Wallamir wanted Lavinia to stay safe.

The idea was laughable to Lavinia. Safety was something for other people to have, a pretty lie people told themselves to ward off the shadows and monsters. But Lavinia was a shadow. She was the monster that Wallamir had trained her to be. She needed safety like a snake needed legs.

Lavinia leapt across a gap in the rooftops and closed her eyes to soar blind through the emptiness. There, hanging weightless in the darkness, was where she thrived. The streets lay dead and empty, but Lavinia felt alive in a way she never had while the sun shone.

A whisper of leather on stone was the only sound she made as Lavinia landed on the next rooftop. She stepped to the edge of the roof and peered down into the street. A solitary figure in white hurried through the shadows.

Lavinia wondered what urgency might have forced the woman out alone so late, silently urging the woman to hurry along before she disrupted Lavinia’s plan. Thankfully, the woman rushed past Lavinia’s position unaware, disappearing down an alley. The shadows of Izael’s temple loomed in the distance, but further thought of the woman disappeared as Lavinia’s target turned onto the street.

Tall and lithe, he had tawny hair that framed a hawkish face. Finely tooled leather hugged the frame of his body and a large curved bow hung ready in a holster at his hip. An eye patch masked a swath of his face, but the uncovered eye pulled double duty as it took in the surroundings with rapid, jerky movements.

Light from the man’s lantern reflected off his bright blue iris, and Lavinia crouched lower to the roof as it swiveled skyward. Fortunately, his own lantern had left him blind to the darkness, and his gaze passed over her vantage point without noticing her.

A rhythmic clack bounced off the stone walls and the man below her froze, solitary eye searching for the source. His hand fell to the bow at his hip and Lavinia palmed her daggers. Wallamir entered the circle of light a moment later, stopping to fold his hands over the head of his cane. Lavinia stifled a snort at his flair for the dramatic, disappointed Monty wasn’t here to share the joke.

“You come to Farone at an inauspicious time, traveler,” Wallamir said into the tense silence. “Perfect for a private conversation, however.” He smiled with a wave of his hands at the empty street.

The stranger returned the smile and his hand dropped away from the bow. “That’s a gods-awful mouth you’ve got. Ya know that?” he responded. “Lots of fancy words that don’t mean nothing and you wrap it up in a pretty bow like that means it ain’t shit. And you can’t even say the name right. It’s Phelione,” the stranger enunciated the last, drawing out the syllables in his thick drawl.

If not for Wallamir’s experience dealing with rude officials and— more important to please by far, the Widow— he might have cracked at the absurdity. It was to his credit that Wallamir maintained the same benign smile even as the stranger berated him in an accent so strong that Lavinia could barely imagine what hole in the sea the man had crawled out of.

“Is it then?” Wallamir finally responded. “Well it seems we have much more to discuss than I thought. Perhaps we can go somewhere warmer and have a chat about all the things I do not know.”

The man spit, hocking a fat wad of phlegm that struck the ground a few paces from Wallamir’s robes. “Ain’t gonna happen, ‘m afraid. Got business of my own to attend to. Wish ya luck on fixing that silver tongue though.” The man tipped an imaginary hat to Wallamir and abruptly turned to walk away.

“I didn’t say you could leave,” Wallamir’s voice turned icy as his hand whipped through the air. The gems on his fingers glowed and a lash of energy uncoiled from his palm like a whip to ensnare the man’s ankle as he walked away. “Lavinia, feel free to take over.”

Lavinia leapt from the rooftop as the man below her began cursing. Her shadowed form streaked through the air to land on the man’s shoulders. The impact against his already off-balance form sent him to the ground as Wallamir’s spell continued to wrap around the man’s legs. Lavinia sat on his shoulders and used her blades to nudge his neck upward, tension pulling his muscles taut as he struggled not to be sliced.

“I suppose this is as comfortable as we can hope for,” Wallamir said as he stood over the prone figure. “I would have loved to have a polite chat over some tea, but I need answers more than I need you to like me.”

The man’s shoulders began trembling, and Lavinia was careful not to let her blades nick his skin. It took her a moment to realize that he was laughing, the sound of a chuckle building as the shaking increased in intensity.

“Well don’t that just beat all,” he finally choked out between laughs. “Didn’t realize you had some demon hidden away. Been wondering why I felt eyes on me since I got into town. It’s a pleasure to meet your quaintance, ma’am.”

He turned his face so his good eye could stare up at Lavinia and winked. She couldn’t see the other eye, didn’t know if he even had one hidden under that eye patch, but Lavinia still knew it was a wink. She tightened her grips on the daggers and frowned down at him.

“Don’t get cute,” Lavinia said. “I’m not gonna swoon anytime soon, so you can forget trying to flirt your way out of this.”

“Oh no offense, intended, of course,” he responded with a wide smile. “But it’s not every day you meet someone as pretty as she is deadly.”

Lavinia rolled her eyes. “If you don’t start talking, these daggers will show just how deadly I am. Why did you cast the curse? Why did all the stars disappear? Why—”

“One question at a time, if’n ya please,” he said. “Let’s start with names. I’m Ryon, and the charmingly beautiful woman riding atop me so eagerly is—”

“Lavinia,” she spat. “And if you compliment me one more time I’ll just slit your throat and we can talk to your spirit. Maybe death will loosen your tongue.”

