Goblin Precinct (Dragon Precinct) by Keith R. A. Decandido Page B

never seen him do: he got in someone’s face. “Bank policy ? My good man, bank policy is not to be robbed twice in one day ! Now then, Boneen—a mage on loan from the Brotherhood of Wizards—is here at the specific request of Lady Meerka . Are you telling me, Than, that you intend to deny him the ability to perform the very duty he was sent here to perform by Lady Meerka ? Well? Are you?”
    The sweat, Hawk noted, was now pouring down Martel’s face, and he decided that this was even more fun than Boneen’s scathing wit would have been.
    Martel swallowed twice, then muttered, “Yes of course,” and went into the bank.
    Hawk looked over at Jared. “Go be givin’ him a hand gettin’ everyone out.”
    Nodding so enthusiastically his blond hair flopped, Jared said, “Absolutely, sir.”
    “A fine guard, that one,” Grovis said, nodding at Jared. “I like the cut of his jib.”
    “I’ll cut your jib in a moment,” Boneen muttered. “I truly do not have time for this nonsense. There’s unlicensed magic going on, and my services are required to investigate that, not deal with imbeciles who steal money from banks.”
    Boneen continued muttering and moaning for the next thirty minutes. Hawk could hear him through the bank’s front door.
    Once the half-hour had passed, he exited the bank.
    “Uh oh,” Dru said.
    “What’s wrong?” Hawk asked.
    “Boneen.” Dru shook his head. “Usually, when he’s done with the peel-back he’s either pissed and cranky, or tired and cranky. But look at him now.”
    Hawk regarded the wizard more closely. “He looks—I dunno, concerned?”
    “Yeah.” Dru folded his arms over the gryphon symbol on his chest. “Can you think of any way that Boneen looking concerned is a good thing?”
    “There were four thieves,” Boneen said as he waddled up to the lieutenants, “and they were using glamours.”
    “Yes, we’re aware of that, Boneen,” Grovis said haughtily, although this was their first confirmation of the number of thieves. “As they did at Frannik’s Lane. But surely you can see through them.”
    “Under normal circumstances, I could easily see through a glamour—particularly cheap store-bought ones as these were.”
    Hawk let out a Martel-like sigh. “So why ain’t these circumstances normal?”
    “Because these thieves also had magic coursing through their bloodstreams.”
    “How is that possible?” Grovis asked.
    Boneen shook his head. “Based upon my examination of Elthor lothSerra, I can say with surety that all four of your thieves were high on Bliss when they robbed the bank.”
    Dru looked at Hawk. “Well, that explains that.”
    “Explains what?” Boneen asked testily.
    Hawk said, “The witnesses was even more useless than usual, but there was one thing they all be sayin’ in common. The thieves, they was calm .”
    “I’m sure it made for a most pleasant robbery,” Boneen said witheringly.
    Grovis’s mouth was hanging open the way it did when he was confused, which was, Hawk thought cruelly, most of the time. “I’m sorry, Boneen, but I’m afraid there’s something I don’t understand.”
    “Don’t sell yourself short, Grovis,” Boneen said. “There are many things you don’t understand. From which of that legion of items do you wish to inquire at present?”
    Drawing himself up to what passed for his full height, Grovis said, “I see no reason to stand here and be insulted!”
    “Then I’ll leave.” Boneen started to turn around.
    “No, wait!” Grovis cried. “I simply wish to know why you can’t see through the glamours!”
    Hawk nodded. “That’s true, you ain’t been explainin’ that.”
    “Of course I have,” Boneen said testily. “As I said, they were high on Bliss.”
    “What’s that got to do—” Dru started.
    But Boneen interrupted, waving his hand back and forth. “Right, of course, I forgot, you three weren’t there. When I examined lothSerra’s body, I discovered that Bliss was created with