“You heard me,” he said dryly as he swung himself up onto his horse. “Try not to waste it. You’ll be back to work in the Guild tomorrow afternoon.”
My grin widened as he galloped away, and I was so happy that it didn’t even occur to me until he was out of sight that I didn’t have a ride back to the Palace.
9
After allowing myself a few more minutes of rest, I shifted back into beast form and trotted back to the Palace. From there I grabbed my steambike and rode to the Enforcer’s Guild to see if Annia was there.
Sure enough, she was sitting at her desk, cursing under her breath as she filled out what looked like a mountain of paperwork. With her pale skin, long auburn hair and dark eyes, she was a more sophisticated version of her younger sister Noria, without the freckles or the frizz. Her slender but fully formed curves were covered from head to toe in black denim, and I arched a brow as I sat down in the seat next to her desk.
“Dressing casual today?” I asked. Enforcers usually wore leather while we were on the job – it was sturdier than any cloth, which was important in our line of work.
Annia jerked her head up at the sound of my voice. “Oh hey. Nice to see you too.”
I grinned at her peeved tone. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“Yes,” she said, returning her attention to the paper she was scribbling away at – she was filling out the forms required to claim her fee on a bounty she’d turned in. “After I fill out this flaming pile of paperwork, I’m taking the day off. So don’t even think about asking me for work, because that is a four-letter word today.”
“I think it’s a four-letter word every day,” I teased, earning myself a dirty look. I didn’t take any offense though – Annia hated paperwork with a fiery passion, and sitting down to fill out the stuff always put her in a foul temper. “I’m actually not here looking for work. I was wondering if you might be able to answer a question I’ve got about a case.”
“You’ve got a case?” Annia’s eyebrows arched as she straightened in her seat, curiosity gleaming in her dark eyes. “I haven’t seen you around here in forever. When did you have time to grab a case?”
“Well, it’s not an Enforcer’s Guild case,” I admitted. “It’s something that Inspector Lakin is working on, and I’ve agreed to help him with it.”
“Really? He’s paying you for it?”
“I wish.” My mouth twisted into a grimace. “No, actually I’m doing this one pro-bono. It’s connected to the silver murders, and more specifically, Sillara’s death.”
“Oh.” Annia set her pen down – she’d liked Sillara too. “Well that’s a whole different story, then. What can I do to help?”
I pulled out the betting tickets and handed them to Annia. “Lakin and I found these at the house of a reporter who went missing recently. They’ve got the name of a business on the back of it, and I was hoping you might know what and where it is, because it sounds familiar to me.”
“The Dirty Habit?” Annia asked, her brown eyes sparking with recognition. “Sure, that’s a gambling den in Turain. Legal stuff, usually cards and pool. I’ve been there once or twice.”
“Right.” That explained why I’d never been there. I stayed away from gambling joints – I was bad enough at managing money as it was, and didn’t need another reason to spend it. Turain was further up the coast, outside Solantha County but definitely still part of the State of Canalo. “You a regular over there?”
“Not really.” Annia handed the slips back to me, then picked up her pen and turned her eyes back towards the stack of forms in front of her. “I’ve only been there once, about two years ago when I was running down a lead.”
“Well, I’ve recently gained a reputation for being good at paperwork at the Mages Guild,” I said wryly. “What do you say I use my newfound skill to help you out, and then you come with me to Turain to check out this gambling den and see if something doesn’t pop?”
“Hmm.” Annia dragged her front teeth over her bottom lip as she considered. “That sounds a lot like work.”
“Aww, c’mon Annia.” I nudged her shoulder. “For Sillara, right?”
“Okay. But only if you can help me get this done in the next hour. I still fully intend to enjoy some downtime today, so if I’m here longer than that I’m not going.”
I grimaced as I reached for the stack of papers next to Annia’s elbow and drew them toward me. “Well, I always do like a challenge.”
We finished with time to spare, and rode across the bridge and up the coast to Turain – a little over an hour’s ride on my bike. The gambling den was located in Turain’s Maintown, so I used a magical illusion to disguise myself as a petite blonde human with hazel eyes and a beach tan, exchanging my leathers for a short silver dress and black, knee high boots.