After leaving Lady Karsin to her probable demise, I walked back to the tea party, already sure that Lord Montague would leave without a hair on his head harmed.

  Oh, his custodianship of the Imperial Archive would be stripped, and he’d face much higher scrutiny from those who knew. But if Voltar thought he could prove Lord Montague’s alibi was false? He’d have kept Lady Karsin around to break down his Lordship’s allegations of being coerced. But he hadn’t.

  I sat back down, mostly fulfilling my role as the one keeping Lord Montague cowed and behaving, but my heart wasn’t in it as Voltar tried to pry apart his story. What had he promised Lady Karsin that she’d protected him as her own ship sank? Prote for the other shape-gers? As long as they had a suffit head start, that wasn’t necessary. Her son? How he could help her, I couldn’t guess.

  “He’ll want revenge oh of us,” I said after he left, idly pying with the little pen-knife. I tossed it in the middle of the table, where it hit a teacup with a discordant ringing. “Letting him leave? Mistake.”

  Voltar raised an eyebrow. “I suppose we should have just killed him here then, and buried his body in the celr then?”

  No, you killed him somepce else while you were at a different pce, publicly, and dumped his body in the Nover. If you got lucky, the river would pletely dissolve it before the Watch fished it out, but typically enough got corroded they couldn’t identify-no, n kinds of thoughts for this, as tempting as it was to imagihat specific corpse gettien away.

  “No, but pretending he won’t be an issue is not a solutioher,” I retorted. “He’ll want a strip out of our hides eventually, and I don’t want to be stantly looking over my shoulders for him besides shape-gers and a drake.”

  “He’ll have his own issues to deal with,” Voltar said. “And with the details of his indiscretions quietly spread among the nobility…well, if those noble families who lost family members to the shape-gers have questions about how unwilling his participation in their pns were, he may have his own shoulder to look over before troubling yours and mine.”

  It didn’t sit right with me, but I could see the logic. If Imperial Intelligence overreached, the noble families would close ranks to avoid the pret of one of their own being taken out. If instead it became a case of them handling Lord Montague themselves, it would be less tentious.

  “Fine,” I ceded. “I won’t bring the matter up again. But there’s ohing I o discuss, and it’s going to require finally meeting whoever is running the Imperial Intelligence side of this.”

  Three Days Later

  It took time te a meeting, but surprisingly, not as much as I’d expected. What had been more surprising was where the meet had been arranged.

  I sat once again itle booth in Hell’s Own, idly waiting for the tact to pop up from the trapdoor. Someone had a sense of humor. Choosing the same booth I’d made a deal with Lord Montague in. Or maybe just a desire to show off how well-watched I was. Don’t think about trying to run. We find you no matter where you go.

  Edwards hadn’t even seemed shocked at me ing inside, just mildly annoyed. How did he fit into all of this?

  Before I could muse too long on that, the trapdoor swung open. A face very full in the jowls with crimson muttonchops forced its way through, a blue top hat perched on top.

  The Imperial agent froze as my revolver’s hammer went click.

  “This seems a very iing way to greet me, Miss Harrow,” he said cautiously. “May I please e the rest of the ?”

  I eased up on the hammer, letting it harmlessly slide bato pce. “Apologies. I’ve had the most terrible luck with people baring top hats retly.”

  “Hrrm, well unfortunately I will insist on keeping my lucky hat o all times.”

  Lucky? Ented was more likely. The Intelligence agent pulled himself the rest of the way out of the trapdoor, a slightly ht man who settled in the seat across from me.

  I chuckled as I took a closer look at his face. More flesh on the bones, but the boructure, the tone, everything was so simir it was easy enough to nail.

  “Sibling rivalry?” I chortled. “That’s why he doesn’t enjoy meeting with you?”

  The Imperial Intelligence agent blihen grinned. “Ah. Biosculptor, I should have remembered that part. Yes, that bit of added awkwardness makes debriefings rather difficult, but no, Edmund’s decision to keep a bit of distaween himself and Intelligence has nothing to do with us being brothers. He just dislikes people looking over his work without permission. Respeg that is why this ut off for so long.”

  “Family ties?” I couldn’t imagiig my neck out for any of my family except my mother, to be perfectly ho.

  “Yes, but also value,” the agent admitted. “Voltar’s aid is useful for the cases he agrees to. But anyway, my name is Samuel Voltar, and in addition to my brother and Tagashin, I will be your main point of tact for now. Which means we should get all the introductory things involved with you w for Imperial Intellige of the way.”

  I put my revolver fully away, still within easy grasp if something occurred, but making it clear I did not intend any violence. “Not as a, was my uanding?”

  “No. We have several diabolists that we…well the polite term would be monitored to make sure no unfortunate acts happen and have oainer for their services to be used. Iurn for some noiable specifics.”

  “Such as?”

