expression, but he wasn’t sure if he’d succeeded. He flung the door open and marched inside.
‘Bleist!’. Leighter’s face lit up, although it was hard to say why the Earl’s presence pleased him so much.
‘General,’ Darius began, with feigned calm. ‘I hope I’m not intruding.’ He added, noticing the desk top piled high with documents.
‘If you have any good news, you’re certainly welcome.’ His superior replied with a slight smile. ‘Since you’re back, I can assume that all matters have been resolved.’
‘Unfortunately, I must disappoint you, General. Matters have become somewhat… complicated.’
‘Which ones exactly, Bleist?’ It seemed that his earlier satisfaction had been nothing more than a fleeting illusion, which vanished with a drawn-out sigh.
Darius remained silent for a moment, until Leigher fixed his gaze upon him.
‘I’m afraid all of them.’ There was no point beating about the bush. It was better to present the situation as worse than it actually was from the outset. ‘I think it would be best to start chronologically.’
‘By the gods, Bleist, you were supposed to sort out two minor matters and one slightly larger one.’ The general threw up his hands. It was hard to tell, however, whether this was genuinely an emotional reaction or whether the marquis was hiding his feelings behind a studied mask.
‘In the guardhouse at the northern entrance to the enclave, we found three vials of pure Aphalis,’ Darius continued, undeterred. ‘Though I’m sure you’re already aware of that.’
‘Yes, you caused quite a stir in Alexandria with that,’ a faint smile flitted across the commander of the Azure Guard’s lips for a fraction of a second. ‘Although there was some unrest here too. Whichever way you look at it, such a monstrous drug in its pure form and in such quantities… This is no trivial matter.’
‘Especially as it was a bribe to let four people into the enclave unnoticed.’ Earl spoke a little too hastily and moved on from the subject. An unpleasant mix of emotions, mainly displeasure, flashed across the general’s face. ‘The whole affair stinks to high heaven
