Dominica led me and Pale, who I learned was named Little, to her house. It wasn’t far from Warren, in a nice neighborhood across the river. She was nervous the entire trip, and not just about the Kurtadams. We took back alleys, and side roads, and went into the house through the servant’s entrance to her townhouse.

Dominica’s place wasn’t as luxurious as I thought it would have been. It was a sizable townhouse, fit for lower nobility, only slightly smaller than Char’s place.

Perhaps sensing my surprise, Dominica said, “It’s my so-called safe house, the one no one knows about. Though I’m starting to doubt how safe it is.”

There were no servants on staff, nor had there been for a while, as there was a layer of dust covering everything. As Dominica made a fire in the study and I sat in a plush chair, my wounds appreciating the rest, Little began to clean the room, keeping a keen eye on me.

“Little’s family has worked for mine for centuries,” she said. “I trust her with my life.”

I nodded and sank a bit lower into my seat. God, I just wanted to fall asleep here. I resisted the urge, no matter how tempting it was.

“Now,” I said, “what were you going to tell me?”

Dominica was silent for a second, the fire roaring in front of her. Finally, she spoke up in a low tone, “I don’t know what those things were. And I can’t tell you everything.”

I groaned and sat up.

“This again? I don’t enjoy this song and dance, you know.”

Little put a hand on my shoulder and I turned.

“The Lady is bound,” she said. “She cannot tell you all you wish to know.”

Dominica walked up to me and stuck out here tongue. At first, I saw nothing. Then, a rune on her tongue began to glow a fiery red. I leaned in closer to read it. Hunters didn’t use magic that much, we weren’t wizards or sorcerers, but I had some proficiency. I recognized a few components of the rune, part of runes for truth and part of runs for silence, as well as most of the rune for fire.

Dominica closed her mouth and went back to the fire.

“It’s standard procedure for businesses like mine, for employees of my level.”

“That rune,'' I said, “it combined at least three different other runes, probably more. That’s hard to do.”

“Not everyone gets one, just the staff that knows something important. It makes sure you don’t give out company secrets.”

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“Let me guess, if you do, your tongue burns off?”

“That’s the first thing, yes.”

A shiver went down my spine. It had probably cost Trieste-Vellan a small fortune to get that tattoo done. And since she could tell me this, they wanted it known. A warning to anyone potentially looking to extract information from their employees: they would die before they said anything, and they didn’t have a choice in the matter.

I gritted my teeth and said, “Fine, what can you tell me?”

Dominica didn’t turn. She still stared into the fire, sparks jumping out all around her.

“Mr. Teralt’s family—Gerry’s family—the Teralt family, was and remains a rather well-connected family.

“Gerry was the black sheep of the family, his parents had expelled him from the family. They died a few months ago and his sister reached out to him, offering reconciliation and apologies. He was here, in part, for that. He was not here on an official company trip.”

Teralt, Teralt. That name had nagged at me since I’d seen it. It seemed familiar. But where had I heard it before? I pushed that to the side. Dominica had stressed that Gerry hadn’t been here on an official company trip, meaning he’d been here for Trieste-Vellan, but just not officially.

“And you said, before,” I said, taking out my notebook, “that Gerry worked as a bank representative? He worked with clients directly?”

Dominica nodded.

“He was a liaison of sorts. A bank representative helps our clients protect theirs and the bank’s best interest. They manage money, give financial advice, help conduct deals, that sort of thing.”

“I’m guessing they can also take a more direct role, too?”

Dominica didn’t say anything. I took that as a yes.

“So who was Gerry working with?”

Dominica shook her head.

I sighed and scratched my chin.

Then, I said, “You called him by his first name, Gerry. Were you two close?”

Dominica shivered and stretched out her hands to warm them by the fire. Pale was there in a second, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. Dominica thanked her and Pale went back to cleaning.

“We were relatively close,” Dominica said, slowly. “We worked with the same clients.”

“Would those clients be in the weapons or defense industry?” I asked, using information Io had given me.

Dominica was silent again. Again, I took that as a yes.

So, Gerry Teralt is killed my some people with a military connection because of his work for the defense industry? That didn’t make any sense.

“And now that Gerry’s dead, you’re taking over his role?”

“No,” she said, “his role was unique to him.”

Pale went over and took Dominica’s hand, squeezing it tightly.

“Do you know what Gerry was doing?” I asked.

Dominica didn’t look at me.

“Like I said,” she muttered, “his role was unique to him. Today, I was told that I wouldn’t be needed. I don’t know any more, I’m sorry.”

I noticed she never denied knowing. I nodded and got out of my chair, slowly. Pale rose up and escorted me out of the building. When I got outside, it was raining. Most people were seeking shelter under buildings or umbrellas. I just let the rain soak into me. It felt nice to be cold for once.