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at least found a general area that we couldn't penetrate."
    "So, you can guarantee that he isn't within a hundred miles of the city?"
    "Right. Now, it's possible that he's in the jungle to the west, in which case we'll probably find him within the next day or two. But I'd guess he'd bolted for the East." I nodded slowly. "So you came to me, figuring that I can operate out there easier than a Dragaeran."
    "That's right. And, of course, we know that you have an extremely formidable information network."
    "My information network," I said, "doesn't extend to the East." That was almost true. My sources back in my ancestral homeland were few and far between. Still, there wasn't any reason to let the Demon in on everything I had.
    "Well, then," he said, "there's an additional bonus for you. By the time this is over, you'll probably have something where you didn't before."
    I smiled at his riposte, and nodded a little.
    "And so," I said, "you want my friend to go out to wherever Mellar is hiding and get your gold back?"
    "That would be nice," he admitted. "But it's secondary. The main thing is to make sure that no one gets the idea that it's safe to steal from us. Even Kiera, bless her sweet little fingers, hasn't tried that. I'll add that I take this whole thing very personally. And I will feel very warmly toward whomever does this particular little job for me." I sat back, and thought for a long time, then. The Demon was politely silent. Sixty-five thousand gold! And, of course, having the Demon owe me a favor was better than a poke in the eye with a Morganti dagger by all means.
    "Morganti?" I asked.
    He shrugged. "It has to be permanent, however you want to do it. If you happen to destroy his soul in the process, I won't be upset. But it isn't necessary. Just so that he ends up dead, with no chance of anyone revivifying him."
    "Yeah. You say that the Left Hand is working on locating him?"
    "Right. The best they've got."
    "That can't be helping your security any."
    He shrugged. "They know who; they don't know why. As far as they're concerned, it's a personal matter between Mellar and me. You may not realize it, but the Left Hand tends to take less of an interest in what the council is doing than the lowest pimp on the streets. I'm not worried about security from that end. But if this goes on too long, word will get out that I'm looking for Mellar, and someone who notices that the council is having financial trouble will start counting the eggs."
    "I suppose. Okay, I suspect that my friend will be willing to take this on. He's going to need whatever information you have about Mellar as a starting point." The Demon held his hand out to the side. The bodyguard, who had been standing politely (and safely) out of earshot, placed a rather formidable-looking sheaf of papers in it. The Demon handed these over to me. "It's all there," he said.
    "All?"
    "As much as we know. I'm afraid it may not be as much as you'd like."
    "Okay." I briefly ruffled through the papers. "You've been busy," I remarked. He smiled.
    "If there's anything else I need," I said, "I'll get back to you."
    "Fine. It should be obvious, but your friend is going to have all the help he needs on this one."
    "In that case, I presume you're going to continue with your searching? You have access to better sorcerers than my friend has; you could keep going on that front."
    "I intend to," he said drily. "And I should also mention something else. If we happen to run into him before you do and see an opportunity, we're going to take him ourselves. I mean no disrespect by that, but I think you can understand that this is a rather special situation."
    "I can't say I like it," I said, "but I understand." I wasn't at all happy about it, in fact. Sure, my fee would be safe, but things like that can cause complications--and complications scare me.
    I shrugged. "I think you can understand, too--and I mean no disrespect by this-- that if some Teckla gets in the way, and my friend thinks