“Okay, your turn. Why are you here?” Janco asked.

I gave him the short version, which didn’t include my lost magic. I’d tell him before we did anything dangerous.

“You think the people who rescued Ben are involved with the Curare factory?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. That’s why I sneaked inside to see if there was any connection. But regardless of who is involved, we have to shut that place down.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured you’d say that. Do you want to notify the Sitian authorities? Or take matters into our own hands?”

“And what can the two of us do?”

Janco’s eyes lit up. “Burn the place down. Totally doable with the three of us. You’re forgetting Little Miss Assassin, our newest recruit.”

This was going to be good. “Little Miss Assassin?”

“She doesn’t like to be called that.”

“Gee, I wonder why.”

“Onora’s overly sensitive. But I’m working on her. Anyhoo, she showed up one night.” Janco launched into a detailed story of how Onora made an impression on the Commander. “...and she would have beaten Valek if she’d finished her training. If she wants Valek’s job—”

“What does Valek think about all this?”

“He didn’t say, but I think he’d be more than happy to let another take over the reins.”

“I don’t agree. He loves his job.”

“He loves you more.”

Janco didn’t quite understand. For Valek, the Commander would always come first, and I’d accepted that...mostly. I’d admit there were times I’d wished it was different.

As Janco helped himself to my tea, I mulled over the information. With Ben locked in Wirral, he couldn’t direct a smuggling operation. We really needed to get inside and find out who was in charge before we informed the authorities. Was it the mystery accomplice I couldn’t remember?

The Sitian methods for raiding a place were far from subtle. Plus I didn’t have any doubt the smugglers had paid off the town watch. Not with the place stinking of Curare. The watchman would tip them off and all the evidence would be gone before the authorities organized an attack.

“Thinking devious thoughts?” Janco asked.

“Not quite. I’d like to discover who’s behind the factory, but after tonight, I’d bet they’re scrambling to relocate or hide the evidence.”

“Maren might know. We should find a way to contact her.”

“Or wait for her to contact us,” I said. “She probably recognized us. Either way, we should return to Lapeer and keep an eye on that factory. See who comes and goes.”

“They’ll be on guard, watching for us.”

“Then we’ll have to go in disguise. How attached are you to your hair, old man?”

Janco groaned. “How about we pretend to be newlyweds?”

“No.” I glanced at the door. We’d been talking for a couple of hours. “Shouldn’t Little Miss Assassin be here by now?”

“Maybe she had to make a detour to shake a tail.”

“You’re not worried?”

“Not at all. The girl was trained by the same lady who trained Valek, and she...”

“She what?”

“She just blends in, but I don’t get that icky magic sensation around her. Did you feel it last night? Could she be one of those One-Trick Wonders?”

“Maybe. Did Valek sense any magic?”

“He didn’t say. Can’t you use your superpowers on her and get the skinny?”

“Uh...about that, Janco. I—”

“There she is.”

His voice held more relief than his early comments about her implied. Interesting. I studied the young woman as she approached. Graceful with pretty, light gray eyes and a narrow face. Her lips were pressed together and a crease marked her forehead. She’d be beautiful without that dour expression. I doubted she cared.

“What took ya so long?” Janco asked.

She frowned at me before meeting his gaze. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to discuss Ixian business in front of a Sitian.”

Janco laughed. “Yelena isn’t Sitian or Ixian. She’s just an ian—neutral.”

“No one is neutral,” Onora said.

“True. How could she not love Ixia more? She can’t. Oh, stop scowling at me, Little Miss Assassin. I’m just gonna tell her everything anyway. This way, I won’t mess up the details.”

“So you admit you’ve messed up the details in the past?” I asked.

“No way, sweetheart.”

Onora turned to me. “It’s amazing he’s lived this long.”

“He grows on you. Sort of like a barnacle.”

“Hey!” He pouted.

“Did you run into trouble?” I asked Onora, ignoring Janco.

“No. While you two were pretending to be lovebirds, I looped back to the factory. Everyone was outside hunting for us, so I figured no one would be looking inside.”

Smart. A server came over to take Onora’s breakfast order. She ordered eggs, toast and ham.

When the girl retreated, I asked, “Did you find anything?”

“I saw Maren loading up the wagon with those small casks, and I heard two men arguing in an office next to the main factory area. They didn’t agree on whether to close the factory down or to relocate it. But they planned to load their inventory on barges and send it upstream to a warehouse in Sunworth. Isn’t that the name of the river?”