121 Where the Truth Lies (2/2)

\”A beautiful elven maiden in a golden mask and her dourly human companion were seen wandering the Slave Quarter asking around about something that would normally pique the interest of my little birds,\” she answered nonchalantly.

Kallista uncrossed her legs and leaned back on the couch.

\”I assume you didn't come to me first because you believed me involved?\” She was smirking, but the brightening tips of her red hair kind of gave her irritation away. \”And here I thought I'd earned your trust.\”

I cleared my throat. It was time to take charge.

\”You have… that's why I didn't come with my army,\” I said, leaning forward. \”But we've received intel from two different sources confirming you'd recently met a slaver company looking to sell a special kind of product…\”

Kallista's smile wavered, but I stopped her from talking with a wave of my hand.

\”To be clear, nothing in our past dealings makes me believe that you trade in slaves… even if you did, if you discovered a slave with a connection to us, I'm assuming you would have informed me,\” I reasoned. \”Like I said, you've earned our trust.\”

I glanced over at Aura who nodded her head in agreement.

\”The fact that you haven't sent word suggests you never met Ty or learned who he really was,\” I added. \”But I think you did meet with that slaver company, so I'm guessing you turned them away?\”

\”I did meet a group of slavers claiming to be in possession of a child of magic,\” Kallista admitted. \”And I did turn them away as you guessed. If what they had was the real deal, a true chosen one, then I had no desire to be anywhere near it. Such creatures brought misfortune to those who seek to misuse them.\”

Hearing the word 'chosen one' describe Ty was blowing my mind, but I did my best to keep my composure. I cleared my throat and soldiered on, storing this info about Ty until I could unpack it properly later.

\”So you never saw him?\” I asked.

Kallista shook her head. \”As I've said, creatures chosen by faith are very hard to manage. They're never good for business.\”

Hearing proof that Ty really wasn't hidden behind those scarlet drapes at the back of the room wasn't as cathartic as I'd hoped. Sure, it helped to clear the misunderstanding between me and Kallista but now the search was at a standstill.

\”And the slavers?\” Aura picked up the thread for me. \”You wouldn't happen to know where they went after you turned them away, would you?\”

Kallista procured a pipe from some hidden pocket behind her dress and lit it using the spark of fire released from the ends of her hair.

\”There are few places one can trade such a rare product. It's why they came here, first. The name of the Rings of Fortune Auction House guarantees not only a higher payoff but also security of the goods until it is sold,\” Kallista explained. \”Anywhere else and the chosen one would most likely get stolen from them before they saw even a single Leprechaun.\”

She took a long puff of her pipe, and then breathed out a deep cloud of violet smoke from her nose.

\”After I turned them down, they would most likely seek out our biggest rivals in the central region, the Sunrise Auction in Westersand Desert,\” Kallista explained. \”But that is further west than you're allowed to go, too deep in—\”

\”—Dominion territory,\” I finished.

Kallista nodded, taking another puff of her pipe.

Damn, it was another tough hurdle to jump in what was already beginning to feel like a dragged out quest.

\”We would need to ask for Great General Garm's permission to cross the Westersand,\” Aura added, sounding like the prospect of meeting her estranged uncle wasn't one she was keen on.

\”You think he'll let us through?\” I asked.

Aura bit on her lower lip before answering. \”We can only ask, but I wouldn't get my hopes up, Dean… my uncle has a grudge against me and my brother. He's not likely to agree if he thinks it helps me in any way…\”

\”Well,\” Kallista interrupted. \”Should you fail in getting permission, I may have another way for you to get to where you need to go.\”

Before I could ask Kallista more about this other way, a loud banging cut across the silence of the auction house's walls, assaulting our ears with the beating of tribal drums that sounded a lot like the drums in Jumanji.

\”Ah, it seems your friends have been found,\” Kallista smiled wryly back at me. She got up from her seat and said, \”Shall we go get them before the security troll do?\”