Will studied the engineer for a moment. Like Duncan, the man was in relatively good shape. He was tall and lean with dark hair and thick stubble covering his cheeks. Dugas and Courtney stepped away and Will followed behind them, listening as they spoke together.
“I haven’t sent my report in yet, but as I’m sure you guessed, the dam failure yesterday was definitely the result of sabotage. The buttress on the left side wasn’t actually able to hold any load at all. Someone dug down beneath it and exposed the metal before changing its properties. As soon it came under full load, it failed.”
Master Courtney nodded absently, seemingly uninterested in the shocking news as his eyes roamed over the ground around them. He stopped suddenly, pointing. “Is that where you were standing, Mister Cartwright?”
Will nodded. “Yes, sir.” He was surprised that the man had guessed it so accurately, until he noticed the discoloration around where he had stood. A five-foot circle held no plants at all; the grass and weeds that had been there were shriveled and black. Beyond that, the grass was brown and withered in a radius of about ten feet more. Did I cause that?
“Stephanie Beresford was here with him,” Professor Dugas informed Master Courtney. “The lady has a fire elemental.”
Apparently, that was supposed to explain the dead plants, though Will knew that the elemental had never manifested. Glancing at Master Courtney he couldn’t tell whether the old man believed the explanation or not. The head researcher merely replied, “Of course.” Then he looked up at the dam wall, his eyes gauging the distance. “Can you get me some measurements Professor Dugas?”
“I can give you whatever you need, Master Courtney. We have full schematics for the dam as well as topographical maps and surveys of—”
“Nothing that dramatic, Jason. I’d just like measurements of the distance from this spot to the dam, as well as the distance up the wall to where the breach began. If you could get those and draw up a simple diagram I would appreciate it.”
“Certainly.”
“Have it sent over to my office this evening if you don’t mind.”
Professor Dugas nodded. “Would you like a copy of the report on how the structure was sabotaged as well?”
Master Courtney waved his hand dismissively. “That’s a matter for the Crown to investigate. I’m not really interested in it.” He stared at the ground. “Do you have some jars? I didn’t think to bring any. I’d like to take samples of the soil and plants here.”
***
Will got home at close to his usual time, and while he hadn’t had to do any actual work, he still felt tired. Master Courtney hadn’t pressed him for any more answers on the way back but the tension of wondering when the next question might come had exhausted him.
Blake greeted him at the door. “How was your day, sir?”
He shook his head. “I’ve had better. Has T—” He caught himself. “Has Selene come in yet?”
“She’s upstairs,” answered Blake. “She asked me to reassure you that she wouldn’t be attacking you today, in light of your handicap.”
Will squinted suspiciously at the other man, wondering whether he should trust him. Tailtiu had been relentless for the past few months. “You’ve just made me more paranoid,” he complained.
When he got upstairs, he opened the door to the master bedroom cautiously. Tailtiu laughed when she saw his careful entry. “Relax. I truly won’t attack you again. Not until you tell me your magic is restored.”
“I figured you’d say something along the lines of me being prepared to defend myself with or without magic,” replied Will.
His aunt nodded. “I considered it, but the nature of the training I’ve been giving you won’t work in that context. Lethal attacks require you to respond without hesitation. If I kept it up, you’d almost certainly be forced to use a spell, and then you might permanently damage yourself. I can wait.”
“Did you see anything interesting today?”
Tailtiu shrugged. “She went to a party at some other human’s home. After that she went home, so I was a little bored. However, the house she lives in is being watched.”
“You spotted the assassin?”
“They spotted me,” said Tailtiu. “Whoever it is shadowing her is very good. I was forced to depart the area and change forms several times to avoid raising the watcher’s suspicion. For a human, the person watching their house is very observant.”
The fact that Tailtiu had been noticed was shocking to him, but Will didn’t dwell on it. “Were they still there when you left?”
She shook her head. “Probably had to eat or take care of other business. They left during the late afternoon. I tried to follow them.”
“Tried?”
Tailtiu seemed embarrassed. “The watcher passed around the other side of the house and vanished. I’m not sure how they got away from the area. I couldn’t find any trace or trail.”
That was close to unbelievable. “Nothing?”
She nodded, then tapped her nose. “There wasn’t even a scent trail. Even creatures that can mask their turyn can’t do that.”
“Could they have slipped through a congruence? Or maybe they didn’t leave?”
“There were no congruences nearby, and if they’d stayed, I would have found them. I waited and kept an eye on the area for another hour before coming back here, just to see if they’d hidden somehow. If they were still there, they were more patient than I am.”
None of that made Will feel better. He started for the door.
“Don’t bother,” said Tailtiu. “You’ll only make matters worse.”
“I can’t just ignore this.”
“If the watcher does come back, you’ll be spotted immediately,” explained Tailtiu. “Without magic, you don’t have a chance in hell of remaining unobserved, and you’ve already discovered you’re no match for this one in hand-to-hand combat. I’ll watch the house until you’ve recovered.”
Although he felt relieved, Will couldn’t help but ask, “Doesn’t that conflict with your other promise?”
“It was decided that this was a reasonable exception.”
He stared at the fae woman with sudden interest. “You saw her? You spoke to her? What did she say? Is she well?”
His aunt laughed. “I spoke with Mother. I haven’t seen your lover any more recently than you have.”
Will frowned. “But isn’t she with Aislinn? I thought surely—”