“Bloody hell,” Iannis swore, echoing my sentiments perfectly. “We need to evacuate the hall at once.”
“Yes,” Garrett said in a clipped voice. He shook his head, looking absolutely furious. “I can’t believe I missed this. We checked this venue thoroughly.”
“You’re not at fault here,” I said to Garrett, tactfully deciding not to mention his earlier refusal to look into Fenris’s hunch. “You had no reason to tear the walls apart looking for bombs, and stuff like that isn’t easily visible. I couldn’t even scent anything when Fenris warned me just now. I still don’t scent anything suspicious here.”
“Let’s not stand around here, then,” the Minister said impatiently. “The last thing I need is for someone to accidentally trip and hit that switch. Let’s get on with it!”
After Garrett ordered two of his agents to guard the switch with their lives, and another pair to take charge of the terrified prisoner, we dispersed. Fenris and Marris explained to me that they’d caught the man who they believed was behind the attack, and I went outside with them to see for myself while everyone else was evacuated. Mina, Barrla, Comenius, and Elania were waiting just beyond the side entrance, along with a group of enforcers.
“Miss Baine.” The enforcer in charge inclined his head. “We’re ready to transport the prisoner to a holding cell.”
“His name is Rubb Slade,” Mina explained to me. “I met him at the Solantha Press Club.”
“Let me have a look at him,” I said. The name didn’t at all sound familiar, and I was curious to meet the man who had taken up Thorgana’s banner.
Two of the enforcers dragged Rubb forward. He was a thin man with sandy hair and an unpleasant face, and he bared his teeth at me as I leaned in to sniff at him. A familiar scent hit me, and I recoiled in shock.
“By Magorah,” I said, looking him up and down again. “You’re not Rubb Slade at all. You’re Curian Vanderheim, Thorgana’s missing husband.” He looked completely different, but there was no mistaking the scent. I’d worked Thorgana’s parties as a bodyguard enough times to have imprinted her husband’s scent in my mind.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the prisoner said stiffly.
“Don’t lie to me,” I snapped. “You might weigh thirty pounds less and wear a different face, but you stink just like before. You should have hired a mage to change your scent. It’s a good thing you’re not as bright as your late wife was.”
“I knew there was something off about him,” Mina cried, her eyes shining with triumph. “Both times I met him he was always talking about how much he hated mages.”
“And now we understand why,” Fenris said grimly.
“Well, now that we’ve got all this sorted, why don’t you come back with us to the palace?” I said with a grin. “After all, you’re a very important person, Mr. Vanderheim. And we certainly wouldn’t want you to mysteriously commit suicide in your prison cell, would we?”
Now that the threat had been identified, Iannis and Garrett acted with typical decisiveness. The switch was guarded by Federal Agents, and the guests were evacuated to the palace, where the reception continued. Garrett’s people, assisted by enforcer specialists, would work to find out what kind of bomb the switch was connected to, once the wire had been safely cut.
I sighed in relief as Vanderheim was dragged away in manacles, finally realizing how close a shave we’d had that night. If not for Fenris and his friends, all of us could be mangled bodies under the rubble of the concert hall by now. Putting the thought out of my mind, I slung my arms around Mina and Fenris and herded them toward a waiting carriage. I wasn’t one to let my enemies ruin my fun, and tonight sure as hell wasn’t going to be any different.
Despite our efforts to keep the plot under wraps, the news that they had all just escaped mayhem soon reached the guests, and the party in the palace turned almost wild, with everybody consuming vast quantities of booze to take the edge off the near miss. After a quick council meeting in which everyone gave their reports and we debated how to deal with the aftermath and tighten security measures, Iannis and I joined the guests once more. When the celebration of our survival finally wound down, at nearly two in the morning, we made our way to Iannis’s suite at long last only to find an unexpected guest waiting for us in Iannis’s sitting room.
“Annia!” I cried as my best friend got to her feet. She looked a bit dusty from the road, in jeans and a red leather jacket. There were circles under her eyes, but the smile on her face was genuine. “You’re back!”
“And right on time, too,” she said as I wrapped her up in a fierce hug. “I wasn’t dressed for that society shindig you had going on out there, and I’m definitely not in the mood for a party after all this travel, but Director Chen was nice enough to let me wait up here for you guys.”
“Of course,” Iannis said with a warm smile. “You are always welcome in our home.”
“I’m so glad to see you,” I said, blinking back tears as I pulled back to look at Annia. The exhaustion on her face had worried me initially, but there was a quiet satisfaction in her eyes that made me relax. “I’m guessing you found Noria? Is she okay?”
Annia nodded. “She’s on a ship to the Central Continent now,” she said. “It was an adventure, tracking her down and getting her on that boat, but at least she’ll be safe now.” She looked over my shoulder at Iannis. “You’re not going to send agents after her, are you? Or punish me for abetting her?”
Iannis shook his head. “So long as she stays on the other side of the pond, she won’t hear from me,” he said. “With any luck she’ll carve a new life for herself and stay out of trouble. I would have pardoned her already if she had shown the least willingness to renounce further subversion. I don’t suppose she has seen the error of her ways?”
“She is stubborn as she ever was.” Annia sighed. Tears shimmered in her eyes for a moment, but she cleared her throat and blinked them away. “I would have come sooner, but getting all the way back here from the East Coast was a real bitch. I hope you don’t mind if I spend the night?”
“’Course not,” I said, slapping her on the shoulder. “Besides, that way you and I can get ready for the big day together.”
Annia blinked. “Am I still going to be in the wedding?”
I grinned. “I’ve had your bridesmaid dress ready and waiting for months.” She looked a bit leaner than her usual slim self, but Mrs. Lawry, my dressmaker, would quickly take care of any changes needed.
Her face burst into a broad smile. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all week. Where is it? I’d better try it on now and make sure you’re not making me look fat!”