Moral Stand (Aether’s Revival Book 7)

The inspection went smoothly— Gregory checked each room, randomly looking into different places. His question about past inspections gave him the answer he expected: most assistants just demanded to know about contraband from the staff, then spent the rest of the time with two or more of the slaves. It would mostly accomplish what Gregory was doing— with less work— but none of the previous magi had wanted to do the work.

Gregory didn’t bypass any room. The contraband that’d been left for him to find in the slaves’ rooms was in plain sight. He just sighed, rolled his eyes, and marked down each instance before he collected the items.

Gregory made sure to swing by the kitchen an hour before midday. He wanted to make sure that food was prepared for the slaves, but he also had to search the kitchen. Thera was looking a little nervous as she led him into the massive space. She’d told Gregory how unpleasant the chef was to the staff when she was asked. Gregory just smiled and insisted they visit it.

“Who are you?” The voice was arrogant, half-reminding Gregory of Nick Shun.

“Adept Gregory Pettit, Aether’s Guard. I’m helping Magus Artok in his audit of this establishment. Who are you?” Gregory spoke pleasantly, but he let a trickle of his resonance touch the chef.

Paling at the pressure he felt, the chef stammered out a response, “Bar-Barnabas Searly. I’m the chef here. I’m not used to the assistants coming into the kitchen.”

“I was told to check every room,” Gregory sighed with a feigned put-upon expression. “I’m at the mercy of the magus.”

“As we all are,” Barnabas said. “As you can see, everything is in order here. I would ask for one or two of my staff so I can begin preparing lunch for the owner, the magus, and the guards. Yourself, as well, of course.”

“I’ll be glad to have Thera fetch some as soon as I finish inspecting the kitchen,” Gregory said as he let his resonance fade. The man in front of him had been as empty as a drum, indicating that he was not someone to trust. “Since you’re here, you can assist me. Why don’t we start with the larder?”

Gregory kept his face impassive as he made the chef pull apart his own kitchen. Anytime the man started to complain, Gregory would touch him with his resonance, making him pale and shut up. Thera wore a blank expression, keeping her gaze on the floor the entire time. Inside, she was elated to hear Barnabas quail before Gregory.

The search was almost over when Gregory reached the small office adjacent to the kitchen. “What’s this?”

“My office,” Barnabas said slowly, beads of sweat forming on his brow. “There’s surely no need for you to bother with it, Adept. You must be hungry and tired. Why don’t you retire to the lounge or one of the rooms while I get my staff to make you some food?”

“That does sound appealing…” Gregory feigned interest in the idea for a moment. “Alas, Magus Artok was very pointed. I have to check every room.”

“I… I could just tidy up first!” Barnabas said quickly. “I believe my ledger is out. I doubt the magi would be interested in that.”

Gregory chuckled. “Let’s find out.” He walked ahead of Barnabas into the office.

Thera watched Barnabas’ face. The chef was glaring at Gregory, his hands curling into fists as if he was thinking of attacking him. She worried for a moment until Barnabas’ hands unclenched. Breathing a sigh of relief, she trailed the pair.

Gregory walked right to the desk where a book was open. He glanced at it, then closed it to look at the cover. “Hmm… ‘Eurtik Aphrodisiacs’? I’m not certain, but this might fall under contraband. I’ll confiscate it for now.”

Barnabas’ teeth ground together— that book had cost him more than he cared to admit. It was a restricted text, normally only sold to magi by the few scribes who were allowed to copy it. Barnabas had gotten it from an adept five years ago, and he’d been slowly trying the different recipes on his kitchen staff. His notes were scribbled in the margins about the successes and failures of each when used on different breeds of eurtiks.

“Magi, surely there’s no need for that,” Barnabas said tightly. “If you’re uncertain, perhaps you could leave it with me, and when you find out later, you could come back for it. I’m sure that I could even front you the cost of researching if it’s contraband or not.”

Gregory smiled a real smile as he gave Barnabas his attention. “Oh? You’d pay me to have it left with you?”

“Of course!” Barnabas snapped before clearing his throat. “I mean… of course, Magi. Why make you note it being here until you know for sure? I’m sure the costs would be… high,” he choked slightly on the last word. “But if you could give me a range of what it might cost to find out, I’d pay it.”

