By the time the multiple guards who joihe first had finished, I was actually still ier shape than when Melissa had worked me over.

  Oh sure, every iny face ached, but they’d mao not break my nose, or an orbital bone. I had my teeth, and I wasn’t drooling blood out onto the carpet when two of the guards carried me into the drawing room. Harp music pyed as they pulled me over to the sofa.

  Three others waited iwo of them too occupied with their own tasks while the third sat in the middle of a sofa, staring ily at me as the guard deposited me in the chair opposite him.

  Dressed in an ornate suit of bd white, eyes of pure silver gleaming, it actually ached a little to look at him. A face that looked like it had been chiseled out of stone by a craftsman dedicated to not having a single mistake in their work. Drake.

  His panions were as well, their human forms ahereally beautiful woman currently focused oly strumming a harp, while the other was a dignified older man engrossed in a book. Their own eyes glowed differeallic colors, and with how the eye was nothing but that color, they could be as easily looking at me instead of being engrossed iasks.

  “Well,” the silver-eyed drake said. “A person es to my house i on telling me about how she desecrated the body of my dearly departed sister. Demands an audience practically, to tell me of the desecrations, and g to know more that it thinks my ears wish to hear. Do you have more, infernal?”

  Well, at least it wasn’t foulhorn. I coughed, trying to clear my throat, and the drake who must be Valit nodded.

  “Of course, we are a little remiss of my duties as host, I suppose. Edwie of the tea we had brewing. Maybe it’ll clear uests’ systems some.”

  I muttered a thanks as I tried to keep any blood from falling on the ground. Appearance was everything with draics, and I would not irritate them by bleeding over their floor.

  Within minutes, I had a hot cup in front of me, and with shaky hands, I took a sip.

  My taste buds sang. This was green tea, earthy in taste, but it felt like someone had poured a star right into my tongue. Not in the seari way, but there was a taste, beh the earthihat felt like sheer starlight poured into a cup. The earthiness faded away, repced with a sheer sensation I just could not pce.

  I couldn’t uand why my mio that as I kept on sipping, uo put the cup down till I’d drained every drop of the drink. My mind remained in the os still.

  “So, Infernal,” Valit said. “You said you had a story to tell about the death of my sister. How about you begin?”

  I coughed, clearing my throat.

  “My involvement in this case, and specifically your sister’s death, begins with a tip I received from a tact I buy alchemical supplies from-”

  ***

  All told, it took two hours to tell the eory, plus the questions Valit has asked. He had dohe service of waiting till my story was over before b me with a variety of questions about what had occurred. I told the truth about those I could afford to, deflected on others, a some simply unanswered.

  By the end of it he stared at me, eyes narrowed. His first panion still zily pyed the harp, the sed still seemingly occupied with his book. her fooled me. They’d been paying just as much attention.

  “You are lying,” Valit finally said in aone.

  “Of course I am,” I said back, taking another sip of the tea. Hells I’d kill for this. How hard would it be to break into the kit? I mean, sure, angry dragons, but surely their anger could be doused in the shared love of herbal drinks between all se life.

  No wait, these were dragons. They would jealously hoard their tea for as long as they could.

  “A bold admission,” the one reading the book said, looking up from it. “Especially for one iuation you have put yourself in.”

  I shrugged. “Is it? You will figure I am doing so anyway, and admitting it just puts it out in the open. The real question is, was what I lying about relevant to what if your ?”

  “And what is our , little horned ohe harp-pyer asked, finally pausing her melody.

  The bined weight of all three drakes’ gaze, I could only hope all the other two were just drakes, felt like it could bowl me over. Brass, silver, gold, solid colors, but with an iy beyond the stormiest of eyes.

  “The death of one of your own,” I said, as I carefully put my teacup down. “After all, people getting away with that ’t go unpunished, it?”

  “her the desecration of our kind,” Valit growled. “You sged my sister’s body for pieces to make potions. Broke into her resting pce after she was already taken from us far too soon and carved into her body for parts.”

  “Yes,” I agreed. “And I would do it again. Sger’s honor.”

  Valit looked affronted, sed from striking, while the other two merely seemed amused.

  “I could take your head for that,” he hissed. “In fact, what do you have that would keep me from doing so?”

  “Dragons and drakes have kept servants for millennia, correct?” I asked.

  The three of them frowhe harp pyer choosing to ahis time.

  “Correct, although your empire chooses not to respee of our traditions,” the book-reader said. “There is no equivalent to the life-debt in your culture and they insist we follow suit.”

  Svery, they meant, banned in the Empire’s reach. Well, certain kinds of svery.

  “Not all s are physical, as I’m sure you know. Mine are tight despite their intangibility. So if you wish to kill me, ask who will be upset after being robbed of a servant?”

  “And who would we be robbing?” The book-reader said.

