06/04/2025 Snippet, IN THE HALLS OF THE LILY KING.

I am starting to like Waylon. It’s a real shame.

…

Savoy’s town house actually was on fire, which made Waylon a little nervous. What if he had the Second Sight, and didn’t even know it? He was a little old to be suddenly going eldritch. Luckily, the fire was new enough that there was still a reasonably full crowd of gawkers, not to mention a whole slew of firemen. There weren’t any dead bodies being laid out, either, which irrationally made him feel better. After all, he hadn’t burned the damned place down.

Serenity had a little more information about that, to go with two paper mugs of the ridiculously cheap coffee that Holy Quebec apparently ran on. “The fire started at dawn,” she told him. “One of the servants smelled smoke from the study, they summoned the fire brigade, but it arrived too late to save the structure.”

Waylon looked around. This was the kind of neighborhood that rated their own firehouse. “What, they get lost?”

“Broken harness.” She sipped her coffee. “I doubt it would have made a difference, anyway. That fire smells of paraffin.”

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