A Beast's Tale

Chapter 52

Peals of feminine laughter rang out from Leon's office. The wastebasket in the open doorway was almost full, and when I glanced into the room as I passed, I could see the maroon carpet again. Ivetta and Theresa were making good progress. They had their backs to me, with the petite raven-haired woman cleaning the bookshelves and the taller, more voluptuous redhead restoring the books to their places, both keeping up a steady stream of chatter while they worked.

"For all I know, you could be a spy for Prince Chevalier," Theresa was teasing Ivetta.

Ivetta laughed. "He doesn't even trust me with the key to his office."

"Yet. From what I hear, he trusts you with just about everything else."

"If by 'everything else' you mean his laundry, then you would be correct."

I hadn't heard her use such a jocular tone before. It sounded as though she knew Theresa well—well enough to speak freely with her, at least. I'd have to check with Leon about how much information he gave Theresa, particularly regarding Belle. It would be best for all concerned if Ivetta could talk to someone other than me. She didn't realize it, but I was far more interested in her than Luke.

As before, Clavis' laughter greeted me when I entered my office.

"You should have seen how red her face was! It was—oh, hey, Chev. Guess who we're talking about?"

"The ladies kicked us out of my office," Leon explained, leaning against the wall by the window. "How'd everything go with Jin and Luke?"

I glanced over at Licht, standing stiff and silent by the fireplace. "They're both alive. You want more information about the attempted sabotage of the embassy, correct?"

Leon's bright smile faded. "Yeah. They were packing gunpowder into pouches and smuggling it through a window into a storage room, right? Do we know where they got that much gunpowder?"

"A caravan entering the country from the northeast," Clavis supplied. "Sariel thought there was something suspicious about it, but he didn't have enough evidence to rifle through all the goodies. Guess our Four-Eyed Fiend's devilish senses still work."

"We've already tightened border security." I rounded my desk and claimed my chair. "However, the gunpowder we secured is less than that caravan's estimated carrying capacity."

"That's what I was afraid of. Licht just found out a smokescreen generator is missing from our arsenal. It won't cause an explosion, but..."

"But it's still enough to cause panic." Licht shifted his weight and rested his hand on his sword hilt. "I'm going to the embassy for a final security check. Anywhere you think I should pay special attention to?"

I reviewed the building's blueprints in my mind. A machine of that size wouldn't be easy to hide, and yet Clavis and Nokto had found no such object when they'd searched the premises. Either they'd missed something, or...

"The river goes underground just west of the embassy. A pump system in the northwestern corner of the gardens draws water up from the river to power all the water features. It's possible someone enlarged the underground access point during construction without our noticing. Search it again, and this time, look for a trapdoor or other hidden entrance in the eastern wall."

He nodded. "I'll check it right now."

"Isn't this exciting?" Clavis clapped his hands as Licht opened the door to leave. "And to think I was afraid all the fun was over." He paused, listening to the high-pitched squealing coming from Leon's office. His smile grew. "Never mind."

I stayed in my seat while Clavis and Leon followed Licht into the hallway, telling myself I didn't need to get involved, but I was curious. I heard Theresa and Clavis burst into laughter, and then I heard Leon's booming voice call out, "Hey, Licht, if you want to hug her, you need to pull her in closer. Let's show him, Theresa."