Shah himself was not all that threatening of a man.

He did not have much muscle, nor was he very tall. Of course, his physique was what you would typically consider handsome - brown hair, green eyes, strong jaw - but when you have grown up in the back gardens of the Emperor himself with Fayer’s likeness for your best friend and Skarabeck incarnate for an elder brother, the term ‘handsome’ loses all meaning outside of them.

The only troubling thing was the look in his eyes, shining an intelligent green, and his hand that wandered towards a bottle of strong alcohol on the table between us. He was completely relaxed, with no worries, despite being in this corner of the underworld, almost resembling a snake then.

Aspen and I were seated directly across from him, with our backs to the ebony doors, an easy point of attack. Then again, from later encounters with the man, it was clear that he desperately needed every advantage he could get.

His easygoing attitude unnerved me more than I would care to have admitted.

“I’m surprised you got another apprentice, Asp, given what happened to the last one.”

Aspen’s eyes grew hooded again, like before.

“If I’m old, don’t you think I need an apprentice anyway?” He laughed, hiding a harsh gulp with the alcohol set on the table.

The glasses clinked as both of them chuckled quietly, an uncomfortable tension held in the room. Two of the younger women surrounding Shah glanced at each other nervously, while the older ladies caressed his arms.

“That’s enough ladies. If you’ll excuse us…” the snake laughed again, waving them away as they stepped out the door. In the end, only a brunette sleeping in his bed remained, an empty cocktail glass in hand.

I was more uneasy after they had left than before, for the fact that we were in the Black Market never left my mind. There was nothing to protect him then, but he was still yet reclined lazily as if in paradise.

‘He must be a fool for sending all those women away,’ I thought to myself.

Shah made no moves for a while, merely sipping at his drink as he stared at me curiously. Those veiled eyes felt disgusting, as if my skin were burning underneath, and the shawl did little to comfort me as I tugged the frays.

“She certainly is a finer catch than the last,” he muttered, “almost looks like Asphodel’s girl. Seems you’ve been doing well for yourself as of late.”

I stiffened.

“Ha! That cannot be true - that child is an imbecile. If you know the girl, you’d know she cannot walk on flat ground for the life of her!” I laughed loudly, shifting closer to Aspen.

The snake chuckled amicably, nodding his head in assent.

“True enough, love. There’s no way this old coot could ever take such a foolish child as his apprentice; she’d die as soon as she picked up a blade.”

How funny...

Joking around might not have been such a good idea, considering how heated the atmosphere between the two men seemed, but what could I have done differently?

The crow was a far lesser evil to Shah in my mind, but that did not make him any less dangerous; he was glowering at Shah as his arm hooded lazily around me, a dagger slipping into his hand all the same.

Regardless, Shah held his wine to the light, admiring the glimmers that sparkled off the glass.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, mate.” He pointed to the dagger in the crow's hand, tensed in anger.

Why did Aspen seem so hateful then? It was almost as if the crow had changed entirely, his mannerisms completely void of the jovial old man Eliza and I were acquainted with.

“You know what, you’re probably right, Shah,” he acquiesced, “a shame you can't be.”

A long silence pervaded for a while, with none of the men so much as flinching. I remember my heart pounding along to the seconds that ticked by, at each instance where their breaths roared like dragon fire in that unnerving dead space.

It took quite some time for Aspen to speak, and it was not until he had taken another sip of wine that he had done so.

“Ivara appears to have taken one of my toys again.”

Shah raised a brow, tilting his head to the side, “Ivara? My, my, old friend… I did not realise that child was capable enough to steal from the great Aspen.”

“Of course not, Shah,” the old crow huffed amicably, “my little pet was the one to wander too far. She’s merely holding the lady for me in the meantime.”

How discomforting it was to know he thought of Eliza like that, as nothing more than a pet. Of course, he thought of me as a hay-haired kit very vocally, but from what they discussed in the Markyne forest, I believed he at least held some ties to Lord Alucard’s favoured child. Perhaps I had misjudged Aspen’s light-hearted and easy-going nature, but then again, we all did at one point.

“Whatever shall you bring me then, Asp?” the snake asked, drawing my attention once again.

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Aspen shrugged, tracing my shoulder with the edge of the blade; the cold tip sent shivers down my spine in return. I could barely keep the grimace off my face, but the snake most likely saw through it anyway.

“What say you of another vulpin’s tail?”

“Bah, you old fool! You’ve sent me so many vulpins since Ahvi’s death that I could drown a hemeoth with them! Give me something more, man! Flesh, blood, skin, bone - anything! You know money is of no use to me in this state!” He cried, throwing his arms back on the couch in exasperation.

The crow relented, shaking his head as he removed his accursed arm. I was finally able to recline onto the couch, if only for a moment. What sweet relief swept over me, before drowning into disgust as the snake’s eyes trailed over me once more. How insouciant.

“Your apprentice appears rather delectable, my friend. We could trade her for your wandering little bird.”

“Ah, but I could have sworn you would prefer Sonoma’s head more than this fledgling.” Aspen laughed. I could only smile uncomfortably as I inched into the cushions further.

Shah’s eyes glimmered once more, this time snapping to the crow in earnest.

