Four weeks after I let Lady Karsin walk out a probable door, I was sidering what would have happened if I’d followed her.

  Not that I wao die, but as my few current ers were pig their way around my shop, looking at ingredients or the potions on dispy in locked ets, I needed something to occupy my mind.

  Life as a shopkeeper wasn’t all bad. A steady flow of ine. Plenty of iion with people! Those who showed up.

  And weren’t here to buy illegal drugs.

  See, when your name was all over the neers, it attracted the wrong kind of ers. A few different wrong kinds, very few of whom were ied iimate business.

  The ones hoping to catch a glimpse of the Empire’s greatest detective had mostly vanished in the first week when it was clear he wouldn’t be frequenting my shop. Besides, most of them had been of the non-Infernal variety, and even close to the boundaries of the Quarter the disfort some of them had ventured even a little ways in had been clear.

  The ohinking I was still Bck Fme, that they could use me as a way of being friendlier with Versalicci? Those had left soon after, mostly when I made it very clear that I was serious about blowing the kneecaps off of anyone even hinting at that.

  Those trying to see if I was irade of illegal substances? Well, I was, but not for people trying to ask over the ter. I’d never had a high opinion of those trying to buy said substances, but some of this was moronic. Do not hint, no matter how subtly you believed you were being.

  I made mo least, enough to maintain my little store. Mostly through orders instead of ers, who made a small sliy business. I still spent time in the underground, helping the Delvers iurn for a ce to harvest ingredients.

  Of course, I was Malvia Harrow, not Katheryn Fara anymore. Only the most desperate or the more sketchy Delving parties trusted me these days. The hostility I’d gotten as Fara was magnified as an ex-member of the Bck Fme.

  Back here in the Quarter, it got more leeway, although I kneeople avoided my shop like the pgue because of that e.

  Tend to the shop. Go delve. Stay the hells away from Hells’ Own both because of Tolman and because I’d been banned by Edwards. Resist the urge to drink. Have tea instead. Go home and practice Diabolism. Head to bed. Wake up and prepare ingredients and potions. Get orders ready. Occasionally spar verbally with Varrow. Once every two days keep myself in shape.

  Varrow would be around at some point. When I’d iated a tinuing line of medie for him, I had never intended he could only get it from me, but Intelligensisted on it. I uood why Varrow was a resource worth cultivating if it wasn’t for some personal animosity that I found unfair on his part. Of course, calming that animosity when he knew what was going on and was firmly vinced I had arra despite my protests to the trary? Impossible.

  I still looked forward to it. He was a regur. I didn’t have many of those, at least ones I’d known before opening this store. Just the one.

  I could feel the chill air ing in from the windows, cooling dowifling warmth from the potion-brewing I’d down early in the m. I’d close them eventually for my er’s fort and to make sure I didn’t oo much wood for my log-fired stove.

  Fht now, the chill was just a pleasaion on my exposed skin and a little else ohing that was covered. Which was close to everything, including my hands. I’d covered both my arms, but only one .

  The marks on my right arm, the spirals of darker red from when I’d poured Diabolism out in my efforts to end Hawkiending from bck-colored fingers, all of it carving through my natural blue.

  The sequence of p far too much rot with far too little trol, and something I was w on mastering with the Imp during the lessons I’d agree to. The results so far have been mixed. I was making progress at least, and without unleashing some horrible abomination oy thanks to enough restrictive wards to keep any corruptive influerapped down there.

  It was worth the feelings of paiime I had to share a room with that assortment of holy symbols.

  “Excuse me, Miss Harrow?”

  A er’s voice roused me from my musings. Jenny Dalson, a young woman who had been showing up more often as of te. Often for potions and tinctures, she didn’t need, and I retty sure I knew why he kept ing.

  Somewhat sketchy, the way she’d described his line of work during our brief chats. Sounded like the person whose delivery business was occasionally supplemented by packages falling off the back of the wagon.

  Holy, I couldn’t judge. She certainly had the arms to steal said packages, as I’d noticed when we first met. A notig sihen.

  Holy, it was o notice. It kept my mind off of might-have-been.

  “Miss Dalson,” I said with a slight smile. “What are we looking at today?”

  She was about to reply when the door opehe cheap bell I’d installed ringing as my ers ehe store.

  I turo greet them, then froze. o me, Jenny’s face paled, and my other ers backed away, trying to put as much distaween themselves and what was to e.

  Giovanni Versalicci grinned, shaking the snow off of his coat as the rest of his ente entered behind him.

  “Ms. Harrow,” he said, while I sidered the revolver under my ter. “Salutations! Apologies that it’s been so long since we st met, but upon hearing you had opened a shop, I just had to visit!”

  He walked further into my shop, staying in the middle while his ente stuck close to him, two hree distressingly familiar. My ers stuck to the edges, keeping as much distance as possible before making for the door, some pausing to throw a respectful bow or curtsy to Versalicci before esg my shop.

