"Hey, are you there?" Yiriel called out over the din of the bar, pulling me from my thoughts. Once evening fell I had her lead me to a place where we could buy drinks, to ask her questions.

I rested my chin in the cradle of my hand.

"So, tell me about magic," I said.

Yiriel rolled her eyes, mumbling curses under her breath.

"Lot of questions from someone who can't even pay for their drink. I thought you promised me riches?" She reminded me, pointing an accusing finger in my direction.

"In time," I assured, the honey mead burning in my chest.

"Well you can't break a Contract like this, so I have to believe you."

"What exactly do you know about a Contract of Souls?" I queried, setting the mug down with a gentle thud lost to the din of the bar.

Her gaze fell downwards towards her drink, considering what to say.

"Not much," She said, crossing her legs, "I know its powerful magic. Really powerful. I was taught it was just theoretical too. To bind someone's soul till death do you part takes a ton of magical energy, more than most could hold in their bodies. It should've killed you...if you were just a normal human."

"What else?" I prompted her, a server passing by our table in a rush. Her busy demeanor reminded me of Diane.

"I don't think it's breakable, it restricts both parties to the rules set when it is signed. The whole sigil thing on the palm is new though." She commented, flexing her palm open and closed in repetition. It was the same dark symbol that had appeared on Diane's hand.

"What about loopholes?"

"In the rules? I mean, can you not sense it?"

'Sense it?'

The world darkened as my lashes fluttered closed, trying to harken back to that sensation. It was still so unfamiliar, but I pictured that same energy coursing through me just as it had before. A slight heat formed around the tips of my fingers, energy buzzing in the air like TV static. I stretched it out towards Yiriel, imagining it to be a hand, an extension of myself.

She's right. I did feel it. Now that I knew what to look for I could sense Yiriel's intentions and how she could and could not deny me. A contract written in the fabric of the air between us, in the crackling power summoned, and signified by a permanent mark on her palm. Nothing was written in ink, and no magical scroll appeared to read, but I felt it. The intentions of my words when making the deal had implemented everything left unspoken, engraving the eternal promise on both of our souls.

My eye twitched in annoyance, sensing more with heightened awareness than just Yiriel. Energy pulsed around me, I could feel the life force of the people in the room and it was loud. Every head burst with thoughts, blurred from desires for sex, liquor, and money. Each step, smell, and gulp echoed in my head, twisting my stomach with nausea. I tried to pull back, but the feeling only got deeper, dragging me down into the hearts of each person in the room. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead as I white-knuckled the cup handle.

'He wants to kill the woman who cheated on him. She wants to travel the world. He wishes he had the money for another drink. She wishes her father would recover. He wants to win the lottery. He wishes he had never-'

There was a loud crash. My eyes shot open, the feeling dissipating to my great relief. The general attention in the room had been directed towards the server a few feet away. Dripping off her tray were streams of beer, free from a glass cup that had shattered while still on the serving platter.

Yiriel leered at me with an expression that said 'What the hell did you do that for?'

I blinked.

'I did that?'

Luckily the room returned to normal as people gulped down their drinks, assuming they had seen wrong or were simply too drunk to care. The server, pale but unhurt, hurried to the back of the bar and through a staff door. Another staff member picked up the glass and cleaned the wet mess with a towel, stricken with confusion.

"Did you mean to shatter the glass?" Yiriel whispered at me, still looking put off.

I shook my head.

"Why do you think it was me?"

Yiriel chortled. "Because you were using magic, at least I think. You looked tense and stressed, and the moment you relaxed your expression a glass cup randomly exploded on a serving tray. Seemed magic to me."

"Is that sort of thing possible?"

She pondered. "Sort of. I don't know. That's intrinsic magic for you."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

I observed the server pick up the last few pieces of glass, as Yiriel began again.

"Sometimes you seem like a killer on a wanted poster, and other times you are just a lost kid." She commented, raising an eyebrow. "I can't figure you out."

I ignored the comment. "What is magic, Yiriel?"

A sigh passed her lips, covered in a thin sheen of beer as she took another gulp. "It's energy. The fabric. The strings that hold the world together. Using magic is controlling the string, which is not easy to do. It requires tricky fingerwork and careful practice. Some things are easier than others. If you pull a fire string you create fire, but it is harder to intertwine unrelated pieces...like harnessing the will of the mortal soul and tying it to your own."

The bar was beginning to clear out for the evening, people leaving single coppers on the table as tips and empty cups behind. Each clang of the door closing behind customers became more frequent in repetition. Even the oil in the lamps had begun to run low.

"Tell me where to find poisonous herbs. The best place, the most variety." I shifted the topic, eager to learn more about this world but still focused on the task at hand.

There were a few days left before gambles would have to be made at the fighting arena, and before that time I needed to have both a poison and route to envenom the fighters. Still not knowing the specifics of what plants did and didn't exist in this world, I had a few ideas in mind but nothing set in stone. I needed a place akin to an apothecary, but filled with more than just healing concoctions. Somewhere with options.

