The hardest question in all the worlds was figuring out who to trust. So many years of education as a Serpent was dedicated to that question, and Satsu had spent most of her life asking it over and over again.

For a thousand years the Serpent had been struggling with this, and there was still no easy formula, no checklist she could reference. Clan philosophers and psychologists and academics of every kind had generated more books on the subject than she could count. And still, in the end, it came mostly down to instinct and the particulars of the situation.

They had settled into the bar at Satsu’s hotel. It was convenient that Valentin was an etheric, and had, without prompting, surrounded them in a bubble of silence. Satsu could weave her own power through that, strengthening Valentin’s work until there was no chance anyone would be able to overhear.

On top of that, Valentin had selected a booth that was perfect for their purposes. No dark shadowy corners or suspiciously out-of-the-way spaces to lurk. This was near the center of the sunken floor that separated bar space from generic lobby space, brightly lit, airy. What it had going for it was that it was also in the center of the flora that decorated the area, camouflaged enough that no one would be able to watch them from afar, reading conversation from their lips. It also, conveniently, was not in the direct line of any of the cameras Satsu had scouted out her first day here.

It was exactly the spot Satsu would have chosen to have a private conversation, and wasn’t that interesting.

They had held off on any real conversation long enough to order drinks. Rinn had called for her usual beer. Satsu stuck with plain fruit juice—she wanted to stay sharp. Valentin had requested rye, neat—a double. Tafari had asked for a glass of one of the local reds with an ease and assurance that told her he’d been on Cradle—in Weissberg—for a while. After the drinks had been delivered, and Tafari had given the server a smiling assurance that they wouldn’t need anything for a while, Valentin pulled the curtain of silence around them and Satsu gave it a nudge to be double sure it was tight.

Now, Satsu had to make a decision. Fortunately, she hadn’t come to this discussion completely unarmed.

Tafari and Valentin had insisted on taking the time to change and clean up once they’d arrived back in Weissberg. Satsu had used that time to retreat back to her own room and do some quick intelligence gathering.

The first thing she’d done was pull out her tablet and connect to the network. “Empath First Class Varya Satsu requesting access to personnel records.”

The tablet camera switched on and Satsu held still for the retina scan that, along with her voice print, would unlock the files she was looking for. “Pull up Keita Tafari.”

“That information is unavailable.”

Well now, that was unexpected. “Pull any duty rosters from the past two decades that include Keita Tafari.”

A brief pause as the AIs executed this broader search. “No records match that criteria.”

Curiouser and curiouser. Satsu’s rank and rating should give her access to any records that existed. Which meant either Tafari wasn’t who he claimed to be, or for some reason he’d been pulled from the system.

Satsu rejected the first option out of hand. A false identity—one so badly supported as this—wouldn’t have held up for very long, even on Cradle. It would have been one thing if he’d been trying to lie to Valentin, the outsider, but he hadn’t been the least bit uncomfortable with Satsu, who was of the pack. The most likely scenario was that meant he actually was who he claimed to be.

“Expand the search. News articles. Public social posts. Anything you can find on Keita Tafari.”

That got her some hits, and led her down a fascinating rabbit hole of recent history. One that explained quite a lot about who Tafari was and why he wasn’t in the official records anymore.

Ultimately, it pointed her in the direction her instincts had already been taking her. “One of us is going to have to make the first move here,” she said, offering Valentin and Tafari a pleasant smile. “It’s my belief we’re both following the same trail. Given what we just found, I expect we’re going to need all the help we can get, and it’s in all of our best interest to consolidate our efforts.”

“And we are simply to trust you?” Valentin asked, sipping at xer rye.

“There will have to be some trust, yes. But I’m willing to start.” She looked at Rinn. “If you agree.”

Rinn shrugged. “You know me. I hate this secret stuff anyway. And yeah, based on what we saw in that cave, we can definitely use the help.”

“Which only raises the question of why you would trust us,” Tafari said.

Satsu had spent years perfecting her smile, knew it to be both disarming and charming all at the same time. “First of all, I’m an empath, and we’re hard to fool. Neither of you caused that horror in the cave. I’d bet my life on it. Second of all, Lieutenant Colonel,” here she paused, letting him take in her emphasis on his rank, “your reputation speaks for you.”

