Free The Fixer Of God's Ways (retail) by Irina Syromyatnikova Page A

premonition of trouble led the mage to the office of his boss. NZAMIPS staff was nervous, and this only reinforced Satal's suspicions.
    D isheveled Larkes sat at the desk and looked at a decanter of a peculiar shape. The bottle was practically empty. The smell of alcohol hovered in the room. A broken glass lay on the floor - the senior coordinator threw it against the wall.
    Satal didn't expect this from his boss and was afraid to guess what misfortune caused Larkes' grief.
    The senior coordinator noticed Satal, though not right away. "It did not work out," he said with drunken gravity.
    Sata l wanted to call Kevinahari; but, according to her own words, Larkes pathologically hated empaths. He decided to wait until his boss would speak out.
    Larkes pushed a piece of letterhead with a telephone message on it to his guest.
    The Suesson NZAMIPS office reported that on such and such date, at about eleven o'clock a.m., a former NZAMIPS employee, a magician-animator named Thomas Tangor, was killed in his house by a powerful explosive device. The investigation was underway. Satal read the paper several times - he didn't feel that his former student was dead.
    The senior c oordinator sniffled. Satal glanced at him warily - dark magicians in such a condition behaved oddly: some writhed in hysterics, others went on a rampage. One thing was certain: after such a show Larkes wouldn't keep his job, but surprisingly Satal did not want him to go.
    " What are you going to do?"
    " What is here to do?" the drunken magician asked. "He's dead, he is no more."
    "You have to find those responsible and avenge."
    " I had been working on this for over twenty years. And he's killed again."
    Sata l decided not to focus on the strange phrase "he's killed again". Instead, he reached into the memories inherited from Rustle and grasped how he could manage to comfort Larkes.
    " You are not alone! He will return! Strong spirits always come back. They are re-born into life time and again. We will wait for him together, you and me!"
    " Yes!" Larkes roused suddenly. "It will be so, I know. I've seen the proof! We will try harder!"
    Sata l slightly moved away from the deranged mage. The senior coordinator didn't look like a strong combatant, but there were plenty of stories about his opponents, who died despite all their power.
    A fter digging in his desk for a short while, Larkes pulled out a small bottle without a label, poured a few bright yellow droplets into his glass and, not finding anything to dilute the potion with, drank it all straight up. Judging by his face, the remedy was disgusting, but he immediately sobered.
    " We are meeting in the small conference room in half an hour," he said, recovering from the bitterness of the potion. "Invite all department heads. This murder should not go unpunished!"

Chapter 11
    A t first glance, the idea to declare my death was awesome! But the more hours that had passed since the explosion, the more I understood Johan's doubts about its feasibility. To claim that the torn-to-shreds body was mine wasn't difficult - Mr. Flap's residual aura resembled its master's. But I, safe and sound, had to vanish without a trace.
    "Do y ou understand that for a dark mage to pretend to be someone else would be nearly impossible? You are few, and you easily strike the eye. As soon as you go somewhere, people will spot a strange traveler. You will leave tracks, unless you start killing witnesses."
    I couldn't challenge Johan's arguments. The white, when they begin reasoning, are horribly rational. "What if I masquerade as a commoner?"
    The white mage pursed his lips and shook his head in denial. "It won't work! Many ordinary people are as sensitive as empaths. They will unriddle you in five minutes, and the police will ask you to show your documents."
    I started fearing that the only way to get out of Suesson for me would be on foot, sleeping on the ground and feeding on rodents and grass. Another brilliant plan came to my mind, "Can