“I can’t really blame whoever was supposed to do research on us for missing that information,” I said, leaning forward on my chair, head resting on my hands as I grinned. “We ran quite a game past the Watch and others for years on some of that. I do need to ask around exactly what the reaction was when they found out all of the dirty little details. The ones they did manage to find out, anyway.”
I definitely would not be doing that around Malstein, and the fact he probably was listening in on this was to my detriment, but I had to keep Hawkins talking.
“The secrecy of vile vermin does not account for a lack of due diligence,” Hawkins groused. “They should have known that you practiced foul magics, and about your vile half-brother’s reach.”
“They really should have,” I agreed, while inwardly marking that whoever this source was, they knew of mine and Gio’s relationship. “Of course, things slip even the best of minds. Sometimes even by accident. Versalicci been causing trouble for you more and more lately after you tried the frame-up job?”
Hawkins glowered at me. “You claim to have no knowledge of what he’s been doing?”
“I’d swear an oath to the effect, but you probably wouldn’t like most of the entities that wouldn’t immediately smite me for invoking them,” I said. “But no, I don’t. My number of relatives I have positive feelings for I can count on a single digit.”
And that single relative should be visited soon. One downside to this whole mess, it was delaying a very messy reckoning with my mother’s family over that entire mess. At least as long as I was useful to Imperial Intelligence, I wouldn’t have to worry about them gaining sole custody or having it reduced to just them and the Crown.
“The poor foulhorn, all alone with no family or friends,” Hawkins mocked. “Should I shed a tear for the one not in physical chains?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I might not have friends, but people around me have kept me out of chains so far. Why do you think your…friends, family, whatever you call your little group, what makes you think they will come free you? It’s been a week. No efforts have been made. Instead, they’ve been running around doing the bidding of the man whose son you were out to replace. Much more openly than before as well. Unless it’s normal for two of you to start massacring an outdoor noble tea party?”
Another twitch. “You jest.”
“Cross my heart, stab it in deep to make sure the Infernal eternally sleeps,” I said. “Two of them, disguised as Montague’s children arriving late, murdered another bunch of nobles. Oh, and me, he thinks. He probably knows I’m alive since I was stealing his records from the archives at the same time when another two of you tried destroying them. They got a little charred for their efforts.”
He stood still, probably sorting through that timeline in his head. While he did, I continued my talking.
“Honestly, you almost got away with it all, the way I figure it,” I said. “You just had the worst possible luck. Your flunkies failed to kill Golvar, he happens to stumble upon me, linking the two parts of your plan far before what was expected, right? Originally I imagine he dies, the Watch find the body with the Angel’s Sorrow on it just in time for you to spring your trap on the Black Flame alchemist you’ve picked out to be the ‘poisoner’. You send someone to my lab to retrieve the cures, although why I’ve never quite figured out-”
Hawkins growled, cutting me off.
“That was a waste of time in pursuit of uselessness,” he said, a deepening frown on his face.
“Right, that was probably you. I forgot that was my first encounter with silver threads. Must cost you a fortune at the tailor every time you need to rip them. But either way, don’t feel too bad about that little encounter. Neither of us knew the true measure of each other back then.”
“Not what I referred to, but your surviving only happened because we need you alive,” Hawkins said. “Otherwise I would have ended your life as easily as snuffing out the burning wick of a candle.”
Bold words for one who was now in chains because of me, but I wouldn’t say that out loud. It seemed he was in the mood for complaining.
“It was idiocy, the pursuit of coin, and minor one at that compared to the grand prize,” Hawkins complained. “All it did was nettle your more and lead to even more headaches down the line.”
Hrrm, not as many as he might think, but still, this did tell me a few things. First, a little dissent among the shapechangers themselves, if Hawkins had disagreed, but more importantly he was not near the top of the ladder of the group.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Money is something that is always useful when you need it.”
“It is,” Hawkins replied stiffly.
Probably more than able to afford most things. I doubted they’d spent the centuries since Tarry’s creation of them simply twiddling their thumbs.
“I suppose one thing trumps that for you though. Your creator’s notes. Were you after how to create more of you? How to fix some flaw he added as a safety measure? Some metaphorical shackle he’s placed on you?”
Hawkins remained silent, expression closing up.
“He is just going to string your people along,” I said. “Used up for his own purposes. Even if he gave the book to your people now, would they have time to escape? He’s made them abandon all traces of subtlety, and attention is death for those who survive in the shadows.”
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Hawkin’s closed his eyes, breathed a few times, then reopened them to stare at me.
“What do you want Foulhorn?”
“This over,” I said flatly. “You think you’re angry? I was just trying to live a life out of messes like this, just the humble little black market alchemist in the Quarter. No Diabolism, no throat-slitting, no having to get stabbed through the torso. You decided to drag me into this.”
“You were happy to try and make money off of it,” Hawkins said.
I rolled my eyes. “Oh yes, the crime of spotting an opportunity and taking advantage of it. Surely something the average citizen would be innocent of. I am guilty of being a moron, for not seeing the timing connection and immediately assuming I was being played. Thank you for demonstrating how much my edge has dulled over the years. My moral failings aside, what do you want now Hawkins?”
“Out of this cell,” he said firmly. “Then you and everyone who has messed this up dead. And then maybe our creator’s notes in my hand.”
I whistled. “Tall order. I could maybe get you one of the three, and it would probably require me publicly assaulting a noble of the realm. Pass. Aim lower. Let’s both. I’ve got a question.”