  They were hedging their bets just in case. I couldn’t bme them. If it wasn’t for me having nastier protectors, I’d be doing the same.

  I waited till the door shut for a st time, the bell ringing with finality as my hand curled around the gun under my ter.

  “No words for me, Malvia,” Versalicci asked as he aking his gloves off as he reached the halfoiween me and the door, pausing. His ente fanned out, f a loose lio either side.

  He didn’t want to pressure me too much. Worried about a fight? There was no way he had nht a diabolist to this. Then again, he also shouldn’t be on the damn surface.

  “Mr. Versalicci,” I replied carefully. “What a surprise to see you on the surface. I would think you’d be a little more careful about being seen in public.”

  The Watch still didn’t veo the Quarter often, still preferring to stick to the outskirts, but there were some things that would make them veo the heart of the quarter. A tip that might have led to the capture of one of his top lieutenants, Golvar, had led to a whole host desding on the Quarter, only to find Golvar dead from a fight I’d been the only survivor of. For a ce to catch Versalicci himself?

  That might get the army involved, or worse.

  “I appreciate your ,” he said with a smile. “I have my own ways of handling any issues regarding that, so I am perfectly safe. But it is nice hearing you care so much.”

  “Of course I care,” I said bluntly. “I don’t need my stetting smashed apart. Well, I help you at all? A particur tincture or potion you are ied in? Something to help you in bed, perhaps, or are we looking for something less personal in use?”

  Versalicci chuckled. “Oh, I don’t think anything personal. Although I have heard you’ve acquired some truly delightful tea that I’d be happy to take off your hands.”

  Over. My. Dead. Body.

  “But no, I’m looking for something of a maseous nature, if it is avaible.”

  “It’s not,” I replied. “And even if it was, I’ll he first time was a suggestion. One I qualified carefully when I made it and no one paid attention to, anyway.”

  “Oh, e on,” one of this ente said, grinning under an obnoxiously red top hat. “You were as eager as the rest of us. You just had to pretend to have opinions afterward once you got to see all the gory details.”

  “Machti,” I spat at one of my old rades. Long thought dead by me, erroneously. “One of these days, your mouth will get you into something you ’t talk your way out of.”

  “Trite,” the little shit said, grin only widening. “It’s done me well enough for the st few years, despite your procmations otherwise. Besides, I got people to get me out of those situations, unlike you.”

  “Fun,” I said. “If I joined back up, would you let me kill him? Because that would be very tempting, Gio.”

  Machti ughed harshly, only for the rough barking guffaws to end wheiced Versalicci staring at him, seemingly deep in thought.

  “Boss, you are not sidering the traitor over me,” he protested.

  “No, but it’s amusing to make you squirm. Still, it’s not a genuine offer, is it Malvia?”

  “It is not,” I firmed. “Also hello Melissa.”

  The red-skinned Infernal didn’t seem to know whether or not to wave, settling for a cautious nod. Curious. Lot meeker than when we’d ied the first few times. I doubted her screw-up involving t me had left that big an impact.

  “Mitu,” I said warily, to a polite nod from the giant. Hell’s sake, had he gotten bigger sinderstreet? He might be close to seveall now, horns nearly scraping the ceiling of my shop. “Is anyone from the old days actually dead?”

  “Some folks,” he replied, voice rumbling like a steam engine. One about to go over your head and pop it like a grape. “Not us though.”

  “Not us,” I agreed bitterly. “Holy, you should have brought Syn, or Kanes as well. Round it out with people I know. So, I’m going to assume this is not a business call. Give me a sed, and I’ll break out my teapot if you want this to be a social call.”

  “Unnecessary,” Versalicci said. “I wouldn’t want to take up too much of your time. I’m just here to talk over a mutually beneficial arra-”

  “No,” I said bluntly. “Now get out of my store.”

  He sighed dramatically. “Malvia, at least hear me out. If anything, I just want to assure the safety of our unity from whispers of something truly dangerous.”

  “Whispers of what?”

  “Hrrm,” Versalicci said. “Well, for the first thing, I don’t know what it is. They e to me from Holmsteader’s territory.”

  “I am not clearing out a rival gang’s territory for you,” I stated bluntly. “Also, Miss, unless you pn on buying hands off of the ingredients please?”

  Melissa backed away from the rack, letting go of the herbs she’d been examining. She hadn’t been the only one, but her i seemed mostly curious, unlike someone else’s.

  Mitu’s lock-pig of one of my ets stopped, him taking advantage of everyourning to look at Melissa. There wasn’t anything good in there. He was just being annoying.

  “My apologies,” Versalicci said. “But in terms of what is there, we really o-”

  “Hello, Malvia!”

  The bell on my front d once more, and seeing who stepped inside, I let two words escape my lips, carrying every ounce of frustration I felt. “Oh Hells.”

  A pink-colored Infernal in a winter coat and dress waved enthusiastically to me as she walked across the floor, seemingly ignorant to the toughs and gang members oher side of her. Some of them moved to intercept, but Versalicci zily waved them off.

