Page 18 of The Thief's Mark

“Shut up,” Griff said.

There was no heat in the words. Nevertheless, something in the inspector’s tone made Cal obey. He eyed the revolver in Griff’s grip. If he was quick enough and could catch Griff distracted, maybe he could alter his shape to slip free of the net and steal the revolver. But that seemed like a pretty bigifwhen staring down a barrel.

Nah, too risky.

He was torn from his scheming when Griff abruptly nodded to himself and turned, striding toward the downed Brotherhood brutes.

“You’re making the right call, Inspector,” the woman said, her voice laced with triumph. “Bald Locke and the Brotherhood won’t forget—”

Raising his pistol, Griff shot her in the chest.

Cal jerked in surprise at the cold-blooded action Perhaps he’d misjudged the inspector. Then, he saw the fizzle of magic across the woman as she slumped and realized it had been another enchanted bullet, like the net. This one must put its target to sleep.

Griff strode back over. Staring up at the inspector’s calm face, Cal’s heart skipped a nervous beat as he eyed the revolver. “Thanks for being reasonable.” He wriggled in the net. “Now, let me out of this thing, and we can both get out of here and put all this nastiness behind us. What do you say, Inspector?”

Ignoring him, Griff unhooked a pair of silver bands from his belt. He fastened one around his left wrist, then tossed the other down beside Cal. Cal didn’t miss the way he kept a few paces between them, nor how his revolver never wavered. Cal had to admire his prudence.

“Put this on,” Griff said.

Fumbling past the net, Cal managed to grab the bracelet and slip it through the netting. “What is it?”

“A pacifier cuff.” Griff held up his wrist and jingled the other bracelet. “Stops you from harming me or getting too far away.”

Cal had never heard of such a device. More Vantoric artificery, no doubt. This was one invention he could happily have done without.

“Is this really necessary?” he asked. “You don’t actually believe I’m the infamous Blackjack, do you?”

“Yes,” Griff said. “I do. And after everything that’s happened here, I have more than enough evidence to justify bringing you in for additional questioning. Just because I refuse to make adeal with smugglers and thieves doesn’t mean I’ll just let you go.”

Cal frowned as he studied the silver bracelet. He considered refusing, but that would probably just prompt the inspector to knock him out with one of those magic bullets and force the cuff on him anyway. Better to let the inspector think him beaten. It was always easiest to trick someone who thought they’d already won.

“Fine.” Shoving down a prickle of unease, he clasped the cuff around his wrist. The smooth metal band felt cool against his skin. If it was magical as Griff claimed, Cal couldn’t sense the effect. Not without his lock rods.

The instant he put on the cuff, Griff seemed to relax. Tucking his revolver back in its holster, he stooped down and began untangling the net. Within moments, he had Cal free.

Fiddling with the band on his wrist, Cal hesitantly rose. He expected Griff to grab him and roughly haul him out of there, but Griff just stood there, watching him patiently. It was like he was waiting for something.

Usually, Cal had no issues with silence. Something about Griff’s stare, however, sent a flutter of uncharacteristic nerves through his belly.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Griff gestured toward the door. “Go ahead.” When Cal only furrowed his brow in confusion, Griff sighed. “We both know you’re going to do everything you can to try to escape. Since I have no intention of letting you talk your way out of this, that leaves the cuff. So, go ahead and test its limits now. That way, we can get it out of the way.”

Cal was surprised to find himself fighting down an amused smirk. He had to admit, he appreciated the inspector’s directness. Perhaps his initial assessment last night at the Siren’s Call hadn’t been so off-base after all.

Obviously, Cal had no intention of cooperating or going quietly. Still, he saw no reason not to play along for now.

Spinning, he bolted for the door. He made it about twenty paces or so before jerking to an abrupt halt. It was less like he’d run into a physical barrier and more like his body had suddenly decided it no longer felt like running. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to force himself to take so much as a single step further away.

Frowning to himself, he raised his wrist and spun the bracelet about, studying the metal. It was hard to tell without his tools, but it didn’t appear to be magically sealed. He could see the clasp easily enough. It should take no effort at all to open.

Yet when he tried to make his fingers do it, they once again refused to obey.Some form of arcane compulsion—it has to be.It was diabolically subtle. The bracelet had no need for fancy wards. It simply ensured the wearer couldn’t meddle with it.

Still, that was far from foolproof. Perhaps he could convince someone else to take the bracelet off for him, or disable the enchantment with his tools once he was alone.

For now though, that only left one other aspect of the pacifier cuff to test. Picking up a fallen club from the floor, he turned and charged the inspector. Griff made no move to stop him or to retreat. He just stood there, watching calmly.

Sure enough, Cal froze a hand’s width away. He had the club upraised to swing but couldn’t bring himself to do it.