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long distances in the city, the small two or four-seater carriages pulled by a bicycle rider did not go very fast. Magic powered rickshaws and buggies were faster, but there were a few magic powered rickshaws for hire. Most rickshaw drivers owned their rickshaws and lived off the earnings; few could afford the expensive mechanism that used water and charged crystals to power the rickshaw.
    If they could save up enough to buy the water engine, the weekly cost of recharging the crystals would make it too expensive to operate. The small magic powered buggies on the roads were owned by those rich enough to afford the upkeep. Larger magic powered surreys and carriages were much more rare, as the water engines in them were powered by several large crystals, thus making them much more expensive. The few large carriages on the road were owned by the elite class who could both afford the vehicles and employ a driver.
    The morgue was only four blocks away. In the morning crush I could walk it faster than a rickshaw would be able to navigate the traffic, but first I had to get across the street. Though there were stop signs at a few of the major intersections, the closest one was three blocks away in the wrong direction. So, I waited for the right moment and dashed into the street. I reached the other side just in time to avoid getting plowed down by a team of oxen pulling a cart full of crates.
    I reached the morgue a few minutes later and rushed in hoping I’d beat Ian. As I expected, my luck for the day hadn’t gotten any better, and he was standing in the waiting area, looking coolly impatient.
    “Good morning, Miss Moon. It’s so good of you to finally join us.” His tone was cool and formal and his lips formed a smirk as he looked me up and down, taking in my disheveled appearance.
    Of course he was perfectly groomed. His chestnut hair just touched his ears and the collar of the light tan shirt that peaked out from under his dark brown leather vest. Even the leather boots his perfectly creased khaki pants were tucked into were spotlessly free of dirt and grime, despite the fact that the streets were still muddy from the night’s rain.
    Damn the man. He had his perfectly shaped nose so high in the air I wondered how he didn’t drown when it rained. He was probably afraid I’d get dirt on his spotless and perfectly creased person.
    “For shits sake, Barroes, do we have to go through this every single time we work together? Call me Fiona. Don’t wrinkle you’re damned nose up at me. Some of us actually have to work for a living. Sometimes that means getting a little dirty. Can we just go in and see what the hell is going on so I can go home and change?”
    The smirk widened into a full on grin and he gave me a mocking, sweeping bow.
    “After you milady.” He said, gesturing towards the door to the back room.
    I huffed and barely resisted the urge to punch him in the jaw as I swept by him.
    The morgue attendant, Sonny, was sitting at a desk in the far corner of the room when they came in. He immediately got up and rushed over to them.
    “Agent Moon, Master Barroes, thank you for coming.”
    I smiled at him. I liked Sonny. He was sweet and kind and chose to use his power in a job that served others. He was a Necromancer, all of the Morgue attendants were. It made their jobs easier and made it easier for Guards. Under normal circumstances an outside Necromancer wasn’t called in when a City Guard or Blade needed to question a spirit attached to a recently deceased body at the morgue. Though every working Necromancer in the city was required to be registered with the guild, the morgue attendants worked directly for the City. Necromancers from the guild were only called in for investigations where there wasn’t a body at the morgue or there might be spirit “witnesses” to a crime.
    This didn’t seem to be either situation, so I couldn’t understand why Sonny, normally very competent, felt like he needed outside help.