Searching the streets for the little soon-to-be-dead thief reminded Daivad why he hated cities. The cramped alleys, the clogged streets, the overwhelming smell of everything, the way it felt like the buildings were leaning over him, one strong breeze away from collapsing on his head. Particularly, at the moment he was frustrated with the fact that, in a city, you couldn’t just go from Point A to Point B, you had to go to this street that connected to that street that brought you to the next street, and so on—it made him feel like he was a rat in a fucking maze. At least in Urden he could run along the rooftops—

Daivad paused. He could run along the rooftops. It would draw more attention than he would prefer, unless done very carefully, but so long as he kept his hood up and his cloak snug around him, it should be alright.

Traveling the rooftops was much more efficient, and he got back to the alley where they’d rescued the kid. Too bad he had to kill her now. Here, he trailed the kid’s scent—it wasn’t easy to keep track of it beneath the thousand other smells down every street, but he managed to find his way to an alley beside a building with music and voices spilling from its several stories-worth of windows. A cloaked figure, Daivad’s prey, stood at the bottom of a set of stairs that led under the building, arguing in a high, panicked tone with whoever stood on the other side of the door.

In a final, frustrated moment, the kid let out a short yell and pounded a fist onto the door. Then she melted against the door, ragged breaths rocking her little frame, and turned to slide down the door into a defeated ball.

The fury in Daivad’s chest fizzled out.

Alright, fine, he’d let the thievery slide, so long as she just gave him back the stone. He dropped lightly onto the alley floor, landing softly enough that the ball at the bottom of the stairs didn’t stir. It was when he stepped forward into the bit of lantern light illuminating the alley, throwing his shadow down the stairs, that he heard the stutter of the kid’s heartbeat, though she didn’t move.

The words rose from his throat on the bubbles of a growl, “I think something from my pocket might have found its way into yours.”

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Wordless and still hiding within her cloak, the kid pressed her boots into the dirt beneath her to slide back up the door into a standing position. Finally, she said, “My pockets are empty.”

Daivad took one, heavy step down the stairs. “Do not,” one more step, “lie to me right now.”

“I gifted your purse to the owner of the house,” she said in a shaky whisper, “so she wouldn’t kick me out. But she kicked me out anyway. Got her footprint on my ass to prove it.”

Daivad narrowed his eyes, listening to the erratic beating of her heart. Because of the pressure of the kid’s situation, it was hard to tell if that skittering heartbeat spelled deception or just fear.

“And the stone?”

Pause. “Stone?”

“The white pebble that was in the purse.”

Longer pause. “I handed over the whole purse.”

Now that he could confidently name Lie. He took another heavy step, sinking his magic into the earth below so that when he landed, the ground shook. The kid recoiled further into her cloak.

“Give me the stone.” Another step, and the door behind the kid rattled on its hinges.

“Ask Madam Agatha,” the kid said, voice strained like his very presence had her by the throat. “She’s just upstairs.”

“Give me the stone,” he growled, “and I’ll let the rest slide.”

The kid tried to sound tough, casual, “Dude, I don’t have the fucking pebble.” But Daivad was close enough now to see her eyes beneath her hood, big, brown, and afraid within their purple bruises.

He was an instant away from reaching for the kid, but—the doorway before him was empty. Thrown, his senses stuttered, his eyes lost focus for a split second as they processed the switch from what he’d expected to see to what he actually saw. He looked around to see the kid’s cloak fluttering up the stairs. He snatched at it, but it seemed she’d learned from her encounter with the gang earlier and she jerked it out of his grasp and tucked it under one arm, taking off down the alley.