I whistled as I opehe door to the warehouse where I’d hidden my old gear.

  A day had passed since my tenuous truce had beeablished with Tagashin, and so far it was holding. Oh, snide remarks, but nothing like maki my injured leg. Nothing like bringing people to see me feasting on cows like an animal.

  I dreaded the ime I met Gregory. fess I had an imp inside my head and that ayment for its help? That opened up airely different issue with him, since I retty sure he did not know. Worse, had he told others in his family? Had his sister?

  Was I going to wake up someday with the neers on articles about the strange, diabolism-practig Infernal Voltar kept in his house being seen gnawing her way through the stomach of a dead cow?

  Suddenly, poisoning Tagashin seemed far, far less than what she deserved.

  I went inside, closing the door behihe walk through the Quarter had beee. Far too sedate. A splinted Infernal should have at least gotten one pickpocket trying to take advantage of them, more than likely three, and a mugger as well.

  I had my hand tightly ed in cloth, looking like a bandage. I already had one over my other hand, over the still-healing wound where a knife had been stabbed through my palm. This ohought was for a muundane purpose.

  I already stood out enough as is. A Bck Fme insignia wasn’t the kind of mark I wao be dispyed at the moment, especially not with ret events.

  Some people would know anyway. I’d let the face of Danielle Water revert bay own st night. There weren’t many Infernals with my ary. Still, someone should have tried to mug me by now.

  A whole day had passed sihe events at Lord Montague’s party. I would have heard about a riot, but if an intimidation attempt had been made, well. The Quarter was less poputed than it used to be.

  It didn’t take long to secure my remaining equipment, but carrying it was somewhat awkward. I should have brought someone else along so I didn’t reopen a wound. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’d rest.

  Someone was waiting for me as I left the warehouse.

  “Varrow,” I said, moving the box to my other arm as I eyed the other Infernal. “You knew about this address?”

  “Not until retly,” he replied, eyes lingering on my broken leg. “How’d you get that broken?”

  “Haven’t you read the news?” I began to move past him, pausing just to lock the door behind me.

  “Yeah. Didn’t mention you getting injured.”

  “Fighting shapegers isn’t very easy, it turns out,” I said. “I’ve got more I would show off if we weren’t in public.”

  Publi this case meant a few scattered Infernals in the alleyways. People were making themselves scarce today. I couldn’t bme them.

  “Yeah, I’m sure. Almost tore your arms off like those Watch officers back when you were twelve?”

  That stirred some old memories. “In our defense, you used to set very unreasonable quotas for how much should be brought in eaight. Varrow, how did you find out about the address?”

  “Tried to backtrack you after you visited my house; the earliest I could find someone spotting you was in this area. You’re pretty memorable.”

  I should have not ged my face back so soon, but I’d hardly had trol at that time. In this case, I’d just felt like I wanted my old face book. Silly, after not wearing it for so long, to want it ba so often now.

  I started walking back down the alley I’d entered from, Varrow matg me step for step.

  “Marchers are down this way,” Varrow warned me. “And they’re more riled up after what happened. About that, since you were there?”

  I sighed. “If we’re going to have this versation, could you carry this for me?”

  “You’d offload ygage on a poor older man? Shame, and learn to respect you elders girl.”

  I stared at him, then looked down at my splinted, probably still in need of a cast leg.

  “Only until we reach the quarter then. Pass it here.”

  I ha off, then clopped further down the alleyway. “There was an assault by Infernals on the party, probably meant as a distra. Not Bck Fme, but street dregs probably paid a pittao pretend to be the actual Fme.”

  “Shite. So it wasn’t made up?”

  “Nope, and that retty much my rea. Didn’t realize things were so desperate people could fall for a fool thing like that.”

  Varrow ughed. “Just because the quarter’s better doesn’t mean it's better for everyone Malvia. Aleople who are desperate, who’ll risk everything for a ce. Or hells, maybe they were just tricked. Told they’d be doing a different job, burst in, find out they were sold a fake bill of goods.”

  “True,” I said. “They’ve cost us all with that stunt though.”

  “So? You saying you haven’t dohe same? But that’s not what I want to talk about. That bruiser you hang out with? Tolman? He’s started asking me about you. I got a pretty good idea who he actually is as well. How many Bck Fme are going to start showing up at my home, disguised or not? Because two is already pushing my patience Malvia!”

  “Not too many,” I answered. “He’s fishing. I have a det idea why. He’ll stop once he starts reading the neers and realizes where I am.”

  “Do you think he remember he ? Did he ask you to shrink his wits when you gave him that body?”

  I rolled my eyes. Tolman acted the fool, and I’d certainly been irritated with his ck of care over the st few weeks. I was beginning to wonder exactly how much of that was real though. Some things were beginning to occur as time went on. Things that should have far earlier.

  “Don’t worry about Tolman. He’ll ease off.”

  “I don’t like being on the Bck Fme’s radar Malvia.”

  “her do I, but I have to live with it. My suggestion? Lay low. No offeended, but if you don’t make any more hink everyone will fet about you. But don’t worry about Tolman. I doubt he’d hurt you.”

  “He’s not the only person whose been looking for you,” Varrow said as we tinued down the alleyway. “Kasyp resurfaced.”

  It took me a sed to remember. It had only been a couple of weeks but that now felt so long ago.

  “I imagine he had quite a shock when he resurfaced,” I said. “I did get most of his tracts do least. You crossed paths?”

