Scorched by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #7)(28)

“You’ll discuss this one,” I said firmly. “It’s been brought to my attention that the Enforcers Guild has been paying higher bounties to mages, and selectively giving out end-of-year bonuses to the foremen and their cronies. Is this all true?” I demanded.

“Well, yes,” Skonel said, sounding flustered. “The system has been in place for decades, maybe even more than a century. I’ve only held this office for a handful of days, and the bonus system is hardly top of my priority list.”

“It should be,” I said evenly, holding back the temper simmering in my chest. “It wasn’t a big deal for Captain Galling when everyone was in the dark about it, but now that word is getting out, tensions in the Guild are rising. We need to be a unified front, Captain, and that’s not going to happen if the establishment keeps showing everyone that inequality is acceptable.”

“If you come up with a better system, I would be happy to discuss it,” Skonel said stiffly, his cheeks coloring. “But to take the bonuses away now would lead to even more discontent and morale issues. We can’t just rip the current system out from underneath them without replacing it with another.”

“An excellent point,” Garrett said before I could argue with Skonel that it wasn’t my job to come up with another system—that was his responsibility! “We appreciate your time, Captain, but we really must be going now.” He gave me a warning look, his eyes brimming with impatience.

“Of course,” Skonel said, standing. “Let me show you out.”

“Thanks for the support,” I muttered as we got into the elevator.

“I’m sure the issue is important, Miss Baine,” Garrett said in a tone that suggested the exact opposite, “but it has nothing to do with finding Thorgana, and I didn’t come all this way to sit in his office while the two of you come up with a new bonus system. We must move on.”

“Fine.” I clenched my jaw and stared straight ahead at the elevator doors, refusing to look at him. I knew part of the reason his words rankled was because he was right, but I still didn’t like the way he’d undermined me.

On our way out, I stopped by the sergeant’s desk again. “Hey. Has Annia Melcott reported back in for duty yet?”

The trainee shook his head. “Sorry, Enforcer Baine. She’s still in Southia, as far as I know.”

“Thanks,” I said, swallowing my disappointment. I really hoped Annia would come back soon. I’d expected her to return at the same time I came back from Garai, but even her mother hadn’t heard from her in a few weeks. I told the trainee to send word to me at the Palace the moment she returned, then headed out the doors after Garrett. Hopefully, she’d be back in the next few days—she would be a real asset to the investigation. And it would be nice to have a true friend around, instead of being forced to chauffeur a man who might very well be the death of my fiancé and one of my closest friends.





11





By the time we stopped outside Boon Lakin’s house in Shiftertown, most of my grumpiness had melted away. Riding on my steambike always lifted my spirits a little, but it was the thought of seeing Lakin again that did the trick. Unlike Skonel and Garrett, Lakin would actually be happy to see me.

“Sunaya,” Lakin exclaimed when he threw open the door. His smile dimmed slightly when he caught sight of Garrett, but he didn’t shirk away from the strange mage. “What brings you here?”

“Official business, I’m afraid,” I said with a rueful smile. “Mind if we come in a minute?”

“Sure, sure.” Lakin stepped back, letting us enter his small but cozy house. I hadn’t been here since before I’d left for Garai, and was pleased to note he’d added some family photographs to the walls and side tables, from the Jaguar Clan he’d left back in Parabas. Included in those pictures was the smiling face of the little girl I’d rescued from the lab in Osero, and I felt a pang in my chest. I hoped she was doing okay. Those children had been through a terrible ordeal—they’d been lucky to make it out alive, since the scientists were experimenting on them with the deadly diseases they’d intended to unleash on the shifter and mage populations.

Before I could allow myself to sink further into the past, my nose caught the scent of a female jaguar shifter—one who came around often, I noted. As the Shiftertown Inspector, Lakin had regular visitors, but none with quite as strong a scent marker as this one.

Flopping onto the couch, I looked up at Lakin with a grin. “New girlfriend?”

He blushed. “It’s not official,” he said, scratching the back of his sandy hair.

I waggled my eyebrows. “Smells pretty official to me. You have to have been seeing her a few months.”

“As fascinating as this sounds,” Garrett said dryly as he lowered himself on the couch next to me, “I don’t believe we came here to interrogate Inspector Lakin on his love life.”

“Which I am incredibly grateful for,” Lakin said sincerely as he sank into his arm chair. “What are you here for? When I heard you outside the door, I thought maybe you’d come to volunteer as you’d mentioned before, but since you’ve got a mage with you, I figure that’s not the case.”

I flinched at that. “Shit. I’m sorry, Lakin.” I’d completely forgotten about my promise. “I was absolutely intending on doing that, but Director Toring’s unexpected visit kind of threw a wrench in my schedule.” The two of us got Lakin up to speed about Thorgana’s escape and alleged plans, as well as our progress—or lack thereof—on finding her. We discussed various theories as to where she might be hiding and what plans she might be cooking up, but didn’t come up with anything new. We were just circling over the same ground, much to my frustration.