  “The Imperial Gover,” I said with a grin, ign the pain my face felt being torted. “They’ll be upset. Especially when I came to be so helpful to you all.”

  “By telling us who is responsible for my sister’s death?” Valit said. “That might get you out of the door alive. Might.”

  “I offer you vengean the ones who orchestrated her death,” I said, taking another sip of the tea. How many cups had I gohrough? The butler kept bringing more. This could get addictive.

  “Like we could not get it ourselves?” Valit scoffed. “We are drakes, Miss Harrow. We are long-lived, atient, and we never fet. A decade, two even, when the killers have vihemselves no one is around anymore who cares, we will strike, and I will have revenge for my sister.”

  “They are shape-gers, Lord Valit,” I replied. “They’ve evaded dete for turies before now. They will evade them for turies more. When they finally settle on their new identities, will you be able to track them?”

  A silence followed, the two fnking one’s looking curious to Valit. Not fuidance, evaluation. Definitely his superiors in some way, even if just in the draic social hierarchy.

  “You cim you have a way to track them?” Valit asked.

  “With what I have in mind, trag won’t be needed,” I said. “They would e to me. All I need is a pair of little favors from you to do it.”

  “Ah, so you have e here because your own efforts are stymied,” the book-reader said. “You hope to get our aid instead for a task for you, iurn for what we desire out of this. Perhaps we should seize the information from your mind and skip you as the middle-creature entirely.”

  The other two seemed far too willing to eain that as a possibility. Time to e down on it as hard as I could.

  “Truth be told, I gave someone a letter and money before ing here,” I said. “If I don’t tact them in about four hours’ time. I’m fident I keep their identity secret for that long. Ohey time has epsed, they’ll mail the letter to your prey, who will forever slip out of your cw.”

  In truth, sidering how little cash I’d had on myself, Varrow might just opeter. After seeing all the veiled referehat meant plenty to Lady Karsin but nothing to him, he’d probably toss it.

  Not that the drakes o know that.

  “Not to mentioire issue of the empire being upset,” I added. “They also are an offended party at this point.”

  “The break-in at the Archives,” the book-reading drake noted. “Details are sparse, but they were the caused, weren’t they?”

  “I ’t really say,” I said. “I say if you help me, I deliver you the one responsible for your sister’s death.”

  “And if you fail in this?” Valit asked me.

  “Eat me,” I said bluntly, and all three of the drakes jolted a little at that. “Or more accurately hunt me. If I fail so spectacurly, I imagine my masters would cut me loose, and we test how good your ability to hunt really is.”

  The book-reader chuckled. “You seem so bse about that being the case. Amusing to see in this day and age.”

  I shrugged. “Sometimes a hand is dealt. Make the best of it you till you either get dealt a new one or make the dealer deal new cards. My survival depends on them and hangs by a thread. Fight it? I die. Flee? They find me and likely write me off as more trouble than it’s worth. So, wait, work, and watch for the opportunity to ge my cards.”

  “Such a disloyal mind hiding behind the words of a loyal servant,” the harp-pyer noted. “Perhaps we should mention such things to your masters.”

  “Go ahead,” I said. “If they haven’t sidered it themselves, they are much dumber than I inally thought.”

  Valit breathed a wisp of fme to warm his tea, and I forced down the insane urge I felt to ask him to heat mine as well.

  “The favors?” he asked.

  I expihe first, which got fused frowns from all three.

  “Simplicity,” the book-reader said. “I almost feel insulted by it.”

  “Not a challenge,” Valit agreed.

  “It’s not much of one,” I admitted. “However, my other tools for attempting it are poor. Best to go for the best quality ones I vio aid me.”

  “Hrrm, best quality we are, although never call just tools again small-horn,” the harp-pyer said. “Your sed favor?”

  This expnation took lohe favor was more plex, took loo expin. I had to stop a few times to take questions, but we got the basics covered in ten minutes.

  “Much more public,” the book-reader noted.

  “We’re more at risk as well,” the harp-pyer added.

  “It seems to be one where you mostly stay out of it,” Valit cluded. “We are the most at danger, bodily and in terms of reputation.”

  “And I am most at risk iher,” I tered. “Besides, this one I have no way in. To call it unassaible is a lie, but it’s very difficult to get into. You were right earlier. I ’t get into it on my own.”

  “And if we were to simply assault both now that you’ve told us it is one of those two?” The harp-pyer asked.

  I smiled. “Who said it was the owner of either house? Or that you would be able to surprise them. A lot happen while you attack either, including the mastermind shrinking to the size of a rat and slipping away.”

  “So you reend we kidnap their children instead?” The book-reader said.

  “It’s the ohing I think will not make them run.”

  They both turo look at Valit, who steepled his fingers in thought.

  “Very well. We agree.”

  Saithorthepyro