gotten into the rafters again?—but Wolf nearly leaped out of his skin. He scrambled to his feet like a guilty teenager caught kissing his girlfriend, and even in this dim lighting it was easy to see the vivid blush on his cheeks.
Rune laughed outright from the safety of his hiding place, amused at Wolf’s reaction. The laughter helped her pinpoint his position better. He’d found some sort of crawl space between the roof and the ceiling, apparently, as he had to be almost directly above her head.
Seeing the murderous look that Wolf aimed at the ceiling, not to mention the way his hands twitched as if hungering for a weapon, Siobhan put a constraining hand on his shoulder. “You can’t kill him.”
He shot her a look that said, Want to bet?
“It’s one of those unwritten rules about being a guest,” she explained mock-somberly. “You’re not supposed to kill people in someone else’s home.”
Rune cracked up laughing again.
“Just maim him a little bit, alright?”
Wolf gave her a predatory smile. “Define ‘a little.’”
The ex-assassin’s nerves broke, and with a yelp, he quickly scrambled out of the area.
She looked in the direction he’d retreated, even though she couldn’t see through the wood. “Apparently he didn’t realize I was kidding.”
“Apparently he realized I wasn’t,” Wolf growled, a wicked gleam in his eyes. With a gentle pat on her head, he wished her a good night before stalking back into the building.
Siobhan watched him go and said under her breath, “Run, Rune, run.”
Siobhan preferred not to make major decisions that affected the whole guild without discussing it with them first. After her conversation with Wolf the night before, she felt that this was one of those times where she needed to hear everyone’s opinions. So she called for a general meeting of the guild before breakfast. They retreated to the common room, the only space that could hold all of them and had enough privacy where they could talk without interruption.
Everyone found a place on either the couches or chairs. Denney chose the floor next to Conli’s feet, where the dogs could curl in next to her. Rune was in the farthest chair, not directly facing the group, although the way he had his ear cocked in her direction made her think he was at least listening in.
Once they’d settled, she drew in a breath and began. “Alright. We have a decision in front of us. Our original job is complete—we found Lirah and her people, we’ve notified Blackstone where they are, and she’s got the protection she needs to make it safely back home again. For all intents and purposes, we’re done.”
“I hear a ‘but’ in that somewhere.” Grae sat forward, eyes studying her carefully. “Is there something else going on, Shi?”
She nodded somberly. “Grae, I don’t feel right walking away at this point. There’s too many unanswered questions. Why this elaborate setup? Why would a guild from Orin attack Blackstone? What is so important that a game should be played at high stakes, using people’s lives as the chips?”
“It’s bothering me, too,” Sylvie admitted with a troubled sigh.
“You want us to investigate,” Fei said neutrally.
“Can you think of someone better to send?” Siobhan asked him while spreading her palms. “We intimately know the ins and outs of the situation, better than anyone in Iron Dragain does. No one from Blackstone is fit to leave and look into it. We have two natives of Orin right in this room that would be able to find out more information than an outsider asking.”
“Just as vital, we need to know.” Hammon had open approval on his face. “If this—whatever this is—can hurt Blackstone guildsmen this far from home, what is to prevent it from happening again in Goldschmidt itself?”
That was another worry that had occurred to her last night. “Exactly.”
“I personally don’t like the idea of having an unknown enemy,” Wolf added darkly.
“As much as I hate to agree with him,” Tran grumbled, “I feel the same way.”
“Any objections?”
“Have you talked about this to Jarnsmor or Lirah?” Beirly asked her. “Guildmasters are a touchy bunch. They don’t like people going off and doing things without their knowing.”
“I plan to ask them next,” she assured him. “I just didn’t want to go talk to them about it without hearing your opinions first. After all, this delays us going home by days, weeks, I have no way of knowing.”
“I don’t think that really bothers anyone.” Beirly looked around the group.
Siobhan did the same, reading their expressions. Sylvie didn’t