Chapter Twenty-One

It was Bernie, not Paul, who stepped into the light, watching Vellora and Ida with a greedy expression. "I'm honestly surprised you came. You seem more the kind to run with your tail between your legs."

"Who are you?" Vellora demanded. "And what do you want from us?"

"Your gold, obviously."

"But why?" Vellora said. "My wife—"

"Your wife? What does she have to do with anything?" Bernie turned to Ida. "Was she in the war, too?"

Vellora and Ida shared a look of surprise. "It was…me you were blackmailing?" Vellora said.

He tilted his head, almost amused. "Well, most soldiers who fought in the Battle of Eriwall carry the guilt so heavily on their shoulders that even the mention of a crime sends them to their knees."

Vellora straightened. "How did you…"

"What's that?" Ida asked, looking at her wife.

"Oh, it was a nasty business. In a desperate attempt to win, kingside soldiers did some…well, it's not right for polite company. But suffice to say that although they won, the cost was…"

Vellora's face was growing darker by the moment, but not from anger…from shame. Her fists were clenched together as she stared at the ground.

"Okay, fine. She was in a nasty battle," Ida said, putting a comforting hand on her wife's shoulder. "But all those battles…it was forgiven. Vellora filled out the paperwork—fills it out every year, in fact, and sends it to her registrar like she's supposed to." Ida narrowed her gaze. "Unless that witch of a queen has changed her own rules again."

"Oh, this thing?" Bernie pulled out a small piece of paper with writing on it. Bev couldn't tell what it was from this distance, but, based on the way Vellora's eyes widened in shock, she could guess.

"That's my… How did you get that?" Vellora asked. "It's supposed to be with my file in Groitown…" Her mouth fell open. "You're my registrar, aren't you?"

He nodded with a sly grin. "I am. And it turns out your card wasn't ever completed, and you've been ignoring our letters," he said, pulling out a different card, one that had much less writing on it. "Or maybe you've been responding dutifully. It all depends on what's in that sack."

Bev huffed angrily. What a racket!

"That can't be…?" Ida said to Vellora with a shake of her head. "Surely, there's more than one person who can make a form official?"

"Just me, unfortunately. Quite a loophole, isn't it?" He cracked a smile. "My bosses have far too many soldiers to keep track of each individual one. And all the way out here…well, let's say as long as I keep sending back letters, they don't question." He paused. "It's common for soldiers to disappear, you know. Lots skipped town, tried to hide who they were, changed their name…from Gekkert to Witzel, for example."

"I got married," Vellora said through gritted teeth.

"And to be honest, for most of those who were in the battle, the threat of exposing the secrets is enough to goad people into coughing up their gold. Nobody wants their loved ones to know what a monster they really are." He wagged his brows. "Usually don't have to resort to faking their registration card." He paused, thinking. "But you really didn't suspect… You thought your wife was the target?" His beady-eyed gaze turned to Ida. "What secrets does she have?"

Bev started. Bernie doesn't know about Ida's magical strength?

Vellora took a step forward. "I could break your bones."

"You could, I'm sure," he said. "But I've asked my dear friend Collin back at the inn to send Dag Flanigan and the others to arrest you and your wife if I'm not back by ten. Paid him the money he was expecting to get from his gig at Kaiser Tuckey's house, too."

"On what charges?" Ida asked. "What business does a magical hunter have with a wayward soldier?

Bev was curious, too.

"You don't know about Flanigan, do you?" He cracked a smile. "Any other soldier, sure. He'd ignore it like so many. But the Battle of Eriwall is personal for him. He fought there, you know. Lost nearly his entire regiment. That scar on his face? That's courtesy of the king's magic wielders. Once I tell him who you are, he'll be more than happy to see you in handcuffs. Especially after what you did to poor Estera."

Neither butcher responded.

"I must say, I thought you might get off the hook, what with all this snow—I was sure Flanigan and his regiment had moved on. How fortuitous that they decided to stay at the Weary Dragon instead."

"How did you even know he was nearby?" Ida asked.

"Estera told me," he said. "Poor thing was as squeamish as a worm, but she was easy to get talking once she had a pint in her. Told me all about Dag and his soldiers staying north of town, and how she'd only gotten permission to leave, but she was so nervous that they'd be coming into Pigsend, and her leave would be canceled." He chuckled. "And thanks to you, that happened."

Those butchers are going to regret threatening her. She said she's hoping that their arrest tomorrow will get her leave granted again.

But of course, Bernie didn't offer up that little piece of information. Bev could have throttled him.

"Now if you don't mind, I'm going to take my money and—" He picked up the bag, frowning. "You better not have shorted me."

Ida swallowed. Bev recognized the satchel that had the solstice party gold in it—only fifty gold coins. And it didn't look to be any more full.

"This is a dangerous game you're playing," he said, reaching into his pocket.

