Chapter 18
Zeth stood in front of the mineshaft’s entrance.
The last time he went through there, he watched his entire mining contingent die, met their murderer, and then went missing for four months. But the personnel manager’s office was in there, so if he wanted to get his salary from Garon, that was where he’d have to go.
A group of four people walked past him, chatting among themselves. He glanced at the backs of their boots. Otis & Roul’s Mining Guild. The exact same emblem that was on the back of the Blood Mage’s boot, back in the mines on that day. Any one of these people could be the one.
Zeth angled his face downward, avoiding eye contact with the people around him. It had been dark in that cave, and everything had gone fast enough that it was unlikely the Blood Mage got a good look at him. Plus, it’d been four full months from their perspective since they last saw him. It wasn’t likely they would recognize him just from a passing glance. But he wasn’t eager to give them the chance.
So, he walked in at a brisk pace, unwilling to risk staying here any longer. He passed by a few people he recognized and plenty he didn’t, going through the wooden doors and entering the mineshaft proper, and turning down the familiar hallways to find the section that would have the personnel manager’s office. He remembered the route better than most because of the number of times he’d been called here to be reprimanded for disrespect or mouthing off or “anti-guild conversation,” whatever that last one meant. They never fired him—only threatened to—because he always accomplished his tasks just fine. But Garon certainly didn’t like him. And it seemed like the moment he found an excuse, he got Zeth out of there.
Once he reached the door to the office, Zeth took a breath, preparing himself. He’d only been rid of Garon for a few days from his perspective, but he was already not eager to talk to the man again. If he had his way, the only time he ever saw the man for the rest of his life would be the day he killed him. Though, hey, maybe Garon had transformed into a new, better person over the past four months he was gone.
Zeth laughed to himself. Yeah, right.
He opened the door and strode in, ready to demand his missing pay from the bastard. And maybe give him a verbal beating, too. For old times' sake.
But when he gazed at the person sitting behind the desk, Zeth found a completely different person.