Chapter 210
Tanith's POV
Toeing her kickstand down, Tanith shut off her bike. Valkyrie had racked up a lot of miles in the last year and a bit she'd been borrowing it and she was tempted when she noticed the tuning it needed to let Valkyrie continue believing it was her own and instead get a new one for herself. She loved her current bike, but it was no less disposable as the previous twenty-three she'd owned. Not that she could particularly afford a new bike considering her bank balance. Being a freelancer that didn't work made her no money, and being a tutor for a girl that didn't need much tutoring hardly helped her situation. She'd spent everything she had saved on Laila and her medical expenses, as well as her bikes insurance and M.O.T, and not long before that her Visa, and without her normal income she just didn't have much left.
Of course, she considered as she removed her helmet, she could ask Valkyrie to pay for some of the expenses on the bike to help out, but she already gave her a home, and as her little, underaged sister, it felt entirely wrong to ask for cash from her. She couldn't ask Ghastly either, because she knew perfectly well he had as little money as her. Being a tailor barely made even most months, and what profit he did make went into the tiny financial pillow he had to stay afloat in bad economic times. His stipend as a Dead Man helped him a lot getting by so he could do his passion, but he would never have enough to support her when she wasn't even dating him. She wouldn't feel right asking anyone else, so she had very few options.
She shook the thoughts away, pulling her hair from its tie and getting herself ready for her so-called "important" meeting.
A horn blared in the street beyond and Tanith glanced back before taking her keys, activating the signal on her bike and getting out of the street.
She walked into the short, box-like building, giving a group of Cleavers marching out a wide berth. Tipstaff wasn't in the front entryway, but one of his cute assistants was so she went to her.
"Hey Clara," she greeted quietly, tilting her hip and giving her a sweet smile.
Clara blushed before she even turned her head and then gave her a dazzling and slightly embarrassed smile. "Good afternoon Miss Low. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Could you tell me where I'm meant to be? I have some meeting, I'm not sure what's up with it," Tanith told her.
"Sure, just let me take this to my workstation," she agreed quickly.
"I can carry it," Tanith offered.
Clara ducked her head and smiled at the ground as Tanith took the stack of freshly printed papers and binders and followed Clara to her desk. She noticed the taller woman made sure to sway her hips just a little more than usual, that she took off her cardigan when they got to her desk, that she discreetly undid her top button when Tanith looked away to put the things down, that she pressed her elbows together on the desk to press her breasts together. She took it all in with a smile and enjoyed the small attentions Clara gave her.
They parted far too quickly and Tanith felt Clara's eyes on her as she left to go meet Meritorious and some official or other in the Grand Mages office.
At another time Tanith would have been just as tempted to try and flirt with him as she did with Clara. The exhaustion in his eyes and tension in his body gave her the feeling if she so much as continued that thought in his presence, he'd stand up and leave.
"Grand Mage," she instead said neutrally. The door had been left open so she walked in, assuming it was for her. Another man was there, one she'd seen bossing others around with his pompous clipboard and pointing finger, and she didn't so much as look at him. "I was told you wanted to talk with me."
"Yes, please sit down," he said with just as much strength in his voice as the first time she'd met him. She couldn't help but admire him. "You might have met Bernard Sult, he's here as a representative from the American Sanctuary on the behalf of the Supreme Council."
Tanith understood perfectly that he was telling her to not mess up this meeting. She sat slowly in her chair. "Okay."
Meritorious swept his hand to Sult. Sult coughed once and then began. "Good morning Miss Low. I asked for this meeting as I've been receiving concerns from the general public that they're worried about someone of your… past and education working for a governing body."
"I'm not sure what you mean," she stated, keeping her face blank despite the almost immediate rage the man had filled her with.
He gave her a 'ha ha' type of fake laugh. "We're receiving allegations of you having been trained as an assassin, Miss Low." It took rather a lot of willpower to not change the expression on her face to one of annoyance. "Considering how closely you work with the Irish Sanctuary, an allegation like that doesn't bode well for you."
"Well, Administrator Sult," his face dropped slightly at her wording, "I appreciate that that is a rather serious complaint, but it sounds as if you have no evidence or else you would have reported me to the authorities and I'd already be in handcuffs, so I don't know what I can tell you."
