Kingdom of Lies (Imp Series Book 7) by Debra Dunbar Read Free Book Online

might be pretty, but I had a feeling it was going to be spelled with something truly nasty.
    “And...?” Sometimes the best way to find something out is to ask, and then just shut up and wait. I’m not very good at shutting up or waiting, but evidently Gareth was worse.
    “It enhances the power of a spell. It’s a five-carat alexandrite. The last time I saw it, the gem was set in a ring, but it may have been removed from the setting.”
    Five carats was one fucking big ring. I whistled softly, thinking of the stone. Alexandrite was a cloudy mess of pink, purple, olive, and emerald. It was one of my favorites. Normally I’d be tempted to keep such a thing for myself, but I had no use for spell power enhancement.
    “So, in spite of whoever originally stole it, it’s probably now in the hands of a mage or sorcerer,” I conjectured. “What kind of spell does it enhance? Is it purpose-built to only certain specialties, and does it have a limit?”
    I’d tracked down enough rogue sorcerers in my life that I knew what to ask about magical items. When high-level magic users ran away from their elven masters, they usually didn’t do it empty-handed. And it was often the shit they carried with them that a demon needed to be wary of.
    “It’s general in application.” Gareth avoided my eyes, looking down at the bowl of beaks and fingering them as if he were considering actually eating one.
    General purpose wasn’t good news for me, but it was the questions he hadn’t answered that had my skin crawling again. “How many charges? And to what level does it enhance a spell?” I repeated my questions with more specific language.
    His eyes met mine, and I didn’t like the deception I saw in them. “I’m not exactly sure. I had a partner in creating this magical item, and I’m not certain what he’s done to it since he stole it.”
    “Wait.” The headache was coming back, and it wasn’t just the fact that Gareth had lied to me that was causing it. “You know who took it? And you’ve been waiting around for me to go get him?”
    So much for easy peasy. How long had this fucking thing been gone? And how badass was Gareth’s ‘partner’ that he would rather throw me at him and spend a favor than take care of the situation himself?
    The sorcerer took a deep breath. “My partner in this project is an elf named Swiftethian. I have no concrete proof he took it, but I was secretive about my involvement, and I know he was too. I can’t imagine anyone else would have known about it.”
    I didn’t know Swiftethian, but elves generally didn’t work as ‘partners’ with humans. They taught them magical skills then reaped the fruit of their slave’s labors. “So what did the elf get out of this partnership? From how you’ve described this gem, it hardly seems like anything an elf could use. Why would he partner with you?”
    “I paid him. Without human slaves, some elves are in need of money, and I needed his expertise.”
    More lies. I was on the verge of a migraine. Whatever. It was clear I wasn’t going to get any more out of Gareth. I was used to haring off on missions for elves who lied and sent me out to my probable death. Why should this human be any different? Fine. I was disappointed as all hell about such treatment from someone I’d kinda considered a friend, but we demons were used to looking out for ourselves. So that’s what I was going to do.
    “I’m afraid this service you’re requesting is of greater value than one favor.”
    “Do this and I’ll clear your debt. This plus the agricultural project to Libertytown for Kirby and you won’t owe either of us anything.”
    Holy shit. It was worse than I’d thought. What the fuck was this gem, and who was this Swifty elf that he was worth a dozen demon favors? I’d need to let Gregory and Nyalla know I might be unavailable for more than a few days.
    “Deal.”
    I munched beaks as I escorted Gareth out, feeling the weight of debt lift from my