Jani had not quite had enough time to really get comfortable being in command when the inspectors showed up.

She had some advanced warning, of course. The gate guards had sent a runner the moment they were sensed, let alone spotted. A quick conference with Amon told her that he wanted to be present for the discussions, but he did not dispute the idea that she was in charge. He clearly didn’t like the idea, but the dark magic that poured out of his eyes told her that he was poisoning himself to keep a certain level of self control--probably due to incredible pain.

So she started preparations to the main hall, and had the healer and servants carefully move Amon there. When the request came in for access to the house’s halls, she suppressed a panic and, with some additional orders, allowed it.

Those orders mostly involved killing everyone and fleeing if the inspectors discovered anything they should not. They were not the kind of orders that Jani wanted to give, but more than a few things in the house would earn them the death penalty under the Order’s rules. Among those were the Inquisitor and his new guest; they would not be easily accessed, but if it was discovered they were actively torturing someone while the inspectors were here, it would end in bloodshed one way or another.

None of that convinced her that Dennet’s torture was any less necessary, or appropriate. It just came at an inopportune time; in all honesty, there was no way it was a coincidence, either, as he was certainly here to turn Chandra against the house to aid in the investigation. Unfortunately, he was likely to die of blood loss or shock soon enough, so there wasn’t a whole lot she could do to put it off. If she was going to recover the secrets of their new magi-metal in time to trade it for the family’s freedom, she needed knowledge from him, and urgently.

She wasn’t exactly sure who Amon would trade the secrets to; for that reason, if nothing else, she knew that she needed him alive, not that she had more than lightly considered killing him and taking over the family. There was some small chance that she could pawn off all the family’s sins on him, but Janinda, while an excellent manipulator with words, lacked any ability to ensorcell people, and she doubted she could escape a situation this bad with words alone.

In the meantime, hallways like the one leading to Chandra’s hidden quarters were concealed, and the house’s few kept magicians were on double-duty destroying any shred of blood or other incriminating evidence. Common servants locked every door, even the harmless ones, and the keys to important doors were collected from them and concealed.

Not that a good magician needed keys to open doors, even the trapped ones of this house. And unfortunately, the Order had a policy of always sending good magicians.

The wallways were emptied, except where guards were clearly and unashamedly using them to spy on the invaders. An earth or void mage would know that they existed, but there was no reason to tip people off if all they had were sharp ears or life senses. Excess staff were put to pointless tasks like cleaning, and trusted agents were made to constantly report on what was happening. Mostly, these reports went to Jani’s guards, and few made it to her ears.

It did not escape her notice that the inspector went straight to a concealed door--worse, one leading to the Inquisitor’s rooms--before turning around. Jani was not as violent as her father, but if any servant had failed to get that to her, even she would have killed those responsible on the spot.

As the hour of grace she had granted herself wound down, though, Jani was forced to turn her attention to what she would be saying at the audience. Until, unfortunately, worse news arrived.

The servant who came, like most, was terrified of her. But she spoke quickly to Cein, and then was directed straight towards Jani, which was a bad sign.

“A messenger of the King has arrived, Lady,” she said.

Janinda set down the paper on which she had been trying to organize her thoughts. The servant shrank down in her sight, but the long pause that followed eased the tension for a moment, until finally she spoke. “Did they give a message to the staff, or do they wish to meet with us?”

“Ah… neither, Lady. They have met with the investigators, outside.”

Janinda let out a long breath, and didn’t inhale for a long moment after. Then, finally, she nodded. “Very well. Kel’thar should have heard what was said. Get that information to me immediately.” Kel was the house’s best wind mage, and had been placed in the wall-ways leading to the tower, by a gap that let him use his talents to their utmost. It would take a matter of minutes to get back to her, but that was her best chance at handling whatever bad news was coming.

She turned back to the paper, wishing she had her father’s ability to shut off the nagging parts of her mind. Still, she put down thoughts, scratching some out and adding notes to others, trying to figure out how to lay all the blame on her brother while delicately requesting that the inspectors keep their nose out of the family’s business.

The news came back to her before she was really ready for it. “Lady… Kel’thar says that the King’s Own will be here this afternoon to meet with you regarding this incident. The messenger did not attempt to speak with our people, but instead left after speaking with the investigators.”

That made Jani almost want to cry. It wasn’t fair.

But it did give her an additional window of time.

“Have a message sent to the investigators--both groups of them. Lord Amon is in no condition to meet with the King’s Own separately from the investigators. Our audience with them will be postponed until they have all arrived.” She paused. “And do send someone out to give us advanced warning of the arrival of the King’s men. I want as much time to prepare for them as possible.”

“Yes, Lady.” The servant bowed, and was gone immediately.

She would need Amon’s guidance about the king, unfortunately. Amon had not been grooming her as his successor, and so she was not as familiar with the intrigue as he or Roan would have been. But, she did know that they had a working business relationship. Possibly even a close relationship. But, like Jani and Roan, anyone who saw Amon closely enough had reasons to turn against him.

She could only hope he had been behaving himself lately.