Bannerless (The Bannerless Saga 1)

“Well, you were very helpful,” Dak said, scorn in his voice, as if she had done something wrong.

“Yes?” she answered.

“You know they can’t be here for anything good. Don’t you wonder why on Earth they’d be investigating Petula?” He looked out, worried. “Xander needs to know about this.”

“They might just be here to get information. It doesn’t mean that Petula’s done anything—”

But Dak was already running down the path to the docks, looking for Xander.

CHAPTER SEVEN • PASADAN

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Complications

“What are you doing here?” Enid asked Dak, who laughed at her astonishment. It was a stupid question; it just fell out. Tomas wryly crossed his arms, like he was holding in words. Dak seemed to avoid looking at him, without appearing to be avoiding him, of course. Maybe they could each just pretend the other didn’t exist.

“I live here,” he said. “And I can see exactly what you’re doing here.” He gestured at her, indicating the uniform.

This probably wouldn’t be the best time to ask him if he knew Sero, when was the last time he’d seen the man, and where he’d spent the morning four days ago.

They lingered in the shade of the committee building, surrounded by the heat and buzz of the afternoon. She could feel sweat on her brow and wanted nothing more than to take a shower and sit for a few moments.

“You know each other?” Ariana asked. She looked back and forth between the two of them, mid-gesture. More astonishment.

“A long time ago,” Enid said simply.

“A very memorable time,” Dak added.

She ducked away, embarrassed, frustrated that she was blushing. Tomas didn’t offer rescue. But then he’d never much liked Dak.

Ariana’s smile was tight, polite. “That sounds like a good story.”

“Oh, I doubt it,” Enid said. Again the words seemed to just fall out. Of course, Dak laughed again. She hadn’t been trying to be funny.

“So do you know what happened yet?” Ariana asked.

“Still working on that. We may need to talk to everyone in town, just to get our timeline down, to know when Sero was last seen. You won’t mind if I asked you a few questions?” Enid regarded Dak appraisingly; she couldn’t imagine him rushing to share information. Maybe he’d surprise her.

“Not even starting with, ‘Hey, how are you, what have you been up to lately?’?”

She matched his smirk. No reason to poke at each other, but here they were. He was more likely poking at the uniform, she reminded herself.

Ariana laid a hand on Dak’s arm, a friendly, familiar gesture. “You should play tonight, Dak. Get people’s minds off all this.”

The couple of townsfolk who hadn’t drifted off—to avoid questioning, likely—jumped in eagerly. “Oh, please do, it’s been weeks!”

“Why not?” he told them. “We’ll put a fire in the pit up here, and maybe you all can scare up some food to share? We can welcome our investigators properly.”

The others ran off to spread the word, leaving Ariana and Dak standing side by side before Enid and Tomas. Clearly a united front. Intimate, even. Were they together? Dak said he lived here now—as part of Ariana’s household, she’d bet. Well, good for him.

“We still have a few questions to answer,” Enid said evenly, professionally. “The investigation may take a couple of days. If you can show us to your way station, we’d appreciate it.”

“Of course, it’s just behind the committee house,” Ariana said. She and Dak exchanged an indecipherable look. Rather than trying to find meaning in it, Enid decided it wasn’t any of her business.

Within half an hour, an impromptu party gathered around the side of the building, where a fire pit and a cluster of benches and chairs were located. Dusk was settling in, bugs coming out. Someone brought out a cask of cider. It was exactly like she remembered all of Dak’s grand entrances, the way the man could start a party anywhere he went.

She lingered at the door of the meeting room, watching, wondering who knew what and why they weren’t speaking to her. She’d gotten into the mindset where everyone looked suspicious.