He landed lightly on the ground below the window, passing the guards without being detected.

The streets outside the castle were humming with activity. Dominic wove through them, turning corners and deftly swerving around the residents who were still out. The crowds were thin, but they slowly began to grow with the strength of the lights. There was a makeshift daytime descending through the windows of the bars and restaurants.

The mana in the air was different than the kind present when the sun was out. Parasols and bandannas turned to lipstick and perfume. Roses and sweet words rolling off of sweet tongues. Fragrant candle smoke. Throwing arms around both friends and strangers, mingling breaths and mingling laughter. From every direction, there were uncountable streams and threads of mana passing under his nose—uncountable lives and uncountable circumstances, all of which would disappear by sunrise. But he wasn't here to have lighthearted fun like they were. He was here to hunt.

He still hadn't met Aster’s siblings, but he’d become more familiar with the crow’s routine in the past few days. If it was already an inevitability that the viscount would target the kids, then he had to at least learn as much as possible about them first. Aster had told him his usual schedule for the price of a couple kebabs.

Dominic glanced up, scanning the roofs of the buildings. There were plenty of crows and small sparrows perched above, attentively waiting for people to drop scraps in the street. None were transformation mages. He continued along the road, the crowd growing, the sounds of the clubs and brothels turning into a raucous white noise. In the distance, there were two presences among a murder of crows perched on the top of a tall, brightly lit building, red lanterns hanging from the eaves. By sight alone, he couldn't tell which was Aster and which was the spy tailing him. But he didn't need sight.

One smelled like someone he knew, and one didn't. He ducked into a side alley and made his way through the back streets.

Dominic controlled his breath, then drew in his mana entirely. He imagined the numerous bricks in the walls, imagined the clouds which moved unnoticed overhead, imagined treading like air, making himself nothing again. A tipsy man brushed past him, bumping into his shoulder, not even realizing his presence.

He reached the back door of the building, where the employees left to toss out their trash. No one was watching—who would? The air smelled of wine and herbal smoke. There were more important things for them to be paying attention to. Even if they had been watching, they wouldn't have seen him Dominic ducked inside, slipping past the few employees that were still around.

He had never been in anyplace even remotely similar to it, but he guessed it was some kind of entertainment hall. He made his way through the first floor, a troupe of silken dancers twirling across the center stage. Their movements were fluid, almost serpentine, twirling across the floor in a flurry of reds and greens. Even to someone who had never seen the style before, he knew it was beautiful.

Dominic looked away and rubbed at his eyes. He hadn't had a proper rest since he’d washed up here. And there was no time to be distracted tonight.

He stepped into a staircase and headed up. The higher he went, the thicker the smell of wine and perfume. It didn't lead as far as the roof, so he got off on the highest level.

Immediately, the atmosphere changed. The music of the performance hall was long gone. The air here was muted—whispers and intermittent laughter. Pink rose and lavender. Sweet wine and rich desserts. Coins being spent like a river. He knew that kind of place. It was where bored nobles gathered to talk about things they weren’t supposed to know.

Dominic walked inside. Many of the patrons—men and women, demons and humans—wore veils or masks, though most were clearly just for show. They probably already knew each other. No one noticed him come in and mingle with the room. Some looked, then glanced away and forgot there had ever been anybody there. He flowed past them unseen.

Three women sharing snacks over a table were gossiping raptly with each other. They didn’t notice as Dominic neared, listening in on their conversation.

“How did she find out?” the one with dark blue hair whispered.

“He was caught red-handed in bed with his mistress!” a younger girl with pink hair and tiny horns answered, looking almost gleeful.

The green-haired one beside her gasped.

“No way!”

“It’s true! The lady knew something was up and came back early.”

“And she found them?” green-hair asked.

“In their own bedroom?” blue-hair added.

Pink-hair nodded vigorously.

“Just like that!”

Blue-hair put a hand over her veiled mouth in shock.

“What’s going to happen now?” she asked.

“Well, you know what they say—”

“A man who travels eventually makes his way to the dump.”

The three ladies looked up in surprise at Dominic as the words left his mouth, then broke out into laughter.

Stolen novel; please report.

“What wisdom!” blue-hair commented. Pink-hair was locked in a fit of giggles and couldn’t seem to stop.

“If only the lady could hear that herself,” green-hair said.

“I want to tell her so badly!” pink-hair said, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.

They faced each other as if Dominic wasn’t there, as if they’d already forgotten his presence. He turned away from the table.

There was a musical performance on in the other hall, the sound of foreign string instruments decorating the lavish walls. On the sidelines there were people humming along, speaking with each other over drinks, clapping along to the beat. A tipsy woman in pink twirled along, dancing to the tune, and bumped lightly into Dominic.

He took the hand she had raised in the air and smoothly finished spinning her in a circle.

“Oh?”

She looked up as if only seeing him now.

“You’re a handsome one.”

“I’m flattered.”

