Page 64 of The Thief's Mark

Griff squeezed his father a bit harder to signify he’d heard, then stepped back. Swiping at his misty eyes, he said, “I’ll stopby as soon as I can for lunch.” Then, he hurried from the room, conscious of his father’s gaze following him out.

He found Cal waiting outside by the gate. Though he didn’t say a word, he took one look at Griff’s face, then grabbed his hand and squeezed. Griff was grateful for the point of contact as they set off down the dark street. The rain had stopped while they were inside, and their boots sloshed in the puddles left behind.

“What do you think?” Cal asked after a time. “Do we look for the High Commander at home or at his office?”

Griff took a moment to consider. “Office. When I spoke with him at the gala, he mentioned needing to work late.”

Cal raised a brow. “Are all protectors workaholics like you?”

Griff shrugged, not bothering to deny it. “Like you said, Kelsith won’t want to hold onto the void orb any longer than he has to. Even if the High Commander isn’t there to accept it in person, Kelsith will likely try to deliver it tonight, and the High Commander would probably send him to his office rather than his home. Especially since he has a family. Plus, if nothing else, we can check his office for other clues or anything incriminating.”

Cal raised a brow, feigning surprise. “Why, Inspector! Are you suggesting we illegally enter the office of a Pentarchy councilor?”

“I guess you must be rubbing off on me.”

Cal leaned in and whispered into his ear, “No, silly. That’ll be later.”

A furious blush colored Griff’s cheeks.Merciful Light,what is this thief doing to me?

It didn’t take long to arrive at Headquarters, even if Cal mocked Griff mercilessly the entire time about how he must be getting old given how much he was slowing the spry thief down. As they approached the entrance, Griff stared up at the imposing building—one of the few in all of Derimay that was neitherbrightly colored nor highly decorated. Conflicting emotions racked him.

The last time he’d been here had been over a week ago, right before heading to the Siren’s Call theater. Back then, he’d taken pride in his position. In his fellow members of the Watch and what they represented. But now, with High Commander Pern himself implicated of treason, Griff had no ideawhatto think anymore.

“You all right?” Cal asked him. His aura pulsed with concern.

Swallowing, Griff nodded. “Just thinking about my badge and this office. The High Commander has betrayed everything I believe in—everything I thought the Watch stood for.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” Cal said, his voice unconvincing. It firmed as he stepped in front of Griff, cupping his face and peering into his eyes. “Besides, who cares about that Void-eater?Youhaven’t betrayed it. And that’s what matters.”

Griff stared at him for a handful of moments, then leaned in for a quick kiss. Merciful Light, how he appreciated the way Cal’s aura fluttered in response, in tandem with his heartbeat.

Breaking the kiss, he turned back to the headquarters and shook his head with a snort. “Who would have thought I’d be receiving a pep talk about the importance of my work from a thief?”

“Not just any thief,” Cal said with a smirk as they resumed walking. “A pep talk from Blackjack himself, the most notorious thief Derimay has ever seen, and the man you’ve been hunting for nearly two years.”

Griff eyed him askance. “I don’t know about ‘most notorious.’ That’s a little egotistical, don’t you think?”

Cal shrugged, flashing Griff another smirk. “It’s not egotistical if it’s true.”

With Griff’s access, it was easy to enter the Watch headquarters. While the Watch never truly rested, most ofits divisions operated a skeleton crew at night outside of an emergency response force and the protectors tasked with patrolling the city’s streets. They found the dark antechamber deserted, the grand halls almost eerie when the only sounds were their echoing footfalls. Cal adopted the disguise of a random inspector, duskflame briefly curling over him.

Striding deeper inside, Griff led the way toward the inspector offices, where he had his own desk. The High Commander’s private office was just past that.

He felt a brief flare of guilt for breaking into a place like this and shoved it down. The time for hesitation was past. Who knew what the High Commander intended to do with the void orb? They had to assume it represented an active threat to the city. If this was the most expedient way to find answers, then so be it.

They were nearly at the inspector offices, Griff about to unlock them, when he caught a flash of violet hanging in the air. Turning to investigate, his heartbeat quickened when he realized it was a thin aura trail. It must’ve been fresh for him to see at all, discernible only because there were no other auras around to dilute it. Even then, he might’ve missed it entirely if not for the foul sense of alien wrongness that pervaded it.

Voidflame.

“Kelsith was already here,” he said.

Cal instantly came alert, falling into a crouch and scanning the hall around them for any signs of danger. Griff’s hand lingered on the handle of his revolver as he did the same. After a moment, he relaxed a hair.

“I’m pretty sure he already left.” He pointed after the fading aura trail. “That way. The trail is faint, but still enough for me to track if I hurry.”

Cal nodded, his face grim. Griff could sense the roiling anger searing his aura. “Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go get that Void-eater.”

Griff hesitated, peering more closely at the aura. Then, he shook his head. “A bit of taint from the void orb remains, but not nearly as much as when I tracked you. I don’t think he had it with him when he left. That means he must’ve left it here. We can’t leave it unattended.”