Svector was currently waiting outside of the baths, which he was quite impressed by. The water from a mansion in the woods didn’t even compare to perfect publicly maintained baths. It felt like there was something in them that made his skin perfect.

  It seemed like Serena was taking longer than he was, though. But, she also had a different goal. They were looking for the girl who gave Elaina the vampiric strength potion, and the trade happened in the bath. Svector was getting a little bit anxious about how long she was taking, but he had to trust his partner to help him out here.

  After some waiting, Serena walked out of the room, with a completely refreshed look on her face. It seemed like she enjoyed the bath as well. “Ahh, my hair hasn’t felt this great in forever!”

  “I’m glad you enjoyed the baths,” Svector said. “Did you find anything?”

  “Why, yes, actually.” A cloud of black fog flowed behind her, before falling into Serena’s hand. “I suspected something was off, and what do you know, a potion that produces a lot of negative emotions would leave behind a trail of negative emotions.”

  “Does that mean we have a trail, then?”

  “Yup! Should be relatively easy to follow from here,” Serena said. “That way we can confront the trader, and try and help out Elaina as much as we can.”

  “Right. Let’s hope they don’t try and run.”

  “If they run, then I’ve got it. I’ve tracked down a ton of running criminals before,” Serena grabbed her hammer from her storage confidently, and swung it over her head.

  “Right. I forgot you’re you.”

  “A lot of people do!”

  The trail that Serena and Svector followed was quite precise. Serena manifested a thin rope out of the substance in the air. If she didn’t, Svector would have no idea what he was supposed to be following.

  Under Serena’s guidance, they followed the trail into an alleyway in the city. Just barely lit enough for both of them to see. With his own feeble use of magic, Svector lit up a flame in his hand. It was the one thing he was proficient at.

  “The trail seems to lead to that door over here,” Serena said.

  “This place definitely doesn’t look well off,” Svector responded. “I wonder who lives here.”

  “Well, how are we gonna approach this? Do you want to jump in or just approach casually?”

  “Casual. This certainly doesn’t seem like some kind of criminal enterprise.”

  Serena nodded, and then knocked on the door. A few moments later, a girl with black hair and yellow eyes opened the door. She seemed to be around Adelyn’s age.

  The both of them took a step back, looking at the kid. She matched Elaina’s description perfectly, but they weren’t prepared for how young she was. Behind her was essentially a barren apartment with a bed and some leftover food scattered on a table. The girl looked up at both of them suspiciously.

  “Can I help you? Are you police?”

  The poor kid didn’t know it, but that wording immediately made her sound as guilty as she could have sounded. With a deep breath, Svector stood in front of Serena and knelt down to the kid’s level.

  “No. We aren’t. We’re just here to talk for a friend,” Svector said, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

  “What friend? I don’t have any of those.”

  Svector took a moment to take another deep breath. Serena put her hand on Svector’s forehead, and the black fog began to escape from his mind into Serena’s own hands. He could think clearly now.

  “Look, let's just talk right here. What’s your name, young lady?” Svector continued.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Phoebe,” she responded, bluntly.

  “Phoebe. Alright. You’ve heard about the monster that rampaged through the city right, are you aware of what caused it?”

  “I dunno. It was probably just a big monster, but it didn’t affect me.”

  “Okay, okay,” Svector decided to change the topic then. “Are you living with your parents? Can I see them?”

  “Nah. I make do on my own.”

  Svector once again had to pause. A clear mind. That was what he needed. He couldn’t let his judgment be clouded. Serena helped him out once again, making sure his thoughts were in order. “How do you make do?”

  “None of your business, I think. Are you sure you’re not a cop?”

  “I’m not. Just worried. Have you heard about the butterfly effect? A butterfly flapping its wings can cause changes in the weather through a ripple that gets bigger over time.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “And those ripples affect the world we all live in. It can affect the world you live in,” Svector said, trying to make a point. “And it can affect other people… which then affects you. Everything is interconnected like that.”

  The girl blinked twice, still with a confused face. Svector had to stop and reconsider his strategy for a second. This kind of poetic teaching normally worked with Adelyn and Rumia, but here it didn’t seem like she was understanding very well.

  “What I’m saying is, that you’re hurting someone. And I don’t think you understand how badly you’re doing it.”

  “If you’re just gonna say these weird things then I’m just gonna close the door…” Phoebe responded, beginning to shut it.

  Svector stood up from his position, and sighed. “Alright, you can do that. I just wanted to tell you something.”

  Phoebe didn’t respond, and just closed the door on the pair, leaving them standing in the alleyway. Serena and Svector looked at each other, unsure of what to do next.

  “Talking to her could’ve gone better,” Serena said, as they stood outside the alleyway. “She didn’t seem to take to you like Elaina did.”

  “Yeah, and also I wasn’t prepared for who she actually was,” Svector responded. “What are we supposed to do? Expose her and send her to prison?”

  “Do you think that’s the best plan of action?”

  “I… I don’t know. Elaina is obviously hurting, and so are a lot of other kids too. Heck, the entire city is hurting because of her mistake but… can I really do that?” Svector clutched his chest.

  “Well, how are we supposed to get Elaina off the hook otherwise?” Serena asked. “Cause if we don’t get her any mitigating circumstances then she has vampiric crimes under her belt.”

  “Yeah, I know. I just… I’m struggling to think….”

  Svector paced back and forth, trying to think of a way out of this situation. Phoebe made it blatantly obvious that she was Elaina’s problem, but she was also her own problem in a different way.

  And how was she supposed to learn if she just got hauled off to prison? If Svector’s normal methods of explaining didn’t work, then there had to be something he could rely on. He stopped for a moment and turned to Serena. “What if we brought those two together?”

  “What exactly does that accomplish?” Serena immediately shot back.

  “Well. It’ll allow Phoebe to see the consequences of her own actions, then maybe she’ll understand what the problems are with what she’s doing.”

  “Okay, I already got that. The question is how does that actually solve the problem of saving Elaina? If she realizes the error of her ways and confesses, she’s still going to jail isn’t she?”

  “Agh. Well…”

  “And if she doesn’t, then what? Nothing happens. We’re back at square one.”

  “I… no. You’re wrong. I think there’s got to be a way around this, and having the two girls meet face to face might be the reason.”

  Serena sighed, and leaned against the wall. “I suppose there isn’t a downside in your plan, if we can control the situation at least. I just don’t know what you’re trying to get at.”

  “Look. There’s sometimes things that kids can do that we don’t understand. Their perspective on the world is entirely different from us, so maybe they can figure out a solution on their own.”

  “So you want both kids to plan out a way to not get them both imprisoned? Do you think they’re ready for that?”

  “No. That’s not what… it’s just… we can guide them into realizing a solution, right? If there’s anything I learned from Adelyn, it is that she was stronger than I could’ve ever thought. I think both Elaina and Phoebe are too. We can just guide them and protect them until they realize it.”

  “I don’t love a solution based on blind hope, but I’m going to trust in your judgment. I’ve never talked much with kids after all.”

  “Let’s just hope Elaina is okay,” Svector said. “This could be hard on her.”

  “I’ll keep her in check. That part is what I’m used to. I already have to deal with your wild emotions at times,” Serena patted Svector on the shoulder. That one made Svector feel comfortable, even if the entire situation was so uncertain.

  “Thanks, Serena. I’m glad I have you,” Svector smiled back.