Dixie was getting irritated. Dixie was getting desperate. “It’s a perfectly good offer! I’m offering three times the usual pay.” She was in the same dark alley, speaking to the same nameless men. This one in particular had a different face.

“No can do, missy. I already told you – Knifey wants us to keep out of the Upper City.”

“Why??”

“I’ll be sure to ask him next time over a glass of beer.”

“Right before you bend over for him like the little dog you are. I was told that you are each your own men. That Knifey or Vice could not interfere with whatever you did on the side.”

“But Vice is dead – and it was Knifey who gained the most. My friend’s cousin’s daughter was a maid there. She hopped into the well at the first sign of trouble. Broke her legs, she did – the price for being the only survivor. When she was down she heard the sounds, and when she pulled herself by the rope of the bucket she saw the sights – she has not uttered a word since. What I’m getting at, little missy, is that whoever crosses Knifey will probably lose more than their words. In fact, most people would end the conversation the instant you brought up crossing Knifey.”

“But not you, eh? Everyone has their price. For the hundredth time, name yours.”

“Fine, you want a number? A million sovereigns.”

“Oh come off it. Not even the King has a million gold coins lying about.”

“Then not even the King would convince me to take this job.”

This is going nowhere. Dixie sighed. “Okay, do you have an inkling of an idea why Knifey is keeping you out of the Noble Quarter?”

“It’s probably something to do with his new master.”

This was news to Dixie. “I thought he served no one.”

“It’s nothing but rumours; we footmen rarely get to see Knifey. I’ve personally met him only once before. But the men who ride with him have been talking. Mostly when they were drunk, or when they were sleeping. They say Knifey sold his soul to a Devil in exchange for eliminating Vice. So basically our band of miscreants now serve a denizen of hell – can you believe that?”

The man was finding all this rather amusing and was smirking at Dixie expecting her to join in his mirth. All Dixie could think about was the bloody pulp buried in her backyard. “Do you know what this Devil is like?”

“Ah – I didn’t think you were the superstitious kind.” He looked at her like she had just soured his milk. “I don’t know anything about this Devil. But what’s for certain is that Knifey is not capable of doing what happened to Vice. He must have had outside help. I think he is going to meet this person soon, in a property he just acquired in the Merchant Quarter.”

“How do you know this?”

“My uncle’s cousin’s best friend owned the property. He was told to prepare the place for a big fancy meeting.”

“Interesting… I think I have an idea who that Devil is.”

The man was visibly surprised. “Who is it and how do you know this?”

“Remember when they burned an inn in the Merchant’s Quarter?”

“Yeah, yeah. A witch hunt or something. A damn shame too – I knew the owner of that place; we were drinking buddies.”

“I’m starting to think you’re related to half the city and are friends with the other half.”

The man shrugged. “We’re all connected – you just need to learn how to recognize and use these connections. But stay on-topic, what does that inn have to do with anything?”

“Hopefully, everything. I know all this because I have a friend on the council.”

“You’re being too vague.”

“That’s because I can’t tell you – you know how this goes.”

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“Fine.” He gave her an address. “That’s the lot. Now tell me about The Green Mermaid.”

“The Green Mermaid?”

“Yes, the burned inn – are you sure you know what you’re talking about?”

“Yes I am – I just didn’t know the name. Anyway, two witches were staying at the inn. Lady Clearwater had us believe that they killed the witches in the fire – a lie obviously. They had lost the apostates. That same night a body was found – completely drained of blood.”

“Some sort of arcane ritual?”

“That highly likely. The witches evaded the authorities once more – and they remained underground until what happened to Vice. Now, you see, the majority of the city’s population do not know what happened. That’s because the council obscured and downplayed the details. The first-hand witnesses are taken for fools by their comrades. That’s how the whole affair was kept a secret while the Council looked for the witches. They got a lead that the witches left the city – leaving Redclaw to Knifey. But I suspect the witches remained here – and appeared to you lot as Devils.”

There was silence for a few moments until the man spoke: “This job you’re offering, what does it entail – and before you get your hopes up, no, I am not considering doing it.”

“I sent some men after a certain Druscilla Clearwater. Four of them never returned. The last one I found in my back yard as a – uh – as a corpse…partially eaten.”

The man sighed painfully. “I wanted to start a farm – but he talked me out of it.”

“Who did?”

“My brother. You sent him out to die.” The man silently unsheathed a sharp stiletto.

Dixie’s throat was suddenly bone dry. “Please don’t kill me.”

“What was this job you were offering?”

“Uh… The killer left behind tracks. They-they led to the Western Gatehouse. I followed them there.”

“That abandoned place? Good hideout. What did you find?”

“Nothing, I was too scared to look. So I decided to hire some other mercenaries to…”

“Do what you couldn’t.” The man pressed the tip of his dagger onto the skin of her throat. Dixie nervously swallowed as she felt a trickle of blood run down her neck to her chest under her clothes. Dixie had two daggers crossed at the small of her back. Her father had seen to it that she could defend herself… against regular bandits. Faced with a hardened foe like this one, she very well knew she had no chance.

