Being a thief disguised as a courtesan didn’t feel much better than actually being a courtesan. The whole thing made Vision uneasy. For one, it felt too easy, too… natural. It was a frighteningly easy role to fall into, even if she was only pretending. She tried to catch Fox’s attention as the first patrons started to come in, but he was distracted. Daisy was leaning over the bar, running a playful hand through Fox’s copper hair. Vision felt a twinge of complex emotion as she watched them. Was it jealousy? Perhaps in part. At least some of it was concern, or maybe even indignation. Fox and Daisy had been an item before he and Vision had left Awnn and while the barmaid loved her brother still – Vision had heard it in her voice she’d asked after him earlier – her brother certainly hadn’t wasted time finding southern women to keep him company. Still, the way they interacted seemed so easy. It had never been like that for Vision. It wasn’t like that with Glass.

  A man approached her, and she refocused on the task before her. She smiled coyly at the man. From over his shoulder, she saw Red raise a glass to her and stiffly, she fixed her eyes back on her customer. Her worst fear was that Red would make her take him to one of the rooms along the corridor. Her disguise didn’t only make her feel vulnerable, it actually made her vulnerable. For now, though, he seemed content to watch her from afar. She took the man before her by the hand, and led him, hips swaying, to the room where Bones hid. She closed the door behind them. The room was small, and shallow, containing a bed and little else. The man sat on the bed and grinned as he looked at her.

  “Look at you.”

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  She turned her head away, and with a sleight of hand, emptied the contents of a small vial into her mouth. Turning back to her customer, she wet her lips with her tongue and approached him slowly. He was an unremarkable man. She wouldn’t have called him attractive but there was nothing wildly objectionable about him, either. Not a bad way to ease into the night. She sat beside him and kissed him deeply. When she pulled away, her head was spinning. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes as her head began to throb.

  “Hey,” the man complained.

  Then, he groaned and clutched at his own head. Vision waited, jaw clenched, as the pain increased and her stomach began to roil. When, finally, a bottle pressed to her lips, she gulped the contents. As if by magic, the pain cleared, and she straightened. Bones was kneeling in front of her, watching with a concerned expression. She was sweating, she realised, and she felt exhausted. She had never taken Vixen’s Kiss before.

  “That was awful,” she croaked.

  Bones held her hand, “It’s on your terms though. You alright?”

  The antidote, she found, didn’t completely cure the effects of the poison but she did feel better moment by moment. She nodded.

  “You just rest a moment,” Bones said.

  Then, he went through her victim’s pockets, taking his money but leaving everything else. A man might believe that he’d spent all of his money at a brothel and was simply too hungover to remember, but if his other effects went missing, he’d know he’d been robbed.

  “Where were you hiding?” Vision asked.

  “Under the bed.”

  She stood, unsteadily. Bones mirrored her and allowed her to lean into him. She swore.

  “How long until Banagher gets here?”

  “He’s not coming tonight. This is a dry run.”

  She swore again, more empathically. Then, steeling herself, she pushed away to stand on her own. She had a very long night ahead of her.