10. Garrick
Chapter 10
Garrick
“ I don’t know about this plan,” I grumble as we walk to the councilman’s house.
“Don’t be silly. With my charm, we should have no problems.” Milori has far too much confidence sometimes. It looks suspicious enough that we are wandering around the upper-class area of the city. When Emilia asked me to sneak into the councilman’s house, I nearly laughed out loud. It’s one thing for me to be hanging around the palace; it’s another thing entirely to be wandering around the richest part of the city with no reason to be here. Orcs don’t spend any time in this area. We spend our free time in the lower part of the city where the beer is better, and the people are nicer. Everything in the upper part of the city is far too pretentious. Being in Sonas already makes me feel on the outside, but this part of the city always makes me feel like I really don’t belong. But that doesn’t matter because I would do anything for Emilia—including living in this city.
A couple of men pass Milori and me, both giving a sidelong look. What they see must be a shock: tall, hulking Orc with tusks and blue eyes and the shabby Commanding Officer of the King with his disheveled hair. Though he is not wearing his uniform, he is known to many and instantly recognized, which he doesn’t always seem comfortable with. I find this interesting, seeing as he has spent the better part of a decade doing this job, but the attention he receives always seems to agitate him, like he doesn’t quite trust the person who is giving him the attention. However, you wouldn’t be able to tell that if you weren’t paying close enough attention.
Milori talks animatedly. “It’s the perfect plan. We show up to the house, and when Inda—that’s the maid—opens the door, I talk her into letting us in for just a moment. Maybe we use the excuse that the King is concerned about the safety of the council and wants to take measures to ensure their well-being.” Not a bad idea.
“Why aren’t you wearing your uniform then? Would it not make more sense for you to wear that if we were on official business?”
“No, this way, we are just two people going out and are making a quick stop to look around before we go on our merry way to the tavern for a drink. It explains why you are with me.” With how ridiculous Milori acts, sometimes I forget that he is smart and thinks through his actions. I mean he didn’t become the Commanding Officer of the Day Court just by looking like he does. Actually, most of the rumours about him becoming so high up in the hierarchy have to do with his friendship with Timas, and perhaps that is true, but I’ve seen him fight and lead his people; he’s a force to be reckoned with. I hate to say it, but I would trust him with my life.
“Fine, but if you call me your sidekick again I am throwing you through a wall.” The mischievous glint in his eye does not give me hope that he won’t say something stupid.
Milori steps up to a three-story house. The streets are quiet, likely because people are eating dinner, but that’s probably better for us, even if we are on ‘official’ business. Milori raps on the door, and within a moment, a short Fae woman with silver-blonde hair answers the door. Her face lights up with a smile when she sees Milori, but the moment she catches sight of me standing behind him, her smile drops. It’s the all-too-familiar scene of people putting their guards up the moment they see the big scary Orc.
“Inda, darling, how are you this evening?” Her focus goes back to Milori, and the reservation she had looking at me disappears.
“Oh, Milori. How lovely to see you. Councilman Aecus isn’t here right now, you will have to come another time.”
Milori walks a bit closer to Inda, a flirtatious smile across his face. He lifts a hand and pushes a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Really? She sucks in a breath with a dreamy expression. She looks like she might do whatever he says, completely intoxicated by his looks. This is why he has such a big head. If everyone acts like this toward him, no wonder he can literally do whatever he wants .
“Oh, no need to worry, we aren’t here to see Councilman Aecus, the King has asked us to perform a security check on all the council members’ homes.” His smile may be charming but Inda doesn’t seem too convinced. She looks behind her as if there is someone there to help her, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone else around. She turns her gaze back to Milori.
“I’m not sure, Councilman Aecus has been really particular about who comes into the house lately.” She busies her hands anxiously. Milori tips his head slightly, likely taking in the unusualness of her statement. Unless it is a common practice for Aecus to have limited guests, my understanding of the Fae culture is that they love to entertain and have people in their homes. Milori turns up the ‘charm’ and steps even closer to the woman.
