With outsiders present, Mr. Bernhardt could not conveniently explain to Shade that when they had performed God Summoning in Middlesburg last autumn, if they had been able to find that sword, it would actually have been the best ritual item representing the Bloodkin.
"Are you certain that sword is in the city? I know more than half the Same Race in this city, but I haven't heard a single word about it."
Mr. Bernhardt asked. Across the table, John Flynn set down his raised cup, and the wooden cup struck the tabletop with a thud.
"I'm sorry, but we cannot say much about the source of our information. Still, there is no doubt that the sword is most likely here."
Shade did not ask why the people from the New Continent Mutual Aid Society were searching for the Bloodkin's "Holy Sword." But in his view, this undoubtedly meant that John Flynn and the others also knew about the Sword of Light. They could not possibly know as much as Shade did, but they certainly knew something.
The information the four exchanged afterward no longer involved such confidential matters. They discussed only the cultists' movements, the whereabouts of the Seekers of Light Research Society, secrets of the Seven Great Families, and even the situation within the local Church.
They had lunch at the Spider Inn that day. Once they had finished their discussion, they returned the handwritten notes to one another to prevent them from being used for divination. The two from the New Continent Mutual Aid Society left first. Shade could tell that Mr. Bernhardt was weighed down by worries, so he did not hurry away either.
Once Mr. Bernhardt had thought everything through, Shade followed behind the silent Bloodkin Viscount and went with him to the sewer morgue, only