“Where’s Milka now?” Elliot asked. The Hall of Records was freezing, and the small fire in his office did little to break the chill. Yesterday’s sleet had fallen intermittently throughout the night, but today it had turned into a lighter, steady drizzle that pounded on the roof and shutters.
“She’s with the Vigilance.” I shrugged, then regretted it when the stitches pulled. “Most likely Carel has her squirreled away someplace safe. When the dust settles, she’ll be put into formal classes. She hasn’t manifested, but it seems pretty likely she will.”
“Isn’t she a murderer?”
“Technically, she’s an accomplice. Far did the killing. I guess the Vigilance will have to decide whether he counts as a person or a weapon.”
“So … won’t she be prosecuted?” Elliot persisted.
“Not publicly, no. The Vigilance’s hushing up all the Far killings, so she’ll never go to trial, and neither will that little girl Angie for killing Jim Hanks, or the poorhouse girl Arcelia for killing Miss Bodenhammer.”
“I don’t know if I approve of that.” He frowned. “I know the girls were responding to abuse, but … murder shouldn’t go unpunished.”
I shrugged, ambivalent. I didn’t know much about Elliot’s childhood, but I guessed he hadn’t grown up on the streets the way I had.
“Out of my hands.”
“And did you find out who killed Lily Liselle?”
I blew out a breath.
“Well, probably Shaze. I mean, he had the means and the opportunity. But the girl says he didn’t kill anyone, so … who knows.” I plucked at a loose thread in my sweater. “He’ll be a convenient scapegoat, either way. Being dead and everything.”
“And the Banishat killed Shaze.”
“Yeah. Seems like Shaze was part of the Banishat and got wise to Milka’s abilities at some point, maybe through her sister. But he was hearing stuff he didn’t like about kids being taken, so he decided to pull her aside and ask some questions first. Guess that’s when he went on the lam.” I shrugged. “So maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy, after all. Just fell into some bad company.”
“Was he sleeping with Milka?” Elliot asked, frowning.
“Not that she’s said.” I shrugged again. “Like I said, maybe he wasn’t so bad.”
“What are you going to do with other children?”
I sighed. That was the worst part of it all — those poor kids. I wished like hell there was something we could do to help them.
“They’re in the asylum wing of Blackstone Hospital. Nobody except Droit wants to kill them, but we can’t leave them conscious to send calls across the Line, so … I don’t know what’s going to happen to them. We can’t keep them drugged the rest of their lives.”
“It bothers you, doesn’t it?”
“Course it does.” I stretched out my legs, staring into the fire. It gave off a clean, warm light, compared to balefire.. “Axton says maybe they can be taught back up again, but who knows? We’ve never run across something like this before.”
Elliot reached out and patted my knee.
“I’m sure it will work out. Do we know what the Banishat wanted?”
“No idea. Carel said she’d look into it personally.”
“You’re not worried that she’s Banishat?”
“Sure I am, but what the hell am I supposed to do about it if she is? For what it’s worth, she called Cardinal Croix when she figured out it was a breach, and the Banishat I ran into didn’t seem to like the Reverence that much. Or the Vigilance. So….” I didn’t know what else to say.
“And the cardinal sealed the Breach.” Elliot watched me.
“Yeah.” I spread my hands, helplessly. If the Reverence was right about the Line and transients, where did that leave me? I was a sentinel. I didn’t think I could just give it up, even if it meant I was dabbling with damnation. Tegeus Droit had turned his back on hell, or so they said, but I wasn’t Droit. I wasn’t ready to give up everything that made me what I was and settle down to a mundane life.
Elliot finally leaned back.
“Then the case is closed. You did well, Arcady.”
“I suppose.” I didn’t like the fact that I hadn’t learned all the answers. It felt like unfinished business, just like Droit had said. “Aronson’s still baleblind. Carel’s got him doing some kind of busywork for the board of directors to keep his mind off things. And Kyrchye alone knows what Droit’s going to do with himself now that I’m not entertaining him anymore.”
Elliot laughed.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing….”
“Don’t ‘nothing’ me, not with that smirk on your face. What’s so funny?”
“I was sent some papers today.” He stood and rummaged through his desk, then held up some forms. “Droit had to get special permission from Sovereign Lament.”
I gave him a dark look.
“Permission for what?”
“The general’s joined the Watch. Dockside precinct. Under the condition that you’ll be his partner from now on.”
I stared at him, aghast. “Oh, hell, no.”
“Yes, he specifically signed up to work with you. I suppose the sovereign is happy to see him channeling his talents in a proactive direction for a change.” He set the papers back down. “Will you do me a favor, Arcady?”
“What?”
“Don’t become romantically interested in him.”
I laughed.
“Not a chance,” I promised. “I mean, as long as you don’t start chasing Nobilis Aronson. Because if that happened, I might start feeling lonely….”
“Then we have a deal,” he said, smiling with satisfaction.
I leaned back in my chair, smiling back at him like an idiot, and wondered if he’d made any dinner plans yet.