Chapter 16
Itried to get out of my duties at the Mages Guild that afternoon so I could go to Turain, but the Chief Mage wasn’t available, and Director Chen wasn’t having it, so I was forced to spend the rest of the afternoon doing grunt work as usual.
Dragging my feet down the hall on my way to the Secretary of Agricultural Magic’s office, I was turning over an idea in my mind about how to convince him to let me out early when the Finance Secretary walked out of a room.
“Oh, Miss Baine.” His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he caught sight of me. “Where are you headed to?”
“Department of Agricultural Magic,” I said, pointing down the hall. “Why?”
“Oh, well never mind Soren,” the Finance Secretary said impatiently, referring to the Secretary of Agricultural magic by name. “This is more important than sending out letters to farmers. Come along.” He waved me into the room he’d just come from.
“What exactly am I helping you with?” I asked warily as I entered the room.
It was a large clerks’ office, with rows of beige metal file cabinets lining the walls, and a number of desks arranged throughout the space, all covered with stacks of paper and ledgers.
Many of the people sitting at the desks and going through these records were apprentices, but a few of them, to my surprise, were humans.
“The Mages Guild does employ human accountants to help me keep up with the regular work,” the Finance Secretary said, correctly interpreting the question in my gaze.
“The apprentices are all well and good, but I need some regular trained members on my staff, and there aren’t very many mages who are willing to put aside spellcraft to work on numbers. ”
“Huh. I guess that makes sense.” I knew I definitely wouldn’t want to volunteer for the job.
I followed the Finance Secretary into his office, which was in a smaller, separate room that featured a large glass window enabling the Finance Secretary to observe the others in his department.
Other than that, though, his own office was much the same as the outside room – lots of file cabinets, stacks of leather-covered dispatch boxes, and shelves filled with ledgers.
There was a tiny golden set of scales on his desk that I assumed was meant to be used as a paperweight, and a small potted tree with a braided trunk that I recognized as a money tree.
“Does that thing really give you financial good luck?” I asked as I sat down in one of his visitor’s chairs.
To my surprise, the Finance Secretary’s lips quirked briefly as he eyed the plant. “No, but it’s a gift from my wife, so I care for it all the same.”
The small insight into his personal life reminded me that beneath their stony facades, mages were people too.
I wondered if they were just as stiff and formal amongst their families in the privacy of their own homes, or if they showed more warmth.
I’d glimpsed warmth in Iannis enough times to know that I couldn’t discount the possibility.
The Finance Secretary’s smile disappeared almost as quickly as it had come, and he reached into a drawer behind his desk and pulled out a thick, leather-bound book. I recognized it as the ledger he’d been studying back in Danrian’s office at Sandin Federal Bank.
“I found this ledger in a wall safe hidden behind a painting in the bank manager’s office,” the Finance Secretary said tersely, flipping it open. “I thought you might want to know about it.”
“Oh yeah?” I leaned forward to study the contents, and had to squint my eyes to read the tiny, cramped script. But as I scanned the names and the numbers written in the columns, realization began to dawn on me as I recognized several of them from Sillara’s list.
“These are all names of shifters who’ve taken loans from Sandin Federal Bank.”
“Indeed. But it isn’t just a record of those who’ve taken loans at the local branch, I don’t think.
” The Finance Secretary tapped his fingers against the heavily inked paper.
“These are specifically the names of shifters who haven’t been keeping up with their payments, and lists the loan amount, the number of payments missed, and the number of times they’ve been contacted.
” The Finance Director pressed his lips together.
“I’ve cross-checked some of these names in the records we confiscated, and a good number aren’t customers of the local branch. ”
I frowned. “Then what are they doing in the ledger?”
“I’m not certain, but most likely these people are residents of different cities in Canalo, and will have taken out their loans at different branches all over the state.”
I mulled this over for a moment, and my eyes widened as I realized the implications. “So Danrian wasn’t just following orders like a good little manager. He’s one of the main players involved!”
“It would seem so.” The Finance Secretary scowled.