“You are not likely to get an answer,” he deadpanned.
“No, no,” I said. “It’s not something that’ll betray your fellow changers or anything like that. Why the basilisk? It’s not like you can’t guard that area yourselves.”
Hawkins was silent for a moment. “This is what you wish to know?”
“Idle curiosity,” I said. “I’ll give you a similar question in return.”
He sighed. “We cannot imitate the specifics of some creature’s abilities. The petrification gaze of a basilisk, which eliminates many methods of questioning the dead after their passing, was desired but we could not mimic it on our own. We can also remove our eyes, lessening the danger of using them as a guard animal. But you would not believe the cost required to acquire it.”
“Oh, I could believe it,” I muttered. “I’ve tried to acquire ingredients related to one, the actual creature itself would probably be ruinous.”
What I couldn’t believe was the reason. There were other methods. There was one reason to keep a monster down there, they didn’t have enough changers to keep one on permanent guard duty. With all the changers at the party, what portion of their numbers was that?
“My question. Your skin on your arm, that does not look like biosculpting?”
Ah. I held up my forearms, looking at the small streaks of crimson on blue. “You’ve got a good eye. It is not. Diabolism in my flesh, a payment for infesting my body with more of its taint.”
Hawkins snorted. “Well, that we can agree on. Foulhorn you are named correctly. You wish to trade again?”
“Certainly. The dozen changers disguised as musicians, what were they supposed to do?”
Hawkins frowned. Hrrm, had he not expected me to notice them? Perhaps their exit had been originally planned to be less obvious.
“Interfere if our efforts were noticed. They did not fulfill their part of the job.”
I grinned. “Must have been after the deal with Lord Montague. Sorry, but it sounds like you got abandoned.”
That got a look of utter disgust from him as he pondered his question. “Is Alice Skall real?”
I chuckled. “Yes, she’s real. Dead though. Fellow diabolist, we used to date. Where did that come from?”
“One of our number wondered after it became clear Voltar and you were working together. They have something of a fascination with the Black Flame.”
“Not a very in-depth fascination to have missed so much,” I noted sardonically. “Tell you what, if you ever talk to her again, ask her if she wants to meet their leader? Giovanni Versalicci himself. I’ll bring him, the three of you can share a cell together?”
His lips formed a small smile. “Maybe I’ll ask when I get out of here?”
“Will you?” I asked. “It’s been a week. Abilities like yours, I think they’d had broken you out by now. If they cared.”
I didn’t wait for a response before leaving the room.
***
“You didn’t get much out of him,” Malstein noted.
“I got something,” I said. “Which is enough for now. Letting him stew for a while before having another go is the better method anyway. We need results fast but letting him guess we’re the ones low on time will just make him hold out. Best to make him think he’s on his own, rotting in here while what truly matters goes on outside the world. I doubt his persona is entirely acting, he’s got quite the oversized ego.”
“Do you think he believes you about being abandoned?” Malstein asked me.
“I think the thought was already occurring to him,” I said. “Festering. I just gave it a little touch and made it fully start eating at his brain. Gio used to love that trick, having anyone who came along to try and rescue them imprisoned just a room over. Made it so those who came later could see but couldn’t warn the ones they’d come to rescue. The ego again as well, he probably thinks they’d have made an attempt by now given his opinion of himself.”
“Gio?”
My thoughts froze. I…when had I started using that name again?
“Versalicci,” I said firmly. “Anyway, while he’s stewing, we have a few other leads. One much easier to touch than the other. Unless you can get me a warrant for a certain noble?”
Malstein snorted. “Even if you had those two pieces of paper my superiors would never approve of that. As low ranking as he is, publicly arresting or searching the estate of a man attacked twice, thrice if we count the initial poisoning of his heir. No one is going to risk their career on that. Now if more evidence were uncovered, perhaps that would change?”
I smiled slightly. “Maybe once my leg is healed, until then I’m not trying any more sneaking about. Especially not with that spirit he has bound to his statue. That’s probably where at least one shapechanger went.”
“Not making a deal with him along you new chief suspect, Lady Karsin?”
Right, that. That had been thrown out as bait and I still wasn’t sure on it.
“I doubt it. Two in the chimney, so they were in the middle of escaping. Knowing Lord Montague, he might had had the second changer killed by his spirit. Display of dominance, to whoever I presume he was negotiating with, which may have been Lady Karsin. I haven’t determined if she’s one or not.”
Malstein sighed. “Too many holes in that. Far too many.”
“I’m aware. So time to start filling them in based on what we do know. And since Lord Montague is out as an option, that leaves the Pure Bloods underground.”
“Hrrm, not the place where the poison is made?” Malstein asked me.
“Not without an entire team of Delvers. An entire guild. And as many Watch as you can spare. It’s a basilisk, plus however many Changers are lurking around down there. Honestly I’d rather take my chances with the statue-spirit. Besides, I’m less confident about how much we can narrow down that location instead of wherever they’re keeping the Pure Bloods.”
“If they are still alive,” Malstein said.
“If they are still alive,” I agreed. “All the more reason to head down there as soon as we can.”
The Pure Bloods were at this point just a loose end for the Changers, which meant their lives were probably soon to end. Especially if Lord Montague was calling the shots.
“How many Watch could you bring?”
Malstein smirked. “Now that we are no longer talking about raiding a noble, I did bring them a nice juicy prisoner that reflects well on our organization. Minus your hogging of the glory. If you hog a little less, the answer is less how many I could bring and how many do you want?”