Dragon Adventurer collection Page 8

  Before either of the girls could say anything, I cut in with a slight smile. “Trade secret.”

  Hearing that, Brittany frowned at me but didn't comment.

  Honestly, I didn't want the knowledge that I had a storage item to get around. They seemed to be rare, and I didn't want it to become a target for thieves.

  “Fare enough, I guess. Probably something to do with all that, anyways.” He gestured at my horns and tail. “You Changed can be strange like that.” He slapped the counter. “Get that thing up here, and we'll get a look.”

  With a quick hoist, I lifted the warg up and dropped it on the counter.

  Vinny whistled, his eyes narrowing. “Strong too! Give me a minute here.”

  He began to dissect the beast, right there in front of us.

  “Ugh!” Brittany looked away, a bit of green tingeing her face. Carah on the other hand, just watched, showing interest in how Vinny worked.

  Me? The raw meat was making me hungry. It was a little disturbing, actually. Before the change, I wouldn't have called myself a vegetarian, and I could handle meat fine, but I didn't like thinking about where it came from or how it got to the supermarket.

  “Alright. This thing has a lot of muscle and not much in the way of fat. It’s gonna be a tough cut, but beggars can’t be choosers.” Vinny reached up and was about to run a blood-covered hand through what was left of his hair, before he caught himself. “Not enough meat to make a big difference, though. Maybe help out a family or two. Any more?”

  By the time I had finished pulling out all of the wargs, Vinny had begun to complain about how much work he had to do. Turning to Brittany and Carah, he rattled off a string of names. “They know the business. Let ‘em know I need an extra hand or three.”

  The girls took off at a trot.

  “This? This will help a lot if we can get it put away before it goes bad. I’m kinda surprised you managed to get so much in one go. Still, we need more. Lots more. Where did you find these guys?” There was something…odd about how he asked the question. Almost a forced air of nonchalance. Guess I could understand that, though. From the way everyone acts, this new me is kinda intimidating.

  Well…almost everyone. The twins never acted that way, and they trusted this guy, too.

  “We found a place out in the marsh. Bunch of these guys were living in it. There’s probably more there too. We didn’t explore the whole thing.”

  Vinny’s face stiffened. He began to fiddle with his cleaver. “Really…” He paused for a moment. “That marsh is pretty tough to navigate, though. Think you’d be able to get back there again?”

  “No. But Charlie probably could.”

  “Charlie was there? Yeah, she knows those swamps pretty damn well. She would be able to get back again.” He seemed lost in thought for a moment. Then he glanced up as if realizing I was still watching him. He smiled. “Well, that’s good. Most of the places I used to get my stock were out where that mess showed up.” Vinny hooked a thumb in the direction of the swamp. He turned back to his work, hauling the bodies through the door to the back room.

  As interesting as all of this was, I wanted to get back to my room. I wanted to clean off, and I really needed to check on my stuff. I stifled a sigh. I should wait for the twins to get back.

  “So,” Vinny began as he worked on another warg. He loaded the butchered meat into a cart as he worked. “You’re that guy, right? Our new, longest sleeper?”

  At my nod, he gave a slight smirk. “Crazy new world, isn't it? Where did they put you? I'm betting Exploration with that power of yours.”

  I nodded.

  “If you’re with Carah and Brittany, must be Axle’s team. Hear you already tangled with an inquisitor?”

  That was a bit of a surprise. I thought Henry and Robert had said something about keeping it quiet. Still, if it was already going around, no reason to deny it. I nodded.

  He shook his head. “You’re lucky to be walking around. Most of the time, if a new wakeup met one of them, it didn't end all that well.”

  “We may have found a lead on them, though.” The situation was starting to feel a bit awkward.

  Bang!

  Vinny brought his cleaver down with a crash. “Really?” He was looking at me intently.

  “That's what I was told...” My tail began a slow shake. Something about his intensity was disturbing.

  He glanced down at my tail, then quickly back up.