  Samuel’s toook a turn for the more serious. “No summoning diabolitities. No maintaining diabolitities presen this world, although we will make an exception for the thing in your head since you didn’t put it there, although I’d prefer you kept it asleep.”

  And I would prefer to gnaw o you have spent so long colleg, mortal. We do not always get what we want.

  Samuel snorted. “Indeed. Now, in addition to that-”

  Wait. You hear me, mortal?

  “Of course. I manage Diabolists. Do you think I would not have tools to listen in on whatever insanity they’ve plugged into their own heads?”

  “Enough about the Imp,” I interrupted. “I’m willing to agree to your terms. I don’t have a lot of choices iter of whether I want to keep my head on my shoulders. But I want something iurn. Not anything fancy. Just somepce a little separate from your brother.”

  “Ah,” Samuel said, nodding sagely. “He still snores, doesn’t he?”

  One Week Later

  My tail wagged as I leaned against the tertop.

  Oh, it was cheap wood, and the varnish wasn’t perfectly applied and still stank a little too much of that freshly coated smell, but it was mine. Same with the two-story building this ter was led in, the stocks of herbs, and the bedroom up above, all owned in my name.

  Open for business, although I expected it would take time before anyone checked out the little alchemist’s shop tucked in a er of the Infernal Quarter. I’d sent a pair of invitations out for the grand opening, one of whom was sitting right o me.

  “It’s a nice pce,” Tolman said, as he had a cup of tea I’d forced onto him instead of mead. “But still, ‘Harrow’s Herbs’?”

  “Alliteration is a great way to make a ick,” I replied. “Besides, my other names don’t have a good sed word to bih.”

  “Well, name aside, it is a rather -up,” Tolman said.

  “It’s probably your st time i though,” I said casually.

  Tolman chuckled, my tistering before my words did as the ugh cut off. “Malvia?”

  My hand gripped the handle of my cup to the point I could hear the crag starting, but I needed something to cmp down on. I’d invited him because of thinking things through from the start, aer to deal with the realization that had occurred now instead of ter. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice? Golvar knowing I was he Hells’ Own? I suppose that could be chalked up to ce, but knowing what I looked like? Versalicci is good, but he’s not that good.”

  Tolman paled, shaking a little as he got up. From anger or fear, I couldn’t tell. Or was it all just a mask?

  “You’re being paranoid, Malvia,” he finally said, sounding tired. “I ’t entirely bme you after what happened, but what evidence do you have? Any?”

  “None,” I hissed. “But I was meticulous. And you were always there to lend a hand, weren’t you Tolman? Always there to nudge me towards thinkiing him again wouldn’t be so bad? You going to cim I ’t see what’s in front of my face, Tolman?”

  He opened his mouth, and then whatever he was about to say stalled. Eventually, he gathered up a response as his face grew more solemn.

  “I think whatever I might say would only make this worse,” he said finally. “You theorize an answer, you stick to it regardless of what other possibilities might exist, Malvia. So, yeah, I’ll go. Just hope one of these days you learn other people be right.”

  My teacup shattered before he was out the door.

  One Hour Later

  One repced teacup ter, I idly waited behind the ter. A few people had wandered in, looking at the ingredients. No prepared cos yet. I hadn’t had time, and no orders without evidence I could do it, but that would ge. I just needed some time to bee established.

  The door opened, a familiar figure stepping through and I forced my tail to stop moving.

  “Why, Gregory,” I greeted him. “Wele to-”

  “Malvia,” Gregory interrupted, voicharacteristically cold. “Where is my brother?”

  I froze. “Whie? Because I have seen none of your siblings since-”

  “Edward,” he interrupted again. “The one you kidnapped.”

  “He’s not turned up?” I asked quietly. “That…Intelligence shouldn’t have had a reason. The Drakes?”

  “The mere fact I don’t know that those were potential groups to have him is infuriating,” Gregory said. “But an improvement to what I thought, which is that you abducted him to stab him with a dagger.”

  “I….what?” I responded, dumbfounded. “No. No, I needed a reason for your father to not run, so we could trap him ahis.”

  “sidering he is at home, I see that went well. I’d hoped he lied about you being the oo kidnap Edward, but you already firmed that.”

  “Your father had him locked up,” I replied, scowling. “I might as well have plucked him out of a prison.”

  “Father robably trying to help, misguided as it usually is. And at least it risohe rest of us knew where he probably was, as opposed to now where he’s pletely disappeared!” Gregory snapped.

  “It was the only option-”

  “The only option you wanted, sulting no one else,” Gregory yelled. “Cutting us out, attag our home with drakes?”

  “I didn’t want your father being tipped off!” I yelled back. “Yes, he slipped away, but it’s not like I could have predicted that. Would you prefer I just shoot him instead?”

