Alchemical symbol: Tin [https://i.imgur.com/e9DvjDg.png]

The blond thug in the long green coat had a firm grip of Thea’s arm. He opened the white door and shoved her into a room: a room with floral wallpaper in the sothron style, yellow floor-carpet, a sofa upholstered in crimson brocade and two matching armchairs arranged around a low circular table.

One of the armchairs was occupied by slim white-haired old lady. Under the light of gas-lamps, her pale pink gown shimmered. With reading glasses perched on her nose, she was reading what looked like a ledger.

The lady glanced up, carefully removed her reading glasses, and gave Thea a thorough inspection. Thea stopped breathing. This was the first time she’d seen her in person, and she was not at all as she’d imagined. Yet those pale eyes bored into her with the coldness of nightmares, measuring her fear, her smallness, the stained and miserable condition of the work-dress she wore.

She supposed she was lucky the two Blazes thugs who’d fetched her had allowed her to dress, or she’d be shivering in her shift.

‘Where’s the alchemist?’ the Lady asked, her voice soft and precise.

The thug still had a tight grip on Thea’s arm. ‘They just brought this one.’

The Lady sighed. ‘Run along, Antoine. I don’t think she’ll give me any trouble.’

He released Thea and left, shutting the door gently behind him. Thea rubbed her arm.

‘Do sit down, my dear.’

Thea considered her options. She could run. She could fight. She could kick this old lady’s teeth in, she imagined, before anyone could stop her. None of these courses of action seemed likely to help.

She sank into the second armchair. The upholstery embraced her with comfort which seemed out of place. ‘Your thugs knocked Benedict down. He’s not strong. They might have killed him.’

The Lady closed her ledger and placed it on the table, then folded her reading glasses and put them on top of the book.

‘We can pay,’ Thea said. ‘We have money.’

The Lady raised a painted eyebrow. ‘All the money?’

‘That wasn’t our arrangement. I can pay what’s due.’

‘Arrangements can be changed.’

Thea gripped the seat of the chair with both hands, digging her nails into the cushion. ‘You can’t do that. We’ve always paid.’

‘Eventually. But my patience has limits, you know. I’ve been very lenient for many years.’

‘I know. We’re grateful. But please — give us another chance. Another month, a week, anything but—’ Her gaze darted to the door. Only there was no escape, not from this. If the Lady wanted her, it would do no good to run. No good to scream or fight or bargain. Fear mounted in her chest, threatening to choke her.

For the first time, the Lady’s cool expression slipped. ‘Don’t beg, child.’ She leaned back in her chair. ‘You know, I grew up in the slums. My parents died when I was a babe. I’ve scavenged and thieved, and I sold what I had to sell, and scrabbled and fought every step from the gutters to the highest room in this house — but I never once begged.’

‘I’m not you,’ Thea said.

‘Unfortunately not. Still, you might find the life suits you better than you expect. For the right sort, it’s an opportunity. Most of my girls are quite happy.’

So they tell you, Thea thought. She bit her lip.

‘However.’ The Lady frowned. ‘It was really Benedict I wished to speak to this morning. I do hope he’s not badly hurt.’

Thea swallowed. Benedict had fought; he’d fought two grown men who’d tossed him aside like so much kindling. Then they’d tried to bring him round, and eventually given up and left him unconscious on the floor. For all she knew, Benedict could be dead now, or dying.

And if Benedict was dead, the Lady would take what was owed. No more second chances.

‘He’s tough,’ Thea said. ‘He’ll be fine.’

‘I hope so. You see, I requested your presence because I wished to offer a business proposition. An alternative way to clear the debt.’

The word requested — which in this case meant sending thugs to trash her home, beat a frail old man, terrify her and drag her to the one place she never wanted to go — so engaged Thea’s attention that it took her a moment to catch up with the rest of the sentence.

‘What alternative?’

The Lady picked up a small wooden box, a plain thing compared to the red lacquer pen-case next to it on the table. She opened it and removed a little paper-wrapped package. Very carefully, she unwrapped a piece of something like a crooked red finger.

‘This is red branch,’ she said. ‘A plant that grows on a few isolated islands in the south.’

Interested despite herself, Thea leaned in to inspect it. If the Lady hadn’t said it was a plant, she couldn’t have guessed whether it was animal, vegetable, or mineral. It seemed dry and fragile, the surface covered in loose scales. A fine rust-coloured dust lay in the paper folds.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

‘Ground into powder and mixed with alcohol and certain other ingredients,’ the Lady said. ‘This is angel’s blood.’

Thea recoiled.

‘This small piece represents about fifty forints.’ The Lady folded the red branch back into its wrapping and put it back in the box.

‘A good—’ Thea’s mouth was dry. ‘— good business to be in.’

The Lady grimaced. ‘It was a good business to be in. The Empire, in their wisdom, invaded the islands where red branch grows. They cut down the trees and enslaved the islanders. For a time, we bought shiploads of red branch for a pittance. Business was, as you say, good. But now the trees are dead, red branch is scarce, and the price is soaring.’

An end to the supply of angel’s blood could only be an improvement to the world, Thea thought. ‘You could raise the price. Your customers are… loyal.’

