Author's Preface
Sully cuffed Nurse Feverfew, and she was kept confined in the Chancellor’s office until the Inquis arrived and discreetly removed her. Salamander would rather be inconvenienced by her vulgar presence than risk the scandal of having her frogmarched out of the building in front of gossiping students and minor staff. She sat in the corner under the close watch of Sully, while the Chancellor lounged in front of the fireplace, pretending that she was not there.
Casimir stood near the rotary phone, taking in the crackling from the fire, and his gaze fixated on the phone.
“Casimir, you aren’t going to invoke a call by staring at the blasted thing. Come sit,” ordered Salamander.
Casimir glanced over at Sully, looming over the nurse who sat listlessly on the floor. Then grabbed a chair and sat beside Salamander.
“Did you learn the patterns I assigned to you?” Salamander asked.
“Is it the right time for this, Chancellor?”
“Yes, I need to take my mind off of this mess, and you are my apprentice.”
Casimir tightened his jaw. Unbelievable. “Yes, I have.”
“Quell the flames.”
Casimir approached the fireplace, he weaved the triangular pattern and quieted the flames into smoke.
Salamander nodded. “Now, re-ignite it.”
Casimir weaved Searing Hand and lit his hand ablaze. The energetic flames danced around in his hand, eager to reach out and scorch anything that was near. He kneeled, touched the charred log, and the flames jumped up the flue.
He heard the Chancellor hum and turned to see him stroking his beard.
“The day you can perform Quell with no waste will be the day you can learn Aether suppression.”
“Are there any exercises—”
Several forceful knocks echoed across the room, interrupting their conversation, and before Salamander could answer, the door flew open, and five men in grey suits streamed into the room.
“Who are these guys!” Casimir clenched his teeth and fell into a stance. He could sense Sully’s Aether flare up on the other side of the room.
Chancellor Salamander, however, remained seated. “Calm down. I called them.”
“What!” Casimir hissed.
“Sorry for stepping on your toes,” spoke a blonde man, breaking away from the group. “But this is an imperial matter.”
Casimir was taken aback when he got a better look at his face. You've got to be kidding me!
The mysterious blonde looked at Casimir, mildly intrigued with a subtle smirk that reminded him too much of Merritt.
Casimir suppressed his irritation. Another one …This has to be a cruel joke.
Sully maintained his calm composure, although he kept an eye on the agent and another on the nurse who seemed terrified. “What is Needle doing here? Crimes involving Weavers are within the Inquis’ domain, and wouldn’t Spindle be sent to babysit young nobles? ”
The Needle agent nodded. “Yes, there is some overlap, but this became a Needle matter the moment we heard that the Emperor’s nephew and many children of his court are possible victims.”
He cast a chilling stare at the nurse. “The students here are Nivilies’ future. Needle can not ignore our nation’s finest weapons being tampered with by saboteurs.”
Casimir blew air through his clenched teeth. Drat, I hate it, but he has a point.
Sully glanced at the woman who was now trembling like a dead leaf in the fall. “Oh, is she one of yours?”
The Needle agent laughed. “Don’t be preposterous!”
“I don’t think it is outside the realm of possibilities, especially since it is rumored that Sageman is still on Needle’s payroll.”
“I expected better from you than spreading baseless conspiracy theories. When I do it, it is for a cover.” The Needle agent reached into his gray jacket and pulled out a scroll bearing the Emperor’s seal. “Like it or not, that woman is ours now. We will give you an official report when we are done.”
***
Friday was here, and the campus was still abuzz with gossip upon hearing about Nurse Feverfew’s departure. Casimir could only grumble at the various theories as to why she left, ranging from her getting married to her being fired to save face over Bryson’s death.
He gripped his coffee cup. Blast them! They took everything, and we have not heard from them since.
“Cas! Calling Casimir!”
Casimir looked up and saw Merritt waving a hand in front of his face. He sighed. It is too early for this. “What!”
Merritt leaned back in his chair. “Did you find spit in your coffee? You were just glaring at it with an angry look on your face.”
“No, I’m just thinking.”
“I never thought you would be affected by the vampire leaving. I assume you would be leaping with joy.”
“She was just doing her job,” Tristan interjected.
Casimir nodded.
Merritt clicked his tongue and glanced at Cornelius, who was reading over his advanced alchemy book. “Do you know who your uncle is going to replace her with? Is she prettier?”
His question got an eye roll from Fenna.
Cornelius chuckled and patted Fenna’s hand. “I have an idea, but in the meantime, the seniors are taking over. I saw Uncle call Magnolia into his office.”
Merritt groaned. “Not that frosty witch. ”
Could Magnolia have noticed something about her?