  “Ignore my family, Malvia,” Gregory said, face reddening. “I talk with the staff of the Archives Malvia and still do, despite my father getting his custodianship removed. I want oruthful answer. Did you or did you not try to bite Alex Martel’s fingers off just so you could get some information out of him?”

  I…that was what this was about?

  “It didn’t e to that,” I said. “Besides, torture is iu-”

  “Ptitudes about how torture isn’t effective at getting information out of people aren’t very vince about you not using it,” Gregory snapped. “Not when I see the goddamn tooth marks on his finger where you nearly bit through a finger.”

  “I...I wouldn’t have actually hurt him,” I stammered out.

  That lie tasted like ash in my mouth, and from hory looked at me, it might as well be made of ash.

  “You don’t believe that,” he said ftly. “I used to think these were jokes, or you weren’t serious, but they aren’t, are they? Don’t ahat. I’ve been to the Watch, asked for your file. Tell me Malvia, where would you have stopped? At his fingers, or would you have goo his toes ? Or would you have decided to more of him and decided on some new brand of torture to move onto? Or just ght for the throat, since you seem to like biting it out so much?”

  Something inside me s that. “I do not fug eat people!” I yelled at him.

  “Never have I oeient flesh!”

  “Well, I guess we finally found a moral standard you might actually follow no matter what happens!” he roared back.

  her of us moved. her of us said anything. her of us looked away first. Finally, I mao get something past my lips.

  “Get the fuck out of my store before I tear your throat out.”

  The grand opening of my store sted less than an hour.

  One Week Later

  Three Infernals walked along a path cut into fields, the little dirt road a carved iion breaking up the wheat fields oher side of them. One in the lead, one on eak, a little to the back, dressed in smart suits and riding boots as they tiheir march down the road.

  “How much longer do you reachti?” One of the fnkers said, her eyes on the seemingly endless rows of grain on her side. “’t imagihose folks at the train stationhat far behind us.”

  The leader chuckled, briefly gng back with eyes glowing red.

  “Sarsa, calm yourself. Despite all the stares and the whispers and I’m sure everything bad you’ve heard about the sticks, they aren’t going to just lynch us out here in the wilderness. They’ll be good civilized folk and do it at the train station.”

  “You got a pn for that, right?” the other fnking member said.

  “I’ll think of something. Right now, I’m just gd they’ve e to accept our old rade as one of their own. I’m assuming they have, since you so clearly know we are here, old friend!”

  Silehen a figure pushed through the wheat, a long shotgun held in their hands. The two juniors reached iheir coats, going for revolvers, but the leader waved them off, expression uned.

  She was short but well-muscled, and looked like she could lift them ea a single hand if she were taller. Instead, they cradled a shotgun as a thickly muscled tail smacked the ground, shaking it. Red skin glinted iernoon sun.

  “I got no idea how the fuck you all found out I’m alive or where I live,” the burly Infernal hissed, leveling the shotgun. “But you got five seds to return to where you came from, especially you, Machti! That goes for any more Fme that es here either.”

  The lead Bck Fme member held up his hands pgly. “No need for that. We’ll leave soon. The boss just had somethihought you should see.”

  “You cut yourself down to three. Owo-”

  “Harrow’s alive.”

  The burly Infernal stopped her t, eyes widening, hesitated, and then chuckled. “Fet the shotgun. Imma tear your entrails out your lyin’ mouth for that one Machti.”

  “Lie? Me? Never, but to vince you, the boss outfitted me with proof, something you aren’t likely to run across out here iicks.” Machti reached inside his coat, produg a neer from inside. “Imperial Herald, a few days old, but still very relevant, and information you haven’t see. Front article first, is what I’d suggest.”

  She eyed it suspiciously. “It’s another article about Voltar and Dawes, and shapeshifters, going by the headline. Boss’ old nemesis making trouble worth your iines ing out the long way?”

  Machti rolled his eye, rolling the paper up and tossing it over to her. “Just read the main article.”

  Raising an eyebrow, the Infernal tried to bahe shotgun while shaking the neer open with her free hand.

  “Get a few paragraphs in,” Machti suggested, then quickly shut his mouth as she pulled the hammer ba the shotgun.

  The Infernal muttered angrily as she read further along the article, the furious wrowing loud enough all the Fme members could hear them. “With the aid of an Infernal named Malvia Harrow……expose grand shapeger and Bck Fme plot to strike at the empire…masterminded by Bck Fme diabolist Alice Skall, caught by the magnifit detective and his trusty sidekicks.”

  “Time to leave,” Machti told the pair of junior members. “Best not to be within pung distance when she goes off.”

  The neer crumpled in her hands, tears f as the three Bck Fme members beat a swift retreat from the Infernal as she ripped the paper to shreds. Fmes ignited in her hands, burning an intense, deep, bck.

  “Malvia!”

  Saithorthepyro