"Two meetings in two days," Terrence said, taking the apron off his head.

"You all can take your secrecy and toss it down a well for all I care. What do you want, and why does our own Marquis always feel like he's exempt from these meetings?"

Castor cleared his throat, but Marcus lifted his hood and spoke first. "Tannus Reginold is dead, and he was killed by Darius."

Terrence's features fought for common ground between anger, sorrow, and pensive. "That's not good."

The rest of the hoods came down revealing concerned and angry faces.

"I'm the one that called this meeting," Castor said, reaching into his jacket pocket. "I have a letter I would like to read to you, but first, I want to give you all some backstory."

Castor told the story about the night following their last meeting. He explained how one of his men had died. He didn't mention his plans to remove the guard from his service just hours before. He also kept Benj's name a secret as he explained the prison interviews.

"I told him to contact me with any updates before one of them stole the key off one of the guards and miraculously escaped," he said with a straight face. "This morning, I got this letter from him through the private channel I had explained earlier.

"It reads: Darius was killed, Stow was killed- I believed he is refereeing to Kahl Stau. He says, Reese is in charge, don't lie to him. Draiden, Ren, Lucia, and I have been promoted to Lieutenant. He has told us we can leave, but not yet."

"Do you think he's telling the truth?" Delina asked nervously, rubbing her knuckles.

"I have reason to believe he is," Castor said. "Nevertheless, we should still be cautious going forward."

"That still poses the question, what are we going to do about replacing Tannus?" Mika offered, pointing at the empty chair. "One of us needs to fill the position."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"I can't," Allister said holding up his hands. "I'm too busy with my company to represent anyone."

"I have my shop to look after," Terrence said and then stalled. "The captain is already in communication with them. Sorry, Charles, but I nominate you."

"I am quite indisposed in my current situation," Castor stated, rejecting the nomination. "So thanks, but no thanks."

"I don't know if that's such a bad idea." Marcus steepling his fingers. "You were the one who caught onto Reginald's assassination. Terrence is right; you've already contacted our other spokes. You pretty much make your own schedule in the office of investigations."

Castor's face paled at the unanimity of the other voices. "I'm trying to take things off my plate, not add more things on. We should consider Mika for the position."

"I'm too quiet," Mika said quietly.

"I'm not interested," Delina said.

"I'm not interested either!" Castor raised his voice, incredulous at the nominations. "I feel like Marcus on this one, I can do more from behind the throne than on it."

"All in favor of making the captain the Marquis and representative of the Overseers?" Marcus said, raising his hand.

Castor sat with his hands in his lap as every other hand in the room raised.

"There you have it," Marcus gestured next to him. "Come, take your chair."

Castor begrudgingly stood up, walked around the table, and sat beside Marcus.

"Now we have another chair to fill," Marcus said with finality. "Marquis, it's your responsibility to find your own replacement,"

"I will keep my eye out for someone," Castor stated blandly. "Now, back to business. If I confirm that Larkin Reese has been elevated to the position of Grand Marshal, what do you want me to do about it?"

"If you can convince him to clean up Canal Streat, that would be a good starting point," Ingot offered. "Only, try not to get yourself killed."

"Find out what he wants to do," Marcus advised. "See if you can't convince him to swear fealty to the king. It's been long since the Crownsmith was loyal to the king."

"I'll try to arrange a meeting," Castor said, inwardly cursing his misfortune. "Now, if that's everything, I have two funerals to prepare for."

When the meeting was over, Captain Castor - Marquis and representative of the Overseers - made his way to the office of investigations. With a heavy heart, he lifted his quill and wrote to his brother, the baron of Brunshold Keep. He wrote of the events that had taken place the last several weeks, his new retinue, and his new position in an organization he had joined so long ago. He finished the letter, "I wish I had father's wisdom on these matters. If he were here today, he could tell me exactly what I would need to do. I look forward to receiving your future correspondence. Whatever wisdom I haven't inherited from father, I often find in your sloppy and, frankly, uncouth handwriting. Until next time…."

THE END OF BOOK 1