Babylon Steel Read Free Page B

the possible returns.”
    “How much?”
    He told me. I swallowed hard.
    It was a lot of money. It would certainly keep the tax office quiet; it might even pay Laney’s clothier’s bill as well. We had a good reputation and generous clients, but we were picky and planned to remain so. Unfortunately that can thin the coffers no end.
    “What sort of business are her people in?” I said.
    “Does it matter?”
    “It might.”
    He sighed. “They’re not precisely in business. They’re more... government. They are, however, highly influential and helping them out could be extremely advantageous for us both.”
    “Government where?”
    “Incandress.”
    “Oh.” It sounded vaguely familiar; it might have been one of the places I passed through on my way to Scalentine, but then, there had been a lot of those.
    “It’s a satrapy of the Perindi Empire. The Ikinchli come from there.”
    “They do?” There are quite a few Ikinchli in Scalentine, and I knew at least one of them pretty well. “This girl’s not Ikinchli, though?”
    “No.” Fain rummaged in a pocket and held something out to me. “They call themselves Gudain.”
    It was a gold locket. Not exactly the most delicate thing; it weighed so heavy in my hand I could probably have brained someone with it, and it was thick with scrollwork, curlicues and turquoise cabochons. I flipped the catch with my nail.
    Inside was a portrait. It looked to me like the sort of thing that gets done by a court painter, so only the All knows how accurate it was. But she was a pretty creature, humanlike, with thick, straight, greeny-gold hair, skin with a seawater sheen, and astonishing eyes, huge and brilliant yellow. I’d never seen eyes like that on a human, but they touched some memory in me. Not the colour, but the look.
    “She was visiting Scalentine with her family,” Fain said, “and the family of her betrothed. I believe they were here to buy... something or other. Some frivolity, jewellery perhaps, to do with the forthcoming wedding.”
    That actually made a certain amount of sense. Scalentine being the way it is, we do have things here from all over the place.
    “They were staying at the Riverside Palace.”
    I whistled. “Fairly well to do then.”
    “Fairly, yes.”
    “What’s her name?”
    “Enthemmerlee Defarlane Lathrit en Scona Entaire.”
    “There’s a handle and a half,” I said. “So what happened?”
    “They were at the Hall of Mirrors when there was some kind of disturbance, and the next thing they knew she was gone.”
    “What sort of disturbance?”
    “Oh, a scuffle in the crowd, and some visiting grandee or other in a jewelled litter, creating fuss. Nothing to do with the Incandrese.”
    “Just gone?” I said.
    “So they said. Vanished.”
    “No ransom demand?”
    “No. Nothing.”
    I looked at the picture again. The girl had a calm, serious stare, and looked terrifyingly innocent. Though it’s hard to tell with different races, I’d say she was no more than sixteen.
    “They’re government, you say. Ruling families?”
    “Yes. Noble class.”
    Nobility has a habit of pimping out their children, though they don’t call it that and it’s done with a deal of ceremony. Maybe the girl didn’t want to be married, and had seen the chance to do a runner. I sympathised, but it meant she was on her own, in a city which, much as I love it, is not the safest place for a pretty innocent. And she was noble class, which almost certainly meant she had no more idea how to look after herself than a kitten.
    Not that poor girls are necessarily safe, either. I looked at the portrait. Something about that solemn stare sent a quiver down my back. Memory, or guilt.
    “All right,” I said. “I’ll ask around. But I need to borrow this. I’ll get some copies done, get it back to you.”
    “Keep it as long as you need. There is one thing, though...”
    “What?”
    “Timing. The wedding must take place before Twomoon. The family are somewhat