  “Sorry! It does that when I get nervous!” I quickly said, hoping to stop any misunderstanding. “I can't control it.”

  “One of those compulsions you Changed get? I’m used to it.” He shook his head. “Been a lot of that going around since all this happened, so don’t worry about it.” He flashed me a grin. “You know, I was wondering, who else was…”

  Carah ran back in the door leading a few other men and women behind her. All were dressed in clothing suited to messy work. “Here you go! A happy band of helpers ready for work!” She threw Vinny a grin.

  Vinny paused, looking at all the new arrivals for just a split second before smiling. “Thanks. You guys are lifesavers!”

  Looking around, Carah saw me. “Jake, you’re still here? Go get some rest! It's gonna be busy tomorrow, what with all that's happened.”

  Finally! I gave Vinny and Carah a quick good bye and took off.

  I managed to restrain myself to a fast walk as I hurried back to my room.

  I almost burst through the front doors of the building. I probably startled Jasper out of a year’s growth. From behind the familiar stack of books, I saw a pair of flailing arms and felt a bit guilty.

  “Sorry!” I called as I rushed past.

  “What! You’re back? Brittany was...” His voice trailed off as I was already rushing up the nearest stairs.

  As I got to my door, I swung off my backpack and began to search for the key. After a minute, I got frustrated.

  Where the hell is that key!

  When I hit a handful of dried mud, a thought crossed my mind. Did I lose the key in the swamp? I began to furiously break up the mud searching through every bit of space in the bag.

  Damn! I lost it!

  I paced back and forth in front of my door.

  What could I do? Thinking back, Robert had said something about how the doors couldn't be picked, so I couldn't get in that way. I could probably break the lock but then anybody could walk in and just take my stuff! If I could only get this door out of the way safely!

  Wait…! Could I…? What did I have to lose?

  I put my hand on the handle, paused, and took a deep breath. If this screwed up, well, it could go very badly.

  “Store this doorknob.”

  With a flash, my hand was thrown back. Since it was connected to me, I followed along, toppling down into the hallway.

  Nope. Well, that didn't work.

  Now what was I supposed to do!

  CHAPTER TEN

  Chapter 10

  Ten minutes later, I was back down in the lobby looking around for Jasper. For once, the thin man wasn't behind his usual stack of books.

  As I searched around, my tail shook out a frantic sound. He was nowhere to be found.

  “Jasper!”

  Nothing.

  Okay, don't panic.

  “Jake!”

  I whirled around.

  Axle stood in the lobby doorway. He eyed me with a worried expression. “Are you alright?”

  “Axle!” I almost ran over to the elf.

  He took a step back looking at me nervously. “Yes?”

  “My key! I lost it!”

  He blinked. “Wait. What?”

  “I'm sure I lost it in the swamp! What do I do?”

  Axle opened his mouth and then shut it. “Well…I haven't ever lost mine…but I know other people have, and they were able to get back into their rooms. Take a deep breath, okay?”

  There was a way! Just knowing that was enough to calm me down a little. I took a deep breath.

 
; Axle reached up and put a hand on my shoulder. “You feeling better? Look, it seems like your,” he made air quotes with his free hand, “hoard is a big trigger for your instincts. It’s okay. Your hoard’s safe. Nobody can break into the rooms.”

  That didn't help. My tail resumed its frantic shaking.

  “They can! The Inquisitors, at least!” I whispered to him. “You heard I fought one? They gave me a room on the ground floor when I first got here, and one of them broke into it!”

  “What!” Axle's eyes got wide. “Oh, that’s not good. That’s not good at all! I mean, I can think of a few ways it could be done, but if they have access to that kind of stuff...” He shook his head.

  The quick patter of feet on stone made us both look up.

  Jasper ran into the room and almost dived back into his hidey hole. For a moment, we could only stare.

  “Jasper!” I was the first to recover. I rushed over to his desk.

  He glanced around the stack, and his mouth opened into a surprised 'O'. “How did you beat me down here?”