“I’ve sent out telegrams to the Finance Directors of the other Guilds to have them look into the branches in their respective states, and also to the Federation’s Finance Secretary as he’ll need to shut down the corporate headquarters.
I imagine whoever is behind this has a representative in each state, to ensure the operation is running smoothly.
It stands to reason Mr. Danrian would be the representative for all of Canalo, especially since he resides here in the capital city. ”
“Right.” I narrowed my eyes at the Finance Secretary. “Why exactly are you telling me all of this?”
His dark eyebrows winged up. “Because this is your investigation, of course, and it is pertinent information.”
“True, but it’s not my experience that mages are so helpful to shifters.” Even now that I was an apprentice, when I had to go to another department for something, the mages there were always reluctant to engage with me.
“Ah, I see.” Another smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You are wondering why I am deigning to help you even though you are a hybrid and therefore not worthy of my time and attention.”
Anger began to simmer in my gut at the familiar supercilious tone in his voice. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
The Finance Secretary sighed. “Most of the mages around here feel that you should be given as little attention as possible, much in the way you ignore a spoiled child’s tantrums until he eventually ceases to wail and the problem resolves itself.
But I’ve been watching you, and it’s apparent to me that you not only aren’t going anywhere, but that you have influence with the Chief Mage.
So rather than try to hinder you, I’m offering my assistance in the hopes that you’ll remember me later on when I need a favor. ”
“A favor?” My own eyebrows jumped. “What kind of favor could you possibly want from me?”
The Finance Secretary shrugged. “I have ambitions just like anyone else,” he said. “Politically you may someday prove to be an asset. I am willing to help you along your way, and when the time comes I expect you’ll remember my show of support.”
I snorted. “I think you’d have a better chance of getting me to wear mage’s robes than you would of getting me involved in politics.”
“Perhaps, but you have a long life ahead of you, and you are only just at the beginning.” The Finance Director pressed the tips of his fingers together and regarded me from over the tops of his short, manicured nails.
“I’ve learned to trust my instincts, Miss Baine, and mine are telling me that you will at some point become a force to be reckoned with. ”
“Well thanks, I think.” Pride swelled in my chest at that, and I forced it down before it inflated my head. “Is there anything else?”
“Yes.” He closed the book. “I would like for you to help the other apprentices continue to go through the files. We need to get all of the information together to turn over to the legal department so they can begin prosecuting, and since I am one of the delegates accompanying Lord Iannis to the Convention I am extremely pressed for time. As it is, I am going to have to delay my departure because of this bank fiasco and miss my berth on the official airship.”
I groaned. Great. More paperwork.
By the time I left the Finance Department, my eyes felt like they were bleeding and my head was so full of numbers I thought it was going to explode.
My neck and shoulders ached from hunching over a desk all afternoon, and I really, really wanted to go down to Comenius’s shop and beg him for one of his soothing tea blends. And maybe a shoulder rub.
But I didn’t have time to hang out with Comenius, much as I would have liked to. I needed to head down to Turain and find out when the next Shifter Royale was taking place.
Just as I was about to enter the Guild’s lobby, I spotted the Chief Mage, his cobalt blue robes rippling as he strode into the lobby. We locked eyes and stopped at the same time, Iannis in the center of the lobby while I hovered just inside the hallway.
“Miss Baine.” The Chief Mage inclined his head. “I was just coming to look for you. You never showed up for your lesson.”
“Huh?” Alarm shocked me out of my foggy state, and I pushed back the sleeve of my jacket to check the time.
Eight fifteen. Over an hour late. “Crap. I’m sorry.
” I looked up to meet the Chief Mage’s stern gaze.
“I was helping the Finance Secretary sort through all the records he seized from Sandin Federal Bank this afternoon. I guess I lost track of time.” Well that, and I’d completely forgotten we were scheduled to have a lesson tonight.
“Ah, yes.” The Chief Mage’s frown lightened. “I’m glad you finally investigated the bank. It would seem there was good reason to look into it.”
“Yeah.” I thought about telling him about the rest of the investigation, but I held back. I really didn’t need Iannis’s help with this, and he was so busy as it was. “Umm, so can I get some food before we start? I haven’t eaten since noon.”