Ryon snorted. “Ain’t no need for that, there’s just a proper way to go about this, don’t you think? Now as to your first question, I didn’t cast any curse. Wouldn’t know how to if I wanted to.”

Lavinia looked to Wallamir. She shrugged a shoulder, silently asking him for guidance, but apart from pinched lips he seemed happy to let her carry on.

“You sure as hell didn’t seem surprised when it happened,” Lavinia noted. “Every person in that market ran for home as soon as it started, but you acted like you were out for a nice afternoon stroll.”

“Is water surprised when it rains?” Ryon gave Lavinia a crooked look that showed what he thought of her intelligence. “That doesn’t mean it caused the storm.”

“Sorry are you— the water in this metaphor?” Lavinia asked.

“It’s not a metaphor, it’s an analogy. Metaphors are statements, analogies explain a point,” Ryon scoffed. “But yes. I’m as clueless as you’uns about the how or why, but here we are. Just a little water tossed about by the storm that’s coming to strike this place off the map.”

“Storm?” Lavinia looked to the sky, still unnerved by the blank, black depths that threatened to swallow her. “Doesn’t seem like it.”

“Metaphor,” Ryon chuckled. “Not something you’re gonna see with your eyes— until it’s too late that is.” Ryon paused for a moment and turned to look at her, any trace of joviality gone. “Can’t you feel it? That tension building in the air? Like the world’s holding its breath for what comes next. ‘S why I’m getting out of this city as soon as I find my prey.” He blew out a breath.

“Stop,” Lavinia protested. “Slow down with the cryptic nonsense and just tell me what you mean.”

“Sorry, ma’am. It’s been a pleasure, but it’s about time me and Laela head off to find that damned fox.”A jolt of lightning raced through Lavinia’s body as she was thrown off Ryon’s back. Her daggers clanged to the ground.

Ryon stood to wipe the dirt from his leathers, small jewels inset at the flexible joints glowing bright in a rainbow of colors. Any sign of Wallamir’s spell had vanished. “Not quite as defenseless as I let on, but I’ll never pass on a conversation with such a beauty.”

“I think you underestimate how many of us there are,” Wallamir interrupted with a gesture.

The earth next to him rumbled as a shape emerged from the stone pavers. A large stone muzzle came first, followed quickly by the rest of a humongous canine body. The stone transitioned seamlessly to grass-like fur and large, muddy paws that shook the ground as the animal worked itself free of the ground. A brief shimmer of magic passed over him as the stone and grass shifted color to resemble fur and Monty bared his teeth in a snarl at Ryon.

“Aww darn, and here I am without any dog treats,” Ryon said with a smile. He whistled a few sharp notes into the night air. “But I ain’t the only one doing some improper cackalations.”

Lavinia was ready to move, unwilling to let Ryon escape, but a loud growl from behind left her frozen. She turned to see a hound as large as Monty towering over her, although the fetid breath washing across her face assured her it was of flesh and blood. Her hands flexed, but the daggers she needed were too far. Lavinia regretted her earlier laziness. The poisoner’s knife in her heel could incapacitate the animal if it was dosed, but the dry flakes that coated it now would do nothing.

“Now I think it best if we all just go our separate ways,” Ryon said. “I’m sure the three of you might be able to do something to stop me, but three-on-two just means we’ll all get hurt. We don’t want that, do we?” He stared at Wallamir, daring him to move.

“Your trick will only work once,” Wallamir choked out through clenched teeth. “I look forward to our next meeting.”

“Gee, mister, thanks,” Ryon said. The wide smile had returned and he snapped his fingers toward the dog. “Let’s go Laela, that fox ain’t gonna catch itself.”

He tipped an imaginary hat and turned to leave, but stopped at the corner that would take him out of Lavinia’s sight. “You know temples are usually pretty good at hoarding secrets, Miss Lavinia. If’n I was trying to learn more I’d check with them. But good luck getting them to share, that’s not a skill the gods emphasize too much.”

Ryon was gone before Lavinia could respond, the adrenaline rushing through her veins at odds with the sudden calm that descended over them. Her hands flexed repeatedly and she rushed to grab her daggers. The cold metal made her feel better, but Ryon’s last words left her confused. After such a fight to get free why would he volunteer help?

“Well that was simultaneously frustrating and enlightening,” Wallamir said with a sigh. “I’ll have more tasks for you in the morning, but until then rest. We don’t need you getting caught off guard by some mutt again.” Wallamir turned to go, Monty silently following even as he looked over his shoulder at Lavinia.

Lavinia turned in place. Wallamir’s curt dismissal doing nothing to calm her frayed nerves. It had been years since she’d been caught so flat-footed. Her breathing came in gasps.

Wallamir had let Ryon go, but if he hadn’t— Lavinia inhaled deeply, forcing herself to hold the breath until her lungs felt like they were bursting before blowing it out in a burst of air. She scrunched her face tight trying to stop what she knew was coming, but a single tear leaked from her eyes.

She was thankful Wally wasn’t around to see it.