The attacker lunged forward, silent like a shadow.

It was not the same red-haired creep that attacked Ethan in his apartment; this person was short, about the same height as Bril and not reaching even 4 feet; the lower half of their face was covered by a black face mask, the upper half was hidden by a large hood.

An identical hood as the one Ethan got from the Ball-Kicker.

The twin blades in the attacker’s hands had no shine, they were perfectly opaque and black. They came up towards Ethan’s face, and he barely dodged just out of way before he lost his nose.

But he had his secret weapon ready this time.

“Take this!” yelled Ethan, throwing salt out of his pocket in the attacker’s face.

They spinned around in mid-air, the salt hitting the back of their hood.

“Halt!” Lysandra yelled out, and a brilliant beam of light poured from the tip of her wand. The tiny creep put their blades together, and the beam ricocheted off of them, hitting Cole instead.

“Ow!” exclaimed Cole. “Come here, you little-” he pulled out something from his pocket, and Ethan’s jaw dropped.

It was a gun.

The tiny attacker moved swiftly around the tiny, cramped room, bouncing effortlessly between the walls and the floor and the ceiling like a deadly, very sharp ball.

“Hiyaa!” they exclaimed, one of the blades slashing Ethan effortlessly at the ankles.

“Huhhh!” they jumped towards Cole, so swift they were nothing more than a blur, slashing his wrists. A strange, thick, gooey substance that looked more like sap than blood poured out from his wrists, and Cole shot his gun. And missed.

“Hee-” they jumped towards Lysandra, blades at the ready.

A brilliant flash of light filled the room, so bright it blinded Ethan.

It also blinded the attacker.

They swayed with uncertainty on their feet, trying to blindly swipe at Lysandra. Ethan, squinting and rubbing his eyes with one hand, reached out to where he saw the attacker last.

Got them.

“Let me go!” squeaked the perpetrator. “Or I’ll kick you again you big ugly brute!”

“Quiet, now,” said Ethan, grimacing through the pain. His ankles were creating a blood floor in the tiny room. He pulled down the attacker’s hood and face mask.

The three of them gasped.

“It’s…” Cole squinted with disbelief.

“A child,” said Lysandra.

“Ha!” Ethan knew he shouldn’t be smug, but he was. “I knew they have a great capacity for evil.”

“Stop manhandling me, you pig,” squealed the child.

It was a young girl, a half-elf. She had long, white hair that was braided carefully into an intricate crown on the top of her head, and large yellow eyes. She spat in Ethan’s face.

“Ew.”

“Ew you! You slimy old-”

“What should we do with her?” asked Cole, who pulled out a first aid kit and was bandaging up his wrists. “And with him?” he pointed at Bril’s body.

“Let me see if there’s… any hope for him” Lysandra moved closer to Bril, examining him. Faint light poured from her fingertips. Some of the blood bubbled sadly, as if trying to reenter his body. She shook her head.

“He’s gone.”

Still holding onto the child, Ethan pulled out a set of manacles.

“Hey!” she exclaimed. “No fair!”

“Kid, you’ve killed someone,” said Ethan through gritted teeth. “I don’t think you get to talk about fair.”

“Who cares! He was a bad man!”

“Very interesting viewpoint. Let’s see how it holds up in court.”

Wait, do kids go to jail in Arcalis?

Lysandra’s eyes were closed, and she was mouthing something. When she opened her eyes, they shone brightly with silver light for a second before sizzling out.

“I’ve contacted the Guard. They’ll be here in a few.”

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“Excellent.”

“As far as Bril is concerned… Gilbert, you’re always good at breaking the news to the family. Want to go ahead?”

Ethan froze. He had no doubt that the real Gilbert had plenty of charisma, and knew exactly what to say in a situation like this to soften the blow. But he? He had all the charisma of someone who first learned social interaction by watching anime and getting his ass kicked in school by kids bigger than him. He never had to break these kinds of news to anyone, much less to someone’s mother.

Lysandra must have seen the look in his eyes, and she sighed. “I understand. I’ll handle it this time. Oh, and Cole?”

“Yes?” said Cole, his leg already out the window.

“I’ll teleport you out. And when I’m talking with Bril’s mother, Gilbert will find a way to mask your involvement from the Guard.” She said a familiar incantation and in a blink of an eye, Cole was gone. Before he disappeared, he threw the first aid kit towards Ethan.

“Thank you, Lysandra,” said Ethan, his voice raspy. “You… really don’t have to do so much.”

“Squeeze out as much out of the kid as you can before the Guard arrives,” was her only response.

She left through the door, the ancient staircase creaking under her feet.

Now it was just him, the kid, and the dead body.

The girl sat down on the floor, like a petulant child mad she did not get the toy she wanted.

“What’s your name?”

She blew him a raspberry.

