63
Milo paused at the door of Spragg’s shop.
It was late afternoon and the wind was cold as it plucked at his coat. Nearby shops had lights on. The gray sky above promised rain on the way.
He hoped he’d be back in the fortress by the time it started.
Heading inside, the little bell tinkled above the door and he was hit with a familiar smell of ozone as the merchant’s wares flickered gently on their shelves.
Milo opened his mouth to call a greeting, but shut it quickly when he saw the shopkeeper wasn’t alone.
A young woman stood at the counter.
She was slender and composed, with long red hair cascading in gentle curls almost down to her waist. She was dressed in similar robes to himself, marking her as a student of the Academy.
But he couldn’t recall seeing her.
Beside her, a tall man in dark clothes had turned to study Milo.
The man’s hands were in the pockets of his long dark coat and Milo had the feeling one hand was gripping a wand.
Why would a student need a bodyguard?
Obviously because she was rich.
Milo grunted, dismissing the girl as just another rich student. He turned to one of the shelves and started to look around. What he wanted wasn’t on display, though. He wanted to select some depleted cores which the shopkeeper kept behind the counter for him.
He hoped to recharge and sell a few.
Tania had proven to be expensive in her tastes for clothing and other feminine needs.
And now he had three to support.
Also, Tania had asked him to buy as many Machine Intelligence Matrixes that he could find. Her answer why had been too vague and airy. Enough that he knew not to ask. He’d always end up being told to unlock the Prime.
“Excuse me,” the girl asked suddenly. “Are you Milo? Milo Mooney?”
He twisted his neck to look at her.
She didn’t look the type to want his autograph. He wasn’t interested in getting to know her, either. But he couldn’t see a reason to deny it.
Keeping his tone even, without trying to sound rude, he nodded. “Yeah.”
“You can go first if you like.”
“I’ll be a while,” he said. “I’ll wait.”
“Really,” she said. “I don’t mind.”
“Me neither.”
Spragg looked from one to the other. The shopkeeper’s face looked confused. “Miss Farringham, I cannot help you in this instance anyway. As I said, all my transactions are considered very private. I wouldn’t tell you about another customer any more than I would tell them about you.”
“That’s alright,” she said, taking a few steps closer to Milo. “Maybe Mister Mooney can help me. Do you think you can, Milo?”
Her tone had dropped to a throaty purr.
Did she think she was a seductress?
He looked her up and down again, wondering how old she was. She didn’t look too young. Maybe only two years younger than him. And despite the confidence in her tone, he thought she looked nervous.
The bodyguard behind her showed no sign of what he thought about it.
“Are you a first year?”
She nodded. “I am.”
“Then probably not,” he said. “Maybe you can speak to Ket.”
Miss Farringham didn’t seem phased by his answer. If anything, her nose twitched a little and she grew more inquisitive. “I might just do that,” she said. “But I was hoping for some help with something not school-related. It looks like you come here often. You seem to know your way around.”
“I’ve had to upgrade my wand a few times.” He shrugged at her. “And then my team’s. Some of us aren’t rich and have to do it slowly.”
Whether the little dig got through, he couldn’t be sure.
She didn’t look ruffled by it at all.
Which made him feel a little guilty for saying it.
“I’m looking for a man.”
He blinked this time. “In here? I thought you people sort of arranged that among yourselves. Don’t you meet in mansions or something?”
He hadn’t meant it as a joke, but the bodyguard had to cover a snort with a cough as he put his fist over his mouth.
Miss Farringham rolled her eyes. “I didn’t mean like that. I’m looking for someone who sold something to Mister Spragg. And he won’t tell me who it is. Maybe you might have seen who it was.”
Milo raised an eyebrow at that.
His heart started to race. She was looking for whoever had sold the fully charged core! That’s why her name had sounded familiar. Spragg had told him the Farringham family had bought it.
Shaking his head, Milo tried to look amused. “It’s not as if I live here,” he said. “This is only about the fifth or sixth time I’ve been.”
