Grimoires and Where to Find Them by Raconteur, Honor (best affordable ebook reader .TXT) 📗

with observational skills and sneakiness. He’d never attempted to take something off palace grounds. But I knew he regularly tested the defenses of the palace, and he’d not reported anything amiss.

It might behoove me to call the kid in, see if he could manage to take something off the palace grounds without tripping the wards. If anyone could manage it—and I was willing to bet he could—it might give us an idea of how the thief had done it.

I shelved the idea for now as a possibility. I wanted to get my hands and eyes on the situation before making any decisions.

I did know one thing, though. Regina was not going to be a happy camper. No wonder Sherard had called in Gibson for backup. I would have, too.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Okay. I’ll leave word at the gate to let you in. See you soon.” I hung up, letting the pad drop into my lap. Man, what a day. What was it going to do for an encore, set the city on fire?

Phil touched a delicate little paw to my thigh, his face concerned. “Okay?”

“Not really, bud. This ties into something that happened before you were born. We had an issue with the palace wards, and Henri about broke his brain trying to figure out what was going on. He and Sherard are going to be super stressed about this. So, give them both lots of cuddles, okay?”

He gave a nod, a touch too serious. “I help, too.”

“Trust me, on this, we’ll need all the help we can get.”

The taxi pulled in close to the curb. I leaned forward, paying the driver before gathering up bag and cat, and hopping lightly out. I was barely on the sidewalk when Gibson appeared out of thin air and gave me a bear hug.

“Thank all magic,” he said against my ear. “Maybe you can keep Seaton from tearing his hair out.”

“I’ll certainly try. He’d look funny bald. Is he that close to a meltdown?”

“I think he’s actually past the tipping point. I can’t say I’m much better.” Gibson pulled back, then chivied me into motion. “Come on, come on, we’ve got a lot of upset people inside.”

That actually sounded like a really good reason not to enter. Just saying. Not my idea of a good time.

Unfortunately, it was my job to figure out what had gone wrong and try to right it. I sighed and went in.

It was kind of a sad state of affairs that the guards on duty recognized me and just handed me a badge before they waved me through. I gave a quick hello even as Gibson pulled me past them. As we walked, Gibson started catching me up.

“We locked down the library, and they’re pulling records of when the book was last on loan. I understand that unless it’s within the keeping of a royal mage, the grimoire is not allowed outside the library walls.”

“Well, that’s good to know. So, who all has access to the palace library?”

“Thing is, it’s on the tour route, so the public tramps through there about five times a day, if only through the main floor.”

“Giiiiiibs,” I whined, not at all exaggerating my frustration. “I don’t want the whole of Kingston on my suspect list!”

“You think I’m overjoyed about this?” It was true he didn’t look happy. The man walked like he had glass shards in his shoes. “And our good Queen is livid. Expect to update her daily from now on.”

“Great.” I really should have stopped for a drink on the way to the palace. Maybe brought alcohol with me. I had a feeling we’d all want to be drunk before the day was out.

It wasn’t a long walk to the library, basically along a sidewalk and across a courtyard with a fountain—which wasn’t inspiring, as it meant our thief had had a quick escape route. Sherard was pacing in front of the entrance, waiting on me, and lit up briefly when he saw us approach. Then he went back to scowling.

“Before you ask,” he said with righteous indignation, “I checked the wards. They’re fully operational and not reporting any problems.”

“Hello to you, too. I’m doing fine, thanks for asking.”

He ignored my sarcasm. “Where’s Davenforth?”

“Dealing with a dismantled grimoire at the station. He’ll be along as soon as he has it safely under wraps.” Seeing the alarm on their faces, I hastily added, “Not a grimoire from the Reaper’s Set. Breathe. Different grimoire we found while investigating the case.”

“Thank heavens,” Sherard blurted. “You about scared me into an early grave.”

“Sorry, sorry. Anyway, I told him what’s going on here. He’ll be here as quickly as he can manage. For now, let’s—” I caught movement from the corner of my eye and paused, turning to see who was approaching like the Winter Soldier with a mad-on.

Ah.

Upset queen. Of course she was coming down to see for herself what was going on. Regina was not the sort to sit back and watch it play out.

She looked a little mussed, as if she’d been playing a sport or something before getting the news. She wasn’t in her usual skirt suit, but in loose pants and a light, breezy shirt. I greeted her with a quick bow.

“Jamie,” she acknowledged, her mouth in a flat, unamused line. “I’m very disturbed by the report I just received. I’m glad you’re already on the case. Where is your partner?”

“Handling another emergency at the station, but he’ll be here shortly.”

“I trust all of you can figure out what happened and retrieve my stolen property. I do not think any of us will rest easy until that has happened.”

You know, that could be the politest royal command I’d ever been on the receiving end of. Either way, only one way to respond. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I know you’re barely on the scene, so you haven’t had a chance to look anything over yet. But, have you any thoughts on this?”

Fortunately, I did. “I’ve got two at the moment. One,