“What do you know of his reputation?” Valentin asked with clear interest.

“Yes, what do you know?” Tafari sounded less pleased.

“Enough.” Satsu wasn’t going to let herself get dragged down that path. Not yet. “Enough to feel comfortable telling you that Lord Faust sent us here to investigate the breach in that cave. She knows about the breach. She doesn’t know about the demon.”

Valentin didn’t let that go by. “If there is a demon.”

That was another path Satsu wasn’t ready to get dragged down. She focused on Tafari. “Your turn now. What trail were you hunting?”

“That is not his information to share,” Valentin said sharply.

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Rinn set her beer down hard enough it sloshed over the edge of her glass. “Did you see what was up there? We’re not playing around. This is serious and you’re going to need our help. You’re going to need my help.”

“And why is that?” Valentin asked with politeness so sugary it set Satsu’s teeth on edge. “Who are you that your assistance in this matter is so indispensable.”

Rinn looked at Satsu. “This bullshit is exactly why I left home.”

Satsu ignored that argument and continued to watch Tafari. He stared back, challenging. Satsu didn’t have to ask the question out loud. She could feel the struggle inside him—a mix of discomfort, guilt, and the slightest edge of fear. Whatever Valentin thought about the privacy of xer investigation, Satsu was asking and Satsu was pack.

“His name is Nita Philippe,” Tafari said, speaking over Valentin’s sharp admonishment. “We suspect him of being up to no good. Traced him to that cave. I had no idea—” and here he turned an accusing look on Valentin. “Did you know? Were you expecting that?”

So there was more complication here than Satsu had realized.

Valentin only sipped xer rye, looking away, saying nothing.

“Of course,” Rinn muttered. “It would be a Dragon.”

Valentin was the difficulty here. The pretty Swan was in absolute control of xerself, so Satsu could read nothing from xer face, and xer etheric gift was strong enough to keep Satsu from reading xer insides without expending a level of effort Satsu wasn’t ready to do. All Satsu had to go on was instinct honed by the best Serpent schools and her own experience. “Marshal Kosuri,” she said, reaching for her best manners. “You are in Wolf space, and I appreciate how that can be an obstacle. I expect you’ve had to deal with some disrespect. I want to assure you that isn’t happening here. When I say we should work together, I mean that. I’d like us to be a team, and I’d like you on it.”

Satsu’s words had reached…something. From Valentin, she felt a tiny, fleeting wisp of fear.

Valentin turned, not to Satsu, but to Rinn. “A demon. You’re certain?”

“Absolutely.” Rinn’s voice held nothing but confidence.

In a tight voice, Valentin confessed, “I have no experience with demons. I would not know…” Xie looked between Satsu and Rinn. “I will need assistance.”

“I’m not convinced,” Tafari said. Then quickly added, “Of the demon,” at Valentin’s raised eyebrow. “I know what it looked like, but—” he waved a hand around. “If an actual demon had come through, this close to this city, we would know, because people would be dead. And not quietly. Weissberg, Cradle—the entire Wolf clan would be in chaos.”

“I know what I saw.”

Satsu could hear the beginning of another argument in Rinn’s voice. She leaned forward, put a hand on the table. “Clearly more investigation is called for. Even the possibility of a demon—Lord Faust sent us here alone and quietly because of the panic that could cause. We need to find this Nita Philippe and quickly, and that’s going to take all of us working together.”

“We have a trail to follow,” Tafari said. “After the cave, we know where Philippe went.”

“Then that’s where we start tomorrow. We’ll take Rinn’s ship. Prepare as well as you can for…for anything.” They’d talked enough about demons. Even hidden by the nima, they didn’t need to keep saying the word.

“Shall we say space port at dawn, then?”

Satsu hated any plan that involved at dawn, especially as she was still adjusting to planetary time, but she gave Rinn a nod. Possible demons demanded an early start.

“Well then,” Valentin said, getting to xer feet, “I cannot say what it has been to meet you all, nor just how much I’m looking forward to what comes next.”

Swans. There was a reason hardly any of them lived in Wolf-space. “See you bright and early,” Satsu responded sweetly as Valentin, with Tafari on xer heels, swept away.