Toil and Trouble: 9

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'They're elusive,' Val finally said. 'Secretive to a fault, and yes, I am well aware of the irony of my calling them secretive when we are all employed by a woman whose sole identifiable presence consists of a disembodied voice and an old-fashioned mode of address. Nonetheless. Two days of digging and we don't have much.

'We know that Ancestria Magicka was formed last June, but we only know that because there was a brief press release about it in the Magickal Herald at the end of June. It described the organisation as "formed for the efficient, professional retrieval of artefacts of great cultural value" or something to that effect, and it puts a nice shine on what they do, but it didn't take long for them to develop a reputation for the kind of efficiency that consists more of smash-and-grab thuggery than sleek professionalism.

'We don't know who founded it or how they are funded, except that the Hidden Ministry certainly has no involvement. They are fully independent, which means largely unmonitored. We've found the names of only a few of their operatives, including Katalin Pataki. Her regular partner is George Mercer, who is known to carry a Sardonyx Wand. He was almost certainly the man you and Jay encountered at Milton Keynes.

'They've been recruiting aggressively. Milady revealed we have lost two prospective employees this year to superior offers from Ancestria Magicka. Considering the bidding war over Ms. Pataki, it's clear that they are not at all strapped for cash.'

Unlike us, I thought. We do all right, but that's about it, and we are more heavily reliant upon Ministry funding than Milady would like. They are so interfering, she had once complained to me, in an unusually forthcoming mood. With no such ties and no shortage of resources, Ancestria Magicka was in an enviable position indeed.

'Their goals remain unclear,' Val continued. 'They are rumoured to have secured at least two Great Treasures this year already, one at auction and one an original find, together with quite the list of lesser artefacts. But what they have done with them is anybody's guess. Sold them? Stashed them? Anything claimed by Ancestria tends to disappear without trace.'

I gripped the desk. 'Not Jay.'

'This is the first I have heard of their absconding with a person. Crude as their methods are reported to be, they are not known for brutality. I imagine it likely that they have a clear purpose in mind for Jay.'

'Like ransom?'

'Unlikely. They do not need money, and while the Society is known to be in possession of some few Treasures ourselves, there are plenty still out in the world for them to pursue first, with greater ease and lesser risk. And why take only Jay, if all they wanted was a hostage? Why not you? You are a senior acquisitions specialist with quite the reputation outside the Society. They might well imagine your abduction would inspire a comfortable spirit of co-operation in Milady.'

I wondered if it would. Trying to mentally calculate one's own probable value to one's employers is a grisly business, however, so I soon abandoned the project.

I felt a little reassured by Val's logic, but it did not escape me that her recital had not yet included anything that might help us to find Jay. 'Where do they hide out?' I asked.

'Exactly.'

'Exactly?'

'I've spent all day on that very question, and I've had four other people on it, too. So's Nell. Ancestria Magicka has a pretty major internet presence, as it turns out; far more than we do. A slick, lovely website promoting their services in the best possible light, and carefully couched in terms that would not too much alarm any non-magicker who happened upon it. Nell's got a couple of people working on it, but without much progress. The website's registered to a shoe shop in Wolverhampton.'

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