"Well, he certainly keeps his hands clean, doesn't he? The biggest fish usually do. Never do anything yourself you can't get a disposal underling to do for you. Come on. Let's get a drink. Might overhear something useful. Still have a few hours before we meet Granny."
The words were spoken by one of the two figures passing under the streetlamp. Spoken in an undertone, to the woman who walked alongside him, but Quinlan might just be able to hear them. The man was unmistakably Serenian. He had the lithe build and fair skin typical of the race. Human, but even more notably, he had tousled hair of bright blue and green and aquamarine eyes spoke of the faerie blood that set Serenians apart from their neighbors to the south and north.
A noncommittal noise was the only response the man got from the woman walking alongside him, who could hardly look less Serenian. Umber brown skin and big, coiled black hair that could only rightly be described as a mane set her clearly apart from the fair Serenians. But in a bustling trading town like Sevelea, neither of the pair stood out significantly. People from all over Serendipity, and some from farther, came to do business in the sprawling old city. Of course, it wasn't only legal traders that dealt here.
Selevea's unique political structure made it a den of illegal trade and activity. Goods ranging from smuggled weapons, dangerous magic, intoxicating botanicals, stolen treasures, to human lives. The latter was what brought the pair passing under the lamplight. Buying and selling human lives (or non-human, for that matter) was, of course, perfectly legal in Serendipity. Foreign lives, not Serenian lives. A facted that rankled a foreigner like Zahi Akello. But that didn't mean there wasn't a market for pretty, young Serenian girls. Of course the poor, forgotten, defenseless children of the street had always gone missing, from time to time, with few taking notice. But a steady stream of respectable young girls, some as young as six, had been disappearing from their homes and families. Sold, it was said, to Essryn and other places abroad for their exotic looks, or even domestically to those who didn't fancy a foreign slave. Girls, and some boys, had disappeared from all over the country, but rumor led them here.
Here in Sevelea is where they hoped to find the orchestrator of the whole dirty business.
Because however much things may or may not have changed for Quinlan in the past years, Zahi Akello found herself in a very different position indeed. No longer a Soot Wolf, no longer a criminal, Zahi Akello was now a detective in the service of the Queen. It had been a strange turn of events that had led her here: After her ascension to Red Jackal, her expulsion from the Soot Wolves had nearly cost her her life. She had ended up in the hands of the city guard, of a junkie detective who'd nearly killed her himself. But in the end it was decided that a skilled scraper like Akello, with deep connections to Arca's underground, might be an asset. So she'd been given the choice - or 'choice' as she liked to think of it - between entering Her Majesty's service, and death. Zahi might have had some lingering loyalty to the Soot Wolves, but none at that point to the current Red Wolf, and quite a bit more to her own skin than to any of them. It had been an easy choice.
A less easy line to walk, however. Her connections did prove useful to detective work, that was true, but anyone who changes sides has to be extra vigilant. Zahi maintained contacts in the Soot Wolves, particularly with Huxley, but did not know what fate Rufus had in mind for her. But she was certain she would find out, eventually.
In Sevelea, at least, she did not have to worry as acutely about him. This wasn't Soot Wolf territory. The Thieves' Guild operated here. They had, in fact, a meeting with a representative of the Guild - 'Granny' - later that night. That doesn't mean she'd let her guard down, however. As they passed under the lamplight, Zahi felt a pair of eyes on her. Her own odd, mismatched eyes glanced sideways at the figure. And for the briefest moment her eyes met Quinlan's, but her expression remained unchanged; as though she'd glanced at a stranger.
Because if there was anything Zahi Akello did not need, it was that asshole Connlaothain bloodmage, Quinlan Duirne.
The words were spoken by one of the two figures passing under the streetlamp. Spoken in an undertone, to the woman who walked alongside him, but Quinlan might just be able to hear them. The man was unmistakably Serenian. He had the lithe build and fair skin typical of the race. Human, but even more notably, he had tousled hair of bright blue and green and aquamarine eyes spoke of the faerie blood that set Serenians apart from their neighbors to the south and north.
A noncommittal noise was the only response the man got from the woman walking alongside him, who could hardly look less Serenian. Umber brown skin and big, coiled black hair that could only rightly be described as a mane set her clearly apart from the fair Serenians. But in a bustling trading town like Sevelea, neither of the pair stood out significantly. People from all over Serendipity, and some from farther, came to do business in the sprawling old city. Of course, it wasn't only legal traders that dealt here.
Selevea's unique political structure made it a den of illegal trade and activity. Goods ranging from smuggled weapons, dangerous magic, intoxicating botanicals, stolen treasures, to human lives. The latter was what brought the pair passing under the lamplight. Buying and selling human lives (or non-human, for that matter) was, of course, perfectly legal in Serendipity. Foreign lives, not Serenian lives. A facted that rankled a foreigner like Zahi Akello. But that didn't mean there wasn't a market for pretty, young Serenian girls. Of course the poor, forgotten, defenseless children of the street had always gone missing, from time to time, with few taking notice. But a steady stream of respectable young girls, some as young as six, had been disappearing from their homes and families. Sold, it was said, to Essryn and other places abroad for their exotic looks, or even domestically to those who didn't fancy a foreign slave. Girls, and some boys, had disappeared from all over the country, but rumor led them here.
Here in Sevelea is where they hoped to find the orchestrator of the whole dirty business.
Because however much things may or may not have changed for Quinlan in the past years, Zahi Akello found herself in a very different position indeed. No longer a Soot Wolf, no longer a criminal, Zahi Akello was now a detective in the service of the Queen. It had been a strange turn of events that had led her here: After her ascension to Red Jackal, her expulsion from the Soot Wolves had nearly cost her her life. She had ended up in the hands of the city guard, of a junkie detective who'd nearly killed her himself. But in the end it was decided that a skilled scraper like Akello, with deep connections to Arca's underground, might be an asset. So she'd been given the choice - or 'choice' as she liked to think of it - between entering Her Majesty's service, and death. Zahi might have had some lingering loyalty to the Soot Wolves, but none at that point to the current Red Wolf, and quite a bit more to her own skin than to any of them. It had been an easy choice.
A less easy line to walk, however. Her connections did prove useful to detective work, that was true, but anyone who changes sides has to be extra vigilant. Zahi maintained contacts in the Soot Wolves, particularly with Huxley, but did not know what fate Rufus had in mind for her. But she was certain she would find out, eventually.
In Sevelea, at least, she did not have to worry as acutely about him. This wasn't Soot Wolf territory. The Thieves' Guild operated here. They had, in fact, a meeting with a representative of the Guild - 'Granny' - later that night. That doesn't mean she'd let her guard down, however. As they passed under the lamplight, Zahi felt a pair of eyes on her. Her own odd, mismatched eyes glanced sideways at the figure. And for the briefest moment her eyes met Quinlan's, but her expression remained unchanged; as though she'd glanced at a stranger.
Because if there was anything Zahi Akello did not need, it was that asshole Connlaothain bloodmage, Quinlan Duirne.