Page 14 of Ogres Don't Play
“Politics? Random. What else? Is he hideously disfigured?”
“I wouldn’t mind hideously disfigured as much as blue skin. He’s an ogre,” I finally said quickly so we could move on. Obviously, that was all that needed to be said.
“Wait a minute,” she said, holding up a hand, brow furrowed. “You were kidnapped by an ogre after another ogre saved you? That’s seems like a strange coincidence.”
I shrugged. “They aren’t the same kind of ogre. One is a battle ogre, the other is an artisan.”
“Artisan kidnapper.” She wiggled her brows for some reason, which reminded me of Anna, and I couldn’t help but rub my neck where it was tingling and aching weirdly.
I shrugged. “I’ve got to get back before he wakes up from my spell and realizes that I’ve escaped. Could I use your phone to call Tiago? My phone was crushed forever ago. I also need to call this reporter the mayor is blackmailing.”
She smiled at me. “You have to get back before your drugging wears off? Wow. It sounds like you’re a true victim.”
I studied my friend, golden hair when she was happy, mousy hair when she was overworked and stressed out, because she was angel/demon with quite a lot of both. I was unbalanced enough with angel/elven, and a smattering of human that didn’t help me know where I belonged. “He’s making me a harp. He went from kidnapping to bribery, but he’s a stickler for having his victims stay on the premises until they get the deal all worked out. Right now, the deal is problematic.”
“What is this deal, exactly?”
There was no harm telling her, and I did want her help researching ogres, so… I shrugged. “He wants me to host his niece in my music hall, and in exchange for that, will offer some funds as well as a custom harp for me.”
“Wait, he’s paying you to have a little music assistant? How old is she?”
“I don’t know. Anyway, the deal is good, but at the moment the music guild is in my hall, deciding whether or not to close it down. It’s got a lot of problems still, but it’s come so far.” It was mine. I wasn’t going to give it up to some guild who hadn’t bothered to save it or Singsong when things had gotten bad.
Her brows rose in shock. “How can some faraway guild decide whether your music hall stays open? That’s ridiculous. You’ve done so much for it, pouring your blood, sweat, tears, manipulation, conniving, and wicked heart into that building, bringing it back from the dust. Speaking of, what are you really here for?”
Apparently my reputation proceeded me. “I was walking, and I noticed that the lamps in Song were very out of tune, at least down near Wonderland. Terrible hourly motel down there.”
“I think that’s a synonym. Terrible and hourly motels. You want me to take Pansy on a walk in Song? Okay. What else do you want?” She narrowed an eye, like she knew me too well. Did I always want something when I saw her? Usually food, but this time it was something she’d love.
“I wonder if you have any books about ogres. I need to repay the one ogre for rescuing me, and I need to know what to expect from the other one, the artisan.” Particularly if there were more weird ogre traditions, like the one about wearing a man’s clothes. When was my neck going to stop feeling weird? If I was going to host Rook’s niece, I needed to get a handle on all the particulars.
She smiled sunnily. “Finally, you’re asking me to do something I’m actually good at. I’ll do research on your ogre, compile a list of the best ways to kill him, as well as any other weaknesses he might have that you can use for your own purposes.” She took a bite of her sushi and shrugged. “It’s not terrible, but it’s not that great, either. I have too much money these days and it’s turning me into a sushi snob.”
I stole a roll off her plate, but she blocked my chopsticks with her own and we spent a few minutes going back and forth until my stick slipped and I sliced through the roll so it fell on her plate. She scooped up one half and I got the other, which was satisfying.
“Here,” she said, putting her phone in front of me and standing. “I’m going to check on something while you make your calls.”
“Thanks,” I said.
She waved my thanks away as she walked off, leaving me with access to the greater world.
I called Tiago first, and he answered right away.
“Hello?” he said, cautiously.
“Tiago, it’s the music master. Has Master Cutter left?”
“Yes. He went out to visit some of his contacts this afternoon, but he’ll be back later. He’s been cataloguing the Music Hall’s assets, the instruments, even the pipe organ hall. I believe he wrote down some dimensions, like they might cart the whole thing off.” He sounded terribly affronted.
“And the night classes?”
“The werewolves didn’t like me leading them, but it went well enough considering that Cutter was lurking around, ogling the musicians like they were vicious animals in the zoo that might turn on you. He tried to suggest that they leave without their lessons, but he quickly changed his tune. I don’t believe he’ll stay much longer.”
“But what if they really do strip the Music Hall down to the bones?”
“You can burn that bridge when you come to it. Anything else you’d like to know?’
“Yes. Has the music hall ever hosted an ogre that you can remember?”