He clucked his tongue as if sympathetic. "I understand, Miss Low, and as a newly single working mother, I appreciate that an allegation like this must be very shocking, so the Supreme Council thought it would be best for us to inform you of the public complaint and make you aware that we are investigating and that it won't take too long. The Irish Sanctuary won't be able to work with you for the duration of the investigation, as I'm sure you'll understand, but I'm afraid our hands are tied." He laughed. "Imagine, if the Irish Sanctuary were working so closely with an assassin, letting them into the building around innocent people and valuable information! It would be a scandal and a half, and I dread to think how it could affect your child. I'm sure it'll all be sorted in a matter of weeks and we can all get back to business."
He smiled smugly at her and Tanith smiled back at him. "Thank you, Mr Sult, I really appreciate you're willing to help me get this sorted."
He seemed surprised by her happy response and nodded. "Well, I appreciate your understanding. You're welcome to leave."
"I actually do have a small problem with what you've said," she said, seeing him not so subtly roll his eyes. "I don't actually take any orders from any Sanctuary. I'm not even Irish."
"But you have an Irish Visa, you've lived in Ireland for several years now, you have a child with an Irishman, your child's nationality is Irish. When you take work, it's nine times out of ten from the Irish Sanctuary over the last five years, and you receive your reward money for arresting wanted criminals from the Irish. Do you see how that all works?"
"I understand how it looks on paper, however I am not Irish and the only reason I have been in Ireland for the last few years is because my actual job is to be a tutor for Valkyrie Cain. I only do a handful of jobs on the side, or on occasion I'm given work through the Dead Men to help them when they have a surplus, but that's few and far between. I do not get paid a salary by any means, and I'd be fully able to move back home once Valkyrie graduates." Not that I would, she added in her head.
Meritorious nodded at her words. "What she says is correct. However, I would like to say that considering the severity of the accusations, the Irish Sanctuary will have to apply our normal policy of not working with you, Miss Low, meaning no reward moneys, no information handouts, no nothing. You are still welcome to get work through the Dead Men, as they are an outside service not controlled by the Irish Sanctuary, however you will not be privy to any Sanctuary resources. Does that make sense to you?"
"I understand," she said blankly, refusing to look at Sult's stupid face so she would punch it from his neck.
"That's excellent," Sult smiled, writing something on his clipboard. Tanith was fairly sure it was some random scribbles and not actual notes. "Unless you have any more queries, you're welcome to go."
Shifting her sword as she stood, she walked out with her back straight and head held high. She'd warned the Dead Men and Valkyrie of her past, stating that she had changed her mindset and actions but that she worried it may catch up with her. They had been understanding, entirely too happy to offer her anything she needed to stay safe and out of trouble, but she doubted they'd be able to do anything when they were all so distracted with war preparations. She doubted they'd even find out she needed help until she was halfway towards Coldheart Prison. The Supreme Council would no doubt make a big example out of her.
Her heart sunk for Laila. Perhaps leaving before the investigation commenced was the safest option? Perhaps pretend she and Laila were mysteriously killed? She'd simply go into hiding, posing as a mortal. She'd have to get a sizeable chunk of money to do it, and she had no idea what country she could even go to, but she couldn't see many ways out of the path Sult was laying down for her.
She made sure to look for Clara on her way out to not make anyone think anything was amiss, but her eyes fell on Dexter instead.
She waited for him to hand the two criminals with him, a naked man except his tiny underwear halfway down his arse crying about being a butterfly that wanted to fly, and a woman that was hissing at the man to stop or else she'd set his knees on fire, and then she went over to check on him.
"Hey, Dex," she said lowly.
He looked at her with almost dead eyes, still managing to flick the edge of his lip up for her. "Tanith. Why are you here?"
"I had a meeting. There's apparently been some public complaints about me. Meritorious basically said the Sanctuary couldn't be seen paying me or working with me so you'll have to give me tip offs from now on."
"Sure, we can make that work," he nodded.
"Are you okay? When's the last time you slept?"
He shrugged. "Few days ago. Got a few hours. Do you think you could see Corrival with me? I don't think I'll be safe on the road."
She nodded, happy to help considering he looked worse than some zombies she'd seen. "What's the meeting about?"
"Not sure babe." There was a short silence from them both as they made their way to Corrival's office. "Shit, sorry. I know you don't like being called that."
"I'll let it pass."
"Thanks. I didn't mean to."
"I get it. You're tired. I won't hold it against you."
"Thanks."
"I will be randomly telling you to back me up in the future and you'll have to blindly agree with me though," she smirked.
He managed a smile back. "Seems fair."
