"Good," I said, a little amused that he’d actually think I’d care. "Who sent you?"
I’d already had the answer from the panther, but it never hurt to double check.
"What’s in it for me if I tell you?"
"I’ll consider releasing you before the Directorate gets here. Now answer the question."
He studied me for a moment, obviously weighing his options.
"Handberry," he said eventually. "Or whoever it is that has taken his place."
"Does that mean someone has taken over ownership of the Phoenix?" The Phoenix was a downmarket bar situated on a street that just happened to be at the intersection of several major ley lines. We’d all but stopped the consortium that had been attempting—through any means necessary—to buy all the properties along the street in an effort to control the ley-intersection, but not all of the consortium’s owners had been caught.
"Like I fucking know or care," he said. "Handberry was just using the Phoenix as a base of operations, as far as I knew. I doubt this new guy will even go near the place. He sounds way too posh for that."
Posh or not, that didn’t preclude the possibility that he was there. It was certainly worth checking. "And you’ve never seen the new handler?"
"Nah, he always has his vid-screen off, and we’ve never met him in person."
"And you don’t find this strange? I mean, Handberry worked alongside you, didn’t he?"
"Yeah, but Handberry was one of us."
"Meaning a Razan, or a human twisted by magic?"
"Both."
"So which Aedh do you belong to?"