Gregory sat numbly among the bodies, watg as the two shapegers flew across the sky.

  They didn’t remain in the air for long, already making for a rooftop. It made sehere were things in the sky that wouldn’t tolerate sharing the airspace. Best to just ge into human people ohey’d made it a couple of miles, then disappear into the milling crowd.

  He looked down from the lying figures, to the wreckage of the tea party. Smashed apart tables and chairs mixed with torn off or cut apart body parts. The most intae was Malvia’s, the holes punched in her body by the bde-fingers no longer bleeding. Instead, bnk expressionless eyes stared up into his own.

  Then Malvia sat dowo him and poked her dead body’s cheek with a hoof.

  “Boop. Hey, have you ever asked her why she has scales on there? Did she add them herself or are they natural?”

  “You, you died?” he stammered, looking at where her dead body had in.

  He shouldn’t be too shocked, but there was a differeween still hearing her voi his ear aandio him while her corpse y in the ground.

  Where it still y, soaked in rain, bloody eye socket still staring up at him.

  “I suppose I did,” Barnes said, waving her hand and the body winked befoing still again. “Oh, now rumors are going to spread about the little devil being capable of illusions. Perfect, everyone is going to be that much more paranoid of her!”

  Something snapped inside him. “Could you not? People are dead.”

  “People die all the time,” Barens replied pcidly as if they were discussing the weather. “I’m not going to attay special significe to this lot just because you care about them. Besides, didn’t you say I should improve my Malvia impersonation?”

  A retort was ory’s lips but first, something else came to his mind.

  ‘How long have you been holding that in your pocket?’ Malvia said, bumping him with her shoulder, ung about the corpses littering the ground around them. ‘You have anything else in there, perhaps?’

  “I’m going to take from that rather stupefied look on your face I pass with flying colors,” Barnes said. “But as fun as it is impersonating her, I should probably ge before someoices this.”

  Her form shimmered, then ged to a young curly brue in a fetg dress. She spun around as if showing off her outfit.

  Gregory narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t the best at deteg magic, but this close, in the middle of a ge, he should have picked up something.

  “Feel it if you want to,” Barnes said. “It’s real. So’s the rest of me if you want to give that a try.”

  He tried to think of something to say in respoo this nonsense, only to end up at annoyed silence. She chuckled.

  “Again, just practig my imitation. Admittedly that’s far too forward for her.”

  He got up from his feet, not paying attention to Barnes words.

  Ign whatever the current thing was with Malvia, Barnes didn’t seem to be an idiot, so this had to have some purpose. But what?

  “What are you?” He asked, mostly to himself. “Are you a traitor shape-ger perhaps?”

  Barne’s smug grin gave way to shock for half a sed before she snorted, chug once again.

  “Wouldn’t that be a twist? No, no I’m not a shapeger. What I am is something that they ape. Whether specifically or not who knows, but I am their superior version.”

  “Ah,” Gregory said. “So you turn into an even bigger giant white worm with fleshy tendrils?”

  Barnes’ smile froze into pce. “What a pliment you’ve given me. I’ve heard so much about your silver tongue as well.”

  “Well, in parison to my father, certainly.”

  Speaking of Father, he had popped back up, emerging from wherever he’d goo hide with the others. Currently talking with Henry and the guards, but certain to e over here soon.

  pting Father alsregory’s attention down. The number of corpses iween father and son.

  “I couldn’t help,” Gregory muttered, staring across the age strewn about the tea party. Body parts were littered like napkins, and the only reason the floor wasn’t coated in blood was the pounding rain.

  “I’ve seen worse cases of freezing up,” Barnes said. “You ever been in a fight before?”

  Before this mess? Before the poisonings?

  “Duels.”

  “To the death?”

  Some had nearly been. Some had been offended enough by the things he did to try and arrahat, but it had never gotten that far.

  “First blood.”

  “Then you’ve never had your life really at risk before,” Barnes noted. “Oh, I’m sure someone’s mother and father got angry enough that they may have discharged a gun in yeneral dire, but nothing like this.”

  “Nothing like this,” he faintly agreed. “But still, I could have…if I’d….”

  Barnes’ expression sobered as he tinued looking at the field of gore. He couldn’t even tell art beloo who. If he could eveify the who.

  “I won’t say fet about it,” she said. “That always seems to lead to its own problems, if not the special little hell our mutual acquaintance is carving out for herself. You could have doer, you didn’t. You’ll probably have questions for the rest of your life if you could or not. The question is, do you think you’ll run into this situation again, or live life free of this kind of trouble?”

  Gregory knew which of those options he’d prefer, obviously. But the world’s respect for that decision robably low.

  “I think I o prepare for it to happen again,” he said. “I don’t think I just go by hoping it never happens again. That doesn’t mean I want to be like some people and barely let it weigh o all.”

  “Getting cold feet before dipping your pen into an inkwell full of crazy are we?” Barnes said, teasing tone ba her voice.

  “Do you have to tease and prod?” Gregory said. Just whehought she was being ge would have been the first time sihey’d met.

  “I kind of have to,” Barnes said. “I’d say more, but I’m not allowed to spread that info around as muo one else being around is the only reason I’m risking this much. But still, ahe question.”

  “I…she seems plicated,” Gregory said.