“Thera, make a note: bribing a magi engaged in a lawful audit,” Gregory said pleasantly. “You. Sit.” Those two words held all the power he could force onto Barnabas.

The chef crumpled to the floor, wheezing under the pressure. “What?!”

Gregory kept his resonance trained on the chef as he began to tear the office apart. Barnabas’ eyes were wide as he watched, sweat pouring off him as he struggled to move. Gregory had Thera make three more notes, confiscating each item that he commented on. When it was finally over, he walked back to Barnabas, the office a complete disaster behind him.

“All done. However, I don’t trust you to cook my food. You’ll remain in your office for the rest of today. I’d suggest tidying up. If you step out of this room before I finish my inspection, I will be displeased. Understood?”

Barnabas was barely able to nod.

“Good.” Gregory stood up, walking out of the office, and shutting the door. “Thera, go get the kitchen staff. They have food to prepare.”

“Yes, sir,” Thera said, bolting away, swallowing hard as she went— Gregory had just shown a glimpse of the ruthlessness she knew from magi, yet he’d directed all of it at Barnabas, not at her or any of the other slaves. She wiped her hands on her outfit as she hurried to do as he’d instructed. While she wasn’t afraid of him, she didn’t want to keep him waiting, either.

When the cooks came into the kitchen, Gregory told them, “Barnabas is not going to be leading you today. He’s in trouble. What I want you to do is to make the usual food for the guards, your owner, the magus, and myself. For the employees, I want you to make it better than normal for all of you.”

“Magi, sir,” one of the slaves, a deer eurtik, said softly, “we’ll get in trouble if we do that.”

“Pity. If anyone here deserves better food, it’s all of you,” Gregory sighed. “I was going to document my orders to you, but if you’re worried about it, go ahead and make what you can normally have, instead.”

The five slaves all bowed to him, staying quiet.

“He’s not to leave his office. If he even opens the door, one of you is to come get me at once,” Gregory said. “Take no orders from him.”

“He has our runes, sir,” the same slave said.

“No. I do. I’ll be dropping them off to the magus when I leave. Your orders are in place still, just with my addendum about Barnabas. I’ll be dealing with the guards for the next hour. Once the food is ready, deliver it as normal. Keep mine here with you. I want you all to stay here, besides dropping off food. This way, I know he behaves. Any questions?” No one said anything. “Thank you. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Thera was right behind Gregory when they left the kitchen. Gregory was sure he knew where to go, as it was the only section besides Chainer’s office that he hadn’t been to yet. “Odds that he does something stupid?” Gregory asked Thera after a few seconds.

“None. He was afraid of you. You know that Chainer will step in for him, right?”

“Because of how skilled he is? Yes. I can’t change the world alone, but I can make it difficult for the people who break the law.”

“What about the guards?” Thera asked softly. “They won’t be as easy to control as Barnabas was.”

Gregory chuckled. “I’ll be fine. Just stay well back and don’t get involved.”

“I couldn’t help even if I wanted to…” Thera murmured.

Gregory’s steps slowed for a moment. “I’m sorry for the reminder. I’d just prefer you not get caught up in any aggression. You don’t deserve to be injured because of idiots.”

“The one you need to be wary of is Jack Slim. He’s the head of the guard, and is rumored to have killed aether-blessed before.”

“Aether-blessed, but not magi?” Gregory asked.

“I don’t know if they were magi, mages, or whatever else they can be called,” Thera said. “I’ve just heard him laugh about how easy it is to kill ‘those aether-deluded fools.’ There’s no remorse in his eyes.”

Gregory nodded as he kept walking. “Understood. My naginata won’t work in here, but I do have a wakizashi on me. Today might be the worst day that the Golden Collar has ever had.”

Thera silently hoped Gregory was right— Slim was the worst of those under the roof. He routinely picked out one of them to hurt until he grew tired. Chainer allowed it, as he had more slaves than he needed, and having Slim on payroll gave him options for less savory actions. Shivering slightly, she said a small prayer to Aether, hoping for protection for the magi who’d shown her how different he was.