  “What?”

  Axle wandered over after me. I think he was still in shock over the news about the Inquisitor break in.

  “I was just up at your room. I saw you go up the stairs! How did you beat me back?”

  “I couldn't get in. Is there a way to get another key?”

  He ducked back down behind his stack. “Oh. Yes.” He began doing...something. Hidden as he was, I couldn't see what he was up to, though. After a moment, another key slid out from behind the books. “Please don't lose this one.”

  “Thank you!” I snatched up the key. I could feel my tail slow its beat to a leisurely swaying motion.

  “Wait!” A hand shot out from behind the stack before I could run off. “I have some things I need to pass on!”

  “Oh, okay.” It took an effort of will to keep myself from bolting back up the stairs.

  “Brittany was looking for you! She wanted you to stay in your room till she got back.”

  “Is that message from a day ago?” Axle asked.

  “Yes,” came Jasper’s muttered response.

  Axle nodded. “Must have been when we were searching for you.”

  “Oh, you've already seen her?” Jasper seemed disappointed to learn that I already knew about Brittany. “Okay. Well, the other message is from Henry. He said to come to his office when you came back.”

  “I'll go there in a bit.” I really wanted to check on my stuff.

  “If Henry wants you, it's best just to go now.” Axle sighed. He pulled out a silver coin and slid it across the table to Jasper. “Thanks, Jasper.”

  A hand snaked out from its hiding place to grab the coin. After a moment, we heard the scratch of pen on paper.

  Axle turned to me. “Let's go. As your team leader, I should be there too if you’re gonna be yelled at.” He trudged off along one of the corridors. “But really! How did you manage to piss him off already?”

  I glanced back up at the stairs longingly and then back at Axle. I let out a small growl of frustration and hurried to catch up.

  We headed down the corridor past several rooms and took a right at the first turn. We got to roughly the opposite side of the building before Axle brought us to a halt in front of an open archway. He looked at the door with trepidation before setting his jaw and walking in.

  Henry was sitting at a desk. He had a stack of parchment in his hands that he was…well, honestly, I still couldn't tell if he was glaring at it or if that was just his natural look.

  He glanced up at Axel as we walked in. “You!” His eyebrows snapped together.

  Now that I wasn't just coming off a battle, he was rather intimidating. I swallowed hard even forgetting about my rush to get to my room for a moment. What had I done to piss him off?

  “Axle!” Henry barked. He jabbed a finger at the other man. “What the hell did that team of yours do now?”

  Axle took a half step back. “N-nothing.”

  “Then why the hell are you in my office!”

  Axle’s mouth was moving but nothing came out.

  I stepped forward. “You left a message for me to come. As the leader of my team, Axle figured he should be here.”

  “I didn't… Oh. You.” Henry settled back in his chair, putting the papers down on the desk. He looked at Axle, back at me and rubbed his face. “You got assigned to his team? Fine.” He glanced at the open doorway. “This conversation shouldn't be here. Let’s go back to room 1355. I have some questions about what happened.”

  He pushed back from his desk and stretched. “You can come too I guess,” he huffed at Axle.

  “What happened in 1355? Isn't that Charlie's room?” Axle asked.

  “Was. Seems she moved out to one of the fixed-up homes that Lenny’s team just finished exploring in the new district. Literally the day before this happened.”

  Thankfully, 1355, my first room, was on the same side of the building as Henry’s office, so it took only a moment to get there. Henry quickly dug a key out of a pouch on his belt. “And I thought I just said we needed to talk in here!” He shot Axle another glare.

  As he opened the door, I could see that the room had been cleaned a little. The feathers and the bed were gone. Other than that, most everything had been left as it was.

  Axle frowned as he saw the state of the room. He stepped inside and waited for Henry to close the door before he said anything. “What happened in here? Almost looks like someone pillaged it.”

  “What?” Henry glared at him.

  “Err… Someone broke in and searched the place?”

