I watched as Sylvie stood in the middle of Boy’s living room, staring at Aliss.

“Where in flames have you been?!” Sylvie demanded.

“Who are these two?” Aliss asked, nodding to me and Erani. Neither of us were in our typical disguise, so she didn’t recognize us.

Sylvie audibly groaned, clearly annoyed that she’d have to play into our lie. “This is Arlan and Erani, they’re friends of Annor and Eita. Okay, shake hands, bow heads, exchange your philosophies on life, whatever, you’re acquainted. Now answer my question, Aliss—where have you been, and why are you here now?”

Aliss chewed her lip. “I’ve been…running errands. Busy with something. I’ve come by because I needed to pick up some food, but I’m still busy. So, I’m sorry, I would normally love to speak with the famous Arlan and Erani, but I do need to get going soon. If you’ll excuse—”

“Are you flamin’ stupid?” Sylvie interrupted. “Obviously I’m not gonna excuse you. Keep talking! What’re you busy with?”

“I can’t tell you, I’m sorry.”

“Oh, c’mon.” Sylvie turned to me. “Arlan, can you convince her? Flex your Demon knowledge. Aliss, don’t you wanna know what these two know about Demons? You can trade info, or something. And then tell me all the info you traded for. But like, for free. I don’t have to trade anything.”

Before I could speak up, Aliss responded. “I can’t do that, not even for information about Demons. Though, I would love to speak about them with you sometime.”

“What?! I thought you used to do, like, anything to get Demon info! Didn’t you make us go and take that whole job with Annor just so you could interrogate them? What happened?”

“I just…” Aliss sighed and shook her head. “I have a new source of information now. Now, please, let me get into the kitchen so I can grab some food.”

“Does Boy know you’re taking his food?”

“Yes. Were you always this nosy?”

“Yes.”

“To be fair, she was,” I offered.

Aliss groaned in anger. “I’m doing something seriously important, okay? Please let me do it without interruption. I can talk to you and answer all your questions later, but not now, and definitely not in present company.”

“Oh, c’mon, I’m not that bad, am I?” Sylvie asked.

“I’m not talking about you.”

She glanced over at us. “What, Arlan and Erani? They aren’t gonna kill you or anything, you know. They’re actually very nice and kind and trustworthy and all that. Actually, I know a bunch of super top-secret stuff about them, so if you tell them anything you’re worried they’ll leak I can just blackmail them into not talking. Boom, problem solved. So talk.”

“It’s not about whether or not they’ll leak it.” Aliss turned to us. “I’m sorry, I’m sure you’re both wonderful people. But I’m…conducting some very sensitive research. And, quite frankly, given your history, I believe you may disrupt it if you know what it is. I hope that’s a good enough answer for you.”

“It’s not a good enough answer for me,” Sylvie replied. “C’mon, I’m downtrodden! Doesn’t anyone ever think about the little guy?”

Aliss rolled her eyes. “You’re anything but downtrodden.”

“Actually, I’m homeless now,” Sylvie said smugly, as if that were something to be smug about. “Totally broke. Nothing to my name. Disowned. Parents don’t love. Fighting for my life. So yeah, actually you’re maybe being super mean and a terrible person for not helping me out. Which, the main way to help me out would be to tell me all of your secret information.”

Aliss looked at us. “Is she being serious?”

“She actually is,” I said.

“Why are you saying that like I’m usually so untrustworthy?” Sylvie demanded, folding her arms. “Give me one time I’ve told a lie. I’ll wait.”

“You literally just said you’re homeless, which you’re not. We’ve given you a place to stay.”

“Okay, but I don’t own an estate anymore, so, like, I’m basically homeless. I’m houseless. Which is basically homeless. So boom, no lies. Sylvie the truthful, they call me!”

“No, wait, you don’t own an estate? Disowned?” Aliss looked between us. “What happened?”

“Now, see, wouldn’t I be an asshole if I just said ‘I’m busy,’ and then pranced around like I was so much more important than you? That’s what you’re doing. You’re being an asshole.”

“Okay, I will tell you later,” Aliss said. “But really, I cannot just say this to anyone. And these two are certainly more than ‘anyone.’”

“Fine, fine.” Sylvie stepped aside. As she watched Aliss walk by her to the kitchen, she muttered, “I’ll just follow you back to wherever you’re going anyway.”

Aliss stopped and twirled around. “Do not follow me.”

“Oh, c’mon, you’ll be fine. You just said you’d tell me later, right? What’s the difference?”

“Just, it would be extremely troublesome if someone followed me back to the place I’m going. For you, and for me, and for…everyone involved. Things would go very poorly. So please, just listen to me, and do not follow me. Do not bother me. Let me do what I need to do right now, and when I get some time, I’ll explain things to everyone.”

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Sylvie raised her hands in mock surrender. “Okay, okay, I get it. No need to get all pissy.”

“I’m ‘pissy’ because you—” Aliss sighed. “Nevermind.”

She walked past us and opened one of the cabinets, staring into it for a moment. Then she whirled around to look at Sylvie. “Did you eat out of this bag of sugar?!”

**********

Entismo snuck through the streets, doing his best to be stealthy. In the dead of night, he tried to navigate correctly, glancing around at every intersection. He didn’t want to get lost, and he definitely didn’t want to run into the wrong person.

The night before, after Boy had departed from his home, Entismo had gone shortly after to follow him to his destination. Perhaps it wasn’t the most proper thing to do, but he needed to know what was going on with Aliss. If she was in trouble, he…he needed to save her. Though, he wasn’t entirely sure how he’d go about doing that. He really just hoped she wasn’t in trouble.

