We decided there was no time like the present.

Once Flin was gone, once I'd locked the door behind him, I sat back down on the floor of my apartment.

“Are you ready?” Silvy asked from around my neck.

“Yup,” I said. “Go ahead.”

Without a second's hesitation a black hole yawned open below me, sucking me in. As I entered the Shadow Vaile, my mind whirled with worry.

I hope this works. What if Blackhart had some sort of ward protecting it? What if that was how it could exist in the Shadow Vaile, what if that was how it was able to keep its structure? I hope this works.

I fell into the Shadow Vaile and opened my eyes, seeing bright and faint lights alike floating far off… Or were they close? It was hard to tell. Everything was black and I couldn't see anything minus the lights, but then I saw two lights that I did recognize: I saw Silvy's eyes slowly spinning clockwise.

When I was growing up, I’d read stories of deep-sea divers panicking in the darkness, hearing giant things moving, occasionally being brushed by something they couldn’t see. Of course, when I was in the same sort of situation, all of these thoughts, all of these fears came back to me. And that's when I started to hear things, to feel things.

“Keep your eyes on me,” Silvy said in a playful voice. “Wouldn't want you to get lost here. That would be so tragic.”

I started to open my mouth to respond, but something brushed against my lips and my head jerked back. The back of my head bumped into something solid, something with a tiny amount of give that moved past, jostling me. From my left I heard someone whisper, something whisper, “What's a witch doing here?”

The voice almost vibrated with malice.

“We’re just passing through,” Silvy said.

“You’re just passing through,” the whispering voice said, and something curled around my ankle. “Might we have a taste? A tender morsel? A piece.”

The bright lights that I had originally thought were far away were coming closer, starting to surround me.

“No,” Silvy said, and there was a smile in her voice that I didn’t trust. “Not today. Maybe another day, but not now.”

“And if we take it?” the whispering voice asked and all the lights minus Silvy’s eyes shuttered into blackness before reappearing.

It’s one thing. You’re being examined by 100 eyes belonging to one enormous thing, surrounded.

Whatever was gripping my ankle tightened.

“You can try,” Silvy said, “but I'd have to do something about it.”

“Would you?” the thing whispered. “Would you do something about it?”

“Excuse me for a moment,” Silvy said, but I wasn’t sure if she was talking to me or to the thing until the light of her eyes disappeared. There was a sudden scream of rage and a gasp that surrounded me. There was thrashing, choking, and suddenly all the other lights went out.

The thing that had wrapped itself around my ankle went limp and fell away.

Two lights bloomed in the darkness, and these lights were gigantic. Each of them had to be as tall as my body and they were both in front of me, illuminating me like twin spotlights in the dark.

“Silvy?” I asked into the darkness, my voice shaking. I wanted my familiar back. I didn’t want to be left to fend off the giant creature now looking at me.

Slowly, the gigantic lights started spinning clockwise and I realized that what I was looking at was indeed Silvy. I opened my mouth to scream but, before I got a chance to make a noise, my body was thrown out of the Shadow Vaile and into a brick wall in a back alley.

I slid down the wall and hit the ground hard. I lay there for several moments, sucking in deep breaths, trying to breathe through the coughing and the retching.

Silvy floated through the portal, back to her regular size, and the portal closed behind her. She floated over to me and then onto my chest. I barely felt her tiny form there as she looked down at me with her glowing eyes.

“Sorry about that,” Silvy said. “Sometimes friends aren't so friendly to other friends.”

I thought about the choking, the screams, the sudden death of all the lights.

“Did you kill that other thing?”

She just smiled at me. All four inches of her looking like an adorable kitten, but I was reminded of how huge those globes of light had been in the Shadow Vaile.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Something like that, but a little worse.” Silvy let out a sigh, stretched, and floated back off my chest to the alleyway ground. She licked at her paws as she watched me. I sat up, shaky.

“I feel sick,” I said.

“It's your first time. You'll get used to it.”

Not sure that’s something I want to get used to. Not really an experience I want to repeat.

I got up once I felt like I could stand and tried to catch my breath.

Silvy poofed into smoke and slithered her way up my leg to get into my hood.

My mouth fell open as something clicked in my head.

You were warm.

I was freezing now, but in the Shadow Vaile, I hadn't been cold at all. I pulled the parka tighter around me, burying my head in the back of the hood, trying to keep some semblance of warmth there.

I wanted something to drink that was warm.

Coffee and Content.

I made my way out of the alleyway and into the main thoroughfare of the Night Market. I looked left and right, ignoring the vendors, looking for the sign.

It was off to my right.

I headed in that direction, dodging people, dodging vendors, not wanting to touch anyone after my experience in the Shadow Vaile. As I drew closer to the warm glow of the lights inside the shop, I relaxed a little. I stepped into Coffee and Content and went straight to the counter, not wasting time gawking at the strange drinks on the tables around me.