Bev held her breath as Ida grabbed Vellora's arm, but Bernie just pulled out something small. Red.

Wallace's ring!

He slipped it on his finger and began to twist it. "Now, I'm not eager to cause trouble, and you two will be as good as arrested tomorrow. So why don't you take me back to your butcher shop and give me the rest of the gold, eh?" He glanced at Ida. "It's under your bed, isn't it? The rainy day fund. You were hoping to surprise Vellora with a trip back to her hometown, weren't you?"

To Bev's horror, Ida nodded.

"Probably not the best idea, considering Vellora's family doesn't want to see her after the atrocities she committed," Bernie said, twisting the ring more. He paused and smiled at it. "This thing is going to come in handy, isn't it?"

Bev balled her fists and stepped away from the window. She had to do…something, but she wasn't sure what she needed to do.

But first, she needed to get to the inn before Bernie did.

~

Bev burst into the front room of the Weary Dragon, heaving gasping breaths as she bent over. Biscuit trotted to her, and she patted him on the head.

"I'm okay," she said.

"Bev, goodness!" Collin came to stand next to her. "What's wrong?"

"Where's Estera?" Bev said, straightening with some effort. "It's important."

"What is it?" The young soldier was seated by the fire, her wide eyes innocent. "What's wrong?"

"Did Bernie promise you something?" Bev said.

"Well, he certainly—" Collin began, puffing out his chest.

"Not talking to you," Bev snapped, quieting the bard immediately. "Estera. This is very important. Did he tell you that he could get your leave granted if you told Dag about someone in town?"

She toyed with her fingers nervously. "M-maybe he did. What's it to you?"

"Because you don't want to send innocent people to jail, do you?" Bev asked.

"Innocent?" The soldier rose, her face turning blotchy. "That woman nearly killed me! She's lucky I didn't mention it to… Well, it's not… I'm not supposed to be throttled by civilians." She cleared her throat. "But I didn't forget! I'm going to tell Dag about it in the morning."

"About what?" Bev pressed. "Vellora's missing registration card?"

"Yes, of course. What else could there be?"

Bev ran her hand over her hair. "Bernie is blackmailing the butchers, Estera. He's Vellora's registrar, but he's threatening to lie about her paperwork unless she pays him 150 gold coins. But you're going to see to it that they're arrested anyway."

"That's impossible." Abigail's voice rang out from above. She wore her dressing gown, but the baby was fussing in her arms as she walked down the stairs. "Bernie is a registrar?"

Bev nodded, a glimmer of hope in her chest. "Yes. Or…what is it? An investigator?" She took a step toward Abigail. "He said he's the only one who can certify a soldier's card." She took a breath. "Tell me that's not how that works?"

Abigail adjusted the fussing baby in her arms, a nervous look on her face. "Well, I can't say for sure what happens in other districts. Some investigators are given much more leeway than others. But… but surely that isn't the case here. There must be a misunderstanding." She looked around. "Where is Bernie, anyway?"

"Walking back from Herman Monday's house with the Witzels," Bev said. "Aiming to get the rest of his gold."

"Look, I don't know what Bernie's doing or not doing, but those butchers are just getting what's coming to them," Estera said, turning to walk toward the stairs. "I'm going to bed. Have a long journey in the morning."

"So you've already told Dag about the butchers, then?" Bev said, feeling defeated. "Gotten your leave approved?"

"N-no, not yet," Estera said. "But I'm sure that in the morning, he'll be happy to hear—"

"And you're sure he'll grant you leave with just a soldier who didn't finish their paperwork?" Bev asked, getting an idea. "What if…what if you were to find something else? Something magical?"

She paused on the bottom step. "Go on."

"Bernie has a ring," Bev said. "One—

Collin perked up again. "Oh, he took Wallace's—"

"Collin, I will pay you one gold coin to keep quiet the rest of the night," Bev snapped.

The bard quieted immediately.

"This ring has the power to read minds and influence them, too," Bev said. "I saw him use it on the butchers."

Estera turned around. "Really?"

"Really." Bev took a step forward. "Now, I know that Dag might've fought some battles, but his main charge is to hunt down magic, right? So if you really want to ensure you get home, go get your boss and tell him there's a magical ring next door at the butcher shop."

~

Flanigan didn't look pleased to be roused, especially by Estera. Bev only heard snippets of the conversation, but she was getting the distinct impression that Flanigan would rather any other soldier be on his team, but he was stuck with Estera.

"So what is this nonsense?" he asked, roughly pulling on his coat. "Something about a butcher?"

"There's a man who's trying to extort the butchers next door," Bev said. "He has a magical ring that—"

"Magical ring?" The commotion had woken Wallace and Paul, the latter looking at his husband incredulously.

"Y-yes," Bev said, as Wallace looked stricken. "Bernie has a magic ring. And if we hurry, we can catch him in the act."

