The Inquisitor's Apprentice by Chris Moriarty Read Free Book Online

to peek inside. But he couldn't be quite sure the clerk wasn't watching him, so he set the files carefully on the floor and sat down to wait.
    It was a long wait. As the minutes ticked by, Sacha began to fidget. Did Inquisitor Wolf know he was here? Was he going to be blamed for being late? Was he even in the right office?
    He cleared his throat.
    "Yes?"
    "Um ... nothing."
    "Suit yourself."
    Since there didn't seem to be anything else to do, Sacha began looking at the bewildering mass of case files lining the walls.
    It was easy to see the magical significance of labels like SHAMANS, BANSHEES, and MAGICAL SUPPLIES (ILLEGAL TRAFFICKING IN) . But what did COAT CHECKS and WALKING STICKS have to do with magical crime? Who were TATTERED TOM and THE WOMAN IN WHITE ? And what on earth would anyone file under CROSSROADS, ITEMS SOLD AT ?
    Sacha ran a finger along the spines of the stacked files until he came to a name he knew, a name everyone knew: HOUDINI .
    "Why do you have a file on Harry Houdini?" he asked, affecting what he hoped was a casual tone of being in on the big secret. "He's not even a real magician. I went to a performance once. It was all flimflam. No real magic at all."
    "And that's your expert opinion, is it?" The clerk sounded amused.
    "Sure."
    "I suppose all the
other
stage magicians you've seen used real magic?"
    "Well ... um..."
    "Real illusionists never use real magic in their shows. It's a point of honor. After all, any two-bit backstreet conjure man can
actually
make a rabbit disappear into a hat. It's faking it that takes talent." The boy's mouth twitched. "But naturally you must know that already, since you know so much about magic."
    "Uh ... yeah ... naturally," Sacha said, retreating back to his corner.
    Eventually he got up enough courage to try again. "Excuse me," he said. "I just realized that ... well ... we haven't been introduced."
    "No, we haven't."
    "I'm Sacha Kessler."
    "I'm Philip Payton." Payton smiled—a rather nice smile, actually—and Sacha told himself he'd been silly to feel so intimidated.
    "And ... uh ... what are you doing here?"
    The smile went out like a blown fuse. "What's that supposed to mean?"
    "Nothing! I just ... um ... well ... I mean, do you work for Inquisitor Wolf?"
    "Brilliant deduction. I can tell you'll make a star Inquisitor. And now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish this report before lunch."
    "But does Inquisitor Wolf know I'm here?"
    Payton heaved a 1ong-suffering sigh, walked over to the closed door behind his desk, and opened it just wide enough to stick his head into the next room. "Excuse me for interrupting, but Sacha Kessler wants me to tell you that he's arrived. He seems to think apprentices get extra credit for being on time."
    Sacha heard an indistinct murmur from inside the office.
    "Not yet," Payton replied.
    Another murmur.
    "
I
know. But he kept pestering me."
    Sacha cringed.
    Finally Payton closed the door and turned back to Sacha. "Inquisitor Wolf told me to tell you that if it's
quite
all right with you, he would prefer to see you when the other apprentice arrives."
    The
other
apprentice? It had never occurred to Sacha that there would be another apprentice. He wasn't at all sure he liked the idea. He was still getting used to it when the door opened and a
girl
walked in.
    And not just any girl. A rich girl. Everything about her said Old Money, from the hand-embroidered lace on her dress to the haughty look on her aristocratic face.
    Her cool blue eyes surveyed the room, dismissed Sacha as beneath notice, and settled on Payton. "Sorry I'm late," she said. "The traffic was so ridiculous that Mother's motorcar overheated and we had to sit in the middle of Fifty-ninth Street until it cooled down enough to start again."
    "Don't worry about it," Payton told her—and Sacha noted bitterly that
she
rated his nicest smile. "Inquisitor Wolf's been busy with cases all morning and wasn't ready to talk to you anyway. Have a seat."
    The girl cleared