When Damien woke he had no idea what time it was and for a moment couldn’t even remember where he was. He looked around the sparse room and sighed. Right, he, Jen, and Marie-Bell had checked into an inn twenty minutes after the last prison wagon had clattered off. Damien smiled when he remembered Lizzy’s surprise last night. She really was a wonder.

Sunlight streamed through the room’s one lonely window and dust motes danced in the light. Apparently he hadn’t slept the whole day away. He rolled out of bed, washed his face, and threw on some clothes. He needed to let his master know what they’d discovered. He doubted the high sorcerer of the west would be overly thrilled that they’d acted without letting her know, but maybe their results would placate her.

He’d barely set pencil to parchment when someone knocked on his door. He opened it with soul force and Jen poked her head inside. “Hey, I heard you moving around. Tosh sent a messenger to fetch us. He wants us to stop by headquarters before we leave.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “The kid he sent didn’t offer much detail. You want to join us for supper before we head over?”

“Sure. Just let me finish this note and I’ll be right down.”

“I’ll order your favorites.” Jen closed the door behind her.

An hour later, stomachs full and mostly awake, Damien and his companions made the short walk to Watch Headquarters. Jen had said she chose the inn for its proximity since she figured they’d have to deal with Tosh before they left. It seemed despite her dismissiveness toward the watch commander she accepted this as a necessary evil.

The watchmen standing on either side of the entrance must have been expecting them as they waved them through without a fuss. Inside, every one of the six interrogation rooms visible from the entrance was occupied by a cultist and a watch investigator. If they could only handle them six at a time it was going to take the investigators a while to interview the whole group. What interested Damien was just how many more there were out in the kingdom that they knew nothing about.

Tosh waited for them in his office on the third floor. The little man had found time to oil his beard and change into a crisp uniform. He looked up from a report once his secretary closed the door behind them.

“What took you so long? I sent that messenger over an hour ago.”

Jen ignored the jibe. “We’re here, what did you want?”

Tosh reached into his desk and pulled out a scroll. He unrolled it and read, “In gratitude for your excellent work in uncovering this threat festering beneath our fine city please do me the honor of joining me for a drink this evening. Yours truly, Mayor Solomon. I hope you saved room. It seems you’re expected at Public House this evening.”

“Public House?” Damien looked from Tosh to his sister.

“That’s the name of the mayor’s official residence.” Jen shook her head. “Ugh. I really don’t feel like shaking hands and getting my back slapped. Maybe we could just skip it.”

Tosh’s smile held no hint of humor. “You might ignore me, but do you dare ignore the ruler of the largest city in the kingdom? If you insult him it might make trouble for the king.”

“Damn it!”

Damien patted her shoulder. “Let’s just put in an appearance, have a drink, and get out of there as fast as possible.”

“Yes,” Marie-Bell said. “I’ve never met a mayor before. It might be fun.”

Damien seriously doubted it would be fun, but he feared it was necessary. At the very least he didn’t want to cause any trouble for Uncle Andy.

“Fine,” Jen said. “What time are we supposed to be there?”

“Sunset.” Tosh chuckled at her displeasure. It seemed the two of them genuinely despised each other.

Hoping to cut off another argument Damien asked, “What have you learned from the cultists?”

Tosh blew out a sigh. “Not much. They always wore masks to the meetings so no one really knew anyone else. I will acknowledge, reluctantly, that we’ve found three watchmen among the group you caught. Maybe I have been lax. How could I not know three of my people were mixed up in something like this?”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Marie-Bell said. “There’s no way for you to have known what they did after work. You’re not their keeper after all.”

Tosh looked at Jen. “This is what a woman should be like, gentle and forgiving. Maybe she can give you lessons.”

Jen snorted. “If you learn anything useful be sure to pass it along. Let’s go. If we take our time we should reach Public House right around sunset.