Dominic passed her hand off to a friend who had come to fetch her and the two left, humming to the song being played, without sparing him another glance. He turned and headed away.

The entire establishment carried the scent of malt and rose and rich chocolate and long sighs. He ran a hand through his hair. It was infectious. It made part of him want to stay a little longer, to pretend that he didn’t have other business waiting for him outside.

Dominic leaned against the ledge of a window and drew in a breath. The sound of string instruments strummed through the halls and filtered into his ears.

There was still so much he had to do, but this wasn’t bad, even if it was only for a moment.

He reached over and undid the latch, pushing one side open. The chill of the night breeze flowed in, reminding him of the task at hand. Above was the murder of crows Aster was hiding in. And it was also where someone a little less savory was.

Dominic put his foot on the ledge and leapt out. He landed on the roof of the building just across the thin alley, the tiles rattling slightly under his weight. He glanced up. On the eaves above, he could see some of the crows lined up, staring out at the city. A few were looking at him with curiosity, wondering what a human was doing out on their domain.

Dominic focused and raised his hand. He gathered his mana, releasing that cold grip he’d kept on it in order to hide. It turned dense and hazy, waiting for a command.

He snapped.

“Sleep.”

Magic shot out immediately, enveloping the entire rooftop. The birds all instantly fell, some slumping over, some slipping off their perch and tumbling into open air, much to the dismay of the people in the street below. Dominic followed them down.

The only crow that had not fallen asleep swooped down from the eaves to meet him.

“Brother, what’s going—”

He practically froze midair as Dominic reached down and roughly scooped up one of the unconscious birds by the neck, then hurriedly continued away.

“Aster, where are your siblings right now?” he asked.

The crow fluttered to catch up with him and landed on his shoulder.

“Why? Is something happening?” he replied.

“I might be committing several violent crimes tonight.”

“Huh?!”

“Not against you, against the vis—”

He grabbed Aster and hit the deck as several daggers made of wind flew past his head.

He cursed under his breath. Someone had raised the alarm. It couldn't have been the unconscious bird in his grasp. Sleep spells were basically forced anesthesia. None of the spies he put to sleep would be waking up anytime soon. The weasel he’d stuffed in a pillowcase back at the estate must have been discovered by someone else on patrol.

“They're after you,” Dominic said, getting up and dashing into a side street, “and your siblings.”

Aster’s eyes widened in alarm. Dominic opened a trash can, stuffed the unconscious crow inside, and shut the lid again. There was no point in caring about what happened to that spy now that they knew he’d acted out.

“What should we do now?” Aster asked.

“Lead me to your siblings,” Dominic replied. “And fast.”

The bird nodded and took flight, shooting up over the buildings. He focused and followed.

They wove through the back alleys, the sounds of the entertainment district fading. Behind him, a presence appeared—much easier to track than the spies from before. It was a mage, likely the one who had attacked him with wind magic. As he moved into the lower class residential district, where few people were still out and about, their presence only became more obvious.

He glanced up. Aster was flying above, scanning the streets. He couldn't know exactly where his siblings were if they weren't at home—and they usually weren't. As people who could transform, it paid to wander about.

“Ria!” Aster shouted from above, his voice carrying easily through the still air of the empty streets.

Dominic focused immediately, waiting for something to change. From nearby, there was a tiny burst of mana—rippling almost imperceptibly through the air. It was the same kind of signal Aster left when he untransformed.

Dominic turned and dashed down the dark street. After another corner, he spotted Ria ahead, crossing and looking above in confusion, not knowing why her brother had called for her so suddenly, alarmed at the urgency in his voice. She looked to the side and spotted him, quickly backing away in fear.

Just as she was about to turn back into her usual form, Dominic raised his hand and slammed it into the wall beside him. It cracked under the force, shards of rock flying everywhere.

Under his palm was a tiny lizard—half crushed in his grip. In an instant it changed into a grown man dressed in black, his throat under Dominic’s hand, struggling desperately to be let go.

He punched him hard across the face, blood spraying out of his mouth. The man’s eyes rolled upwards, and he went limp immediately.

Dominic released his grip, and he slid to the ground. He turned to look at Ria. She was staring at him with wide eyes, but wasn't running away.

“…You’re Dominic,” she said.

Aster must have told them about him. He nodded.

“You’re right.”

“Why—”

Her words were cut off as he tackled her to the ground. Crystalline-looking spikes of wind rained down all around them, digging holes into the ground, thudding into his back. The mage had caught up.

“Transform right now,” Dominic commanded. “And hide.”

She nodded and immediately turned into a rat, the sound of her tiny footsteps fading quickly as she squeezed into a crevice between buildings. Dominic stood and turned. He felt a chill on his back, the magic having torn open his clothes. Above, on top of one of the decrepit slum buildings, a man with short horns was standing and looking down at him.

The mage held out a hand, and wind magic once again began forming.