Mud-crusted boots.

Smoking a damn cigarette.

And leaning, languid and completely unbothered, against the wall at the end of the alley.

Codder blew out curling smoke and dropped the cigarette onto the cobblestones. He didn’t bother to step on it to put it out.

The alley was narrow and long. There was a good distance between them and Codder. But not enough for Gray and the Ralphs to outrun him.

Codder straightened up, adjusting his uniform. ‘You wouldn’t be behind all that trouble in the Hall, now, would you, stray?’

Gray shoved the Ralphs towards the stables. ‘Go.’

‘What?’ hissed Lyrie.

‘I’ll be right behind you. Go to the old well, on the miner’s trail in the forest. I’ll meet you there.’

She hesitated. Stray auburn strands from her braids shifted in a slithering breeze.

The sky was so bright from the firebreath fire - it was still growing, exploding, roaring - and the air stung with the salt and acid and whatever the damn was in phoenix feathers. Light shifted and shadows changed constantly from the firebreath. Lyrie was squinting against it, and Oliver was rubbing his eyes, tears streaming. Gray’s nose and throat burned.

The firebreath shouldn’t have been like this. It was messed up. Longwark would’ve given Gray a bright red F for this firebreath.

But, it didn’t damn well matter.

All that mattered, in the second that Lyrie hesitated, and in the shifting light and shadows, was that Codder had swaggered towards them.

He was closing in.

‘Take your little brother,’ Gray said angrily. She was wasting time. ‘Go. I’ll take care of him.’

She hesitated again and Gray pushed her shoulder.

‘Shit,’ she said.

Lyrie grabbed Oliver’s hand and ran towards the stables. Gray heard them leading two horses out seconds later. She mustn’t have saddled them. Maybe she didn’t know how.

Maybe she didn’t care.

Codder moved so fast Gray wondered for a second if he was actually a swamp-vampire.

In a second he had Gray tight in his grip. Gray’s soft sweater did little to protect his skin from the harsh bite of the wall, and Gray winced as the back of his shoulders scraped.

Codder’s upper lip was curled. His shadowed gaze was dark.

‘No Major to protect his little pet, huh?’ he said.

Gray wrapped his hands around Codder’s wrist. He was going to fight Codder with everything he had within him, he didn’t care how hurt he got, he was going to fight Codder, silently, fast-

‘No, no,’ tutted Codder. ‘You’ve got that look in your eye. I’m not here to stop you, stray. I’m here to make a deal.’

‘A deal?’ The words tumbled out of Gray’s mouth, fast and run together and filled to the brim with scepticism.

‘That’s right,’ said Codder. ‘You do what I want, and I’ll do what you want. I can send all the men running in the wrong direction.’

Gray clutched his veiny, pale wrists. This wasn’t happening. The stables were right - there.

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‘Your word is worthless,’ Gray said.

‘I promise, stray. I do this all the time. Let’s strike a deal.’

Gray tried to make his voice collected. Calm. He needed time to think – but he didn’t have time. Killian would have figured out by now the firebreath wasn’t doing anything. He’d be focusing on finding Gray.

Gray pressed his lips together.

Gods.

‘What do you want?’ Gray snarled.

‘Are you going to be compliant?’

Gray said nothing, confused, staring at his shadowed eyes as he searched for Codder’s meaning, his cigarette-scented breath mixing with the stinging air.

His hand moved from Gray’s shoulder, up to his neck and his face. His hand then moved round to the back of Gray’s head, his fingers dug into his hair.

Gray’d never hated his hair more. His back was rigidly against the wall.

‘It’s worth more if you’re compliant,’ said Codder. ‘And it’s got to be worth my while, stray, if I'm not going to get my share of the prize money from dragging your ass to Dierne.’

‘You want my hair?’ said Gray.

‘Willingly.’

They didn’t have time for this bullshit. Codder was stalling him, he was angling for something else, there had to be another motive here-

‘Crying, stray?’

Gray wasn’t damn well crying. His eyes burned from the sting in the air from the heatless firebreath, his ankle was killing him, and he was furious that everything was getting messed up by Codder.

‘I’ll take whatever you got.’ Codder offered Gray a handkerchief with his free hand. ‘You want to wipe yourself up, stray?’

Gray punched him, hard, fast, faster than he’d ever hit anyone in his entire life. There was a world of pent up anger and disgust behind that punch.

It landed well.

Right on the jaw of Codder’s sneering face. It hit so hard that Codder’s face rippled as his expression turned to shock, and then pain and anger. Codder’s teeth clacked from the force.

It was the best punch of Gray’s life by a damn mile.

His hand hurt. Pain jolted down his wrist, his arm, his elbow, and into his shoulder.

Gray shook out his hand. ‘You want to go to hell, Codder?’

They fought violently, silently for a second then Codder pushed Gray back against the wall. Gray clenched his fists, his ankle on fire, his ankle total agony.

Codder muttered swear words under his breath, the words edged with sharp fury. ‘Where’re you going to go?’

Gray wiped his face with his sleeve. He was trembling. He quickly dropped his fisted hand. ‘Wingland,’ he lied.

Codder sucked his bottom lip. ‘All right. You head west, to Wingland. I’ll take the men south.’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘Hair. Now. Before Major gets here.’

This had been a mistake. Gray glanced around for the Ralphs, but they were gone, melted into the dark shadows of the alley. The horse hooves were no longer clacking against the cobbles. Gray shoved at Codder, too scared to yell.

He should just let Codder take his hair. But, he couldn’t.

Gray began to struggle, his magic lighting up hotter and brighter than it’d ever been, panic overwhelming him.

He couldn’t. He couldn’t lose control here, he couldn’t light this alley up, it would bring Killian straight to him.

His lungs were tight, they wouldn’t draw in air, and his skin was getting unbearably hot.

This couldn’t be the end, him exploding from his own cursed magic and leaving a smoking crater behind where Krydon used to be. Though if he took Codder out with him, maybe it would be worth it.

A huge shape barrelled into Codder.

Gray was knocked backwards, banging his head on the bricks.

He blinked, trying to get his eyes to focus. Trying to get his magic under control.

Kraus.

Kraus was beating the living shit out of Codder.

No, Codder was too strong.

He was on top. He was hitting her.

‘Get off her,’ Gray shouted, not caring about staying silent, staying unseen. Everything was screwed up -

Gray staggered to his feet, just as someone slipped out of the shadows, and held a wand to Codder’s temple. Her platinum hair fell over her face, concealing her expression.

She was haphazardly dressed; expensive clothes layered carelessly, her boots unlaced, her hair still mussed from sleep.

But there was a quality to her stance and her voice that screamed danger.

It was in the angle of her jaw. The way she glided closer. How she held her wand.

Her magic filled the cold air of the alley.

The hair went up on the back of Gray’s neck.

Codder stilled, his fist drawn back, mid-punch.

‘Are you going to kill me, pretty?’ said Codder.

Sorena dug her wand into Codder’s throat. ‘I think I’ll play with you first,’ she said.

Codder glared at her, sucking his bottom lip.

Sorena swivelled her gaze over to Gray for the barest second. ‘You said you had money?’ Without waiting for an answer, she muttered, ‘get it. And get a horse ready.’