Naming Day (Jake Underwood Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

was talking about. Damn it. The only thing that was worse than a threat from the Court of Twilight, was praise from that quarter.
    “Of course, the Court was all a twitter when the Orb of Distress was pinched by an ‘unknown someone’. As fine a piece of work as has been seen in many a moon. I don’t suppose you’d care to dish a little gossip about that caper would you?”
    He actually used those sharpened talons to hang quotes in the air around his ‘unknown someone’
    “I certainly can’t confirm or deny anything about such a thing.. Anyway, I never talk about my clients. Something that I’m sure you can appreciate.” I smiled. Of course I couldn’t. I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about. Even if I did, I’d never talk to a wriggler like him anyway.
    “Yes. Of course. I can see you’re a fellow who likes plain speaking and so I’ll speak plainly.” He glanced at a chair and I nodded and sat behind the desk, the Glock coming out from behind my back and resting in lap. He seated himself and straightened the lines of suit and smoothed out imaginary wrinkles.
    “ Mr. Underwood, I have come to you with a most delicate problem. Can I rely on your complete discretion in this matter?” He raised those bony ridges of his again asking the question. In all the years that I have been a private investigator, this is the one of those questions that I have never understood. It was almost as bad as asking me; ‘Can I be honest with you?’  No, hell, lie like a cheap rug . I love it when clients lie to me. By all means DON’T be honest with me. If I was discrete I would answer yes and if I wasn’t, I would still answer yes so I’d have something to be indiscrete about.
    “Of course I’ll be discrete. As long what you have to say doesn’t involve prison time or a declaration of being Unclean, whatever you say will be between us.” Let him suck on that.
    “Yes...Very well. Where to begin?” He paused and seemed to be considering exactly how much to tell me. He was going to lie to me. But that’s okay. I’m used to my clients keeping a little of the truth, hell, sometime almost all the truth from me. It’s an occupational hazard.
    “Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself and what you do? You could start with your name.” That almost always relaxes a client. It’s familiar and comforting, like taking the same path across the lawn to the mailbox, you know the way and you are less likely to get tangled up.
    “Of course. I am Jeryn Callasandra, Keeper of the Fourth Seal of the Daemons, and I serve in Fourth Circle of the Court of High Lord Evenstride.” He announced it as someone who had long used the name as a shield and banner, protection from some and announcing his importance to others.
    “Fourth Circle huh? Impressive.” It was actually. I was a member of the Tenth circle of the Court of Dawn. That wasn’t a big deal. Anybody with any Fey blood at all or even allies of the Crown were Tenth Circle. In fact, favored guests of the Court often ranked at least Ninth or Eight Circle. Membership in Fourth Circle meant somebody who actually did something. Jeryn Callasandra was probably an underling of an important advisor or an Undercourt Lord who had active roles in some ceremonial spells and whose name might actually be used in some specific incantations to invoke the power of his office. I was a lot more fuzzy on the workings of Court of Twilight than the Dawn, but they were reflections of each other in many ways.
    He beamed at my praise. “Thank You. Coming from one like you that is high praise indeed for one so lowly as me. Your praise really should be to my Lord. Lord Cabor Klaris is in charge of Night Blooms and Outre Geometry.”
    “Outre Geometry?” The Night Blooms I could see as an important job, The Fey have odd concepts of beauty, but few could resist flowers so I wasn’t shocked to discover someone who was actually in charge of Night Blooming flowers. Outre Geometry was