The barista had her back to me and thankfully it was a different barista than the one I’d seen the other times. She worked at making a bizarre drink that both smoked and sputtered. When she finished what she was doing, she placed the drink onto a golden seal to her left. The drink vanished, probably already being enjoyed by someone at a table behind me.

I glanced up at the menu, searching for a drink that would be the warmest.

If the hottest setting in the shower didn’t burn your skin, can you drink boiling water without it having any effect?

As the barista turned to face me, she said, “How can I—” but the words choked off at the end.

My eyes left the menu and fell on the barista. Her mouth hung open as though she’d forgotten what she was going to say. My own mouth fell open.

She stared at me, and I stared at her.

When I’d first dragged my eyes down from the menu to her face, I caught a phantom glimpse of a familiar shape, but it wasn’t until we locked eyes that the shape solidified.

The barista had branching antlers growing directly out of her forehead, curving back to trace along the curve of her skull. Her horns were green, almost velvety, but there was no denying the sharp edges that each of the tiny little prongs had.

She stared at my horns which I knew she must be able to see as well.

Your hood is pulled up though.

“This is gonna be interesting…” Silvy purred in my ear.

The barista swallowed.

“What can I get you?” she asked, her voice flat as she eyed me with suspicion.

“Something…” My words fell away. How do I see if she can see my horns? How can I test her? “Warm. I’m very cold.”

The barista raised an eyebrow but nodded as she took in my parka.

“So,” she said as she started fixing something for me. “First time?”

The question was pointed, and I couldn't tell whether she was asking me if it was my first time in Coffee and Content or if it was my first time in the Night Market.

“It's a long story. I'm new here.”

“I know,” she said. “I've never seen you before.” She leaned forward. “And I know everyone.”

I nodded. I didn't have time for this. I just wanted something warm so that I could get out of there, so that I could go about my business and take care of my plan.

What if Flin is already there? What if he's already—

Something buzzed in my pocket. I pulled out the Lumadex, glancing at it.

A single word floated up above the surface: Done.

Flin was finished which meant I needed to get to my spot. I needed to make sure Geist showed up at Blackhart.

“Here,” the barista said, pushing across a cup that bubbled as though it was boiling inside.

I brought it up to my lips and took a sip, sure it would burn the roof of my mouth, would burn my insides. But, as I swallowed it, I felt the delicate warmth of it drifting out from my throat. I felt it work its way down into my chest where it blossomed with heat. It didn't work its way all the way to my toes or my fingers, not even my arms or my legs, but that heat in my chest felt good.

“You and I need to talk,” the barista said.

I stared at her. “I don't know how much longer I'll be here.”

“What's your name?”

“Hex.”

“Where do you live?” she asked.

“Nightsbridge,” I answered. “You?”

She shook her head no. “We'll see each other soon.”

“How much was this?” I asked, needing to get out of there.

“It's on the house this time,” she said. “Besides. It’s off menu… like us. Next time I'll make you pay, though.”

I nodded and turned around, leaving the shop. The Lumadex in my pocket buzzed again and I pulled it out. This time there were four words: He’s on the move.

“I love how trusting you are,” Silvy purred.

I left Coffee and Content and headed out into the main thoroughfare of the Night Market, moving among the people, sipping at the still boiling cup of liquid. I didn't know how it was still boiling and I didn't really care. It was keeping my core warm and it felt so good in my hands.

I made my way into the alley opposite Blackhart, hid behind one of those blocks I still needed to figure out the purpose of, and waited. Silvy floated just above it and kept watch, grumbling about this the entire time.

As we waited, I thought over the interaction with the witch. She was the first witch I'd seen. Her horns weren’t what I thought they were going to be. For some reason I'd expected her horns to stick straight out of her forehead like a devil’s, or maybe out of the sides of her head like that one Disney witch lady.

The horns on the barista’s head had almost been growing in the shape of a crown, close to her head.

They were nothing like my horns, my two little knife tips poking up through my hair.

Shaking my head, I finished the drink and set the cup on the pavement next to me. Within seconds I heard something scuttle down by my foot and looked. The cup was rolling towards the block I was standing behind. I reached down to grab it, to stop it from making noise, but before I had the chance the cup lost its form. It went liquid somehow and absorbed into the block.

Oh. I guess that’s why there’s no trash anywhere?

I took a step back from the block, not wanting to be turned into liquid myself and absorbed.

I waited there, waited for Silvy to tell me that Geist was at Blackhart, prepared for the next part. Prepared to go back into the Shadow Vaile.

When Silvy spoke, I closed my eyes. I really didn't want to go back to that darkness, but I looked forward to the warmth.

“Geist's here,” Silvy said, and without another word, she opened a familiar portal below me and I fell back into the Shadow Vaile.