Siltana examined Abner's identification, handed it back, and said, "Thank you for your cooperation." Then she stepped out of the carriage.
The other Demon Hunters assigned to support her relaxed their guard and came forward to ask, "Any problems?"
Siltana watched the carriage pass through the checkpoint and shook her head. "Probably some spoiled young man from the Church of the Earth Mother. His eyes wandered a little too much... but he followed the rules."
"The Church of the Earth Mother? Heading to Dock Borough at a time like this... isn't that a bit of a coincidence?" one member of the Demon Hunter team asked suspiciously.
"Even if he does have another purpose, we shouldn't spend our limited attention on someone from the Churches of the True Gods right now..." Siltana shook her head again. She glanced at the carriages waiting behind them and changed the subject. "Whose turn is it to check the next one?"
"Mine..." answered a female team member of about twenty-five or twenty-six, with a blond ponytail and a standard-issue uniform.
"Uh... you're... Xenia. Right, be careful." Siltana gave her an odd look. Though she knew the woman well, saying her name somehow felt strangely unfamiliar.
And Xenia's even prettier than I am. How did she keep that lecher Pann from noticing her before?
A similar question arose in Jane's mind. The moment she saw Closia at the villa in Dock Borough, the woman looked familiar, as though Jane had met her somewhere before.
But if she had truly met a woman so beautiful and poised, Jane was certain she would not have forgotten her...
While Jane struggled to remember, Closia was making one final check of her arrangements.
"So, do you both understand how to 'perform'?"
Abner and Dunn nodded. "Yes... make a dashing