Chapter twenty nine

       Main character P.O.V.

        The person who was shouting was a woman who's looks made you think of a classic vampire, you know the ones from old black and white movies before modern commercialism turned them all sparkly. She had very pale skin and combined with the black hair and black eyes it made a shocking contrast that was quite striking, I couldn't help but wonder if all the 'goth' kids were trying to achieve this effect. Anyway aside from her good looks what captured my attention was the fact that she was wearing the classic vestments of a priestess of the church of saint Sophia, which was a giant red flag. Not only that but she recognized Lidia , who no doubt has been linked to me by now. The story of the death of the high priestess and her posse should take some time getting here bar some unfortunate circumstance, but still that severely limited the time we can stay in Montreal ,at least in the open. While I was thinking of all the repercussions that her presence would bring she leaped from where she was standing and grabbed Lidia in a tight hug then started sobbing.

          "I'm so sorry....*sob*.....I was being so stupid.....*sob*.....please forgive me...."

       Lidia was looking at me with a deer caught in a headlight look, begging me with her eyes to save her, but there was nothing I could do. Demons and monsters I can handle, hysterical women are way above my pay grade.

        When she finally managed to calm down after multiple assurances that she was forgiven, we took her to a nearby outdoor cafe to talk. After what happened in the burrows I was now perpetually on guard against magic so I had Jules monitor things when I'm around people I don't trust but I was still surprised when I heard what Jules said.

            "John, she's trying to see under your hood with magic. The amulet you made with the rune that Gusion gave you is blocking her."

            Even with  the filters that Jules put on my eyes, I could usually see any active magic near me. To invoke a spell that was subtle enough to escape my sight without making any noticeable casting motion or sound , this woman was dangerous. I was now starting to think the whole scene in the street was staged. Sure her performance probably had a kernel of truth but all the good ones do. She was scoping us out and we didn't even notice as she used the incident to insert herself into our group, probably to gather information on us, specifically me. I was now on high alert against the woman who was now looking at me as if she was measuring me up.

          "I heard some very interesting things about you Mr hero."

           "Oh, you heard about that Cynthia ? This is Mr Tom a wandering enchanter, he was the one that saved our bacon from a demon hoard, Tom this is Cynthia Blackthorn the European ambassador to the mage's council and a good friend."

           Yup, she was definitely trained in espionage. An 'ambassador' is usually just another term term for spy anyway, and she is close friends with the captain of the army, plus her very first statement was fishing around for information without asking a question and being too conspicuous about it.

             "So Mr Tom , do you have a last name?"

             "Its Tom Hilfiger, my friends call me Tommy."

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          I'm sure if Jules wasn't an ai stuck in my head, she would have passed out from laughter at this point.

              "Tommy then, how did you manage to defeat an army of demons? You must be quite powerful."

            Using my familiar name to imply that we were friends and a compliment to push me to brag about myself, classic techniques to pump someone for information. I was now sure that everything I say would be recorded and sent to some higher up so time to lay down some misinformation.

               "I have a weapon made by my grandpa and master, he has runes for mana , spirit,and destroy among others he found in ruins deep in the Himalayas. When I asked him to teach me enchanting , he taught me the basics and told me to go out in the world and get some wisdom before he taught me the powerful ones. This is actually the first time I've been outside of the family compound."

           I tried to paint myself as just some country bumkin who had a very interesting grandfather. I wanted my grandfather to be so interesting that she forgets about me who she thinks is simple. And it seemed to work as she asked me several questions about my grandfather which I answered by telling her the story about not revealing his identity, but I 'accidentally' gave her pieces of information pointing to his current location being in China. By the end of our conversation she was trying to hide a gloating expression, which meant that I probably succeeded in making her think that she got the better of me. Then she changed the subject.

             "How did you meet Lidia?"

         I was now sure the whole sobbing thing earlier was acting but I was also sure that she had real affection for Lidia, I knew that all the women in the sisterhood were sapphic so I decided to gamble on her liking Lidia as more than friends.

               "We have a mutual friend in the borrows, which was one of the places I went to. He asked me to help her run away from an arranged marriage with some old hag , what was her name Lidia?"

               Thankfully Lidia had caught on and replied smoothly,

               "Mistress Anita."

              For the first time I thought I saw a genuine feeling on Cynthia's face, rage, but then it was quickly gone.

               "Mistress Anita is a sixty year old woman, your mother wouldn't dare."

             "Of course she would, mistress Anita is one of the high priestesses . By making me a breeding mare for her my family would get innumerable benefits."

               Now she was in a dilemma, she could report the presence of Lidia and risk getting her married off with some old hag or not report what she believes was unimportant information to save someone she likes.

               "Its OK Lidia , I won't let that happen to you."

              And now her report will say that there was a novice enchanter called Tom all the way across the Atlantic ocean the same day that john disappeared with no connections between the two. It would focus on a fictional character that I created that will lead them on a wild goose chase across one of the biggest countries on earth.

        All in all , I think that went well.