“I have money. I can compensa-”

“Don’t.”

“Please – I don’t want to die.” I still have a fairy tale to live out with Adrian.

“In my line of work you can’t have too many connections. But you need people to stay sane. Personally, I had my mentors, the Terrys, and my little brother. He’s been missing for a week. I knew he was dead, but you confirmed it for me. I was planned to kill you myself – that was the only reason I even agreed to meet. But I’m going to find this killer. After I’m done with them it’ll be your turn.”

“But what about Knifey’s orders?”

“I won’t be found unless I want to be found. And it won’t matter at all once you are dead.” He withdrew the knife and proceeded to slink away. “I suggest you use this time fully. If you try to run you know I will chase you down.” He suddenly stopped and spun on his heels. “Oh, and one more thing – my brother’s name was Kranvis, mine’s Kranjis. See you soon.”

With that, Dixie was left alone with her terrified thoughts and thundering heartbeat.

“Are you feeling well?” Adrian asked, genuinely concerned for Dixie. “You look pale.” Of all the nights Adrian had snuck up to her – Dixie had never once looked sick.

“I’m feeling a bit under the weather, thank you for asking. You know, I think it’s finally caught up to me. This is my punishment.”

“What are you talking about? All you do is sit about all day being a spare daughter, right?”

For a moment, Adrian could’ve sworn he saw pain on Dixie’s face. “All this lazing about is what I’m paying for. The Progenitor is punishing me for a lack of purity.”

Something’s not right. “Dixie, are you hiding something from me? Did something happen?”

“What makes you say that?”

“I know you, better than know myself.”

“Oh Adrian, you don’t know me at all.” Her eyes were glistening – heavy with tears.

“I know you well enough to know you’re hiding something important.”

“I had a dream – it was so vivid I thought it was real.”

“Did something bad happen in the dream?”

“Quite the opposite. It was you and me, and we were finally married.”

“That sounds nice.”

“An old lady agreed to marry us. She took us to her ancient castle to hide us from the rest of the world.”

“What was the castle like?”

“Old, dark, musty. You took me to the ballroom and we danced. Bats were swarming all around us as we danced. And we danced and danced and danced forever and ever.”

“Sounds like a fairy tale…”

“It does. Do you know what I fear the most? That I might not live long enough to see it.”

“You’ll be fine – you’re overthinking things.”

“I might drop dead tomorrow, Adrian.”

“You won’t – come on, think happy thoughts – no come on stand up.” He took her by the hand and led her to the middle of the room. He started harming a tune as he spun his lover around and around in a merry dance.

Morrigan was proud of herself. In just a few days, she had remastered the ability to walk on dry land. She had barely managed to stumble all the way here from the site of her last meal. By pure luck, she found this massive cube-shaped building built into the Wall. The outer half was blocked by a pile of rubble, so Morrigan had to settle for a few empty rooms with no furnishings or provisions.

Her fears that she was being followed were confirmed when, on that very same night, someone came to her cube. Morrigan was ready to pounce on the intruder. Perhaps sensing the danger, the person soon ran away leaving Morrigan in peace.

She tried moving the rubble, but the roof shuddered, threatening to bury her in grey stone. For the moment, she was stuck in her cube.

During that time Morrigan had done some thinking. Quite an accomplishment since she hated thinking. She didn’t want to be caught again – that meant having to keep a low profile. To keep a low profile she had to consider the consequences of her actions. She could not just live as she did back in the ocean. She had to think. And all this thinking brought a bitter taste to her mouth.

The first thing she needed to do was blend in. So she practised standing upright without falling. She proceeded to walk without falling, then finally, running without falling. By the end of it all, she was mighty pleased with herself. She also felt a bit sad. She missed her tail – the feeling of power when she kicked it, or the way fish and other creatures would cause the scales on her side to tingle when they agitated the water.

She was out of the water – but not for long. She knew the general direction of a river – and all rivers ended in the sea, or at least, big lakes. Soon she would be free and she would never allow herself to be captured again. All she needed to do, was exit the city.

Her stomach was growling at her. It had been a few days since she had fed. She tried her best to suppress the pangs; she did not trust herself to feed inconspicuously in the city. That would have to wait for the road.

The moon and stars were shining brightly and a gentle breeze caressed Morrigan’s skin. I am not going to miss this place. The cube was surrounded by an area of grass in the shape of a semicircle radiating from the cube itself. Morrigan felt the soft, cool blades of grass beneath her feet and between her toes. She started walking South.

She paused when she saw someone coming toward her. The figure was wrapped up in dark clothing – Morrigan could not tell who it was. Ah! An actual person! Act cool act cool act cool keep your head down say something normal. “Hello there. friend!” That ought to be good enough – I hope they leave me alone.

The figure did not stop until it was five metres from her. Morrigan’s mind was trying to work out whether she had said something wrong, and how she would tell him in a socially acceptable way to fuck off and leave her alone. The figure pulled out a contraption from its coat. It looked like a plank with a sideways bow attached on its end.

The figure pulled back its cowl and revealed his face. Wait, I’ve seen you somewhere before. The figure pointed the plank at Morrigan and fired.