‘The customers are poor. We already squeeze them as hard as we can. The truth is, the drug is too dangerous and too addictive. No one with sense touches it. And those who touch it very soon lose all sense and any ability to earn a wage.’

‘And then die so inconveniently,’ Thea said.

‘Indeed. In any event, we need to change the recipe, to either replace the red branch or use much less of it, without changing the essential quality.’

Thea allowed herself to relax a fraction. The Lady was offering a chance — perhaps only a temporary reprieve, but any chance was better than none. ‘So you want Benedict to work out a better recipe. What do we get in return?’

‘Why, you will have my favour.’ The Lady extended her pale neat hand, and her smile was thin and cold as frost. ‘And protection.’

Thea didn’t need to ask what she might be protected from. She took the box.

Alchemical symbol: Nickel [https://i.imgur.com/SX7htXR.png]

The blond man ushered Nevin and Thea down the stairs, Nevin with his arm round Thea’s shoulders. She shivered against his side, tense in every muscle.

Only when they were out on the street did she relax.

‘What the hell was that about?’ Nevin said.

‘What the hell’s up with you?’ She freed herself from his arm and stared at him. ‘You look like you’ve been dragged through the slums by a pack of dogs.’

‘Shit.’ Nevin rubbed his face. ‘This is a mess. Look, I took my men to arrest your paint customers, but they weren’t alone. We were ambushed. They almost killed me.’

‘Are you all right?’

Nevin shook his head. ‘They know who you are and where you live. You’re in danger. You can’t go home.’

‘What? I can’t not go home. What about Benedict, is he all right?’

Nevin walked on. ‘Your Blazes friends roughed him up, but he was alive and speaking when I saw him last.’

Thea scurried after him. ‘They’re no friends of mine.’

‘Well, what are they?’ Nevin stopped her with a hand on her arm. ‘They trash your place, beat up Benedict. I charge in to save you from some horrible fate, and find you having a nice chat in a boudoir.’

Her face twitched. ‘Boudoir?’

‘Well. Whatever you call it.’

‘It was business.’

‘Benedict could have been killed.’

Thea looked away. ‘She wanted to make a point.’

‘What point?’

She turned and walked down the street. ‘What’s it to you?’

Nevin strode after her, her question buzzing in his ears. What was it to him? Why should he care what became of Thea? Of course he felt guilty, because if not for him she wouldn’t be threatened by the Shepherds, but that clearly had nothing to do with whatever this business was.

An odd sensation washed over him, a strangeness, as if the world wavered behind thick glass.

He’d been trying not to think about the drug they’d forced on him, and what followed — the black nothingness, the abject terror of being so utterly alone. He’d felt his soul peeling apart, flayed and laid out for his inspection. What he’d seen had appalled him, but not because he was guilty of any great evil. No, the true awfulness, what he didn’t want to face even now, was that he hadn’t done anything.

As a child, as a young man, he’d burned to do great deeds, to live up to his father’s name. In training, he’d pushed himself harder than anyone. He’d taken on every duty, however menial, with absolute dedication.

Promotion had come rapidly. But was that because of his hard work, or only because he was his father’s son?

He knew what many of his fellow officers thought — these days they didn’t hide their sneers. The snide remarks didn’t bother him. Whatever was said, he had earned his rank. And as for the conspiracy to take over the city, Lord Lavan had never taken Nevin into his confidence. Nevin had done no more than many others. He had simply obeyed orders.

In the inquiry following the Burning, Nevin had spoken plainly and honestly, and he had no official sanction for his actions.

To be punished might have been easier.

And since then, everything was a good deal more complicated. What was he even meant to be doing?

The Marshal wanted him to track down Black Crow. Well, he had something to report on that front. And he’d found Andra, though that was also complicated. He’d thought, once he found her, he’d know, he’d be able to judge if she was dangerous. Instead, she’d saved his life.

‘Nevin?’ Thea’s hand was on his arm. ‘Are you all right?’

He blinked. Her face was the only clear thing in a world of fog. ‘I found Andra.’

‘Oh?’

‘She might be back on your roof. The Snake, the big man with the scarred face — she wants to kill him, I think. It was him I chased away from your door. That’s how he knew where to find you. He recognised me.’

‘Oh,’ Thea said. ‘Great. So he wants to kill me, but if I’m lucky, Andra might kill him first?’

‘Or I will.’

‘Fantastic. I feel so safe.’

‘It isn’t safe, that’s why I’m telling you to leave.’

She flung out her hands. ‘And go where, exactly? Our room isn’t much, but it’s a roof and we can’t afford anything better. Benedict wouldn’t cope with living in the undercity or a shack in the shanty town.’

‘If you insist on staying,’ Nevin said quietly, ‘I’ll do what I can to protect you, but I can’t guarantee your safety.’

‘What makes you think I want your bloody protection? I’m not helpless. I’ve looked after myself all my life, and Benedict too. All you’ve done is make things worse for me.’ She turned her back on him and walked on fast.

Neither of them spoke.

When they reached her building, Nevin stopped. ‘I must go and make my report. Will you be all right?’

She stared at his feet. ‘Oh, sure. Never better.’

‘For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.’

She just nodded and went through the door, and he set out on the long walk back to Central Barracks.