“No need to worry about that. The King is merely concerned for his people. You heard about the most recent murder? Terrible situation. We only want to protect the people.” The mention of the murder makes her swallow harder. That seems to do it, and she moves to the side to let Milori in. I start to follow, and Inda looks at me with suspicion. Milori sees her hesitation with my entrance, so he preemptively addresses it.
“My companion will wait at the entrance while I inspect the house. He wouldn’t hurt a fly, this gentle giant.” Milori smiles down at the woman who doesn’t really believe him. Smart woman, seeing as the bruise on Milori’s face is from my fist from earlier today. She nods anyway and leads us into the entrance hallway. Milori places a hand on the back of the woman, leading her forward. He turns and winks at me, likely his way of saying ‘ go look.’ Rolling my eyes, I wait until they have gone around the corner to start exploring.
The open room I’m standing in is covered with dark wood panelling; it already feels rich. Different paintings decorate the walls—picturesque landscapes in extravagant frames—and the entrance tries very hard to make you feel like you are poor. Well, I mean, I guess I am. There is a staircase to the right and a hallway to the left of the staircase. My guess is if Aecus has a drunk room, it would be on the first floor and not too far from the door, so I take the hallway in search of the room. The first room I come to on my left is an office of some sort, with built-in bookshelves that reach the ceiling. Many books line the shelves, but interspersed are swords and daggers made of some of the finest metals. I wonder if Aecus ever fought in a war. The pieces look like they are holding a memory, or perhaps it is a family heirloom . Moving forward, the hall is dark, with a couple of lights on either side of the wall. Another door comes up on my right—it’s closed—so I turn the handle and push it open. Inside, it has a single lamp in the corner beside a large armchair and across from it a small single bed. This must be the room he sleeps in. As quietly as possible, I enter the room and close the door behind me. Beside the bed is an end table with a couple of books and some sort of figurine of a woman playing the harp. Odd. If I had something to hide, I would likely pry up a floorboard and tuck it in there, however, I can’t seem to find any loose floorboards. This would be a lot easier if I knew what I was looking for. I go over to the armchair, where there is a small ornate bookshelf. I pull the books out and look behind them, but nothing seems suspicious. Walking over to the bed, I get down and pull off the bedding to see if there is anything under the bed, but it seems the mattress sits on a wooden frame that sits flush with the floor. I knock on the bottom in hopes of finding a hole or something, but no luck. Standing back up, I look at the two books beside the bed. Sitting between the two books is a torn piece of paper. That’s strange. I lift the top book, and sitting on top of the second book is a piece of paper that looks like it was crumpled up, but that’s not what draws my attention. It’s the words that are written on it.
Your drunkenness has gotten you into more trouble, Aecus. This time it has gone too far. You really shouldn’t leave the bloody weapon and blood stained clothes where anyone can find them. But don’t worry, we took care of them for you. If you want to keep your indiscretion a secret you will call for a vote on the Royal Compliance Act and force the King to bond with the Night Court Queen.
This is exactly what I was looking for. Emilia was right; he was acting strange because he was hiding the fact that he killed someone. Maybe that man they found out about in the meeting. Picking up the paper I go to fold it and tuck it in my pocket when I see a second letter.
Well done. Now don’t fail and ensure the Act passes. If the King is forced to bond with the Queen these trinkets I have collected will disappear and so will the truth.
My stomach turns in disgust. Aecus killed an innocent man, and to make it worse, he is being blackmailed into destroying the King and harming my sister. Anger bubbles up inside of me. Suddenly I hear some voices and realize I have spent far too much time in this room. Grabbing the second letter as evidence, I exit the room and gently close the door behind me. I pad down the hall and make it back to my spot at the entrance just as Milori and Inda come down the stairs.
“Completely understandable concern, I will let the King know immediately.” Milori says sweetly to Inda. He looks up at me, and I give a quick nod, enough for him to know I have found what we need. They come to stand just in front of me as Milori excuses us.
“Well I think that is a thorough enough check for now.” Milori winks at Inda and heads towards me, leaving her standing there starstruck. Pulling the door open and exiting the house is a welcome relief, but the relief feels short lived. Now we have to return and tell them what we discovered.