Strike at Midnight(87)

“I think I’ve found a list of their buyers,” I said, more to myself than anyone. “And where they might have sent the victims.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Mia said without looking up from the spell book.

“There are over twenty people here,” I said, wondering how long they would have continued with this plan given the chance. How many people would they have replaced? “It may have been a twisted plan, but you’ve got to give them credit for the idea.” I sighed. “All these names, though? How the hell am I going to be able to track them all down?”

“I’m sure Sir Raymond will aid in that cause,” Mia said distractedly.

“I suppose,” I said, looking back through the ledger. “At least we have an idea of where to start looking.”

“This spell book is fascinating, you know,” she said, ignoring me. “Would you mind if I kept it?”

“Be my guest. But did you find any recipes in there for an antidote for the memory potion?”

“I should be able to knock one of those up for you,” she replied. “This is a little bit…darker than that.”

“And you want it?” I asked, remembering how powerful she already was.

“Only to study,” she said while pressing her lips together to stop a smile. “I don’t delve too deeply in this kind of magic. It’s bad for the pores.”

“Is that why she looked the way she did?”

Mia nodded. “Magic is something to be respected, and not to be taken lightly. When you are a glutton of anything, it becomes extremely bad for you. Magic included.”

I nodded, satisfied with her answer. It appeared our Mia preferred to grow old gracefully without the need of spells and virgin sacrifices to give her a magical facial.

“It’s yours,” I said, and she grinned.

“I’ll take it as payment for tonight’s work. Consider us even.”

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t resist a smile when Marcel popped his head in through the door.

“Find anything?” he asked, and I nodded.

“We have a place to start of where the duke could be. Sir Raymond will be pleased.”

“Then are you ready to go?” he asked, and I gave one last glance around the place.

“There’s one last thing I need to look for,” I said, recalling what Piper said about Rem’s brother. It wasn’t going to be a nice job, and it was one I wanted to do discreetly.

“And what’s that?” he asked as he leaned against the door.

“A grave,” I said, and his lips pressed together in grim acceptance as he understood the meaning behind those two words.

“Then let’s go.”





*



We had managed to find two sticks that had been roped together to form the shape of a cross about a quarter of a mile in the forest at the back of the cottage. I wasn’t deluded enough to think that Piper had given a shit about his employee, but many of the people of Carena believed that death had a way of stalking the living if not handled with a respectful burial. It was a common belief among all classes, and it looked like Piper had been no exception.

We had decided to wait until we had gotten Rem back to Melodies before telling him, and then we would bring him back here once he’d had time to process and deal with the awful news. It was something neither of us was looking forward to.

Sir Layton and Sir Leopold were going to dispose of Piper’s body and then take the two captured men to the dungeons for us. Sir Raymond said that he would leave the Peacock element to me, and I was pleased he was willing to do so rather than risk bringing in the law-enforcement officers at this point. They would only go and screw it all up anyway.

Billy was going to be collected by one of Sir Raymond’s staff, who would take him to the dungeons with the others, and he had agreed with me about putting in a good word regarding his punishment. It made me respect him a hell of a lot more to see he was willing to do such a thing on my word only. He was a good man.

We made it back to Melodies in good time, and Sir Raymond said he would update the prince and escort Mia back home. He had also given me directions to Lord Peacock’s home so I didn’t have to go hunting around for him once I’d had a few hours of sleep.

I thanked them a few more times for their help and rescue before they went on their way, and then the three of us walked into the inn and into a barrage of hugs from a worried-looking Melody.

The four of us were now in Marcel’s living quarters with hot cocoa and the worry in the air from the information I was about to spill.

Melody had intuitively sat next to Rem on the couch without even knowing the full story, and I gave Marcel a quick look before addressing Rem. He gave me a small smile of reassurance and I took a deep breath to ready myself for the grief I was about to hand over to the kid.

“Rem,” I said from the chair where I sat opposite the couch. He looked up from his cocoa and readied himself for what he no doubt thought to be a lecture or notice of dismissal from our home. Only it wasn’t going to be either of those. It was going to be a hell of a lot worse. “Piper told me about your brother and the debt he owed him…” I started. “He told me that he let you believe that he had fled with his money and a girl called Emily.”