Page 57 of By the Horns (Royal Artifactual Guild #2)

Forty-Two

Gwenna

Rooster is frantic when we arrive at the main guild hall.

His clothes are disheveled, there are papers all over his desk, and he tugs at his sash, clearly agitated.

“Why is the guild suddenly swimming in bodies? Two in one day? One a current fledgling? Do we need to shut down all the classes for the year? For everyone’s safety? ”

Raptor looks over at me and rolls his eyes.

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling, because it’s not appropriate.

Rooster isn’t wrong: two people are dead.

The situation is indeed quite terrible. But watching him strut about, pulling on his hair and tugging on his heavy, pin-encrusted sash, is practically comical.

I’m trying to picture the small, squat man hunting for artifacts in the Everbelow and I just can’t imagine it.

Not when there are strong, capable, and delicious Taurians like Raptor.

Of course, I might be biased.

Hawk and Sparrow are in the room with us as we sit in Rooster’s office. The guild master’s work quarters are quite fancy. There are shelves of artifacts and books; a heavy, ornate wood desk; and a painted portrait of Rooster behind a wing-backed desk chair.

I feel out of place, but Raptor insisted I come with him and, again, let him handle everything. What other choice do I have?

“It’s quite unfortunate,” Hawk agrees, pulling up a chair for his wife to sit on. “How is Master Jay taking it?”

“Devastated. Absolutely devastated. He’s thinking about stepping down. He feels personally responsible, you know.” Rooster tugs at one curly end of his mustache.

Poor Master Jay. He’s not the only one who’s devastated, but it hasn’t occurred to me to leave.

Then again, I don’t feel responsible. Hemmen wasn’t exactly the king of sound decisions when he was alive.

Likely he got caught up with the wrong people.

It’s terrible, but it happens. I’m just sad for poor Hemmen. He wasn’t a bad person.

“I’ll talk to him,” Hawk says. “Even if his team is unable to finish out the training year, it doesn’t mean that he should give up. He’s a good teacher. Makes some of the most self-reliant artificers there are, and we need more of those.”

Rooster makes a sound of agreement and sits down again. He picks up a scroll, unrolls it halfway, and then sets it aside once more. He throws his hands up. “I can’t concentrate on anything. I’m terribly upset by all of this. Has anyone heard from the archivists? Are more artifacts missing?”

Sparrow delicately clears her throat. “I’m to tell you that Archivist Kestrel is having the repeaters cross-check the inventory, but nothing further has been reported stolen.

That doesn’t mean that items in storage haven’t gone missing, of course.

Just that the thefts haven’t been noticed yet.

” She turns and looks at me. “Artifacts were only inventoried in the last fifty years or so. Prior to that, there are no records. We have to assume that things in the deep storage weren’t necessarily useful, but we’ve also had reports of Greater Artifacts in our books showing up in holders’ hands without sale records on this end.

Somehow, they’re getting these items out of the city without paying for them.

This thievery must be stopped. If we can’t figure out how they’re doing it now, it could grow worse. It could destroy the entire guild.”

“I feel that’s a bit extreme,” Rooster says, skeptical.

“Is it? How many artificers do you think will be happy to turn in their artifacts if they know they won’t get paid for them?”

Rooster opens his mouth and then closes it again. His gaze turns to me and his expression grows indignant. He straightens in his chair, angry. “Why is she here? This is a private meeting, and not one we should have with one of our suspects.”

Raptor puts a hand on my arm before I can cringe away or run for the hills. “She’s not a suspect any longer. I cleared her.”

The guild leader isn’t impressed with this simple explanation. “ You cleared her? She might be involved. We cannot rule anyone out when it comes to these murders—”

“I was knotted inside her at the time of Hemmen’s death,” Raptor drawls. “She couldn’t have done it.”

Rooster gasps.

“Knotted?” Hawk echoes.

“God-touched,” Raptor says, as if that explains everything.

It does. Hawk’s eyes widen and he shakes his head. “Damn. That’s rough.”

Sparrow makes a startled sound, followed by a quiet “My goodness.”

My face gets incredibly hot. I want to pinch his arm for blurting out something private like that, but I remain calm and unruffled. Yes. God-touched. Knots. All very normal conversation.

