Dragon Precinct by Keith R. A. DeCandido Page A

he needed to do some kind of investigating. The first thing he did was go around to the other side of the hole—which was easy, as the hole wasn’t much thicker than a piece of parchment. To his disappointment, it looked exactly the same on the other side. It was as if someone had taken a massive amber coin and suspended it in midair over the lawn.
    “Oh, thank Temisa.”
    Manfred turned to see a woman wearing a cotton dress, followed by two young women wearing simple outfits similar to what the boy was wearing. The lady of the house, he deduced, again proud of his observational capacity. Just you wait, Lieutenant Tresyllione, we’ll be serving side by side before you know it.
    “I hope you’re here to help me,” the woman added.
    “Yes, ma’am. Name’s Manfred, ma’am. And you are?”
    She held out her hand to be kissed. Manfred knew that upper-class women liked that sort of thing, though he had always found it silly. Still, it was expected, and the sergeant had drilled into them that they were to always do what was expected, so he kissed the hand as she said, “I am Elmira Fansarri, and I am a close personal friend of Lady Meerka’s, so I expected this to be dealt with quickly, or she shall hear of it.”
    Meaning you met Lady Meerka once at a party. Still, Manfred recognized the Fansarri name, and they weren’t without clout. “I take it, Madame Fansarri, that this, ah, this—hole isn’t supposed to be there?”
    “I should say not,” Elmira said. She was moderately attractive, Manfred supposed, though wearing far more makeup than was necessary—and on this humid day, some of it was caked or running. Manfred wondered why she didn’t just use a glamour like most people. Instead, she looked like one of those wretched actors who performed in the park during the spring. Manfred had had to endure several performances of The Ballad of King Ytrehod a few months back while making sure that the crowds didn’t riot during or after the performances—which, given the quality of the performance, was a very real risk.
    The sad thing is, she probably has dozens of suitors who vie for her time while her husband’s away.
    Putting that in the back of his mind, he asked the question he knew Lieutenant Tresyllione would ask if she were here. “What happened?”
    “How in Temisa’s name should I know?” Elmira said angrily. “Why do you think I told Willard to find you?”
    Sighing, Manfred tried a more direct approach. “When did you first notice the hole in your yard?”
    “About ten minutes ago when I happened to look out the window, and there it was! Now are you going to stop wasting time asking me questions and do something about it, or do I have to find someone who will? I’m good friends with Lady Meerka, you know, and I can assure you that she’ll hear about this shoddy treatment!”
    “Ma’am,” Manfred said with all the patience he could muster, “I can’t do anything about the situation until I know what happened. I have to ask questions first—that’s the proper procedure for me to do my job. I’m sure that you and Lady Meerka would prefer that I did my job right, right?” Ouch. That sounded bad. “This is probably magical—in origin, I mean.”
    “Any idiot can see that.”
    “Do you know any wizards, ma’am?”
    “Oh Temisa, no! I hate wizards. Last one we had over for a dinner party nearly ruined the whole thing. No, I won’t hear of having one of those arrogant, overbearing creatures in my house!”
    Aha! A clue. And that also explains why she wears makeup instead of using a glamour. “When was this dinner party, ma’am?”
    Elmira looked at Manfred as if he had grown a second head. “I beg your pardon?”
    “Well, ma’am, if you had a bad experience with a wizard and let him know about that—or even if you didn’t, but if he found out that you carried this grudge against his kind because of his behavior—then that might be a motive for why he might decide to put a portal