  “Oh no, he came to see me.”

  I halted as the statement caught me off-guard.

  “Really? He came to see you. How...strange Kasyp.”

  “Oh, it gets even weirder. Same old, upper crust attitude, wrong words. Tick, drug addict, even accused me off being a snitever used those words before. I told him I was still smarting from him smming my fingers with your door when we were waiting that m, he didn’t protest. Didn’t raise a fuss when I served him some shite tea I’d brewed. And then said it was a thank you for him letting me go first that m. Again no corre.”

  My mio an immediate answer for that off behavior and seemingly missing memories. One could be too paranoid when dealing with Shapegers of course, but the only terpoint I could think of is why Kasyp? He had no involvement in this.

  Or did he? He’d been hired for a special job he’d hinted, one likely to keep him occupied and nowhere he surface. He’d said only a few days, but had that beeruth of what Kasyp had beeo believe? They must have had an alchemist before then though, so why they needed another escaped me.

  “What did Mr. Kasyp have to ask you?”

  “First he wao know where you were. Wasn’t too happy when I said I didn’t know. I didn’t get the sense he didn’t believe me, and he didn’t press.”

  “Probing,” I muttered. “I ’t believe they knew of any deeper e, they probably just sent o to chey possible loose ends. I’d be careful, just in case. And tell me if he approaches you again.”

  “Thanks Harrow. You also want to tell me to not go up to Watch Officers bragging about hoeople I’ve pickpocketed?”

  “Well, they’ve stopped t people,” I replied. “So maybe a stay in a cell might do you some good. Give you some time to think. Exercise all that dusty maery in your head. Did he say anything else?”

  “Not much. Wao know if I’d seen you. Asked if I’d known you were Bck Fme. Wao pay me to keep an eye on you. I didn’t take the si probably had trackers on it. Pity.”

  “And how fident are you that you weren’t followed?” I asked, looking up into the sky.

  “Detly sure. What are you doing? Trying to get in a staring test with the sun?”

  “Seeing if any birds might be following us.

  Varrow missed a step, then gnced up at the sky. Several birds were up there, some too distant and obscured by the m smog to make out their species. Even just ihin slit of sky seeween the walls of the buildings oher side of us, there were easily thirty flitting about up there.

  “You’re bullshitting me.”

  “I’m not. I wouldn’t have dohis before, because I thought they couldn’t ge their mass.”

  “Their what?”

  “Weight. Size. You’ve got druids who ge into specifiimals but typically they have spirits ods they offload the issues of ging overall mass onto. They also only have one form, so it’s typically in crete amounts or pertages. Shifters though, they’ve stantly been ging their mass and size. Usually upwards, but one of them got out through a tiny crack between my floor and the bottom of my door. If I had to pick a way to traeone, and I could ge into anything, that would be a good pick.”

  Varrow ged the focus of his gaze from the skies above to the ground around us. “What about vermin? No one pays too much attention to rats, is, and the others like them.”

  “Possibly. Bit more dangerous though. Natural predators, and a ce of being trod upon. Whereas a bird of prey? Less ce of the former, no ce of the tter.”

  Varrow looked back up the sky. “If this doesn’t get figured out I don’t think I’ll ever get a good night’s sleep again.”

  “Don’t think anyone iy will. Silver lining to the neers fog so mu the Infernal assault. Rest of the city gets a more fortable night's sleep at our expense.”

  I did wonder about some of the articles, which had beeioning on the exaature of Hawkins. A lot of leading questions about if he could have been a diabolically created monstrosity. Even Lord Montague’s mention of them as Shapegers hadn’t stopped that line of thinking from taking hold in a feers. A few experts on Biosculpting had been dug up who’d had some thoughts on the possibility of bined Diabolism and Biosculpting that were favorable to the idea.

  That’s all some would o dismiss the idea of the two not beied. Just another reason to hate the Infernals more, if they were using Hell-magic to infiltrate the ranks of proper citizens of the Empire.

  I chuckled. I’d be using magic of the non-hell variety to do exactly that very soon.

  “Something funny about that?”

  “My mind got ahead of me. Not far enough away, though, I still hear. Not your voice, that.”

  That was the by now familiar earnings and ravings of the March leader. By now I had a o put to the face, Micheal Simmons, a high-ranking priest of Halspus, said to be quite trusted by the church leadership. Currently ranting and raving about the corruption of morals and the fiends among everyday citizens waiting to take trol of the city.

  “It was like this yesterday?” I asked Varrow.

  “It was worse yesterday,” Varrow replied. “There was a petition then, some politi oher side of the quarter. Baron Thomien and everybody got to listen to those two try to out-yell each other. Their supporters trying to beat people up oskirts, getting bloodied iurn. We haven’t had a riot. Yet.”

  We were now he marchers, a familiar sight. This was an interse, not far down from the Hell’s Own, which meant actual cobblestones for a roadway. This also meant traffic, as a couple of wagons loitered waiting for this to clear up.

  They’d be waiting a while as a new wagon came into sight oher side of the road, tinuing past the others despite yells from irritated drivers.

  The wagon stopped movihe lihe pair of Infernals guiding it getting off. I froze as both started running, startling Marcher, Watch Officer, and Infernal alike. I khese tactics. So did Varrow, and he was already a hoof ahead of me as the wagons exploded, the entire load of gunpowder hidden i detonating.

  Saithorthepyro