“Why did you kill him? Who made you do it?”

“I don’t have to say anything. He will come and save me, and then you’ll be sorry!”

“Who is he?”

She smirked. “My brother. He’s cooler and nicer and stronger than you, and he braids my hair and everyone is super afraid of crossing him because he’s so strong.”

“Sounds badass,” he said dryly. “Does your brother have a name?”

“Everybody has a name, stupid.”

“What is your brother’s name?”

She looked at him, her yellow eyes filled with fury.

“I don’t have to tell you anything. You’re just a stupid detective.”

Behind them, Bril’s body made some awful, bloated sounds. The air in here was permeated by the stench of death.

“You’ve killed a man, kid,” said Ethan softly. “You’ve killed him and he’s just a bag of flesh on the ground. How many people have you murdered? Did you ever stay long enough to see what happens to people you kill?”

The girl looked away from him, her chin shaking dangerously.

“He was going to mess it all up,” she sobbed. “He was going to put my brother in trouble. He had to go.”

“What does your brother want to do?”

She shook her head.

“Where are your parents?”

She bit her lip, and pointed at Bril’s dead body.

“Oh,” was all Ethan said. He did not dare ask who killed them.

The girl looked at him, her eyes swelling with tears.

“Will I- will the guard- will they execute me?”

Ethan’s eyes went wide.

Will they? What’s the court system like in Arcalis? Surely, they wouldn’t execute a child?

“I honestly don’t know.”

“Brother always says to not let them catch me, or I’ll end like our sister,” she sniffled. “I don’t want to die.”

“I-I don’t know,” he repeated. He wished he knew. He wanted to say no proper and civilized justice system would execute a child - but he knew better than to assume that what he deems to be right be how the world actually works.

The girl began to cry. Large tears were dripping down her cheeks, and even bigger drops of snot were hanging out her nose. She shoved her head into Ethan’s chest, her body shaking with each sob.

“I- oh, no, please don’t cry,” said Ethan helplessly. He had no idea how to actually act with children.

There was a loud, ear-piercing sound outside, announcing the arrival of the Guard. The girl began to cry harder.

“Alright,” Ethan grabbed her shoulders in what he hoped was a reassuring move. “Hear me out, and do as I say, if you want to live.”

----------------------------------------

The Guard poured in less than two minutes later, and everything became a whirlwind of movement and questions. Through the open door, Ethan could hear another cry: guttural, pained sobs of Bril’s mother, and the high pitched voices of her many children asking her what’s wrong. It made his stomach drop.

A resolute looking human woman with sharp eyes came in, and immediately went to shake Ethan’s hand. A brilliant badge on her chest identified her as Cyla Dioni, Investigator in the Sharn Guard.

“Detective Shadowveil! We meet again,” she gave a sweeping, professional look at the crime scene. “Tell me what happened.”

Ethan explained everything to the best of his ability, trying to remain as calm and composed as he had no doubt Gilbert would’ve been.

He told her about the case they were following, and about the stolen stabilizer and the artifact. When she asked about the third person who was with them according to the children, he said it was his apprentice who went to follow after the perpetrator after they slipped away.

“A shame they slipped away,” she said. “Did you get a good look?”

“No, they wore a mask and a hood. But they were for sure a halfling.”

She nodded.

“Alright. My boys will get it cleaned up and take it from here,” she moved dangerously close to Ethan, and put her hand on his shoulder. “You know, Gilbert, we all miss you in the Guard.”

“Oh? H-hm,” Ethan coughed. “I… I miss you too.”

“Perhaps I should come by your place later? To… discuss the case in greater detail, of course,” she flashed him a smile that, any other time, would’ve made Ethan’s heart skip; but not when the stench of death was filling his nose.

“I- I don’t think it’s a good idea. Not now.” Definitely not when I am harboring an undead in my apartment.

“Next time, then,” her smile did not falter. “I’ll get in touch.”

He nodded, numbly, and walked off towards where Lysandra was standing, aiding the Guard forensic team. She gave them a nod, and after confirming they’ve got it from here, joined Ethan.

“Let’s talk outside,” she said coldly.

They went down these creaking stairs, Ethan’s heart sinking the closer they got to the pained sobs of Bril’s mother. Several of the children were now sobbing too.

He only dared to give the scene a single glance. Bril’s mother was leaning over the table, her face buried in her hands. The kids were all huddled around her, a sad little rainbow, half of them too young to understand what’s going on. He caught the eyes of the one in yellow, the only quiet one, her large eyes full of general hatred of the world.

She gave Ethan a look like he’s a worm.

He walked faster, unsure if he deserves to be looked at any other way.

“I know where the girl is,” he whispered to Lysandra when they went past the front gate, too afraid there might be a Guardsman with super-hearing. “Follow me.”