Once we reach the Mage Guild’s branch office, James steps out first and tells us to wait, while he talks to his partner, who is inside with Reginald. Conrad takes this time to pull me behind the carriage and lean in close.

“Don’t trust him,” he says.

“James? I don’t, not completely, but…”

“A few things to keep in mind. First, the timeline doesn't add up. None of my men saw him enter the palace, and there wasn’t enough time for Reginald to come here, talk to James and for James to have reached the palace in the short amount of time since you last saw Reginald. James must have already been hiding in the palace when his partner informed him via communicator that Reginald had shown up. He was spying on us the whole time.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” I admit with a sigh. What I had been wondering about was: if he had intended to use the princess as a bargaining chip, why did he silence her? He could have let her use magic and have more legal ammunition. He had no way of knowing the princess would stupidly volunteer to be interrogated. Likely, hearing about the soul stealing artifact had made him rethink his strategy, he hadn’t known that the amulet was a prize he would need a bargaining chip for until I told him what I’d discovered.

“Also, be wary of people who tell you to trust no one; they’re the ones trying to appear trustworthy by offering easy advice. James is not your friend, even if he acts helpful.” Conrad advised.

“Alright,” I reply, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And finally, publicly denouncing the princess like that? He knew what he was doing would stir up trouble, he’s not an idiot. He could have riled her up privately. Did you see how annoyed he was when I suggested we retreat to a private room? He wanted a show.”

“Yeah, but what can we do about it?” I ask, feeling frustrated.

“Nothing,” Conrad sighs, “I just wanted to warn you. So long as we get the king’s soul back, we can fix this mess. But I suspect there will be hell to pay if we fail. Remember, the eldest prince was also publicly accused of a crime he didn’t commit. He’s not going to take that lying down. Oh, and by the way, my men report that Alexander, the king’s nephew? He’s missing.” Conrad adds.

At that point, James comes out of the Mage Guild’s office with a big smile. “Alright, let's go talk to Reginald, I’ve moved him to a nice interrogation room for you.” With that, he led the way back inside.

The first level of the office was fairly normal, it had clerks who addressed the concerns of mages and wizards who needed to interact with the Mage guild. But the second floor was dedicated to the inquisitors' support staff. We passed a few desks with office workers sorting papers and working with communication crystals. Every desk was equipped with a silence ward so nothing could be heard. There were a few mages standing guard, in uniform with Mage Guild issued wands, which were of superior quality to standard wands.

Finally, we reached a warded room and were led inside to a dimly lit room with a table and chairs. And in one chair, looking a bit haggard, was Reginald. He gave me an angry look, as if he believed I was somehow to blame for all of his woes.

“All this could have been avoided if you’d done the smart thing and just called an inquisitor right away,” He told Conrad, “Why would you let him bumble ineptly through this investigation?”

“Because Jason genuinely wants to do his job well, and actually help our kingdom, which is not something I can say for any other wizard in this room.” Conrad replied. In truth, if he had known the king’s soul had been taken while I was in the dungeon, Conrad might have called for an inquisitor. There was a short list of people with that authority, he was on it.

Reginald turned to me, “And you? I’ve been told you didn’t even want this job,” he laughs, “Why haven’t you handed the investigation over?”

I shook my head, “I don’t have to answer your questions,” I told him, feeling tired. I’d certainly been tempted to, more than once, but despite not wanting the job of court wizard, I still felt obligated to try my best. With lives at stake, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t. I certainly hoped it got easier though, this was my fifth day on the job, and I was already starting to feel burnt out.

Reginald turned to another person, one who I hadn’t met; a woman perhaps a year or two older than me. She was attractive, poised, and relaxed-looking as she leaned against a wall. She was wearing an inquisitor’s uniform, and given that inquisitors worked in pairs, she must be James’ partner. “You promised to protect me if I cooperated!”

“And this is how you cooperate,” James said. “Jason, Conrad, let me present you to my partner, Amanda.”

Amanda gave us a little wave, but said nothing.

“She’s still in training, but she too was a very promising graduate. Her familiar is actually a ferret, one of the last remaining ones.” He added. A tiny furry face poked its head out of Amanda’s collar, glanced at us, then burrowed back down to where it had been nesting; inside her ample bosom.

I coughed slightly in embarrassment, as I’d just been staring at the ferret’s actions, not realizing where my glaze had lingered, then said, “Nice to meet you,” extending a hand.

Amanda straightened up and smiled, “Likewise,” she said with genuine warmth, “It’s nice to meet a fellow commoner who's made it this far,” she added, taking my hand and giving it a firm shake.

I could only nod.

“Reginald,” Conrad said impatiently, tired of waiting, “I have only one question. Where is the king’s soul?”

“The what now?” Reginald looked shocked, “What are you talking about?”

“The amulet!” Conrad said angrily, “Where is it?!”

“Wait… that thing took the king’s soul?!”

“Where. Is. It?” Conrad repeated, walking up to Reginald and getting in his face.

“I gave it to Alexander, he was the one that asked me to get it back.”

I glance at Blackwing, she nods, then launches herself off my shoulder and lands on Reginald’s head, quickly casting an active truth spell. “Human, repeat yourself,” she instructs.

“Ow! Stop digging your claws into my scalp. Alexander has it. He was the one who asked me to get it back for him. I fetched it yesterday, right after the king was discovered comatose, and gave it to him.”

Blackwing caws, “Truth.”

“Did you know it was cursed?” I asked.

“No!”

“Half-truth,” Blackwing mutters.

Conrad glances at me, and I guess what he wants to know. “An active truth spell is a lot better at detecting nuance. Since Blackwing is looking at his soul, she can tell when Reginald is trying to give misleading or incomplete answers,” I explain.

“Fine, I knew there was a second enchant beyond the “restful sleep” enchant. But Andrew made me believe that it was just a harmless enchant that would help ensure that the eldest prince got reinstated as crown prince. I thought it was just a persuasion spell that would bypass the king’s defenses. Wards aren’t able to protect against worn enchantments…” Reginald explained reluctantly.

“Truth,” Blackwing cawed.

“Why did you want the eldest prince reinstated?” I asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.

“They promised me I’d be the headmaster of the royal mage school! You happy now?” Reginald growled.

“Truth,” Blackwing cawed, sounding a bit bored.

“And you later betrayed the princess, why?”

“How is this relevant?!” Reginald complained.

“Just answer the question,” James said, also sounding bored, “My partner promised you we wouldn’t prosecute you and we’d get you safely out of the kingdom, you’ve got nothing to fear. Jason here just wants to know what would motivate you to switch sides so quickly.”

“I was scared, after the king got sick, I realized that it was probably the amulet, and I knew I’d take the blame for not detecting whatever curse was on it. I never expected any of this! Alexander played me for a fool.” Reginald sighed, “I thought I was helping the princess, but when things got this bad, I knew I’d be the one taking the fall. I didn’t even have legal protection, since I'm not the court wizard anymore, and what do you think the queen would have done when she learned it was all my fault? You heard her! She’d probably have executed me!”

“Truth,” Blackwing caws, scornfully, then adds, “Coward.”

I shake my head in disbelief. Reginald had betrayed the princess because he’d gotten spooked by the show meant to scare me? That is pretty ironic, I think to myself.