***
Casimir stopped by the nurse’s office after breakfast and saw Magnolia cleaning the counter. All the beds were empty, and Feverfew’s desk was wiped clean.
“What do you need, Mindrattler?” Magnolia asked without looking at him.
“I wanted to see how you are faring with Nurse Feverfew gone.”
Magnolia turned to face him with a deadpan expression. “I’m fine.”
Casimir inched his way closer and gave her a sympathetic smile. “It must be difficult to have your boss leave on short notice and have more work thrust upon you. ”
Magnolia clicked her tongue. “More responsibilities just means more things I can put on my resume.”
“Do you know why she might have left so soon?”
She pointed her finger at him. “Smooth, were you just waiting for the opportunity to slide in that question?”
Casimir shrugged.
Magnolia turned away from him and continued cleaning. “Why do you think she left?”
“I believe she was fired and that you have an idea why.”
“Why is that?”
“I overheard part of your conversation with Nurse Feverfew. Although you whispered, I could deduce that you discovered an oversight.”
Magnolia paused and looked at him, surprised. “You are quite observant for a lughead. Maybe the rumors about you being an ex-Inquisitor are true.”
Casimir tilted his head and held back a chuckle. Is that all she sees me as?
“Well, she is gone now…” Magnolia bit her lip. “I did notice that the amount of blood drawn for some of the students was excessive. Two were over the safe six-week limit. She assured me that it was temporary and that she would lower the amount.”
“Was it Bryson?”
“I can’t say.” She turned away from him and started cleaning again. “But her being fired makes sense. She had the habit of disappearing and dumping work on us.”
***
Casimir reported to Chancellor Salamander’s office. His eyes lit up when he saw Sully standing beside the Chancellor’s desk holding an envelope.
“Did they finally follow through?” Casimir asked, shutting the door behind him.
Sully handed the envelope to Casimir when he approached the Chancellor’s desk. “In a way.”
Casimir unfurled the letter typed on plain, discrete paper. Alice Feverfew is found guilty of high treason for trafficking genetic material of Aetherians on the black market. We have determined that she acted alone and are now tracking down her clients. Her execution is scheduled for December 11th, 1934. Thank you for your cooperation with this investigation. For the Glory and Honor of the Empire, Shields.
“The 11th, but that was two days ago?!”
Sully chuckled. “Needle ties up their loose ends rather quickly.”
Salamander ground his teeth. “I don’t find any of this funny. It is an utter disgrace. I’m happy that it is finally over.”
Casimir slapped the letter against his leg. “But Chancellor, you can’t possibly let them sweep this under the rug! Sully and I have reason to believe that she was working with someone here in the school. ”
The Chancellor pinched the bridge of his nose. “What more do you want from me? As far as I can tell, Needle outranks you, and they determined that she was working alone.”
“Well, don’t you think it is funny that she is found guilty of trading students’ organs and blood, and that alchemist professor your predecessor fired was also involved with a dead student. And as far as I know, his body was never found. ”
“W-what are you implying?” Chancellor Salamander looked at them, indignant, but there was a bit of fear in his eyes.
Casimir noticed the sweat peaking from Salamander’s pores. He looks guilty.
Sully smiled. “We just want to do our due diligence and make sure we did not miss another rat. ”
The Chancellor sniffed. “Fine, but I don’t want to hear any more of this today. Mr. Scribe is visiting. ”
Casimir raised an eyebrow. “The recruiter?”
“Yes,” The Chancellor lowered his voice. “ You will be assisting Aetherseeker again. Now, if you will excuse me.”
***
“What do you think?” Casimir asked.
Sully gave him a knowing look. “We will discuss this later. Make sure you serve the Assistant Chancellor diligently. You might learn something useful.”
“Alright.” Casimir left Sully and headed for Aetherseeker’s office.
He welcomed Casimir inside after a knock. Like before, he sat at his desk doing paperwork.
Casimir tried to catch a glance at what he was working on. He averted his gaze when he saw Aetherseeker look up and smile at him.
“Casimir, my boy, the Chancellor sent you my way again? ”
“Yes, do you need any help?”
“I do, actually.” He reached for an envelope at his desk and handed it to Casimir. “I need you to deliver this to Professor Shears for me.”
Blast it, it’s sealed! “Of course, where is he?”
“Aw, right, you’ll need a map.” Aetherseeker slapped his forehead with his palm and pulled out a map from his desk. He circled the location and handed it to Casimir. “Professor Shears teaches the senior students in an observation tower on the far edge of the campus to the east. It shouldn’t take you too long to get there if you use Lightstep.”
This is farther out than where we found Bryson. He folded the map closed. “Alright, I’ll deliver this as quickly as possible.”
“Thank you. I will be here waiting for you.”