A Pinch of Distrust by D T Bella

Author:D T Bella [D.T. Bella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: D T Bella
Published: 2022-11-18T00:00:00+00:00

8

Major Questions

Tenora stepped backwards. That look on Arch-Mage Darnith Sekan’s face usually preceded a tongue-lashing harsh enough to strip the thread off a screw. She’d never received such a scolding herself, but had seen them unleashed upon her classmates. Sweat formed on her brow, and not just from the humidity.

Darnith got to his feet. He leaned forward and placed both hands on the desk. His eyes flicked down to the printer’s block resting amongst the papers before him.

“I hope you don’t mean to suggest, Veritor Karis, that this business involves one of my mages.”

He’d spoken with a note of anger. That would build as he went on. Karis just picked up the wood. She turned it so the engraving faced Darnith and held it out.

“Could this have been made here? Using the machine you have in this building?”

“Yes, but that’s no reason to suspect us.”

There it was, a hint of heat in his voice. Yet Karis didn’t even blink.

“Not on its own,” Karis replied, “but it is sufficient to justify checking all such machines in town. Do not forget, those responsible have murdered and maimed. We have indications they are familiar with this part of the forest.”

Darnith did not reply. Instead, he turned his attention to Tenora. A reflex brought her left arm forward, her terax up. By the time he made eye contact, a smile curved her lips. The same one she’d used on Karis in her workshop just a couple of hours ago. Words rolled off her lips like a newly greased bearing.

“I understand this is inconvenient. But the sooner we inspect your engraving machine, the quicker you can be on your way. I mean, ah, get on with your work.”

Darnith frowned.

“You learned magic here, didn’t you? Your face is familiar.”

“Yes, you taught me runology for three years. I completed my schooling a decade ago.”

“Very well.”

Darnith strode across the office to a small steel cabinet mounted on the wall. No bigger than two closed fists, only a single key could fit within it. But it was the rectangular cutout next to the keyhole that caught Tenora’s eye. Behind it, a pair of metal plates each bore an engraved number. Darnith unlocked the door and the rightmost digit rotated around. With a soft click, it locked into position, showing an increment of one.

“A counter lock?” Tenora asked.

“Yes,” Darnith replied. “We record each use of this key.”

He returned to the desk. From the top drawer, he pulled out a large, leather-bound tome. A ribbon bookmark stuck out about three-quarters of the way through its pages. Coffee and ink stains marred the cover. Darnith lay the book on the table and opened it to the page bookmarked.

“Is that all you keep recorded?” Karis asked.

“No,” Darnith replied. He ran his finger across the bottom line of handwriting. His gaze jumped from one column to the next.

“Mage Kepan was the last to use the engraver yesterday. He produced two sequences for the airship Maetaril. After that, there are twelve blank panels left in storage.

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