The Infernal District lit up at night.

No oil streetlamps, of course. Even as old as those were, they’d only made it to the district's outskirts. Instead, assortments of lanterns and interior candles lit up the district. The city operated some of those, but most were not and would flicker off as their owners went to bed. No one wanted to use up fuel they didn’t need.

Money was tight here. Some were born who didn’t know the feeling of having to keep track of every half-penny. Those lucky few. I had not numbered among their ranks. I remembered scraping and clawing for anything I could grasp, not long after they’d kicked my mother into the district for birthing me.

Saying every Infernal was poor or a member of the District would be an outright lie, but for the majority, both those facts held true. Even to the other scum of the empire, devil blood marked you as scum, so the other slums were out. Anything higher than that was more polite in their methods, but the results were the same. Very few escaped the district.

Those who did typically tried it via the military, but most of them ended up slinking back here after their tours of duty. The guarantees were for them alone, not for families, although some were lobbying to change that. You either were a couple hoping both survived your tour, or you escaped to the Fields by yourself.

The other solution to leaving the district was a truly staggering amount of money. Or trying to leave the empire. That rarely ended well.

I wrinkled my nose, having just escaped the grasp of the district’s lone tannery. Another indication of our disfavored status. Tanneries were kept on the outskirts of towns precisely because of this stench, but Infernals had to stay within working distance of the district. And Jasper Leatherworks was one of the most stable employers around.

Most people just pretended not to notice the smell, although I would have to bathe if I didn’t want to stink of the leatherwork. It seemed a minor complaint but one that would be avoidable if we were just allowed to move from the district.

The situation wasn’t much better elsewhere in the empire. Every city had its Infernal District, and rural towns and villages were much less tolerant of us than the cities.

In fairness, our forefathers and mothers were responsible in part for the Infernal Empire when the Prince Below married the Princess Above. It took time to pay off the crimes committed back then. The scars from those reigns still lay deep, healing slowly or not at all.

Some might call it unfair but given the choice between today and the historical suggestions of Duke Brixton? That the elimination of the Infernal Taint should not end at Her Most Profane Highness Inferna? I’d take this over our entire race being extinguished.

The night streets were bare enough that you could keep a dozen feet between yourself and anyone else the entire time.

It hadn’t always been like this. Back when I ran with Voltar, the district had five times the Infernals it did now. The aftermath of his downfall, the riots, and heavy conscription since had reduced it to a more manageable size, leaving many buildings unoccupied.

They were filling back up, though. In some ways, comparing us to vermin did hold true.

“Alms for a war veteran, miss?”

An Infernal lay against the wall, rags drawn closely around them. Usually, you had about a hundred fake veterans along your path, begging for whatever coins they could get.

I gave this one a once-over and was inclined to believe he told the truth. Waxy, disfigured skin, with patches of it pale like the color had been drained out of it?

“You get back from the fight with the Avenlanders?” I asked.

He gave me a grin lacking half of its teeth. “Earlier campaign than that, miss. Claiming underground land from the dwarfs. Got sprayed by some fire-spitting thing of theirs. Got lucky.”

“I have a few pounds I can spare, just a second.”

Very lucky indeed to survive the alchemist’s fire with only discolored skin, but I was inclined to believe him. It would be easier to disguise yourself as a veteran of Avenland.

“They say they're going to open up the Fields for us!” The beggar said.

Others on the street paused, trying to see what the noise was about. Me, I finished counting out three pounds in small coinage. I could afford to be generous today, despite the efforts of leeches like Carnly.

“Get yourself some good food. Maybe some better clothing. Even if you’ve found an abandoned building, it will get cold come winter.”

Winter’s bite always took lives, even with so many uninhabited buildings to break into and claim as your own. The quality of building here after the Infernal Empire had always been abysmal. And the sellers of oil and coal knew when people would be at their most desperate to buy fuel to keep their families warm.

My lab was one of those buildings that’d been cleared out as the population had been bled out of the district. Setting it up between two different apartments had been burdensome, especially until I’d taken a week to put a hole in the wall between them.

It took ten more minutes to reach there, sparing a quick check on one of the ground floor buildings. It seemed the landlord I rented these apartments from was out. If only the landlady for my actual apartment was gone as often as he was.

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I walked inside the darkness, a little unnerved. Inside, there was barely any noise, only muffled sounds from outside seemingly coming out of the dark. Usually, I appreciate both. Tonight, it would have been a little reassuring knowing someone else was in here.

I could smell the chemicals, their scent leaking out the door. I’d sealed everything inside but some smells simply permeated. I hadn’t opened a window in a while to air it out, and the apartments weren’t well equipped for cycling air in and out.

I stifled a yawn as I put the key in the door’s lock. I had a few tinctures to keep myself alert and awake. They were all smashed, courtesy of that tussle with the Pure-bloods.

Just as well. Every hour staved off was paid with another hour slept when it wore off, and I couldn’t afford an entire day. Hopefully, I would be able to spare some time in the future. Right now, sleeping a full twelve hours sounded beautiful.

After opening up my door, the smell became much worse. Okay, something had broken. Likely, one of the other tenants had done an experiment that had rocked the building just enough to knock a jar off of its shelf. I took a few more tentative sniffs. Lionseed oil.

Some good news in that. At least it was a cheaper ingredient and one whose fumes weren’t dangerous. Just annoying in how it stank. And would stink for at least a week.