Tanith knocked on Corrival's office door and they waited for him to answer. Tanith spotted Clara's caramel hair at the end of the hall and gave her a smirk of a smile and the assistant ducked her head to hide her blush. Tanith continued to watch her as she went through her papers and handed some off to someone before glancing at Tanith and turning away quickly. The person she was talking to looked down at Tanith and gave Clara a look that she seemed to wave away. A few moments later, he finished speaking with her and Clara started making her way towards Tanith and Dexter.
"That your new girlfriend?" Dexter teased quietly.
"Not yet," she grinned at him.
He chuckled under his breath. "She's cute."
"Yeah, that's the whole point," Tanith said. Clara stopped by them and gave Tanith a sweet look though she didn't say anything with Dexter there. Tanith chose to speak anyway. "Hey, you waiting for Corrival too?"
"I have a memo for Elder Deuce, yes," Clara said softly. Tanith didn't usually go for soft, cute girls but the tease in Clara's eye was definitely keeping Tanith interested. "Do you have a meeting?"
"Dexter does, I'm just keeping him company. I love your hair by the way. It's beautiful."
Clara blushed even more than Tanith expected, making her grin widen. She was sure Dexter was going to mock her for the basic flirting lines, but Tanith knew Clara was already into her, so she was hardly going to use her good material. "You're very kind, Miss Low. Um, this might be unprofessional, but I have some friends going to a gig next Friday. I know you must be really busy with work, but if you have a few hours, would you like to be my date?"
Tanith bit her lip and swayed on her feet. "I'm not too sure I will. I'm on call all the time. I wouldn't want to agree and bail on you. And I have a kid at home."
"I totally understand," Clara said, not deflating at all. "Maybe we could exchange numbers and if you happen to have time you could join us? You don't have to stay for the whole thing. And we can leave early if the music's bad."
Tanith leaned a little closer and gave Clara a roughish smile. "I think I can do that."
Corrival chose to open his door then and Tanith let her give the memo to him before she quietly got Clara's number and sent her a text. She had to leave for her job quickly but Tanith watched her walk for a moment before joining Dexter in the office.
Both men gave her a knowing look.
"Oh shush, she's cute!" Tanith grinned at them as she took her seat.
"Ghastly's going to sulk," Dexter said gravelly, giving her a sly smile.
"He can go ahead, it's not like we're together. I don't even know if I'll have the time to meet her until after all this, but that doesn't mean I can't try."
"You gave up on the not dating thing then?" Corrival asked tiredly. He had a hint of mirth in his eyes.
"I never said anything about dating," she said coyly.
Both of them chuckled at her blatant shamelessness. "Tanith's love life aside," Corrival began, "the mortals developing magical powers are getting out of hand. We think we have a lead from Skulduggery to begin the investigation, but I suspect it's a Dead Man mission. Considering the circumstances, I hoped to send just a few of you boys in, perhaps some of the ladies as well," he added for Tanith's sake, "to get it finished. It's going to need to be quick and mess free."
"I understand," Dexter said seriously.
"Good. A werewolf, Ed Stynes, was brought in by Anton not long ago. Doctors have him sedated now and we're running tests with the help of Doctor Grouse, but we made sure to interview him first. He is the first mortal we've found with this sudden surge of magic that hasn't been driven insane by it. He claims to have been plagued by dreams for the last few weeks prior to transforming about a man in white named Argeddion."
"Strange," Dexter frowned.
"It is. He claims Argeddion said he had a gift for him, and to prepare for the Summer of Light, and a few days ago was his last dream in which he received the gift, a glowing light that Argeddion put in his chest. Considering we've had every test done on them and not a single result has been made, this was our first big clue. I had Skulduggery on the case before this information, as I suspected it might have something to do with the Magicae Furem Device, but neither of us believe this to be true any longer."
"How so?" Dexter dutifully asked.
"A woman came here earlier. She just left. She's an elderly lady, named Greta Dapple. She once dated a man named Walden D'Essai. He found out his true name, which was Argeddion. According to the woman, D'Essai was a pacifist and she believed, when she heard through her friends that Skulduggery was looking for Argeddion, he was looking to finally solve his murder."
"What?" Tanith said, sitting forwards.
"That's what I thought," he said, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms. "To keep it short, he wanted to find the source of magic and find out why some countries have Cradles. A Sensitive saw a future in which Argeddion turned evil. Four sorcerers, three men, one woman. Leader named Tyren Lament. The woman was the Sensitive. He found out they were looking for him and he disappeared."
"Didn't Lament die, like, thirty years ago?" Dexter asked.
"He did. I am not meant to tell you this, and I'm most definitely breaking some Oaths in revealing it, but Lament was an undercover detective for Meritorious when he supposedly died. Lament and his group were essentially the Dead Men but far quieter and meant to be invisible. I have read enough of Eachan's Journal's and questioned him enough to know that they are, however, alive."
