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“He definitely knows something,” he explains. “But once he learned that what I told Ohan at the Order of the Scarlet Sword wasn’t entirely accurate, he left.”

“I don’t know if the others told you yet or not,” James says, “but there were five others with him stationed out in the trees surrounding the bridge.”

“Yeah, I kind of figured something like that when the bolt hit the bridge,” he replies.

James motions him over and Miko gets up from his seat to allow Jiron a closer view of the mirror. Scar and Potbelly resume their positions by the road to keep an eye on anyone passing by. However at this hour of the night, the number of people on the streets is dwindling rapidly.

They continue watching the men work their way through town. At one point, three of the men depart and head off on another side street. At the next intersection, another one leaves as well. The remaining man stays with him the remainder of the way until he arrives at a very nice townhouse. Four stories tall, the building is quite impressive.

The two men climb the three steps to the door where the man reaches in his cloak and removes a key. Placing it in the lock, he opens the door and enters. The other man follows him in and closes it behind them.

James cancels the spell and sits back. He rubs his neck as it grew stiff from bending over the mirror for so long. “Glad that’s over,” he says. Casting a look to where Jiron sits next to him he asks, “I suppose it wasn’t just idle curiosity that prompted you to have me follow him was it?”

Jiron shakes his head. “No.”

“You intend to go after him?” he asks.

“I have to find out where he got the necklace,” Jiron replies. “One way or another.”

“I thought you would feel that way,” James says with a sigh. Getting to his feet, he pulls forth his cloth. Having watched the man in the mirror for as long as he has, he’s able to get a fix on his location. Letting the magic flow, the cloth soon points the way to the townhouse the man entered. “Let’s go,” he says and heads out.

Chapter Nineteen

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James leads them through the streets until the townhouse the man entered comes into view down the street ahead of them. “That’s it,” he says. They then move a little further down the street before positioning themselves across the street next to the corner of another townhouse. Here they can remain hidden in the shadows and still keep an eye on the place.

“Scar, Potbelly,” Jiron says as he turns to face them. “You two make your way around back. If someone tries to leave, detain them.” He waits for them to nod and move out before he turns to James and the others. “The rest of you stay here and keep an eye on the front. I’m going to have a quick look around.”

“Be careful,” urges Aleya. He gives her a hug and a kiss before moving off.

James stands there in the shadows as Jiron races across the street and disappears into the alley adjacent to the townhouse. They wait for several anxious minutes before Jiron appears rounding the far side.

Keeping close to the wall, he moves quickly along the side of the building in their direction. When he passes the alley where he originally left the street, he pauses and looks both ways. Seeing that the street is deserted, he darts across to where James and the others are waiting.

“There are two other doors beside the front,” he says when he arrives. “One in the alley on this side and one in the back. Scar and Potbelly have the back one covered.”

“How do you plan on getting in there?” Brother Willim asks. For a priest, he sure seems to be taking a more active interest in this sort of thing than one would expect.

“On the far side of the building, there’s an open window on the second floor,” he explains. “The window is dark so it’s safe to say the room should be empty.”

“Alright,” James says, “Let’s go.” As he starts to move toward the building, Jiron stops him by placing a hand on his chest.

“No,” he says. “You and the rest stay here. I’m taking Stig with me.” When he sees James beginning to object, he cuts him off by saying, “He’s better suited for this