Grimoires and Where to Find Them Raconteur, Honor (read along books TXT) 📖

Colette finally opened both eyes and gave him a brilliant smile. “Thank you, Kingsman.”

He had us loaded up in no time at all. I gave him the direction for my own flat and Colette’s, and he drove quite competently. It took willpower and grit, but I didn’t fall asleep during the drive. Colette did. I had to prod her awake.

The young kingsman escorted her to the door and stayed planted there until he was sure she was well on her way up to her own flat. Only then did he come back to the car and resume driving me. My flat was not far from Colette’s, fortunately.

“I’m not sure if I can ask any details, sir.” He paused at a stop sign and gave me a quick smile over his shoulder. “It’s alright if it’s too classified for me to know. But did something happen?”

“A flat full of grimoires without protective boxes all jammed together. We spent four hours trying to clear it and keep the building from falling down.”

“Great magic, sir, that sounds dreadful! No wonder you lot are all so exhausted. I’m not a magician myself, but we all get training in supporting those who are. I’m not sure how much I could help with this type of situation, though.”

“I’m sure Gibson can tell you. Taking us home has been helpful. I’m not entirely sure I’d have made it back under my own willpower without getting into an accident.”

“You do look very tired, sir, if you don’t mind my saying. You and the other magical examiner. I can tell how hard this case must have been, as you all looked at your wits’ end.”

“That we are.”

He pulled up to the curb and parked. “This one, sir?”

“This one. Thank you, Kingsman. I appreciate your time.”

“Not at all, sir. Have faith we’ll get the situation back under control while you rest and recover.”

His attitude was refreshing, to say the least. I approved of it. “Thank you.”

I dragged myself bodily out of the car’s back seat and into my own building. Phil must have seen my approach from a window, as I was barely into the tiled foyer when he appeared at lightning speed down the stairs.

“Henri!” His light voice was surprised but also suspicious. He knew I shouldn’t be home halfway through a workday.

I waved, a tired wiggle of the fingers. “Phil. I’m done-in. We had a very difficult case this morning.”

“Need help?”

It was on the tip of my tongue to say no, but I remembered something important—Phil was meant to be a magician’s familiar. It wouldn’t hurt for him to inhabit that role, for a change.

“I need to rest. Will you watch over me? If something untoward happens, I need you to run for help or use my pad to contact Seaton.”

Phil gave a serious nod. “Will.”

“Excellent.” I got up to the first landing, realized Tasha and Clint were on the stairs above me, and directed them. “One of you go to Colette. She’s in the same shape I’m in. Someone needs to watch over her.”

Tasha and Clint exchanged glances, and Tasha said firmly, “I’ll go.”

Colette was close enough that I wasn’t worried about Tasha going by herself. She was only eight blocks down. The kitten could traverse that distance easily.

Clint had a different worry on his mind. “Jamie?”

“She’s fine. Coordinating efforts, not in the middle of things. If you want to report to the palace and see if you can help the kingsmen, though, you can. I’ll put you in a taxi if you wish.”

He was obviously torn, then shook his head. “Stay with you.”

Did I look so bad that I required two Felixes to watch over me?

I decided, for my own sake, to not answer that question.

I was all set to help people at the site, but I had barely gotten everyone coordinated to go into the building and pick up where the first group had left off when I got a call from Niamh. If she was calling, I figured it had to be important, so I stopped right at the edge of the ward to answer her.

“Speak, Niamh.”

“Detective, I think we found him. But…I can’t be sure.”

“Yeah, you’re going to have to clarify that.”

“We’re at a nearby hospital, Rexford’s. We asked if anyone by the name of Samuel Laughlin was admitted, and they said no. But when I asked about the first patient they saw with the right symptoms, they reported a name to me that we hadn’t heard. What makes me suspicious is that this man came in yesterday evening with those symptoms. He predates all other patients by a good fourteen hours.”

“Oooh,” I crooned. “That is so very suspicious. And what name did he give the hospital?”

“Nye Abbott.”

What was this guy, a spy? Seriously, how many aliases did he have?

“Get a description of him if you can. And show the staff the sketch we’ve got, see if you get a match. Any idea where this man went after he was discharged? I’m assuming he was discharged.”

“After he was treated, he vanished. Skipped on the bill, too.”

“Of course he did.” Color me surprised. “Alright, good, sounds like you have a lead. Follow up on that, I might meet you at the hospital later. It depends on how much help they need here.”

“I think we’ve got this,” Gerring pitched in. “We thought we’d give you the name in case it would help.”

“And it might. We’re trying to catch something of a lead ourselves. If you’re done there, go over to Blue Rose Street and see if you can drum up someone who knows this man.”

“That, we can do. He’s slippery, but supposedly people do business with him, so someone has to know him, right?”

“You’d think. Good luck, though, I have a feeling you’ll need it. I’ll keep you updated.” Ending the call, I looked around, saw Jules, and jogged toward him. “Jules!”

He turned and gave me a distracted smile. “Hi. I’m ready to go in.”

“Yeah, about that, can I go in?”

He blinked at