“Maybe you know something about cores?”
“I know they’re expensive.”
“Especially when they’re full,” she said, her eyes glittering. She leaned closer, her little nose twitching.
She might have looked cute except Milo was a little intimidated. He didn’t like the feeling. But the knowledge of how much wealth was behind her was a little overwhelming.
The Farringhams were one of the richest families in the Mage Republic.
If they were second to anyone, it’d be to the Paddstones.
“Full?” He glanced at Spragg, who returned his gaze with a calm one of his own. Looking back at the girl, he frowned. “I don’t understand. They’re just cores.”
“You don’t know that much about cores?”
“Like I said. I know they’re expensive.” He pulled out a makeshift wand he’d put together to make it look like he had one. It had a small core most mages would snigger at. “This is all I can afford. So, as you can see, I’m not in a position to really study one.”
She flicked a pitying gaze to the wand, then back at his face.
She was looking for something in his expression, and he felt a trickle of sweat slither down his spine. Suddenly, it felt very hot in the shop. The air was thick and stifling.
“Hmm.” She put her hands on her hips. “Aren’t you supposed to be in charge of the school’s best dungeon team?”
“I am?”
“That’s what everyone says. But you only have that?”
“Like I said.” He pitched his voice to a bitter growl. “Some of us aren’t rich.”
“So, how can you do what you do with just that? From what I heard, you’re only rated a one. Surely you have something else. Something bigger?”
Milo was tiring of the conversation.
Her tone and attitude started to remind him of every other rich person he’d met. She wanted something from him. That was clear. Most likely she wanted him to tell him where he got the core. Or, if her family had guessed ahead, reveal the secret of recharging one.
Rich people all thought that everything rightfully belonged to them. That if he didn’t just give his knowledge and belongings to them, then there was something wrong with him.
“I think I’ll come back later, Mister Spragg,” he said, offering an apologetic smile to the shopkeeper. “I suddenly want to be somewhere else.”
Miss Farringham looked shocked. “Wait. Where do you think you’re going?”
“Anywhere away from you,” he hissed, stomping towards the door and flinging it open. Then he kept stomping into the street, imagining each step was on her face.
A shiver went down his spine, and he glanced to his right to see two more men in black standing in the mouth of an alley.
More bodyguards.
One of them gave him a casual salute.
He showed them his middle finger, which took them by surprise.
Looking left, he was sure he saw movement. Like a shadow flickering within candlelight. So, there were some stealthed mages in that alley.
How many bodyguards did the girl need?
Probably a lot, he thought angrily.
She seemed to have a mouth which would get most people into trouble.
He kicked at a stone and sent it skittering up the road. The idea of the Farringhams coming all this way to look for him was almost as annoying as knowing the Paddstones had been sending people to the city to find him, too.
Tania had already killed two assassins.
Thankfully, they hadn’t sent more since.
What would the Farringhams send, though? What was their goal?
Bribery? Threats? Abduction?
But in which order?
He glanced over his shoulder, but didn’t seem to be being followed.
“It’s fine, Milo,” a soft voice whispered from just beside him. He didn’t look at it. She’d been beside him when he went into the shop.
And she was beside him now.
“How long have you been with me, Mila?”
“Umm…” She thought about it. “Since you got up?”
“This morning?”
“Yes?”
“Where were you?”
“Under the bed.”
“That must’ve been uncomfortable.”
“Not really.”
“Next time just share the bed or sit on the chair.”
“I can’t do that!” She sounded shocked by the suggestion. “Tania would tell me off. Definitely. There’s an order to these things, Milo.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing.” She sighed heavily. Then, tentatively, said; “Milo, you should maybe exercise some more.”
He thought about that.
If she’d been with him since he woke, then she saw pretty much everything. Now all his golems had seen everything.
He guessed it seemed fair given how much they showed off to him.
Still.
The more he thought about what she’d just said, the more offended he felt.
Rubbing his belly, he kicked another stone. He wasn’t getting fat.
Was he?