Either way, he needed to find out. She’d been gone for so long, what if she didn’t come back? He would never forgive himself.

So he had done it. He’d followed Boy and managed to stay hidden as he discovered the location the man had returned to—an orphanage in a run-down part of town. He hadn’t the courage to go in at the time—not when Boy was still in there—but it should have been empty now. So tonight would be the night. Maybe Aliss would be there, maybe not, but he would at least look until he found something that pointed him in the right direction. A scrap of paper with an address written on it, maybe. Or a letter from someone calling her to another town.

He looked up from the directions scribbled on his hand. This one last left turn would be the last, and then…Yes! There it was! It was in sight!

He crept up to the front door, turning it, and—oh, it was locked.

Wait, how was he supposed to get into a locked building?! He hadn’t brought any tools for this. Could he just break a window? That’d be a crime, he couldn’t do that! Oh no, would he need to return home? Maybe tomorrow would be a better day…

No. He shook his head. No, it had to be today. He’d never be able to work up the courage again if he let his cowardice take him now.

Surely, there’s some other way in…He crept around the building, pulling on each of the windows to try and open them. He was locked out by wooden shutters covering each of the holes in the wall, preventing him from entering.

But then, around at the back of the orphanage, one of the shutters was broken! Just wide enough to crawl through. He pulled a crate over to use as a stepping stool, just barely able to wiggle his way through the hole, and crashed to the wooden floor. He was inside!

“Hello?” a child’s voice called. “Miss Aliss, are you there? I’m thirsty. Can you get me some water?”

His eyes widened, unsure what to do. He stayed there frozen for a while, but no more sound came. In front of him was a door that apparently went into a child’s bedroom.

Of course, you dunce! It’s an orphanage, the children will be sleeping inside here now. You must be quiet.

But that child, he had mentioned Aliss by name. So she had been here! That was his clue.

He wanted to leave immediately. Crawl right back out of the window. Okay, good, he got his clue, he knew where she was, time to go. But…he needed more. His heart beat so hard he felt like the sound of it may wake the children. He couldn’t bring himself to stand on both feet. There were people in this place! Some of whom were clearly awake! How could he just waltz in and look around? What if he got caught? Would he be taken to jail? Was this place Enchanted? Would it kill him if he took another step?

No, no, no, stop worrying. Come on, Entismo. What was it mother’s doctor always said to you? Ground yourself. Look around at the things you can concretely see, listen for the things you can assuredly hear. What can you smell? What did you have for your last meal? Live in the real world.

But the real world is the problem! I can see a dark, uninviting house awaiting me! I can hear the footsteps of these children ready to scream in fear!

He took a deep breath. He had to do this.

At the very least, just get to your feet.

As carefully as he could, he stood, wincing as the floorboards creaked beneath him. Nobody said anything.

One step forward. Another step. It’s just one step at a time. You can turn and run at any sign of trouble. For now, just take a single step.

Eventually, he got to the living room. Empty. It was at that point he realized he didn’t actually know where to go from there. Down another hallway? It’d just connect to more bedrooms. And he was sure that any room containing more information would have some big sign pointing it out.

Maybe I should just turn and leave. You’ve got at least a little bit, isn’t that enough?

And he almost did turn around and leave. Perhaps it would have been better if he had. But instead, he waited just a little bit longer to think things over. And in those extra seconds, he heard the faintest noise.

A crash, like someone tumbling to the ground. And then, a shout. “Fucking bullshit!”

It was faint, sounding like it was coming through the floor. But…

That wasn’t a child’s voice. And what was it that they said? Was that Koinkarian slang? Annor and his crew are gone, and they’re the only Koinkarians I know. So then, who…?

He looked around the room again. Was there some sort of basement door? Nothing in the walls, but…

His eyes widened. There. Underneath a stack of crates, he saw the corner of a hatch set into the floor. Breathing heavily, he crept over. There was clearly something going on here. And when he got to the crates, he realized so even more. They were heavy—extremely heavy. Peeking inside, they were filled with a random assortment of stone and dirt. They weren’t even holding anything; their entire purpose was to keep this hatch closed.

So then, that person was…imprisoned in the basement?! If there were prisoners being kept here, could Aliss be one of them?!

With newfound haste, Entismo started pushing the crates off of the hatch, not caring about the noise he made anymore. He had to save her!

Once he’d shoved the last of the crates out of the way, the box toppling over in a loud crash, he threw the hatch open and started his way down the ladder. Just before his head disappeared below the floor, he caught a glimpse of a child’s foot walking out from one of the hallways.

“Miss Aliss?” the little boy called. “Are you working in the basement again? Can I—”

Entismo slammed the hatch shut and continued down. He was past the point of no return now. He had to save her.

Hopping off the ladder to skip the last couple steps, he glanced around to catch his bearings. He was in a short hallway, a door at the end of it. From behind the door, he could still hear muffled shouting.

“Of fucking course, you forbid me from touching a book, then leave the book in the middle of the fucking floor! What is this, the third time I’ve tripped over it? I swear to the lord below, when she comes back, I am going to—”

Entismo threw the door open, ready to see a room lined with holding cells, and ready to find the one that held Aliss.

Only, it wasn’t a room lined with holding cells. It was just…an office. A particularly messy one, really.

And standing in the middle of the office, was…

Entismo’s eyes grew wide. Crimson skin. Blue, glowing veins. Horns atop its head. It was…

The beast glanced back at him. “Oh, you’re here late. Hey, do you mind moving this—”

Its eyes grew wide, too.

“Oh, shit,” the thing said.

Entismo stumbled back, hyperventilating. Then, at the top of his lungs, he shouted. “D-Demon!”