Scorched by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #7)(52)

“Pillick was found unconscious, not far from the mansion,” Iannis explained in mindspeak as I shut the door behind me. “He was helping those other mages with the excavation, and he ended up affected as well.”

“Oh.” I struggled to keep my expression calm even as I felt a strong wave of pity for Garrett’s assistant. I hadn’t liked him, but he didn’t deserve this fate. “Hello, Mr. Mendle,” I said aloud, taking a seat next to Iannis. I put the emotion aside and focused on our suspect. “You’re looking much better than the rest of your family.”

Mr. Mendle’s stiffened. To my surprise, tears rolled down his round cheeks. “My family is dead, you callous girl,” he spat. “Crushed when the house collapsed. They were too ill to get out.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said, and I did mean it. “I’m sure your wife and children didn’t deserve to die, just like many of the other citizens who were crushed by buildings today didn’t either.” My heart clenched at the thought of Fenris’s body, squashed beneath the weight of that elementary school, and I had to shove the image away before I was overwhelmed by emotion again. That school, too, had been built by the man before me. His criminal greed had contributed to Fenris’s death.

Mr. Mendle clenched his bound hands, but said nothing. What else was there to say when you knew you were responsible not only for the deaths of your fellow citizens, but your family as well?

“I understand that you were in your office during the quake?” Iannis asked, bringing us back on track. His face was expressionless, his tone businesslike. “Do you spend much time there?”

“Nearly all of it,” Mr. Mendle confirmed. “Running a successful business is very time consuming.”

“That explains why you’re not as sick as the rest of your family was,” I said.

Mr. Mendle glanced sharply at me. “What do you know about my family’s illness?”

“Director Toring and I passed by your home a few days ago to question you and your wife,” I said. “You were at the office, and Mrs. Mendle was too sick to receive us. Your butler looked ill too—exhibiting the same symptoms you are now. And I overheard you and your wife, at Captain Galling’s farewell reception, talking about the hair loss afflicting your whole family.” I leaned in closer when Mr. Mendle said nothing. “I know that you’ve been harboring Thorgana Mills in your home, Mr. Mendle, so don’t try to deny it. Did she bring a strange object into your house at any time?”

“I’m not sure,” Mr. Mendle said, looking taken aback. “She did receive a mysterious package a few days after her arrival, not long before she became sick. Are you saying this package is what made my family ill?”

“Yes,” Iannis told him. “It is a special weapon called the Magic Eraser, and it looks like it harms humans as well. Shifters have been affected too—a bear-shifter volunteer who helped excavate your home can no longer change out of his human form.”

Fuck. Shock and anger filled me at this unexpected announcement, and Mr. Mendle cringed as I glared at him. “I assume Thorgana was ill, too, possibly even sicker than the rest of you?”

“Yes.” Mr. Mendle’s lips thinned. “If she hadn’t been crushed in the quake along with my family, she probably would have been dead within a few weeks. Even the finest doctors, who I brought to the house in secret, couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her.”

Relief and disappointment swamped me all at once as Mr. Mendle confirmed my suspicion—that Thorgana had died. I would have liked to look her in the eye one last time, to let her know that despite everything she’d done, she hadn’t beaten me. But it was better this way. There would be no more arrests or escape attempts. She was gone for good.

Garrett took command of the conversation then, and extracted the names of the doctors and other accomplices. Mr. Mendle was too broken to resist, and it didn’t take much effort to get him to agree to sign a full confession. He didn’t bother begging for clemency—the man had to know he only had a swift trial and execution to look forward to, at best. With nothing more to be gleaned from Mr. Mendle, Iannis had him escorted to Prison Isle, then left for a meeting with the Council and Director Chen. Before he left, he informed me that Annia was at home with her mother—she and her crew had successfully retrieved the Magic Eraser from the ruins. It was being held in a building on the outskirts of the city, well away from the Mages Quarter and Shiftertown. Iannis and the Council were going to put their heads together to figure out the best way to destroy the thing without getting close enough to it to compromise their own magic. And Rylan was still out in the city, helping in Shiftertown now. I didn’t see any reason to call him back—with Thorgana dead, Father Calmias no longer spouting evil nonsense, and the city so thoroughly distracted, I doubted I was in any particular danger behind the Palace walls.

Back in my room, I stripped off my clothes and changed into a simple silk robe, then grabbed a novel off the shelf to read. My mind was too restless to sleep—I needed a distraction. But before I could settle down with it, someone knocked on my door.

“Garrett?” I asked, catching his scent immediately. What the hell was he doing here?

“May I come in?” Garrett asked, for once sounding quite hesitant. “I won’t take too much of your time, I promise.”