Yiriel's contemplative gaze was deeply scrutinizing, but she didn't question me any further.

"...The only place I can think of where you would find that sort of thing would be the Palace Greenhouse. It's just inside the palace gates. However, it'd take quite a reputation to get in there, or you would need to apply to work there."

A mischievous smile painted my lips.

'Perfect.'

Sure it was a good thing to be careful, I had learned that lesson the hard way after what happened with Diane. To be too cautious was to lose out on opportunity, and besides, I wouldn't be making this a regular thing. I'd take what I needed and go.

'And maybe a few seedlings.'

"You have preparation equipment at that shop of yours, yes?"

Yiriel cocked her head.

"For alchemy, right?" She specified, and I nodded in response. "Yes?"

"Get it ready for me, won't you? I'll be back. Oh, and if you've the time...head to the Swine's Haul Tavern. Look for Diane. You two should get acquainted." I ordered, pulling my hood low. The chair squeaked along the floor as it got pushed back.

My movements came to a quick halt, stopped by a sense of grime as each limb stretched and rubbed together. Before I headed out for the evening, I should take advantage of Yiriel's and my little arrangement.

"...Can I use your bath?" I asked, scratching at the back of my head. It had been a bit since I'd gotten cleaned up, and while the nearby river had worked it was also freezing.

Yiriel groaned, furiously rubbing her hands across her face.

"Follow me." She grumbled as we left the bar to return to her shop and home.

***

My first proper bath in this world was heavenly. Even though Yiriel had been mumbling on about a 'wanted criminal in her house' she provided me with everything one could need. Soaps, scents, and even fresh clothes. Girl's clothes, but it didn't matter. I wouldn't be seen tonight so there was no reason to keep up the ruse. The soft, grey tunic was gentle on the skin, accompanied by equally comfortable cotton tan pants. I decided on the short, black cloak I had stolen the first night instead of the longer one I had snatched the second. Hiding my face in a pinch was the primary goal, not having extra weight or risking getting tangled.

Tonight I would be sneaking into the palace.

Tendrils of magic reached out from within when I called, sensing Yiriel's presence. Despite being half a block from her home the connection was unmistakable. She was alive, focused, and bound by our contract. Her grumbly, but overall compliant response to being forced into a deal...did it speak to the power of the magic, or to something else? The constraints of our bargain were that she would provide herbs, answers, and would be honest without betrayal. It didn't include bathing, clothing, or buying me drinks.

Most wouldn't take so kindly to being poisoned, having their identity revealed, and then having a crazed lunatic tie their souls together. She didn't seem all that upset though.

Did my promises of wealth and power get through to her? Or was it the other offers? How she reacted to mentioning a possible teacher, and the sensations of revenge, regret, and family when we shook hands weren't something to overlook. She also recognized my power and the possibilities it provided, which may have added to her compliance.

Then again, maybe I was more of a sweet talker than I thought. A much younger me had failed miserably at it, so the job had become Lucas's. Years of listening to him talk in sultry sweet phrases, dripping with possibility, his strong hands outstretched...at some point, I must have learned it.

'Yiriel did say I was all over the place though. A criminal to a child to a confused tourist...I need to present myself better.'

A sigh passed through the wind and into the night. It's hard to be everything at once, the talker, the deal maker, the thief, the poisoner, the leader. There was a reason I had a team! Years of work, only to start all over with no one at my side. No childhood friend, fellow orphan, and trusted partner. No Lucas.

'Did you poison me, Lucas?'

The hood slid down the waves of my hair, black cotton strips somewhat wrinkled as I pulled them from the bag to tie my locks back. Tucked away in the city far from the glow of a street lamp, the sky above was brilliant. It only got brighter when I undid my left eye's bandage, seeing not only with both eyes but also with night vision. The stars had never been clearer. Spending one's whole life in a city filled with people and pollution meant a sky of stars was more of a myth than reality. But here? I could see galaxies.

Galaxies that weren't my own. Not Earth's own.

Home, and Lucas, were a lifetime away.

I flipped the hood back up. Now wasn't the time. Safety and comfort were all that mattered right now, and if I wanted them back I would have to bite and claw for it. There was nothing that meant more in life than to enjoy its pleasures, because good things were fleeting, and everyone died. I knew that better than anyone as an orphan with nothing who watched people die and be forgotten as easily as a crushed ant.

Streetlights formed glittering paths that led upwards towards the peak of Sonhest, to the shining beacon of the city; the Palace. There was no question of how to get there, though it would take some time. My body wasn't as weak as before. A few days in I had already begun to regain weight and stamina. Each finger twitched with excitement. Robbing royalty is more up to par with my skills. Stealing coin purses from drunk commoners left a foul taste in my mouth.

I felt prepared to wash it out with a glass of fine, royally sweet wine.