Master Mages Marriage

Rather than wait, Elya set out, dragging her friend from the old bard"s cart, however she made time to remove the ridiculous pink dress and take her sword along, finally at ease. Whatever the Baroness implied, she didn"t want to be caught unawares.

"Where are we going?" Disappointed that her attempts at flirting were interrupted, Alexis sulked and trailed after Elya. She munched on a skewer of meat and vehemently refused to share. A rare petulant reaction, completely unlike her.

"The Baroness gave me an address to visit."

"So?"

"Don"t be such a child. She knows about our investigation into the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt."

"Should we be concerned?" Alexis stopped eating for a moment, glancing at their surroundings to make sure people weren"t too close.

"She seems positive about our efforts, but we"re not efficient enough according to her."

"The "Baroness" says we"re unprofessional."

"There"s more to House Morales than meets the eye Alexis. By now you"ve heard their story."

Alexis nodded, while it wasn"t an epic, the story of Artem Morales and his courtship had been a minor scandal at the time. Enough for it be a tale that was whispered among the young Ladies of the Capital. Elya had listened to the tale a few times in Court. Even though it had taken place a generation ago, it remained popular.

As the third daughter of a minor merchant who plied his trade across the Volhiniyan border Eva met Artem during one of his patrols when they were set upon by bandits. At the time Artem had been the heir apparent of a House in decline. After saving her he started courting her in secret, eventually bringing Eva to their ancestral home for blessings. The reason for his actions were unknown, varying from falling for her beauty to more sinister stories about dark arts and sacrifices. Fortunately for them the objections from Nikolai"s grandfather were dispatched swiftly by the approval of the ancestor"s spirits and they were happily married.

"While it was a long time ago, there"s enough mystery in the whole situation that we should be careful of our actions. The Baroness strikes me as a careful person. One who is focused on protecting her interests."

"That brings us back to my original question. Where are we going?" Finished with the skewer Alexis tossed the waste into a gutter.

"I"m not sure, we just have to head to the western district and find the Rose building."

Alexis stopped and stared at her incredulously.

"The Rose building? You mean the brothel?"

"It"s a brothel?"

"That"s the only Rose building I"ve heard of in the western district. We"ve had to break up a few fights in the area and there were a few women who needed some protection."

"There"s a lot of violence there?" It was common for brothels to be filled with high tempers and it had been the norm for dead "entertainers" to show up on a regular basis. In an odd move to curb the power of the Houses behind the "entertainment" trade the Emperor had proclaimed that the men and women who worked were to be afforded certain protections, which would have heavily cut into their profits. They"d tried to fight back but the Son of Heaven, flush with victory and the backing of the Ministry of War struck ruthlessly, using the event to purge the ranks of the n.o.bility.

"No. Much less than the disciplinary actions we had to take during the war. The "Rose building"… Elya, I find that name distasteful. If it"s a brothel, they should just own up to it."

"As if people would happily visit a place called "The brothel" or "Come here to cheat on your spouse.""

"No need to be so dismissive. I understand." Alexis sniffed at her sarcasm, wrapping her cloak tighter. Elya felt the temptation to follow suit. Approaching a brothel wasn"t something a newly engaged woman should be seen doing, but she was on a mission. Still, sensing the eyes of the townspeople as they entered the closest thing to a red-light district Konstanz had, she pulled her hood forward. Her silver hair was a dead giveaway.

"What were you saying about the discipline?" Elya felt safer but wished she"d brought a mask or veil to hide her face.

"There are some surprisingly strong guards providing security for the place." Alexis pulled out a small knife from her coat and held it out. "One of our Knights was close enough to catch one of them removing some troublemakers and spotted this."

Elya took the blade and studied the deadly curves and jagged edges that anyone would recognise. She tapped the knife and listened for the distinct sound which would prove this was actually what she feared it could be. A soft thrum pa.s.sed through her hand making her fingers numb.

"A Kushka knife? Why didn"t you inform me?" If the Black Hand had agents acting as simple guards for a brothel, Konstanz would be the most dangerous place outside of the Capital.

Magical power from the Count, military might granted by the Emperor and agents of the Black Hand that seemed to be connected to the Baroness meant that one way or another Nikolai had the forces to defeat everyone except the great Houses and the Ministry of War.

"Do you think Nikolai would tell me what"s going on?" She hoped so. The longer she spent in this town, the more confusing things became and while they weren"t that close to each other, as future husband and wife they should share information.

Alexis hesitated, stepping over some broken tiles and searching the hooded figures walking in front of them. It was clear that no one wanted to be recognised on their way to a brothel. That was a relief since no one would pay close attention to them.

"Are you sure that he"s aware of it at all?"

"What do you mean?" Elya frowned at the comment. Implying that the Baroness was hiding things from her son would not be unheard of but concealing a connection to the Black Hand was ominous.

"Never mind. We"re here."

The building was strange. Someone had gone out of their way to paint the entire structure a gaudy pink, ugly purple bunting hanging from the windows and over the doors. It was designed in a style she had never seen before curved lintels and multicoloured windows. The scent of floral perfumes was overwhelming even at this distance and Elya"s nose wrinkled in disgust.

"So how are we meant to get in?" Alexis asked, hand on her blade as she studied the guards who could be agents of the Black Hand.

"She didn"t say."

"I"m guessing you didn"t ask either."

"No. I didn"t."

"And she said we"re unprofessional about investigations?"

"Yes."

"This won"t prove that we"re any better."

Elya glanced at the slip to see if anything else was written there but she already knew there would be nothing. Sighing, she ran her thumb across her sword hilt and approached one of the guards.

"The Baroness sent me." The guard took the slip she had offered and gave it a quick glance. Without a sound he went into the building for a while before coming out and granting her permission to enter.