and pleased. “Do you think it’ll have companies listed that are located in remote towns? Like, say, a company called Supplysafe in Gaston?”

“That may be a tough one,” the librarian admitted as she rose from her seat. “But we’ll see. Give me just one moment.”

She bustled away to, leaving me alone at the front desk for a few moments. I drummed my finger against the wooden surface as I waited, trying not to get carried away by the hope dancing around in my chest. It seemed like an eternity before Janta came back – although it was probably only a few minutes – but when she emerged from between the shelves, she was carrying a large, heavy-looking book.

“Here, come around to my side of the desk,” she said kindly, pushing aside some papers so she could set the tome down. “We’ll have a look at this together.”

I did as she asked, snagging a chair from one of the tables and bringing it over so I could sit next to her. Janta opened the book to a certain section, then scanned the directory with a slender finger, drawing my attention to her silver-painted nails. She murmured softly as she read the names aloud.

“Supplysafe,” she finally said, raising her volume to an audible level again. “It says here they are a subsidiary of something called the Bellington Trust.”

I bit back a groan. “I don’t like the sound of that.” The last thing I needed was to go through a bunch of different companies, only to hit another dead end.

“Now, now.” Janta gave me small smile. “Don’t be so impatient, Miss Baine. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Using the alphabetic index, we found the entry for the Bellington Trust, which was based in Dara rather than Gaston. Janta’s research skills managed to unearth the interesting fact that the trust was also a majority owner of Privacy Guard. Moreover, it had its fingers in dozens of rather important pies, including the recently disbanded Sandin Federal Bank.

“Wow.” I sat back in my chair nearly an hour later, glancing over the growing pile of record books we’d amassed. “I can’t believe you managed to find all this, Janta. You’re amazing.” For the first time, I felt like I was finally getting somewhere with this. I wondered if maybe after this was all over, I could enlist Jana’s help in finding my father. I knew Iannis wasn’t keen on the idea of me searching for him, but I wanted to know the truth, dammit, and ten years was far too long to wait.

The librarian shrugged off my compliment, but still seemed pleased. I was definitely getting better at reading mages. “I can find out more,” she promised. “I have a colleague in Dara whom I can consult regarding the Bellington Trust. She may be able to help us establish the identity of the owners.” A slight frown creased her brow. “It may take a while, though, because the few lines in the Palace that can be used for out-of-state calls have been reserved for emergencies.”