Scorched by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #7)(16)

“Well that’s fucked up,” I commented. Director Chen shot me a scandalized look that I completely ignored. “Did you consider filing a lawsuit against them for slander?”

Kardanor shrugged. “That would have been very costly, and Mendle and Gorax have high-powered lawyers on retainer, who no doubt would have ground me into the dust. I’ve lived frugally off my savings, hoping for things to improve, though lately I’ve been seriously considering relocating once more. In the meantime, I have done an informal survey on the schools, hospitals, and other government-owned buildings in Solantha. I’ve identified some fifty-odd buildings that are in a perilous state, though with most you would never know from the outside. Many of them are structurally unsound, with the foundations inadequate to bear the building load. With additional stress like a quake, the factor of safety would be zero.”

We exchanged looks of shock and dismay as Kardanor continued. “What’s just as bad is that I’ve discovered numerous buildings where fire hydrants are merely decorative and not properly connected to the water mains.” He pulled a map out from his jacket pocket and spread it out on the table. “You can see for yourself right here.”

Everyone leaned in close to get a good look at the map. It was drawn with thick black ink on white paper, and the buildings in question were marked in red. I was not surprised to see that the Enforcers Guild was listed amongst these endangered buildings, and an alarming number of other buildings were marked down as well. Maintown had the largest concentration of red marks, while Shiftertown had the least, since the town’s few newer buildings had been constructed by shifter companies. The buildings that didn’t have their hydrant lines connected were marked with an additional X, and I was dismayed to see how many there were. If a fire broke out in the city, those buildings would burn to the ground, and the flames would engulf the entire neighborhood very quickly.

“This is unacceptable,” Iannis finally said, leaning back in his chair. His violet eyes simmered with annoyance. “Solantha’s building inspectors are clearly not doing their job. I find myself very surprised that the Maintown and Shiftertown Councils have not done anything about this. Did you contact them?”

“I have attempted to gain an audience with the Maintown Council numerous times,” Kardanor said. “The Shiftertown Council would not see me because I’m human, and barely tolerated my survey efforts as it was. But the Maintown Council inspectors have likely convinced them that I am raving mad, so they refuse to see me. I am certain they have been bought off by Mendle and Gorax.”

“I recall hearing about a large earthquake in Naraka some thirty years ago,” Fenris said, speaking up for the first time. He stared at the map, his yellow eyes tight with concern. “The quake was quickly followed by a devastating fire, which ended up tripling the overall damage. In fact, from my reading, almost all serious quakes cause fires, since stoves, furnaces, candles, and electric lines are shaken up and will inevitably find fuel here and there. These buildings must be made both quake and fire resistant, if we hope to escape the impending earthquake relatively unscathed.”

“I wish we had known about this predicament sooner,” Director Chen complained, studying the map as well. Her lips were pursed, and I was surprised to scent anger radiating off her—she usually had an even cooler head than Iannis. “If Lord Faring’s prediction is anywhere close to correct, there is not enough time, or mage power, to magically secure these structures before the big quake hits.”

“At the very least, we must ensure the schools and hospitals are protected,” Kardanor countered. “Can you really magically protect buildings from fire?”

“Yes,” Iannis said tersely. “However, it takes a lot of energy and manpower to keep up such spells. It would be impractical to keep up fire protection for the entire city at all times.”

“I wish I’d known about this,” Kardanor said. “Inadequate resources simply mean that priorities must be set. To stop fires from engulfing the whole city, barriers of protected buildings might help, perhaps adjacent to open spaces—something that should have been included in city planning from the outset,” he pointed out.

“There is little point in dwelling on what should have happened,” Iannis said firmly. “We must move forward, and do what we can to protect the city. Director Chen, I would like you to draw up a plan with Mr. Makis as your advisor, and present it to me tomorrow night.”

Chen nodded. “I will send teams to the public buildings Mr. Makis has marked off, according to priority, to verify their condition and apply provisional protection spells.”

“I believe the situation warrants a state of emergency,” Cirin said. “All local mages should be summoned to the Palace for refresher courses on fire protection and shielding against falling debris.”

“That is an excellent idea,” Iannis said. “I will teach some of the courses myself. We cannot afford to take any chances.”

We spent the next thirty minutes tossing ideas back and forth as the servants brought out the main course, and then dessert. Kardanor suggested organizing extra earthquake and fire drills in the Rowanville, Maintown, and Shiftertown neighborhoods—the schools did them every so often, but he insisted they be extended to businesses and other government buildings as well. I proposed that we should prepare large, army-style tents and start pre-positioning food and water supplies outside the city, in case an evacuation was necessary. I was very pleased to see that everyone was fully engaged in the discussion, and that the mages had all seemed to accept Kardanor as part of the team, now that they’d gotten over the initial shock of working with a mere human.