  “Hmmmph!” Henry snorted. “That’s just what they did!”

  “That’s what Jake said, but…!”

  “Yes. They shouldn’t be able to, but they did.” He frowned. “And I can’t figure out how. Plus, the inquisitor was already invisible when Jake here came in. Why?” Henry turned to face me. “That’s why I need to talk to you. Maybe you missed a detail or something. Anything that might add some new information.”

  Anything else I could remember?

  “I still can’t believe an inquisitor broke into this room!?” Axle was still in a bit of shock it seemed.

  “Stop making me repeat myself, geek!” Henry barked.

  “There was one weird thing...” I said, cutting into their argument.

  “What?” Henry, the minotaur, focused on me.

  “When I came in, I put my lamp down here.” I pointed to a spot just to the right of the door. “It was showing both my shadow and the inquisitor’s. At first, I didn't notice the difference what with how the lamp makes the shadows jump and the like. It wasn't until the other shadow started moving that I realized what was happening.”

  “So?”

  “Why was he crouching over there?” I gestured at the empty section of room. He wasn't near anything that could be searched, not even the bed. “It’s the only spot along the wall that doesn't have anything in it.”

  Henry frowned. “That’s... He could have been waiting, trying to sneak past you, so he could get out.”

  “Maybe...but remember all the feathers on the floor? When he started moving fast, they got kicked around a bit and floated. If we had surprised him, and he’d hurried over there, the feathers would have been still moving when I came in. They weren't.”

  “That is a bit strange. You think he was waiting…?” Henry rubbed his chin.

  “That spot would be a good one to launch an ambush from,” Axle pointed out. “You would have to pass right by it to get to the far end of the room.”

  “But why?” Henry grumped. “Nobody was living here. Did they just want to kill the next Changed to walk in? That fits with their motivations, but they would never risk themselves this much for just a quick kill from what we've seen.”

  “Charlie?” I said. “This was Charlie's room? She said she was investigating the Inquisitors. What if she’s getting close or even found something that is important? She might not even know it. You said she
moved the day before this happened. Maybe they didn’t know that.”

  “So, they don't find what they want and figure they should just kill her instead. That feels sloppy.” Henry frowned. “Why not just tag her somewhere else? The security is higher here, and it’s not even like she was ever here much.”

  “But unless you have a way to contact her, it’s almost impossible to find her. This was one of the few places she came back to regularly,” Axle pointed out.

  Henry grunted. “That makes a little sense. It would explain why they hid themselves like that too. Can’t believe that I'm seriously talking about people being invisible.” He scratched his head, being careful to get around his horns. “Still, it seems like a lot of effort. Especially when they didn't have any idea when she would be back. It doesn't explain how they got in.”

  “Could they have used some kind of teleportation magic item to get in?” Axel asked. “Or maybe something we didn't have access to when these doors were tested that can open them?”

  “If so, we’re fucked,” Henry grunted.

  I shook my head. “The teleportation idea doesn't make much sense.”

  Axle looked a bit annoyed at my causal rejection of his ideas. “Why not?”

  “Well, if you could do that, you wouldn't need to wait right in the room. Would be a lot safer to watch from a ways away and then jump in when you know your target is actually inside. Better than risking that your ambush gets screwed up by somebody random, like it did.”

  We looked around the room in silence. Each trying to think of something, anything, that could be a rational explanation that didn't leave us in that level of trouble.

  I frowned. Something still didn't make sense. “When did she have time to move? I saw her camp when she saved me. It looked like she had been there a while.”

  “That’s…” Henry pounded a fist into his palm. “…actually, a really good question. I may just have to pay her a visit to find out. Think I got what I needed. You guys leave, and I'll lock up the room.”

  Axle didn't need to be asked twice and hurried out.

  Me, I took one last look and then followed after him.

  In the hall, Axle began to hurry off before stopping suddenly and turning back to me. “Right! I almost forgot!” He ran back to me. “I need my bag!”