Rooster’s face seems even redder than mine. He flutters a hand over his sash, adjusting it, and then gives me—and Raptor—twin disapproving scowls. “Students should not be fornicating. There are no rules, exactly, but there should be. It’s highly inappropriate.”

Raptor just looks over at me and winks. “If it makes you feel any better, Head Guild Master, I was told to watch her at all times. I take my job very seriously.”

It takes everything I have to keep a straight face.

Hawk clears his throat. “Considering that Gwenna was targeted by someone, we have to assume it’s the same people who attacked Hemmen. It’s also entirely possible that Hemmen was responsible for the graffiti in the books and the artifact that was planted in her bag.”

“Both of which Gwenna could not be responsible for, as I was with her constantly when both instances occurred,” Raptor points out. His pinky finger brushes against mine, and I want to shower his face with kisses for having my back so ardently in the face of Rooster’s blustering scowls.

“Yes, well, now we have one less suspect. If this little gathering is to make me feel any better, it is not,” Rooster continues with a sniff. He straightens a pair of scrolls on his desk and then eyes us again. “Why did you request for us to meet?”

My stomach clenches.

“I requested it,” Raptor says. “I have an idea, but it requires an open mind.”

“I have a very open mind,” Rooster declares.

Hawk coughs.

Rooster glares at him and then focuses on Raptor again. “Just tell me what the idea is.”

Raptor shifts in his seat, and then leans forward. “We ask Hemmen who he was working with.”

“The dead boy?” The guild leader seems confused. “How do we do that?”

“I have a contact in the city who knows a friend of a friend.” Raptor waves his hand in the air, as if it’s all attached to someone very distant and not at all me, sitting right here next to Raptor. “He knows of a way to speak with the dead safely. If that’s the case, would you use it?”

Rooster sits up, all attention now. “Genius. Sheer genius. I love this idea. The sooner we resolve this the better, and if you know someone who has the right sort of artifact to speak with the dead, I think we should use it. We don’t even know the kinds of artifacts we’re bleeding at this point.

Our students are getting frightened. We’re on the cusp of losing good teachers—”

Raptor holds up a hand. “What if it’s old magic?”

The bushy brows of the guild leader go down. “What do you mean?”

“What if someone is using old magic?”

He doesn’t seem to grasp it. “Not an artifact?”

“No, artifacts are legal.”

Rooster’s eyes go wide. “Mancing?”

Raptor nods.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I’m very serious.”

Rooster’s eyes narrow. “How, exactly?”

Leaning back in his chair again, as if he has complete control of the situation, Raptor gives a casual shrug. “Didn’t ask. It’s not important. What’s important is that this person is willing to use their magic to help us, but they want assurances of protection.”

“We can’t protect a mancer,” Rooster blusters.

“It was an idea, and the best one we’ve had so far.” Raptor shrugs again. “Getting the mancer to cut through the muck and get answers from the dead? Seems better than remaining stumped forever while this rogue band bleeds the guild dry of artifacts and kills our fledglings.”

Rooster wipes his brow, and I realize, to my surprise, he’s sweating. “Mancing is outlawed, but I hear what you’re saying. I…I need to think on this. I must consult the archivists. The advisors. I need to think.”

“I’d keep it quiet,” Raptor tells him. “If we expose this person, they’re going to run from Vastwarren City thinking they’re going to be burned at the stake…and then we’ll never get answers.”

Rooster shoots a frantic look at Hawk. “And you approve of this?”

“It seems as good an idea as any.” Hawk keeps his expression neutral. “The mancing is the lesser evil in this situation.”

“I did some research, actually,” Sparrow chimes in. “Prior to the guild’s rise to power, people would consult mancers to help them retrieve missing items or even kidnapped people. I think it can be a good power for the guild to have, if used judiciously.”

Rooster puts his head in his hands. “I must think on this. On all of it.”

“Write the king if you must,” Raptor says.

I clench inside. Oh gods, the king . Why not just put the stake up in the center of the plaza right now?

“But be sure to point out how many artifacts have been stolen and how many students have been killed while you do so.” Raptor gets to his feet. “Give him all the details.”

Rooster shoots him a look of pure venom.

Maybe this isn’t such a crazy idea after all.

“I need to think on it” is all Rooster says, and then the meeting is over.