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“No. But because of Darrow, my family has gone into hiding. If we get through this alive, Nicolai can help us start over.”
Harmiston looked at her for what felt like a long time. “You really mean that,” he concluded.
“Of course. Why else would I say it?”
“But your dreams?”
“They turned out not to be what I thought.” She shrugged and was surprised at how true those words felt. “There are things in this realm more important than following orders. Especially, orders to stand guard duty in gilded halls all the time. That’s what awaits me if we survive the oncoming days.”
They stayed silent for a few beats, thinking. There was no point lying to themselves. What they were involved in was dangerous. Even getting discovered before they set their plans in motion was a bigger risk than anything. The hybrids were too unhinged. To Nadia’s understanding, they had been turned years after Darrow and hadn’t had as much time as him to slowly regain some semblance of a balanced mind. At least he had kept it together long enough to leave their daughter be.
“You’d rather stand guard in the Shade, wouldn’t you?” he asked.
“Yes. Strange as that sounds. But that’s no longer for me. When the Wraiths sent me packing, that was it.”
“Hmm.” Harmiston pursed his lips sideways. “I’m sure someone with your skill set can find work anywhere.”
“Exactly. Despite our parting, the Wraiths taught me well. We’ll figure something out. I promise.”
He nodded slowly, probably considering if she meant it. “All right,” he agreed, reaching his conclusion.
“All right,” she confirmed with a smile and then got up. “I think the witch has had enough time to lock everything up and go upstairs to her apartment now.”
“Oh yes,” he said and followed suit. “I forgot about the thieving.”
“She’ll be recompensed by the royal purse.”
“If the Queen can ever return to Agartha, and what royal purse has ever repaid their debts if they can avoid it?”
“The royal purse who’ll be revealed to the media with lists of the robbery victims in her name, if she reneges on that,” Nadia told him and snuck past a couple of gargoyles to reach the fire escape they’d used to climb up.
“Wait what?” Harmiston blurted. “Nadia, you surprise me. I had no idea of your devious ways.”
“That’s because you haven’t taken a break in weeks. Come along.”
They reached the ground without incident and crossed the street which was as desolate as the rest of the city. People were afraid to be outside after Kassemyr’s takeover, especially at night when the vampires were out too. They were generally worse than the werewolves, and more in numbers. The young angry werewolves who’d joined Kassemyr did it to be turned into hybrids, while the vamps seemed to do it for the power and easy access to food. The food being the citizens of Agartha.
Nadia and Harmiston made sure they were alone before hurrying to the door of the witch’s shop. There, Harmiston quickly unlocked the door with his magic. This included removing a web of sigils that flared on the door when he touched it. A magical trap. If any neighbors happened to look out their windows, no one raised an alarm. It was best to keep to one’s own business these days.
They soon entered the little shop. Like most ground-level businesses in Agartha, it was in a cramped space. A small room constituted the actual shop, and a narrow doorway led into a backroom and the backstairs, which Nadia could see from the front door.
Nadia’s nose was immediately accosted by an array of pungent herbal smells. The shop was filled with fresh and dried ones, as well as the usual wares of a witch—gems, crystals, potions, and the like. Certain that the witch couldn’t hear them because of Harmiston’s protective shield, they began searching the place without speaking. The bland asphodel, a dried flower native to Agartha, was not among the other herbs and plants on display, and no wonder. Nadia did a quick search only to be sure but soon went behind the tiny counter which was more of an apothecary table than anything. There, she came across a few locked drawers. She waved Harmiston over. She could pick the locks herself, but if they had magical wards on them, it was best to let him handle it. They couldn’t risk getting caught.
Like the door, the drawers were easily opened, and the wards, broken down. The first drawer contained the witch’s money from her cash register. They let that be. But the second contained what they were looking for. Four cloth bags containing bland asphodel, hopefully of better quality than the last batch. Harmiston took them out and was about to hand them over to Nadia when she became aware of noises. A breath drawn, an almost soundless footfall, light and easy. She bent sideways to see past Harmiston. He turned to look at her, realizing too late that the potential threat was behind him.
A short figure, covered under a dark hood, leaped forward and reached for the bags in his hands. Harmiston held on, despite his shock as he whirled around, but the figure yanked one free. Nadia tried reaching around Harmiston, but the figure was too light on his feet, jumping back elegantly and then running into the back room where he must have come from.
“What the—?” Harmiston exclaimed, yet managed to whisper.
Nadia pressed past him, remembering the other figure from the Shade. Was someone following her? If so, this was her chance to find out. “Come on,” she told Harmiston and then ran through the back room to catch the thief who’d steal from other thieves.
Chapter 4
Nadia pushed aside a small table and chair, the bangs likely waking up the witch upstairs. It didn’t matter. Judging by the speed of the thief, they’d all be long gone by the time she’d get down there.
“Nadia!” Harmiston hissed behind her somewhere. Clearly he wanted to be heard by her and not by anyone else. She could hear him following, though, and didn’t answer.
She followed the thief through a narrow door under the stairs. They entered a cold and dark hallway. Nadia saw the thief further to her left and picked up speed, but the cheeky figure was fast on his feet.
