While Rigel howled to the rafters, his victims scoured the swamped streets. Wet, bereft, and still wasted, Revel and El Sha La slogged through the downpour in search of the stolen orb. They had nothing to go on.

The deluge had obliterated the thief’s trail. Revel was certain the boy had bled out by now, but they found no body. The district was deserted. The lamps were blown out, windows were shuttered against the shipbreaker, and the guards were long gone. Their search radiated out from the Tower of the Unraveller in a spiral of increasing desperation. Neither would admit it was hopeless.

Disowned and broke, Revel V Ramos had no means to replace his silver fencing dagger. El Sha La’s situation was far worse. If Arath found out she’d allowed a thief to break into the tower and escape unscathed, she’d be far more than disowned. The thought of explaining what she was doing in her father’s bedchamber made El want to burst into flames. It was impossible to lie to Arath the Unraveller.

Instead of peaking in a tangle of silk sheets, the lovers trudged through sodden streets. Echoes of their stoned steps chased them down drowned alleys and across overflowing avenues. Moments bled to minutes, minutes dragged to hours.

The rain blurred into a perpetual hiss. Thunder groaned overhead, and Revel grumbled along. Every intersection brought a new complaint. His bollocks were bruised, his dagger was lost, and so was their cause, on and on. Finally, El Sha La barked at him to shut up. Revel sulked for blocks.

The rain let up just as their lantern sputtered out. Spent and spattered in gray filth, they shivered in obscurity. Fog followed the squall and swallowed the moon. The hangover began. Revel and El flitted from one lit window to the next, like moths to the glow of dying hearths. Soon, they could scarcely see a stride ahead. Revel walked face-first into a signpost and nearly cracked his skull.

“Damn it!”

He raised a useless fist at his emblematic ambusher. HAWKER’S HOOP was painted in peeling red letters on a wooden plank. The stalls were all closed for the night. Rain pooled on the empty tables.

“Watch where you’re going!” El chided.

“How? I can’t see!” Revel hissed back.

As if in answer, moonlight broke through the fog and illuminated El Sha La’s scowl. Around her, Hawker’s Hoop shone silver. An enormous black face loomed above them.

“AHH!”

Revel and El yelped in unison, then saw they were fools. It was only the ebon face of the Tinkerton Font. A statue of Lhazza Lha rose from the flooded fountain, fifteen feet high. The smith’s arms were as thick as tree trunks, carved from a single slab of black Aranic marble.

Water leapt in streams where his great hammer crashed against the world-anvil. Hushed, they peered up at the founder of Lhaz. The sculptor had imbued something inhuman into the sharp planes of the blacksmith’s face.

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Revel broke the silence.

“El, it’s been hours.”

“I know.”

“I can’t see a thing in this soup. Can’t you magic up a light or something?”

“Why didn’t I think of that? Let me conjure a great big blazing ball of flame so the whole city knows I’m a witch. What could go wrong?”

Revel patted the scabbard at his side.

“They wouldn’t dare.”

“How would you know? These people have nothing. That little shit certainly dared to burgle my tower. He should have been incinerated the moment he touched the ward.”

“Why wasn’t he? Was it because we were, um, occupied?”

“No. He wore a bane. Snake lead. It thwarts any sort of sorcery.”

“Oh. Why doesn’t everyone wear one?”

“Because Snake lead is terribly rare and incredibly poisonous. It slowly drives you mad.”

Revel kicked a spray of water at the statue. A wrought-iron fence ringed the fountain to keep the drunks out.

“Makes sense. Only a madman would cross Arath.”

“Let’s keep going,” El pressed.

“El, we’ve been at this all night. What if we can’t find the thief?”

“That’s not an option.”

“But what if we don’t find him?”

“We have to,” El Sha La insisted.

“But—” Revel began.

“Listen to me, Revel. If my father comes back and finds out I spent the whole summer screwing you instead of studying, I’m in terrible, terrible trouble.”

“Well, you might have to just accept that.”

“I wasn’t done. I will be in trouble. You will be dead. Arath will kill you.”

Revel recoiled.

“He wouldn’t.”

El stared back at him. Her face had no give.

“Don’t tell him, then! Just make something up. Don’t mention me!”

“You can’t fool Arath. He’ll pluck my lies apart and do the same to you. You’ll have to flee the city.”

“I can’t leave Lhaz! I have a brigade to lead when Terhaljatan attacks. The city needs me.”

“Then, we need to find the orb. Our lives depend on it.”

“This isn’t fair! It was your idea to get high in the garret.”

“Fair has nothing to do with it now. This is life or death.”

“Can’t you cast some spell and scry the thief out?”

“Do you ever think? Would I stand here soaked and slathered in shit if I could scry him out? Idiot!” El’s voice crackled with anger.

“Well, what am I supposed to do? I can’t even see!” Revel shouted back. His voice boomed out into the fog.

In the distance, a whistle blew four long notes.

“Is that the guard?” Revel asked.

El shook her head. “That’s a gang mustering. They’ll be out for spoils after the squall.”

“How big are these gangs?”

“Don’t you know?”

“Tinkerton was outside of my jurisdiction.”

“It varies. Ten or fifteen, at least.”

Revel’s bluster blew away.

“That’s too many. We need to leave. In the morning, I can beg my men for a favor. Most won’t come, but I can muster at least twenty. We’ll sweep the whole of Tinkerton.”

“No! Then, the whole Quartiere will know. This can’t get back to Arath. Let’s just keep going. If a gang finds us, I’ll handle it.”

“You?”

“I’m Arath’s apprentice. I’m known.”

“And if that doesn’t work? Without armor, I can take three, maybe four. After they mob me down, they’ll come after you.”

“I’ll handle it.”

“They’ll shoot us in the back, El. You told me you were bad on defense.”

“I just need practice. I wasted the whole summer on you.”

Revel winced. El regretted her words immediately.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean that.”

“Maybe you’re right. I should leave Lhaz and never come back.” Revel looked away. She reached out for his arm.

“No! I’m just—”

Four whistles sounded again. They were closer.

“You know what? You’re right. This is hopeless.”

“We can keep going.”

“The thief is bound to do something stupid. Let’s go home. I’ll draw us a hot bath. We’ll find him tomorrow when the fog clears.”

Revel closed his eyes and nodded assent. It began to rain again as they squelched off into the fog. A long hour later, Revel stubbed his toe. He looked up and bellowed an oath at his old foe. El Sha La hissed in exasperation. They’d wandered in a circle.

The sign said: HAWKER’S HOOP.