The Fire that Ignited the Storm (The Warrior Queens book #2)

Chapter 12 - Victoria

Arthur walked in Victoria's office with a grim expression. Her heart dropped.

"No. Don't tell me there's been another attack" she said.

Arthur exhaled.

"They tied that boy to a post and burned him. They laughed, actually laughed."

The repulsion hit Victoria hard in her gut. She gripped the edge of her father's desk.

"Is there any way we can get the Sanctuary open sooner?" Victoria said.

"The steel frames will be arriving from Arugaia in 3 weeks" he replied.

"That's not soon enough. We need to build it faster. And we need to make sure it's safe. Is there any chance we could use Xenocidus?"

Arthur grimaced.

"It is a rare alloy but we have some put away for emergencies. It wouldn't be enough to build a whole sanctuary"

"We could buy some from Messastonia" Victoria said. "It's a useful metal because the Enchanters could put up seraphic and infernal wards, instead of steel frames which can only conduct one kind of magic at a time".

"I see your thinking. I will see about buying the Xenocidus from Messastonia".

"They're building an Enchanter's sanctuary?" Adelaide said. "I'm all for protecting the Enchanters but won't it just make them sitting ducks?"

They walked towards the locker room, preparing to clock off for the weekend.

"We needed to do something. People are dying" Victoria said.

"Enchanters have been dying for years and the AIA have done nothing about it. Why now? Because the pressure is on?"

"The AIA is not perfect but it's getting a lot better. I'm trying to make better"

"I know you are. I'm sorry. It's just...this is such a tiresome job. Do you – do you ever want you get away from it all? Even for a night?" Adelaide said.

Victoria thought back to when they did used forget their troubles easily. When the three of them would go to Bar Luca and drink and dance wouldn't go home until three in the morning. That was fool's fun. Young, impulsive reckless fun of youth. The kind Victoria had long grown out of.

"We don't want to go down that road again" Victoria said.

"Why? It was just a bit of fun. No one got hurt" Adelaide said.

"I've got work to do"

"There's more to life than work, Victoria" Adelaide said as she walked away.

Adelaide was just disillusioned with the AIA. Just empty words she was saying. She wouldn't do something stupid – like quit the AIA. They'd be losing a damn good agent. And Victoria would losing a good friend. She had to face it – when she did have enough time to have friends outside work?

A knock at her door that jarred her out of her thoughts. Victoria answered her front door to a grinning Nicholas. She glared at him.

"This is supposed to be my night off" she said. "The one night I can soak in a bubble bath with the latest Jean Willis book"

"Mystery? I had you pegged as a secret romance fan" Nicholas said.

"That's more Adelaide's thing. I find them to be tasteless and intellectually lacking"

Nicolas grinned.

"Don't you have enough mystery and crime in your own life?" he said.

Victoria shrugged.

"I think it helps me solve mysteries in better in real life"

Nicholas shook his head.

"You never stop working, do you?" he said. "Anyway, I could've asked anyone but I thought you'd want to do the honours"

"You've found Brenda?"

"No, she is still missing. But we've got a whole team of level 9's working on it. No, it's one of the Queen's advisors. David Avercrome. He's suspected of being involved in with the Camicazi"

Victoria thought back to the few times she'd met David. At meetings, he'd give her side long looks, as if she had no right to be there. It was the celebration ball that stuck out the most. He's spilled his drink on her and then said she better clean it up. Then he said something along the lines of she should be in the servant's quarter like the rest of her kind. It made her fists clench thinking about it.

"I never would've guessed that" Victoria said.

Nicholas laughed.

"What do you say? Want to go arrest a bigot?"

They arrived at David Avercrome's house and bolted in the door. The 50 acres mansion was empty. The smell of a dull burning hung in the air. Like candles that had just been blown out. The front door lead into a lobby that extended out at least thirty feet. A giant staircase sat in the middle of the hall. The bannister was made of solid gold.

Nicholas whistled.

"Being a royal advisor sure does pay well. I'm starting to regret becoming an AIA agent"

"You're one of the highest paid AIA agents" Victoria said. "You just don't invest wisely"

"I never claimed gambling was wise but it's fun and one day it'll all pay off" he said.

Victoria rolled her eyes.

"If you say so".

Victoria continued to explore the house. Her boots did not click as they connected with the velveteen carpet. She prodded around. Silent; Like a cat, or an assassin, or a creature of the night.

Victoria came to a door that was in a deep shade of purple. Not a colour she or most people would've chosen for a door. It seemed odd. That alone was enough to make her curious. Victoria opened the door and walked in. The room contained shelves upon shelves of dead insect in glass cases. Her skin crawled. Some people had eccentric hobbies but there something odd about collecting dead things. Her transmitter buzzed and she jumped.

"Vick come out to the patio" Nicholas said.

Victoria navigated her way through the dark corridors. She pushed open the door and looked to where Nicholas was gesturing. Dead moths lined the table.

"This guy likes his dead insects" Victoria said.

Nicholas's face was grim.

"There's something else. There's a letter opened on the kitchen table and well see for yourself..."

Victoria took the envelope tentatively. Another dead moth fell out onto the ground. Victoria gasped.

"Another moth? Honestly what is wrong with this man?"

"Look at it more closely" Nicholas said.

Victoria, against her better judgement, looked at the moth again. It was bigger than the other moths. Its wings were stark black.

"Am I missing something?"

Nicholas chuckled.

"Clearly those mystery books aren't helping you solve problems" he said. "If you'd paid any attention in history class, you'd know that Triarian Moths were used by member of the Camicazi to communicate"

It came back to Victoria now. The large moths that originated in Triaria later became a symbol of the Camicazi. That was widely known but a dead moth could hardly be grounds to convict someone.

"If I had to guess I'd say he's at a Camicazi meeting right now" Nicholas said.