Free The Scofflaw Magician (The Artifactor Book 3) by Honor Raconteur

of my son right before he disappeared. His skills were good,
but I didn’t think them amazing enough to recommend him to the king. I wonder
how he came into the palace?”
    Xald cocked his
head sideways so he could read easier. “Ah, him. Not much to look at, that man,
and you’re correct—his skills were nothing to boast about. He was invited to
come in and audition for role of court painter, but he didn’t make it. I think
he only stayed a week.”
    That was two
connections. “Mark him too. Sir, your information has been sound. Thank you for
tracking us down.”
    “You’ll look
for my son too while you’re searching?” he beseeched.
    Sevana felt a
pang of pity. “I will. Now that I know to look for him. Give me his name and
description.”
    “Murad, he’s
fifteen, tall but thin, and he was wearing all white with a purple turban the
last I saw him. He’s very dark skinned, but eyes are light.” Petran’s voice
cracked at the end.
    Xald put a hand
on the man’s shoulder. “Be strong, man. We’ll find him.”
    Petran hunched
in on himself, looking very lost for several moments. “Pray do. Pray do.
Otherwise I will never be able to face my wife, my children, my parents. They
blame me, as we fought the day he disappeared.”
    “If he’s truly
been spirited away the way the princess has, it doesn’t have anything to do
with you,” Sevana informed him, tone matter of fact. “And if he’s been taken
the way she has, I’ll find him along with her.”
    With a glimmer
of hope in his eyes, he looked back up at her. “You think so?”
    “It’s
inevitable.” She leaned in closer, eyes locked with his. “I tell you this. This
magician is smart, and crafty, and he’s made me repeat I don’t know all
week, and I HATE saying that. He’s challenging my skills, and I will not rest
until I have unraveled what he has done. Mark my words. I will not stop working
on this problem until I have retrieved everyone he has spirited away.”
    “This is the
woman that saved Prince Bellomi and King Aren in Windamere,” Xald inputted
quietly. “You can take her word as truth.”
    Petran grabbed
one of her hands with both of his, his palms sweaty, grip desperate. “I will
help you in any way I can.”
    Sevana opened
her mouth, about to say he couldn’t help, when a thought struck. “Petran, how
strong is the magical influence in your house? You have shields and protections
up?”
    “Some, yes.”
    Some. But not
as strong as the palace, she bet. “I will come to your house tomorrow morning.
I want to see if there is any lingering magic there that will give me a hint of
what happened. I couldn’t get any readings at the palace, that place is choking
on magic signatures.”
    “Of course,” he
agreed instantly. “I will meet you at the main gate after breakfast toll and
guide you myself.”
    Good enough.
“For tonight, go back. Tell your family I’m coming, and don’t disturb anything;
I need a clear picture of what your house was like when your son disappeared.”
    He bobbed his
head several times. “I will, I will, thank you, Artifactor.” With a last bow to
the both of them, he scurried out again.
    Sevana tapped a
finger against her lips, watching him go with narrowed eyes. “Xald. We might
have just gained an important lead.”
    “You believe
him, that his son has magically disappeared?”
    “I give it
fifty-fifty odds. But if nothing else, I want to be in a household that has had
two of our missing people in it. I have a notion a clue of some sort has been
left behind.”
    Xald blew out a
weary breath. “Let’s hope you’re right.”
    Their drinks
arrived with two steaming bowls. Sevana didn’t recognize it, but this must be
the ordered curry. She took a cautious bite and her eyes nearly crossed, the
spices were that strong. People ate this regularly?!
    The bodyguard
must have read her expression as he grinned and suggested, “The bread and the
drink both cut out the fire.”
    She promptly
drank a