Page 39 of The Thief's Mark

He was in the middle of a delicate maneuver with a thin rod forged from arcane silver when he noticed another figure step into the hallway.Shadow and shade!

Moving quickly, he jerked the tools back from the door and hid them in his clothes, scrambling for an excuse that wouldn’t blow their cover. When he realized the figure was Griff, he puffed out a breath. “What the Void areyoudoing here? You’re supposed to be distracting that attendant.”

“I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep pretending I had the slightest idea what she was talking about, so I invented a fake audit of your accounts.” He raised an eyebrow. “Turns out you have quite a few investments all across Derimay, not just the Siren’s Call. There must be a fair number of business opportunities there for someone looking for honest work.”

Electing to ignore the poorly veiled implication, Cal shrugged. “Good thinking. That should keep her distracted for a while. Now that you’re here, you can help spot for me. This ward’s trickier than it looks.”

Things went much smoother with Griff there. What Cal had to intuit via feel, Griff could simply see as subtle shifts in the ward’s aura, calling them out so Cal could select the appropriate rod. As he worked, he couldn’t help appreciating Griff’s calm voice and steadying presence beside him. When Griff shifted closer to him to study the ward, Cal’s eyes were drawn to the light smattering of freckles along his stubbled cheek.

Eternal Dark, get ahold of yourself!

At last, Cal felt the ward give way beneath his fingers. Checking the hall again to ensure they hadn’t been spotted, he returned his thief’s tools to his tattoo, eased the door open, and slipped inside. Griff trailed after him, shutting the door behind them.

The records room was massive and dimly lit by enchanted glowstones. Unlike the rest of the Treasury, little attention had been paid here to decoration. Towering shelves dominated most of the space, filled with row upon row of thin stone tablets.

Frowning, Cal approached one and picked it up, examining it. Why in the Void would the Treasury opt for these over simple scrolls or ledgers?

He almost dropped the slab in surprise when golden runes flared to life across its surface. They quickly scrawled out an account number, along with other identifying information. He hesitantly touched the runes with his fingers and found that he was able to scroll through the record like he was flipping pages, new information appearing to replace the old.

“Nifty,” he said.

Griff grunted his agreement. He watched over Cal’s shoulder with a frown. “I don’t think that’s the right account.”

“Nope,” Cal said. He flicked through the tablet and discovered a meticulous record of every transaction this particular account had ever made. He let out a low whistle. “But look at all this information. I could do so much with this…”

“I’m sure you could,” Griff said with a slight edge to his voice. He snatched the tablet from Cal’s grip. The golden runes on its surface faded as he carefully slid it back into place on the shelf. “But we’re only here for one account in particular. No snooping around.”

“Fine,” Cal sighed. He cast one last glance toward the returned tablet, mourning the lost opportunity. So many potential targets and blackmail opportunities…

His heart fell as he took in the endless rows of stone slabs. “How the Void are we supposed to find the one we need in this labyrinth? There must be well over a thousand of them there to search through. We’d be caught long before we made it through a single shelf.”

A sudden flash of light emanated from behind them. Cal whirled, starting to fall into a crouch to attack before recalling his current disguise as an attendant.

Rising, he straightened his uniform and cleared his throat. “Apologies. Is someone…”

He trailed off, his words dying in his throat. Instead of another attendant, he found himself staring at a ball of golden light hovering in midair near the center of the room like a miniature sun.

An archon,he realized. That’s what it had to be—a magical construct forged from dawnflame. Given its unshaped, amorphous form, this one was probably a lesser archon, for which Cal was grateful. While he’d never had much cause to interact with the beings directly, what little he’d heard hadn’t made him eager to start. They tended to be devoted to one of the five Dawn Virtues…and not take kindly to anyone who violated it.

Cal glanced at Griff, who like him, was studying the archon uncertainly. The little ball of light hadn’t attacked them yet. Perhaps it worked here in the archive? It seemed worth a shot.

He stepped forward, raising his voice. “Excuse me. We’re looking for the file for a specific account.” He rattled off the account number. “Can you help us?”

The archon bobbed in place for a moment before abruptly zipping across the room in a beam of light. Cal stared after it, then shrugged and followed.

Griff fell into step beside him, his brow furrowed. “It doesn’t feel right, duping a Celestial servant like this.”

“I’m pretty sure archons don’t actually serve the Celestials,” Cal said. “Men created this particular servant. It would be a shame not to put their hard work to good use.”

Despite the archon’s speed, the bright halo of light it gave off made it easy enough to track. They found it hovering in front of one of the stored tablets. As soon as they approached, the archon raced off in another blaze of radiance.

Blinking away the afterimage, Cal reached up. His fingers hesitated over the indicated tablet. It couldn’t possibly be this easy…could it?

He expected alarms to blare or for the tablet to refuse to activate. Yet it came to life just like the last one, golden text appearing across its surface.

Griff leaned in, scanning the account number. He flashed Cal a triumphant grin. “This is it! Whoever owns this account paid Bald Locke to smuggle in that void orb.”

Griff’s grin opened up his stern face in a way Cal hadn’t seen before. Finding it difficult to look away, he held the tablet out. “Well, then—shall we do the honors together?”