Feargus

  Days Until it Happens: 7

  Crew Placement:

  Road to Leberecht ? Alex, Rhian, Michael

  Defector’s Lair ? Rhydian, Strauss

  Palisade ? Bells

  Man-cave ? Zack

  Jaska ? Adeline, Everleigh

  Istok ? Sebastian

  Before leaving the Widow’s Peak earlier that morning, I helped V organize the pantry, and she stocked me up with some fresh snacks. She’d also washed my clothes while I slept, and they were still warm from drying by the fire. Speaking of laundry, though, I had a laundry list of my own I needed to get done, so back at the cabin, I finished my reports for Councilwoman Faust. Thanks to Zack, I knew at least seventeen Anima, plus Lidia, had perished in the underground network that day. I reckoned that was mission accomplished and a solid number of cherries on top.

  In my reports, I:

  ? Told the truth about everybody's skills.

  ? Covered up Strauss’s injury.

  ? Covered up Michael’s fate.

  ? Said nothing about Rhian’s trip to Verena.

  ? Failed to mention her pregnancy.

  ? Neglected to mention living with Zacharias Vonsinfonie.

  ? Forgot to say anything about Sebastian or Everleigh.

  I did confess I’d set Adeline up at the brothel, though. I positioned it as both keeping her safe from Anima retaliation, and as an opportunity to see how she’d operate on her own.

  As I’d no way of knowing when exactly I’d see Faust next, I tucked the reports away in my bag for now. While I was at it, I wrote Adeline a letter, and I included a map of Jaska with a couple key locations circled.

  I made my way to the city.

  At The Steel Needle, Vivienne emerged from the back room when the bell chimed. She was wearing a green dress that day, with a big, matching bow in her hair. The shade reminded me of something, so when we’d finished exchanging pleasantries, I asked:

  “How long would it take you to make me a suit?”

  “For you?”

  “For a friend.”

  “Do you have his measurements?”

  I held my hand up to indicate someone a few inches taller than I was. “He’s an average, Amali-sized chap. His left leg is about two and a half, maybe three inches shorter than the right, though.”

  “What a terrible inconvenience that must be.” Vivienne jotted down a few notes, nodding. “Colour?”

  “Pine needle green, like your dress.”

  “Bold—it’ll take me weeks darling. Two if I don’t sleep. You’re lucky I have the fabric in from the Isles. I swear, if it weren’t for me, these people would be walking around in potato sacks.”

  “How do you keep up by yourself?”

  “I have a few employees that work from their homes. The shop’s much too small to accommodate staff.”

  “Actually, on the subject of staff—I’ll be sending someone your way soon. Councilwoman Blanchett’s daughter.”

  “Ugh—“ Vivienne looked up from a rough sketch she’d started for Zacharias’s suit, “—please tell me you’re joking.”

  “No, she’s great. She’s with us. She just needs some clothes.”

  “The Councilwoman’s daughter doesn’t have enough clothes?”

  “We couldn’t bring her things with us to the city.”

  Vivienne wasn’t thrilled about associating with a Blanchett, but she decided she’d trust Kelly’s judgment. She then gave me an update on the cat costumes for Everleigh, and I left.

  It had been a while since I’d seen Captain Kavelin, so I made my way over to the garrison. The gate guard was used to seeing me around at that point, so he let me through and sent me to the Captain’s quarters on my own. As always, Kavelin’s office smelled like soup. I reckoned it was a beef stock that day.

  We hugged—a friendly pat, pat when we were behind closed doors, and moved to sit in the chairs by the fire.

  “Hey, remember that belt murder I was telling you about?” he asked.

  I nodded.

  “There’ve been more, and I think they’re connected to the Gander—again.”

  “Have you had a chance to speak to Tanis?”

  “Yeah, that’s the only reason I’m hesitating to bring the investigation to her. I really do think she’s trying to run a clean operation, it’s just—murky waters, right? Vices are bound to intersect in a place like that, murder included.”

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  “It’s actually why I’m here. I have someone in there—a Delphi. I’m going to be sending her your way soon, and I reckon she’ll crack that case for you lickity-split. But would you do me a favour?”

  Kavelin turned in his chair, and I did the same.

  “Anything.”

  “Would you mind asking her to use telepathy to investigate?”

  “Sure, but—the curiosity’s killing me. Why?”

  “Because I want to know what she does.”

  One, two, three seconds and then Kavelin nodded. “No problem.”

  You have to remember: Faust, Kelly, and Hall were part of a larger rebellion effort, with a lot of moving parts. But with us, they were forming a forward-facing team. I knew the sorts of things they’d be asking us to do, and I knew the sort of maneuvering we’d have to do to make it work for us. Because like I said: I wasn’t doing this for Faust, Kelly, and Hall anymore. I was working for my friends. And by the time my friends were brought into the loop, I’d be prepared with a buckets full of information, connections, plans, and pillows for us to fall on. Or at least—that was the idea.