  She was also wearing a top hat, to my irritation. Pink and with fur and holy the most obnoxious thing I had ever seen, including the ship a dressmaker had oried to make me wear as a hat.

  Machti stared at it with the most intense look of jealousy I’d ever seen in my life. Damnations, he was going to steal it if the both of them were in the shop for long together.

  “Hello!” The Infernal greeted Versalicci brightly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize there was a line. Could you maybe speed your order up a little?”

  You could have heard a pin drop. The two oughs looked unnerved. Melissa was fused. Mitu looked as pcid as he always did wheher eating food or ripping someone’s arm from their socket the slow way. Machti’s expression turned just a little gcial, a bit too forced but he kept that easy, affable grin on his face.

  Versalicci didn’t so much as twitch.

  “Ah, but of course,” he said, ining his head. “I sometimes get so lost talking with people I lose track of time. My apologies, Miss-?”

  “Valthenmog,” she told him, curtsying, while I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

  He didn’t show the slightest hint of surprise. “Well, Miss Valthemnog, I will try to make this quick. Three doses of Angel’s Sorrow, my good alchemist, is what I wish to order.”

  “Illegal,” I replied ftly. “So I don’t carry it. Even if I did, I didn’t make it. Besides, even jokingly, the st thing you want is spreading the idea you actually use it. There’ are still a dozen stories cirg about what happened, and the truth isn’t ihree most popur.”

  “Yes,” Versalicci agreed. “We are Infernals. It only seems right that we shoulder most of the bme for everything to them, doesn’t it?”

  Reality had a very disagreeable way of making me agree with my brother.

  “Well, aime perhaps,” Versalicci said, moving back from my ter. “I won’t keep you from your current er.”

  I had a little give. “Perhaps. Send it ahead of time and I might be mreeable.”

  He ined his head slightly, then walked out, his ente following in his wake till all of them were out of my store.

  “Could you not needle him?” I asked the grinning woman, the tired feeling in my bones only growing. “I realize he’s not much dao you, but if you poke him too hard, one of his idiot followers will take a swing on his behalf. And the st thing we need is you exposed, especially if I’ll get the bme for it.”

  “Ah, but exposed if my favorite kind of being, Malvia,” Tagashin teased, the illusory disguise fading, revealing the Kitsuné underh. And she had taken that exposed ent to heart as well. “And besides, weren’t you one of those idiot followers?”

  “Yeah, and then I learned not to be an idiot, through a long and arduous journey,” I said, turning to close up shop. Tagashin floated over the ter, reing as if on a couch, staying within my vision. “One of which I guess I’ll o take soon if you’re here. What does Mr. Voltar want me for?”

  The Kitsuné pouted. “You know, I expected something of a rger rea?”

  I looked over the Kitsune before blinking zily. “It’s very nice. If I didn’t know the horrendous personality attached to it, you would get a bigger rea. Now put a disguise on before we leave. I’m not vioting the obsity ws, so cover your ankles. Please.”

  “You don’t even know where we’re going,” the Kitsune said, ref her Infernal disguise before hopping off of thin air onto my tertop.

  “Well, either you tell me, or Voltar wonders why we’re te,” I said, grabbing my revolver from behind the ter and theing my coat off its hook. “And I tell him it’s because you danaked on my ter right after talking to my brother. Wouldn’t everetg the truth that far.”

  “Well, truth be told, this is a sensitive manner,” Tagashin admitted as I put my coat on. “There’s been a murder, ohat led to many, many more murders. Colteral damage and the victim is a priest of Tarver.”

  My fingers froze, trying to button my coat and failing as my mind raced towards a clusion that sent mixed feelings rushing through me, followed by shame over one side of that. He’d proven himself a judgmental shite, but that was no reason to revel in him being dead.

  “Before you ask, it is nory Montague,” Tagashin tinued.

  “Good,” I replied gruffly. “So, a priest of Tarver is dead?”

  “Yes, in his own church as well,” Tagashin ented. “We’ll be heading directly there.”

  I froze, stu the st button. Tarver was one of the least Infernal adverse deities, but there were still issues with setting foot on secrated ground. At least, unlike Halspus, you could set foot there and not die immediately.

  “That’s an issue,” I said. “I’m not familiar with the process, but I doubt whatever could be doo let me walk in one of his temples be done by the time we get there.”

  “It doesn’t o be doagashin said as I fihe button, walking alongside me as we headed to the door. She gestured with her hand and all my windows shut, bolting and log themselves. I nodded my thanks as she tinued her statement.

  “The temple itself is no longer secrated,” Tagashin said. “And I brought a cloak along with me. Hooded. It should help hide features the public currently there might take issue with.”

  Oh. It took little to put together what that meant. I sighed and looked at my door. Well, I’d wanted excitement. And maybe this meant Versalicci’s cim about an issue in the Quarter wasn’t too far off.

  Time to go see who’d had the bright idea to use Diabolism to murder a priest in his own church.

  Saithorthepyro