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The steps of the stairs were made of the same marble, paired with dark wooden banisters that gave a better reflection than some mirrors. I trudged behind the domestic, the household servant, up to the second floor. Human servants were out of fashion this year in the Capitol, but the Administrator was behind the times.
His office lay behind dark wooden doors, at the end of a hall lined with little tables displaying fragile knickknacks. My guide hovered when I paused to admire one, a tiny egg studded with glittering stones. He all but wrung his hands as I examined the pretty little thing as if expecting I might steal it at any moment.
Although I kind of understood. I smelled and looked like something that had been dragged behind horses for days. But it wasn’t often I got to see things as beautiful as these, and my curiosity wouldn’t let me leave without inspecting them a little while I could.
Most of the other knickknacks were equally beautiful: a graceful glass sculpture with exquisite blended shades of reds and blues; a bronze abstract butterfly imprisoned in a golden flower. A few were simply old weapons, displayed on velvet.
There were too many Administrators for the Department to monitor. People like Greene took advantage and ran the Guild’s territories like tiny kingdoms. The tests to become an Investigator took years to complete and required the person doing it to be of ‘good moral character’.
My situation was an even rarer case, but I had more wiggle room than the typical Investigator did. If the people ordering me around did not phrase those orders well, I could follow the letter of a command and wring out justice that following the spirit of the order wouldn’t. Contemplating how my cousin and rival Chance would handle the situation sparked ideas, since he had the soul of a weasel.
Chance, just the thought of him sparked strange emotions. I missed the asshole. Even though he probably didn’t deserve it. He wasn'ttechnicallymy cousin, but he was part of the Stormdust clan. He and I went through our troubled teens together, relying on each other as we tried to harness our magic. But at the same time, we were rivals, always trying to one-up each other.
The only problem? He was usually much better than me.
My belly rumbled again. I’d been moving since pre-dawn. Now it was late afternoon, I was tired and hungry, and I wanted to stab someone so much I could taste it. My head ached from the jolts of pain the geas kept dealing out for the discouraged thoughts. Normally it only bothered me if I wasn’t doing the job, but thinking about violence too much could trigger it too.
My anger at what I’d seen, and getting closer to the man who’d contributed to all that misery and death, wouldn’t let me stop thinking of violence. We finally reached the door. The servant opened it and waved me in. A white plush rug stretched before me, pristine as newly fallen snow. I dragged my feet, wishing I had more mud on my boots.
My quarry stood in front of a bank of floor-to-ceiling windows, his back to the door. Now to figure out how to entice and bag him.
“The Indentured from Capitol, Administrator.” The door clicked shut, loud in the silence. The clocks on the wall ticked out a full minute before the Administrator turned to face me.
I opened my jacket, releasing body odor that made my hardened nose cringe. The delicate lemony scent of the room didn’t stand a chance.
Carefully cut and styled light brown hair framed a thin pinched face, the lips set together in a hard line. His sapphire coat, tailored and detailed with embroidery, tried valiantly to conceal narrow shoulders and stooped posture. It suited the room, where my plain leathers and uncombed hair did not.
His lips bent in an unexpectedly charming smile as his eyes remained the color and softness of ice pellets. They flicked to my onyx. People within the cities noticed stones before they focused on anything else. It made relative status much easier to judge.
“Indentured Quinn. I’d expected you a few days ago, what happened?”
A citrine glittered between his chilly eyes. Not one of the stones people were born to, it meant he had earned the position of Administrator without coming from a powerful family.
“Silver sent me to a remote circle.” Not being able to lie didn’t mean I couldn’t mislead.
“Ah. Dusky? Sensen?”
Two other cities, one to the south and one to the north, by the lake. Greene was fishing for information, though I didn’t know why.
I shrugged. “The briefing didn’t mention exactly what you need done.” My tone flirted with insolence as I assessed him from his boots to his hair.
His eyes narrowed. “I asked for a HazMat specialist and they send me a rehabilitated criminal?”
“The Judge doesn’t justify himself to me, or to you, Administrator. Forgive me for bringing my dirt into your home.” I said it as Chance would in my head.
He looked me up and down, eyes lingering on the streaks of mud and blood. “Hard travel?”
“Yes, it’s the season for Ridden to be out.” Since Ridden were out in every season, it was a statement of the obvious.
The lines around his mouth shifted, rearranging into a frown. “What did you observe? I had a problem this past fall with people Outside refusing medical attention, claiming it only made them sicker. I ordered educational materials to be sent, but I haven’t heard anything recently. ”
“Ah, that would explain all the dead people. Piss-poor administration there.” The words popped out, despite me trying to think how Chance would phrase it.
He stared at me, his eyes narrowed to slits. “What did you say?”
In contrast to mine, his tone was calm.
“That Administrators are judged by how they handle difficult situations, and the handling of this seems not to have worked. Did your assistant implement your plans, by chance?” I forced my voice to an even tone as I offered the excuse. The LawBook was set on record, so I couldn’t bait him the way I wanted to.