Tanith took a deep breath as she took in the change in the story and sat back in her chair.
"What happened?" Dexter asked.
"I'm not entirely sure as Meritorious was ever so slightly vague in his answers. I get the impression either he knows the bare minimum as a protective measure or it was something underhanded. I did have a small look into Lament and found out his last arrest before his disappearance was Nadir, a Shunter yourself, Dexter, with Valkyrie and Skulduggery went to interview at Hammer Land. He died almost as soon as he was unhooked from the Shunting device Delafonte Mien had him set up in. The details don't matter because he's dead, but Skulduggery was able to find out between catching these magic mortals his friends were Vernon Plight, Lenka Bazaar and Kalvin Accord."
"I know the men but not the woman."
"Same here," Corrival shrugged. "I have a theory. Or, Skulduggery had a theory, which he shared with me. I told him to be here but he isn't so it's my theory now. We don't think any of them are dead. We think Lament and his group were able to sedate or somehow stop Argeddion and now they're guarding him. Since he hadn't done anything wrong, I doubt Meritorious gave Lament the order to kill, and Lament was never known for being violent. I think they're hiding somewhere with him as a prisoner, unable to kill him, unable to leave. They're stuck, keeping the world safe from Argeddion's potential danger."
"Oh, wow," Tanith expressed.
"Where?" Dexter asked.
"That's where it gets complicated. Skulduggery is doing other work at the moment so I had a look into Lament. He was a scientist and we have some of his work on our database. He was working on a containment unit for a person. Makes sense to me that's for Argeddion. The only lead I would even begin to call a lead is the freight company Lament mentions in the files is Dagan's Logistics, the Invisible Train, or whatever the crap he called it. He was using it for materials."
"So you need us to start there," Dexter sagged.
Corrival nodded. "And quietly. I don't want anyone knowing we're looking into this or the American's and the English might try swooping in and scaring Dagan into not helping us. They're an international company, they make more money out of Ireland than in. You need to get there quick."
"Great," Dexter said miserably.
"I don't know that Dagan Logistics is," Tanith said.
"They're an invisible train that moves anything for anyone for the right price. They're known for being difficult and Arthur Dagan, the owner, has always particularly hated the Dead Men. He was a big supporter of Mevolent," Dexter said, rubbing his face. "I assume you already checked when the trains passing in Ireland."
"I'm an Elder, Mr Vex. You can do the running around."
Dexter rolled his eyes and stood. "Sure thing, boss. When will Skul be ready to help?"
"No idea. He hasn't been answering his phone but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. And Dexter," he said, putting his hands on the table and closing his eyes to get across his point, "please keep Skulduggery occupied. The Supreme Council are up my ass about him and if he so much as insults someone the hammer might come down on us all. And you know how he is."
"I'm not sure it's possible to stop him insulting people," Dexter pointed out.
"And yet I've made it your responsibility."
"Corrival, be real," Dexter said, giving him a look. Tanith stood and looked between the two. "I can't control him, you know that."
"I am aware. So find out where Lament and Argeddion are and send Skulduggery to whatever far away, remote, out-of-service place they're at! I don't want him here. We both know he's barely stable," he said, voice lowering to an angry whisper. "I trust him not to turn on us, but I do not trust him to not mess this up. Keep him busy. Keep him out of the way. Now please leave me alone. I have too much shit to deal with to argue with you too."
Tanith followed Dexter at he swept quickly from the room. They were silent all the way out of the Sanctuary, though she did spot Strom in a room berating some almost crying ladies, and they made their getaway before he saw them.
As soon as they were out, she nudged him with her shoulder. "Ready to be detectives again, partner?"
"Sure," he said, and then yawned loudly. "Fuck. My cars over there."
"Will you bring me back to my bike later?"
"Tell someone to grab it when they come here next."
"With what keys?"
He paused and then shrugged. "I love you Tanith, you're like a sister and all, but I really can't think of this right now. I need to sleep and then we can figure it out, okay?"
"It's fine, Dex, I'll take you home," she said, trying not to sigh as she took his keys from him.
Have it. Sorry I'm slow, I had a plot block, but it was all sorted with some help!
ValkyrieP: Thank you! I appreciate that :) Yep, I love Kitana for how much I hated her, she invokes so much rage and that shows how well she was done, I love that. I have a few ideas for some stuff I can do with her before the end ;) I won't tell you how she ends though, no spoilers for you!