  Barnes rolled her eyes. “Ah, an evasion if ever I’ve heard one. Most people, in my opinion, are plicated. Especially the ones most likely to be dismissed as simple. Do not do the devil the courtesy or discourtesy of treating her like some special little snowfke. Very few of those exist, and she is definitely not one of them. You look hard enough, you’ll find a dozen Malvia Harrows, only I think for most of them you won’t be nearly as sympathetic. Your first meeting, she happened upon you apparently frisking her rooms, so how much did you question her first response being to wrestle you to the ground with a ko your throat?”

  “I think if my sisters caught me going through their rooms, they’d not hesitate to put a ko mine,” Gregory admitted, a small smile creeping onto his face.

  “Yes. Now what if you stumbled onto one of your siblings cutting someone's eyes out till they told them a safe bination?”

  The smile vanished. “What?”

  “Sorry, sorry. I suppose my thoughts were influenced by the fight a little. What if you happened upon one of them biting someone’s fingers off as an intimidation tactic then?”

  “Do not be ridiculous.”

  “Fair. I suppose it would be harder for humans than it was for her.”

  He was about to retort when the w caught his attention. “Was? Then you know she did this before.”

  “Educated guesswork,” Barnes said. “Have I read whatever file she has with the Wato. But they don’t have reserved cells for ordinary criminals, even if they’re Bck Fme. Some of the stories Voltar has told as well have been…iing.”

  That Gregory would have sidered more a few weeks back wheective was an intelligent figure he occasionally crossed paths with. Weirdly, ever sihe party, looking back through his own thoughts….the detective had been ag much lesser than he used to. Strange.

  “So educated guesswork,” Gregory said.

  “If you want to doubt it, go ask Captain Malstein of the watch for the files on her. I’m sure you’ll find plenty to make up your own mind.”

  That wasn’t actually a bad suggestion. Not that the Watch would be unbiased, but they’d be less biased than Barnes. Probably.

  Any further versation was cut off by the arrival of Father, who’d finally worked his way far around the tea party floor and the bodies on it to them. A sted handkerchief pressed firmly against his face to block the smell, he stared at Barnes before turning to gre at Gregory.

  Gregory didn’t wilt. It was a mild s, ohat essentially always colored his Father’s gaze when pointed his way. Lord Montague was not upset. At least not any more than usual.

  “Gregory. And someone else. Someone who was not at the party. Who are you?”

  “An associate of Voltar’s,” Barnes’ said. “Sent by the detective to make sure things went alright and to keep an eye oain people.”

  “You are doing just as good a job as he did,” Lord Montague said, bitterness in his words.

  “Whoops.”

  You know, perhaps he shouldn’t have felt so bad when Malvia had beeing Barnes earlier.

  "A pity she died,” Father noted, looking down at the dead Malvia with a hint ret. That, tory’s shock, actually sounded genuine.

  “I’m shocked you go so far as a pity, Father.”

  “I’m not heartless, boy,” Lord Montague said reproachfully. “She did end up doing me a good turn in the end, regardless of the road it took to get there. Did she worship aies?”

  The question toory off-guard, and he looked over to Barnes who shook her head minutely while his father’s attention was on the corpse.

  “I don’t think she worshipped any,” Gregory said. “What little she spoke to me of any of them wasn’t admiring in any way.”

  “A public graveyard then,” Father said. “I will cover the costs out of my own pocket.”

  “Generous,” Gregory noted sardonically.

  "I pay back my debts. As you should well know by nory. And a public graveyard is what she deserves.”

  Well, the debts he was held atable to. And when wyers wouldn’t ore than the debt. And when the tract set up for debts wasn’t written with a nifty little escape cuse. And-why was he thinking this much about it? It urely for the be of Miss Barnes probably.

  “Something to be arraer,” Lord Montague said, already heading back to the guards, carefully treading among the dead bodies, handkerchief held so tightly it probably should asphyxiate him. “We will talk more ime you are home, Gregory.”

  His father slipped on a wet pat the stones, nding with an undignified squawk amidst the corpses. Barnes sniggered.

  “Oh, e on. It’s a little funny.”

  “Less funny when you know the people whose ribcage just got a boot through it,” Gregory said, wing as Lord Montague swore up a storm while trying to remove his boot from Donald Derren’s limbless torso.

  With a final squeld a disgusted groan, Lord Montague finally pulled his boot free, and turo gre at Gregory and Barhe tter had stopped sniggering, so after a few seds he tinued walking toward the guards.

  “I think it’s pretty clear who was supposed to die at today’s events,” Barnes said quietly. “Very….elegant?”

  “Me, my father, and Malvia?”

  “Remove that middle name from the list, and I think you have it,” Barnes said. “Five me for not falling for the mournful act your father is putting on. Mind you, I don’t think he’d act like I would and pran her body as soon as it was cool, but he’s nowhere near as mournful as he appeared. And that venom for you-”

  “Is normal for what he thinks of me,” Gregory finished for her.

  “If he normally has murderous iowards you, theainly,” she replied. “He was very close to that shapeger. Yet not a scratch. Same for the rest of your family it looks like. Meanwhile, if it wasn’t for me impersonating Malvia and then intervening to prevent your death, would the two of you be alive?”

  “No,” Gregory said, looking at where his father now talked with several of the guards.

  Father has been ag suspiciously yes, but w with the shapegers had never crossed his mind until now. Now though, well it was only suspi.

  Uhey found proof, it would only remain suspi.

  Saithorthepyro