  After leaving Kavelin’s office, I popped in at the Gander with an envelope that included: a map, a stack of notes, and a letter. I left it on Adeline’s nightstand. I knew she’d be working the upcoming banquet, and I reckoned she might need something nice to wear, along with whatever else she wanted.

  While I was making my rounds, I overheard she was in the kitchen helping Vera, so I avoided going that way. I did say hello to as many people as I could on the way out, though. I really missed the folks at the Gander.

  Once I was through the door with the goose in the glass, I made my way along the back alleys of Jaska until I reached Everleigh’s storm drain. I wiggled through easily, knocked on the door, and when she knocked back but didn’t open it, I whistled the song. I got it on the third try, busting through the door. She glared at me and returned to her desk.

  “Why not just open it for me?” I asked. “You know I can whistle the song now.”

  “Three tries isn’t knowing how to whistle the song. You can do better.”

  “I found Sebastian.”

  “Where—no, wait, I don’t want to know. I have too much to think about already. But is he okay.”

  “Aye, he’s all right. He just needs a minute.”

  “Okay.”

  “How’s Adeline?”

  “Tolerable,” Everleigh replied. “She’s getting closer to the killer.”

  “Already?”

  “No, I mean, literally. She’s becoming friends with Vera.”

  “Wait, Vera’s the killer?”

  Everleigh sighed. “Vera’s been targeting abusive clients of the Gander. Her husband was a sack of shit, and she didn’t do anything to stand up for herself when he was alive, so. I’m worried about her.”

  That was some news, mates. And it just about changed everything. “No need,” I said. “If Adeline and Vera become close, I’d bet my life Adeline won’t turn her in. That’s the kind of killing I already know she can hand-wave; she’s friends with my sister. But she’s a pleaser, and a finisher, so she won’t want to leave the job undone.”

  “Okay,” Ever answered. “So what do you think she’ll do.”

  “You know what, Everleigh?”

  “What.”

  “I don’t know.”

  I’d been to the flower shop in Jaska twice. Once to steal a present for Zack, and another to buy the lilies I’d left by his casket. When I bought the lilies, there was a grumpy lass behind the counter selling what I reckoned was the last of their stock before winter. So, that day, I didn’t even expect the shop to be open. When I stepped inside, the bell chimed, and a dashing gent with a fantastic beard greeted me from behind the counter. What. A. Fox.

  I smiled back and lofted a hand.

  That time of year in Amalia, I didn’t expect I’d have too many options for flowers, but when I looked around, there was a healthy selection, most of them arranged into intricate bouquets. Reckon they’d been imported from Delphia, though I was a bit surprised Faust bothered with something so frivolous. Then again, notes are notes, right?

  “Looking for something special today?” the man asked. Other than his fantastic beard, he had excellent hair, too.

  “Aye, for a friend.”

  “A friend or a… ‘friend’?”

  “Both, I reckon.”

  The man smiled and nodded as though he’d heard that story a thousand times before. He stepped out from behind the counter and began circling the shop. I could hardly keep my eyes off him.

  “Tell me about her,” he said, plucking a white flower with curved petals. He shook his head, put it back, and looked to me squarely. “Or him.”

  Was he fishing? Should I take the bait? Aye, why not. “This one’s a her.”

  He replied with a faint, crooked smile. Without saying a single word, I reckoned we both knew where we’d end up sooner than later. But for now— “She’s smart,” I said. “Not just smart, but sharp. And skilled.”

  The florist chose a purple flower, and then a red. “How does she make you feel?”

  I wasn’t sure how V made me feel, at least not in the way he meant. But I did know how thinking about V with a sexy man in a room full of flowers was making me feel. “She makes me feel normal, I guess.”

  He returned to the white flowers he’d ruled out before and plucked a few from the basket, along with a pair of red roses. “Normal?”

  “Aye, like when I’m with her, I forget about everything else for a minute. It’s uncomplicated. She’s been there for me in ways I don’t think she understands.”

  “It sounds like perhaps you don’t either,” the florist remarked.

  “I mean, I just want to get something nice for her—let her know I was thinking about her.”

  “For her, then.” The florist finished putting together his curated selection, bringing the flowers over to the arranging table. But he picked a plump red rose from the bunch, minding the thorns when he approached me. I’d never seen a flower quite so perfect before, and it seemed to get more vibrant the longer I looked at it. “And for you,” he said.

  I would have taken the flower if it weren’t for the fact we almost immediately started kissing and my hands were otherwise occupied. The florist led me across the shop, setting the rose down on the nearby arrangement table. He then proceeded to take me behind the counter, where I then proceeded to take him behind the counter.

  It was a great time, mates, and if it weren’t for what happened next, I might still look back fondly on that exercise—but no.

  When we were steady again, the flower shop owner known to most as Florea, but known to the Anima community as The Florist, wrapped his arms around me, kissed the side of my head, and said, “You’ll look beautiful on display.”

  That was the last thing I remember.

  When I woke up, I was groggy, and I was freezing, and I wasn’t alone.