“He did question her,” Foster broke in loudly as he glared down at Noble once more. By his posture the knight looked ready to fight, but Neph wasn’t sure if he was ready to attack him or Noble.
“I did,” Noble agreed with a quick nod. “See, I was drinking with her the entire time we talked and I made sure she was downing the fortified wine. It’s a trick I use at the gambling tables so I’ve gotten pretty good at slipping things into drinks.” “Why exactly do they call you Noble?” Neph snapped with a disgusted shake of his head.
“Kind of like calling a giant Tiny, I suppose,” Noble said with a shrug and exhaled slowly. “She answered my questions pretty easily and I think some of them she answered truthfully.” He paused and rubbed his neck again frowning. “Actually she spent more time bitching, once I got her talking than she actually did answering questions. She was pretty peeved with her boss.” “Who did she work for?” Neph prompted.
“Hemlock,” Noble answered softly. He stepped back as Neph’s glower intensified and Foster shoved him forward once more. “She, uh, was pretty upset that Hemlock was favoring her rival on their mission in Merro. Apparently the guy was a half-blood Soulreaver and had been spirit riding a scout during Valor’s briefing that morning in the garden. So he likely knows the truth about everything, but I didn’t realize that when I was spinning lies for her.”
“Bloody buggering hell. So Hemlock knows Jala is in Seravae with just Valor as back up,” Neph mumbled as he leaned back and rubbed his face.
“By the way she talked, I don’t think Hemlock wants Jala dead. She said Hemlock didn’t show her partner favor until she asked why they weren’t killing Legacy, and then she bitched because Hemlock wanted to keep Jala happy,” Noble spoke the words with obvious hesitation and by his expression Neph knew the man was feeling extremely guilty.
“So, of course, you arrested her after she admitted wanting to kill the Heir of Merro,” Neph said in a cold voice.
“I had intended to arrest her in the morning,” Noble admitted quietly. “She was pretty drunk and I didn’t see any way she would wake up before me,” he added.
“So you chose bedding the spy over arresting the spy,” Neph surmised with a faint nod.
“She was fit,” Noble sighed in remorse.
“Arrest him and take him to the cells, Foster. Vaze or Valor can deal with him when they return,” Neph ordered as he stood from his chair and carefully folded the map he had been examining.
“What?” Noble gasped his eyes widening. It was obvious the man knew he had screwed up, but he apparently didn’t realize how badly. “I’m not really sure what Jala will call your actions, but in Delvay what you did is called treason. Until they return, you will be treated accordingly,” Neph informed the knight coldly as he headed for the door. “If he isn’t imprisoned by the time I return, Foster, I will consider you guilty as well.”
“He will be in the cells, Lord Delvay,” Foster informed him coolly. “Are you going to support Lady Merrodin in Seravae, Sir?” he asked before Neph could close the door behind him.
“No, I am going to speak with Jail and see what we can discover about Hemlock’s motives. I believe the part about Hemlock wanting to keep Jala happy. If he had any other plans he would have acted on them while he was here. So Jala is safe enough for now. I’m not sure about the rest of us, though,” Neph answered with a shake of his head. He glared at Noble and shook his head with disgust before closing the door and turning down the hall. He would never understand people no matter how long he was forced to deal with their stupidity.
*
Neph paused as his transport spell faded around him and turned slowly in a circle staring at his surroundings in confusion. He had directed his spell to the Merro district and should have been very close to the main house, but that wasn’t where he had appeared. A large crowd of people milled around him and the area he stood in appeared to be some kind of holding pen. At first glance he had thought someone had managed to pull him out of his spell and he had ended up in slave pens, but that couldn’t be right. He recognized the city around him. This was Sanctuary. It was just the wrong part of Sanctuary.
“Next!” A man bellowed ahead of him and the crowd shifted as someone moved forward.
“What the bloody hell is going on here,” Neph snarled and the woman in front of him turned to regard him with an annoyed expression. “It’s a security check,” she informed him with a shake of her head. She rolled her eyes as she turned back to watch the line in front of her. “Haven’t been to Sanctuary since the Empress made her changes, eh?” an older man behind him said in a conversational tone.
Neph half turned where he stood and shook his head slowly. The man was half-blood, if that, with a short squat build and garish colored clothing in blue and yellow. By his appearance, he likely was a merchant Neph decided. While he would have preferred to simply glare and turn away, he needed the information the man had, and apparently the merchant was willing to chatter. “The last time I was here you could use transport magic anywhere in the city,” Neph prompted in the most polite tone he could muster. It was difficult to keep the annoyance out of his voice. He hadn’t expected this kind of delay, and by the size of the crowd in front of him he was going to be here for hours.