It was a larger group than Bev would've liked. Flanigan, Estera, Abigail, Collin, Wallace, and Paul all clamored across the slushy street to the butcher shop. The light was on in the front, illuminating Bernie and Vellora. Ida was walking down the stairs with another gold satchel in hand.

Bev rushed through the front door, the group following a bit slower behind her, and Bernie turned suddenly as the room filled with people.

"What in the…" He met Bev's gaze, and wheels began turning. "O-oh… I'm so glad you're here! These butchers have threatened me, kept me here unless I pay them money!" He pointed to the sack of gold in Ida's hands. "This is all I have left! They took it!"

"That's the Witzels' money," Bev said. "Dag—"

"I saw the butchers threatening him," Collin said, pointing his finger at Vellora. "Yesterday."

"That's not true," Bev said, shaking her head. She turned to Bernie, and to her horror, he was twisting the ring and gazing at each person in the room.

"I saw it as well," Abigail said, with a firm nod. "Both butchers, in fact."

"They threatened me when I was last here," Estera added. "That's why I left so soon, sir."

Bev's frightened gaze landed on Dag, and her heart sank to her stomach as he took a step toward Vellora. "I see."

But to her utter surprise, the soldier walked up to Bernie and grabbed his left hand, inspecting the ring.

"You were right," Dag said to Bev. "This is magical. An empath ring."

"W-what?" Bernie took a step back, pulling helplessly at his hand stuck in Dag's firm grip. "You're mad. It's just a ruby ring."

The soldier flashed a knowing grin, showing off his iron bangle that somehow looked familiar to Bev. "Do you really think a magic hunter like me wouldn't be prepared? I felt your magic, sorcerer, and I blocked it."

"S-sorcerer?" Bernie laughed nervously. "I'm not a sorcerer, I'm just a traveling jack-of-trades, you know. Just in town. Found this in the inn. Hadn't a clue that it was magical." He looked at Wallace. "It's his!"

"I've never seen that thing before in my life," Wallace said, folding his arms across his chest. "Except on Bernie."

Beside him, Paul narrowed his gaze before nodding. "Me neither. It's certainly not my husband's."

"I last saw it on him, too," Collin said, catching Bev's gaze.

"You're all lying!" Bernie cried. "It's not mine!"

"Whether it's yours or not," Dag said. "I just witnessed you attempting to coerce a member of the queen's special service with magic. A very serious charge, indeed."

Bernie paled considerably.

"So does this mean I get to go home tomorrow?" Estera asked. "Since, you know, I'm the one who found it…?"

"I think the innkeeper found it," Flanigan replied dryly.

"Oh, no," Bev said, holding up her hands. "It was all Estera. She's the mastermind who was investigating Bernie. That's why she left and came back, after all. She was…trying to find out who was sending the Witzels these threatening letters. Followed them to Herman's house and overheard everything." Bev nodded at her. "You've got quite the mastermind on your hands, Mr. Flanigan. She deserves a medal."

Estera's mouth fell open, but she didn't argue, watching her boss with bated breath.

"I suppose. But you'll have to meet up with us in three days," he said. "In Sheepsburg. I have a lead on a dragon shifter I need to investigate." He adjusted his cloak. "Now if we're all finished here, I'd like to get some sleep tonight. Estera can keep watch over the prisoner she so keenly identified."

"Wait, I have gold!" Bernie cried. "I can—"

"Right, that." Ida marched across the room and plucked the satchel off Bernie's hip. "I'll be taking that back, thank you."

"Wait a second," Abigail said, holding up her hands. "There's still the matter of the registration card. Is it missing or not completed or what?"

"Oh, it's right here." Vellora reached into Bernie's pocket and plucked out two cards. She discarded one, presumably the blank one, and marched the other over to Abigail.

The registrar read the form three or four times before nodding. "This looks to be all in order."

"I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize my family's safety," Vellora said earnestly. "I promise you. Ida means everything to me."

Abigail flashed her a nervous, but genuine smile. "I can understand that. Dag? Take him away."

Flanigan looked irked to be ordered around by a registrar, but did as instructed anyway, with Estera, Abigail, and Collin following behind.

"Magic ring?" Paul asked, turning on his husband. "Wallace, seriously—"

"It was Bernie's. I think we all heard that, right?" Wallace said, chuckling nervously. "I wouldn't be caught dead being so irresponsible. Wielding magic when there's magic hunters all over this country. Surely, you know I'm much smarter than that, right?"

Paul gave his husband a dirty look as they walked across the street together, leaving Bev and the butchers alone.

"I guess we can afford to throw our solstice party after all," Ida said with a relieved laugh. She handed the satchel to Bev with a teary smile. "Assuming you're still up for it after all this chaos?"

Bev pushed the gold back into Ida's hand. "For you two, it's on the house."