Something had probably fallen over. I’d been still readjusting my lab, bringing in the equipment and ingredients Lady Kersin had given me as part of her payment.

Sighing, I reached for an oil lantern, only to find it missing. Strange. I’d left one on the counter by the door. Instead, my hands closed around a set of scales I used to weigh ingredients.

I turned towards the cupboards to put them back, wondering if I’d just forgotten moving any of this.

I knew I’d closed this one before leaving. I hadn’t moved anyth-

I could hear someone behind me move, and I began to turn. Before I could two hands grasped me by the upper arm. I tensed, waiting for a blow, but nothing else came.

Had they just grabbed me around my biceps like that was supposed to stop me?

“Alright, you’re going to tell me where your cures for Angel’s Sorrow are right now-”

That’s what this was about? Oh, Lord Montague was about to find my price much higher than agreed upon. Lifting my leg, I lashed backward with a hoof.

My hoof smashed into the intruder’s shin, and they let me go with a cry of pain. I whirled around to face them.

“This is my lab! You’ll tell me what you were doing here right now!”

The darkness obscured them, but I could see them hopping around in pain. Excellent, I could aim my next blow.

I kicked again, hoof impacting right where their legs intercepted. To my dismay, they did not immediately crumple on the spot but instead rushed me.

I moved out of the way, hoof lashing out again at their knee. I hadn’t hit metal? Did they use Biosculpting to remove their genitals? Some did. Ah well, it didn’t matter.

Growling, the intruder turned once again, reaching for something in their coat. They still moved fluidly despite the blows to the leg. Reinforced bone? They looked relatively slim to have had their skeleton reinforced. It wouldn’t matter. I was going to dismantle this one thoroughly.

“I don’t want to do this-” They started to say.

My hoof hit their nose, and I felt something give way underneath it. They collapsed to the floor, grasping at their nose.

I leaned down, staring at the intruder. I’d bite this one’s throat out as a warning to any others who would think to try and rob me-Shut up!

The distraction from the diabolism cost me. The intruder sprang back to their feet and rammed their head forward directly into mine.

My vision grew fuzzy as my hands reflexively released theirs. My thought became disorganized as I reeled back. I…reducing my horn size had really made my forehead weaker, hadn’t it?

The stranger was running for the door. Odds were they had a key.

They fumbled with the door handle as soon as they reached it. I ran at them, reaching for an empty flask on the table.

They rammed the door with their shoulder. I brought the flask down on their head. Glass shattered, and they groaned, trying to turn around.

My fist rammed into the side of their throat. A second blow to their stomach, and they went down.

Vision blurry and my head fuzzy, I grabbed the intruder’s shirt shoulders. I dragged them along the floor, ignoring their groans of protest.

Dragging them to my testing closet, I shoved them inside and quickly checked the interior. Nothing besides a small table was there, so I quickly pulled it out.

They were twitching, almost regaining consciousness when I returned. They were human and probably male. Bit of a strange-looking one, hair growing haphazardly across their face, nose looking decidedly unsymmetrical. Oh, that might be from my kick. Who they were was a mystery for tomorrow. They’d just started to move as I shut the door and locked it.

The closet door shuddered as its new occupant tried to break it down.

“I wouldn’t bother,” I said. “It’s a very thick door. If you couldn’t knock me out, you’re definitely not making it out of there. You’re in my little testing place where I put chemicals to stew that might be a bit explosive.”

The handle rattled in response, mixed with a desperate yell for help.

“Oh, calm down. I don’t have anything in there at the moment. You should be quite safe for the night. I’ll be back to see you in the morning.”

The rattling only intensified, along with the screaming. I frowned. If they yelled loud enough, somebody outside may hear them.

“I wouldn’t suggest keeping that up for very long either. It’s already rather muffled; it’ll be even lower outside the building itself, and frankly, no one who hears it will care. May as well save your voice.”

That did not work either, as the yelling continued. Sighing, I looked around for something to put under the door to muffle the noise. Some rags I used for poultices would have to do.

Before I stuffed them into the gap, I decided to try one last time to end this tonight. “If you choose to answer some questions now, you can make it out of there even earlier. Otherwise, I’m coming back tomorrow with some friends, and we’ll get some answers then. Where did you get a key from? The fact you’re alive tells me you have one.”

There was still no response besides continued screaming. I shrugged. They could have it their way. They weren’t going to die from half a day without water or food, and if they ended up relieving themselves, I’d cleaned nastier from my lab.

Honestly, having another thing added to my schedule for tomorrow was just an annoyance.

I found a whale-oil lantern and lit it. Most of my cupboards were open, and somebody had scattered the store ingredients about. Most were unopened, with the exception of a few such as the Lionseed. The counters mainly had been cleared, although nearly everything had been put carefully on the ground. They must have planned to do this with as little indication of being here as possible.

I worked on resealing the ingredients, and by the time I was done, the intruder was still yelling for help.

Ignoring the screaming, I moved to one of the walls. The secret compartment hadn’t been disturbed. Grabbing a chisel, I demolished the quick-drying cement I’d used to conceal the compartment. The rock box was brick-shaped and looked like one when slotted into the wall.

Putting it on the counter, I lit a candle. Eight bottles left. Two were reserved for Lord Montague’s son, leaving another six for future clients. Assuming the poisonings kept happening.

It was an ill thing to wish for, but I needed the money.

I left, locking the door and leaving the intruder behind me. Head aching, I began the walk home and hopefully to a bed to sleep in.