“We’ll talk about this later,” hissed Lysandra as she followed Ethan. “But for now, mind telling me where are we going?”

Ethan looked back. They were a few blocks away from Bril’s house, and it didn’t seem anyone was following them. Anyone from the Guard, at least.

“Right here is good,” he said, ducking into an alleyway. The buildings around looked abandoned and shady, the kind of place you’d expect drug dealers to meet up and teenagers to go hook up and drink.

“You can come out now,” he said.

The upper half of the girl’s head poked out cautiously from his shadow.

“Don’t be shy, now. Come on out.”

She gave Ethan a suspicious look, and then Lysandra. Slowly, she crawled entirely out of his shadow.

“That was a dangerous gamble, Gilbert,” Lysandra shook her head. “You’re lucky none of the Guardsmen present had Shadowsight. They could’ve caught her and severed your shadow in the process.”

Wait, they can do that?

“It was a necessary gamble. I think we can get more out of her than the Guard can.” And until I find out how the justice system works in Arcalis, I do not want to hand her over.

The girl was now hiding behind him, holding onto his leg.

“I want… I want…” the girl hesitated.

“Yes?”

“Immuniniti!” she said.

“Immunity for murder. Right.” Lysandra grimaced. “I suppose the Moonless Court could be persuaded to be lenient on account of your age, but I’m no lawyer. Gilbert, do you still have the contact info for that lawyer who represented Gia Camarazzo? The one who attended the court case drunk and won the case in record time?”

“Haven’t spoken to him in ages, but I’ll see if I can get in touch,” Ethan made a mental note to find an address book or something that will familiarize him with Gilbert’s real acquaintances.

Inside of his head, he heard Lysandra send him a mental message.

> You know the drill, Gilbert- you play the good guy, I’ll play the bad guy. I want this kid to crack.

Give her a break, she’s just a kid!

> Bril’s body isn’t even cold yet, Shadowveil.

Why do you keep switching back between calling me “Gilbert” and “Shadowveil”?

> So you know exactly and without doubt when I disapprove.

Ethan crouched down, facing the kid. She wasn't crying anymore, but her eyes were red from her previous sobs, and she was shaking gently.

Who the fuck teaches a kid to kill?

“Let’s start small. I’m Gilbert, and this is Lysandra - but you already know that, right? You called me by my last name when you a- when we met.”

She nodded.

“It’s only fair that you tell us your name, isn’t it?”

“Tila,” she said, kicking a rock.

"Nice to meet you, Tila. How old are you?"

“I’m seven and a half years old. I'm getting old.”

“Thanks, Tila. Can you tell us how you know our names?”

“My brother told me,” she said matter-of-factly.

“We’re gonna need to speed this up, kid,” said Lysandra. “I want the details and the facts, and no beating around the bush. What’s your brother up to?”

Tila moved, her feet sinking inside of Ethan’s shadow.

“You’ll arrest my brother,” she mumbled.

“We’ll arrest you too if you don’t cooperate,” Lysandra said dryly.

Tila sank deeper into Ethan’s shadow.

“Hey, hey, no need for that. We just want to talk to your brother so no more people will end up like Bril, okay? We don’t want to arrest anyone,” said Ethan. “We’re not Guardsmen, we’re detectives. Totally different.”

Tila gave him a long, thoughtful look. She did not sink any deeper into his shadow.

“My brother’s name is Vari,” she said. “He’s really strong and really nice. He said to look out for you two, because you are very med- meddlele- meddlesome.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Do you know why he needs the stabilizer you stole and the book, Tila?”

“He said if he had the book and the thing, our lives would be a lot, a lot, a looot better.”

“And do you know where he keeps them?”

“I don’t wanna talk no more,” grumbled Tila. “I’m hungry. I didn’t have lunch.”

“You’re not going to have lunch if you go to jail,” said Lysandra.

“And you won’t go to jail if you tell us where Vari keeps the stolen things,” Ethan hoped he sounded as friendly as possible. “And then, we can go get lunch.”

“Ice cream?”

“Sure. Ice cream. Why not.”

Tila considered everything most thoughtfully.

“Vari keeps his things at the docks,” she said. “In the hangar with the red roof. He’s a captain, you know,” she added with pride.

“Thanks, kid,” said Lysandra.

“Mhmm,” grumbled Tila, yawning. “I want… to go… get ice cream… now….” she swayed unsteadily on her feet, and Ethan barely managed to catch her before she fell asleep, immediately snoring loudly. The tip of Lysandra’s wand was lit with faint magic.

“Was that really necessary?” hissed Ethan through gritted teeth, picking Tila up as gently as he could.

“Yes, Shadowveil. We do not have time to go get ice cream now, and otherwise, chances are too high she’d run away and go to the hangar and either warn her brother, or put herself in danger.”

“That’s… fair,” Ethan admitted. “So, what do we do with her?”