“Sonoma, you say… Yes, I would enjoy having a new mount on my wall. A courtesan worthy of such a place should be honoured to be mine, yet her wretched escape has left me rather bitter, as you can see.” His lament shifted quickly to maniacal laughter as the snake ran his hand through his brown locks. He appeared every bit as mad and psychotic as the little bunny down in the training grounds, except unlike Marcus, this one posed more of a threat to us.

The woman on his bed stirred slightly, but was otherwise quiet. She seemed as perturbed as I was from the sudden shudder, but the lucky one was hidden from his sight for now in the shadows.

“Very well. You give me Sonoma’s head and I will give you information regarding your lost bird.”

Aspen only nodded.

“Helen.” The snake called, as the woman sat up and stretched on his bed.

“Yes, my lord?”

“Bring the files regarding Ivara’s latest endeavours please.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The opening and closing of the door soon echoed through the room, and at last we were entirely alone.

Despite having a well-seasoned mercenary of one score nine and a half score eight apprentice with knight training, the snake was still nonplussed by our presence.

As unnerved as I was, could you have blamed me? I did not quite understand his ease at all, but then again, my mind was more concerned with Eliza’s wellbeing than anything else.

I later learned that his room was one of the most secure areas in that market, with hidden traps and assassins at every corner waiting to do his bidding, than anywhere else. That man had nothing to fear, and even the imperial knights would’ve had difficulty breaching such a meticulous place. Chances are that if I had wandered in by myself without the old crow, I would’ve been dead before making it past the third step.

As time passed, and the deafening silence grew louder, I allowed my gaze to wander through the room until it settled on a rather grim painting.

It was a woman, standing on grey, dead earth with her hands open in prayer. Above her head were venomous dragons, all swooping darkly over the clouds, while at her feet lay the dead and buried. Little gravestones peppered the scenery, and the last thing I noticed, the woman’s white hair was covered with ashes and dust. There were black-hooded figures behind her, with bloodied hands and daggers, but she did not seem perturbed by them, let alone by the dragons above.

That painting reminded me of Aspen’s rather confusing disposition. Of course Lethe was distinct from Oberon - there was no way a saint could compare to a god, no matter how powerful they were. At least, that’s what I was told…

I must admit, I was not yet mature enough to understand the weight of the claim the old crow had made, nor was I able to sufficiently answer it myself. I believe that was the first time my faith had shaken so much, burdened as it was with Eliza’s disappearance.

Shah pulled me out of my contemplation, saying, “I see you enjoy works of art, my dear.”

I smiled uneasily, snapping my head back to him, “Oh not particularly, sir. I was just curious as I have yet to see such a… vivid painting as this one.”

He grinned back creepily.

“No matter. That one is a rare sight; Lethe in all her glory.”

“Then… what of the graves?”

“War, my dear Juno,” Aspen jumped in, turning his attention to the very painting, “War and famine. You see the ground is lifeless, and the small glints of swords in the distance.”

“I see…” I nodded, perplexed, “then what of the black figures? And the dragons?”

“Ah, that would be the Church of Percival.”

“I beg your pardon?!” I cried.

Those fools were insane and raving mad, with dark thoughts and were always causing trouble. The Church of Percival was a heinous bunch, and to my recollection, were rather fond of human sacrifices, obscene rituals and all things demonic. They were the cause for much civil unrest and crime, despite our being in the Black Market, and even those involved in the underworld like Shah knew to avoid them.

Aspen interjected thoughtfully, “The Church of Percival, Juno. That painting is called the Battle for Heaven specifically because it laments the divide between the deities. Lethe was the one to suffer the most as her beloved Taero, her human devotees and her dragon friends were all torn from her in one fell swoop.”

I stopped to think about that, “So she cursed the grounds of future wars to not bear any fruit for a time to grieve their deaths… I see…”

Our rather mild conversation was interrupted at that point when the woman, Helen, entered back inside with a stack of documents in hand.

As the snake peered through them, my trepidation grew more frantic; we were so close to finding Eliza after all.

“Now then… It seems Ivara has obtained three orphan children from Hevelia six days ago, several live vulpins from Altrahas, a zephyr corpse and another load of daggers from near Devienne five days ago and a young lady from the apothecary in Cheverton around two days ago-”

“Two days ago?? Were we not just there?” I interrupted.

“Darling, we spent two days walking through the catacombs. We are in between Leston, Hevelia and Cheverton right now - you just have not yet noticed.”

Aspen placed a hand on my knee, squeezing roughly. Shah only watched.

“And where is that lady being kept currently, Shah?”

The snake smirked, “For what price?”

“Sonoma.”

“...Sonoma…” he murmured, thinking quietly.

“In that case, she is being held in the basements near here. If you follow Helen, she will lead you to the main building. I’m sure you recall the rest of the schematics from before.” He waved a hand as we stood to follow the courtesan out of the room.

As we reached the door, Shah called out one last time to Aspen.

“Ah, a word of caution before you go, old friend. It appears some of Percival’s rats have begun infesting Ivara’s units. I would watch my tongue if I were you.”

The old crow only grinned back at the snake, sliding his dagger into view.

“Don’t I always?”