He was starting to feel mildly irritated. Not necessarily at anything that was happening, but at the slight burning sensation in his eyes. He sneezed.

“You’ve been asking me a lot for directions, Gilbert,” Lysandra said softly. “You’re always the one taking charge. Why the sudden hesitation at every step?”

Oh, shit.

“I- I guess I just haven’t been feeling like myself, lately,” he admitted. “So I wanted to rely on your expertise for a while, if that’s okay.”

Lysandra put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“The amazing detective Shadowveil, asking me for help,” she smiled. “Oh, how far we’ve come.” Her expression shifted to a more serious one. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, Gilbert, but I got your back.”

“Thank you,” he said with a weak smile. “So, about this kid…”

“I think Cole won’t mind babysitting a sleeping child for a little bit. And then let’s go look for the hangar.”

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

Cole was not thrilled about his new babysitting position, but he did not protest much - especially after Lysandra promised the girl will stay asleep for a good while. Without spending too much time at Ethan’s apartment, they promptly left for the docks.

The docks were a bit away from Downtown Arcalis, which Ethan realized was the area he lived in; Lysandra insisted on them taking a coach there, and, not wanting to ask too many suspicious questions, Ethan decided to not ask why they couldn’t just teleport again - surely, there had to be a reason.

As they were traveling, the itchiness in his eyes was only getting stronger, the burning sensation more unbearable. After his third sneeze in five minutes, Lysandra snapped.

“Gilbert! Did you forget your allergy potion again?”

Oh. Whoops.

“Oh. I- I must have forgotten,” he mumbled. “There was so much going on.”

“You really aren’t doing well,” she said. “We’ll stop by the Solaris Apothecary first. I do not want you messing up the case because of your augurblossom allergies.”

Feeling much like a kid following his mom to the store, Ethan followed Lysandra into the Apothecary. Immediately, he was hit in the face with the smell he could only classify as spicy green; the kind of green that burrows through your nostrils and makes your lungs tingle and is supposed to be healthy. Bundles of dried flowers were hanging from the ceiling, and the walls were stocked fully with tiny jars.

The person running the Apothecary was short and slim, with long, brown hair kept in a loose braid. A pair of impressive, goat-like horns protruded out of her head, together with a pair of goat ears that moved at the jingle of the bell when they entered. She smiled widely from above a mortar and pestle when she saw them come in.

“Detectives! What brings you here today?”

“We need an extra strong allergy potion for Gilbert, he forgot to take his nightly one. And, actually, while I’m here… Aster, do you have any blood lilies in stock?”

“Of course I do! Do you want them processed or raw?”

“Raw, they’re more potent this way.”

Ethan made a mental note to look up what is a blood lily when he gets the chance. The number of his mental notes was rising constantly, and he was fairly certain he'd lost half of them already.

If only he could break into Gilbert’s mental manor…

His musings were interrupted by Aster putting a small, round vial into his hands. “My, detective, you don’t look so good,” she said, her voice full of concern. “And it doesn’t seem like it’s just the allergy. Have you been unwell? Are you overworking yourself again?”

“I… I’m quite fine, thank you,” he managed a weak smile. “Just a little tired.”

“You offend me, detective,” she said. “I can smell sickness from a mile away, and it’s unmistakable. You’re sick, and you can’t deny it. I must insist on examining you - or you can go see doctor Solaris, if you’d prefer.”

“I appreciate your concern, but I promise you I’m fine,” he lied, his shaking hands struggling to open the potion bottle. “We’re in a rush now, but if I do continue to feel unwell after this case is solved, I’ll come see you right away.”

“Good. We wouldn’t want our city’s best detective to fall sick.” She flashed him a wide smile, appeased for now. “Here are your blood lilies, Lysandra. I’ll get my next shipment in a week.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you, Aster.” she looked at Ethan. “Let’s move it. Drink your potion and let’s go.”

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

Within fifteen minutes of drinking the allergy potion, Ethan’s symptoms eased entirely. In another fifteen minutes, the duo arrived at the docks.

Ethan understood now why the word “hangar” was used in relation to the docks. There weren’t any regular ships or boats, because there was no water - instead, there were skyships.

Laws of aerodynamics clearly did not play any role in this world. The vessels were indeed merely ships that could fly; some had extra masts on the side, reminiscent of the fins of a fish; but most of them flew by some sort of miracle or by magic, or both.

They walked around avoiding the sky sailors moving in every direction; the area was lively and busy, with vibrant crowds and plenty of goods being moved to and fro. And the best thing about it being a skyship dock, Ethan decided, was that it didn’t smell like fish.

The hangar with the red roof was on the outskirts of the area, about as unassuming as the lair of a criminal mastermind could possibly be.

“Let’s go,” said Ethan, clutching Gilbert’s wand in his hand.

And then, the whole ground began to shake.