The corner of the man's mouth twitched. “Come see for yourself.”
Dante glanced at the children, the dogs barking and chasing after them when they ran. “Will they be all right on their own?”
The man shrugged and headed toward the nearest alley. They were led away from the market to a building that had seen better days, with a tarp-covered window and weeds sprouting along its base. The man eased the door open and ushered them inside. A second door on the far end of the room was open, revealing a set of stairs leading down. Taesia's nose wrinkled immediately at the smell, a bitter blend of ash and pepper.
“Ruben,” the gangly man called. “Customer.” He left to return to the market.
A heavyset man in shirtsleeves appeared on the stairs, wiping his hands on a handkerchief. “Hello, hello. This way, please.”
Dante kept his hood up as he and Taesia descended into a basement. It might have once been a wine cellar, cramped and cool. But instead of racks of wine, the place was now stocked with sacks of herbs and roots, boxes of chalk, and jars of sulfur. There was even a display of small knives along the wall.
Dante's eyes lit up the way Taesia imagined a librarian's would at finding a rare book for their collection. He began to wade through the assortment, peering into sacks and running his hands through unknown substances. Taesia meandered toward the knives and inspected one with a serpentine blade.
The man, Ruben, cleared his throat. “Let's keep this brief, yes? No guards saw you come this way?”
“Not that I'm aware of.” Dante's voice was distant, the tone he got when someone tried to interrupt him. He picked up a jar and shook it, the black specks inside rattling. “What's this?”
“That would be powdered lodestone.”
“And what does it do?”
“It's a magnetized bit of mineral, known for attracting iron. Rich deposits of it along the eastern coast.”
“I'll take ten grams, as well as loose chalk.” Dante paused before pointing at a nearby sack. “Throw in some hellebore root as well.”
Taesia grimaced. For all his intelligence and charisma, her brother wasn't particularly skilled at pretending to be something he was not. The order strung through his words might as well have painted a broadsheet across his face reading I'm a noble, can't you tell?
Ruben didn't seem particularly affected by it either way. Taesia obediently held the sachet of hellebore root Dante handed to her while he tucked the vial of powdered lodestone and pouch of chalk into his own pockets. Coins exchanged hands, the clink of gold loud in the cellar.
“A pleasure,” Ruben said with a sickly smile.
Taesia took a much-needed deep breath once they were back on the street. “Again, are you absolutely sure about this?”
“I'll be careful.” Despite Dante's light tone, she noted the divot between his brows. He was nervous.
Spotting the tip of the Gravespire rising above the buildings, Taesia thought about the Noctan who had been hauled away and swallowed.
Nexus had once prided itself on harboring people from every country, every realm, to form an eclectic microcosm of their broad universe. Now it seemed as if they were doing their best to eradicate those who didn't belong, whatever that meant.
She was jolted from her thoughts when someone slammed into her and sent her crashing to the ground.
“Stop her!” someone shouted.
Taesia gaped up at the face staring down at hers. The girl couldn't have been much older than her, with lustrous black skin and a cloud of dark hair. She winked and scrambled off Taesia in a flash, slipping into the startled crowd like a fish.
Dante helped her up as a few Greyhounds ran by in pursuit. Taesia stared after the girl, rubbing a sore spot on her chest.
“You all right?” Dante asked.
“Yeah, I'm—” She checked her pockets. “She stole the hellebore root!” Not an amateur thief, then.
Dante shushed her. “It's fine, I can get by without — Tae!”
She charged after the thief with a fire kindled in her chest, stoked and restless since Dante had stopped her from interfering with the guards.
Finally, some damn action.
The Greyhounds were slowed by the crowd, but Taesia easily evaded limbs and bodies. The thief hoisted herself onto the roof of a stall, so Taesia did the same. She rolled across an awning and leapt onto the next roof, which swayed dangerously under her feet.
She lifted her hand. To anyone else, the silver ring on her fourth finger bore an onyx jewel, but the illusion broke when her shadow familiar spilled from the bezel and into her palm.
“Do something for me?” she panted as she leapt the space between two stalls.
Umbra elongated, forming a snakelike head of shadow. It tilted from side to side before it nodded.
Taesia flung out her hand and Umbra shot forward in a black, inky rope. One end lashed around the thief's wrist, making her stumble. With a sharp pull on Taesia's end, the thief crashed through an awning.
Taesia jumped down. The thief groaned and staggered away from cages full of exotic birds flapping their wings and squawking at the disturbance. The vendor gawked at them as Taesia summoned Umbra back to her ring and took off after the girl.
The last thing she wanted was for rumors of a Shade tussling in the market to reach her mother.
Taesia dove into a narrow alley to try and cut the thief off at the cross street, only to be met with an arm that swung out from around the corner. It collided with her chest and Taesia fell onto her back with a grunt.
The thief stood over her, breathless and smiling. “Well! Gotta admit, this is a first. Never stole from someone like you before.”
Taesia coughed. “You punched me in the tit.”
“And I'd do it again.”
Taesia braced herself on the ground and kicked the girl in the chest, sending her reeling backward. “Now we're almost even.”
The girl wheezed around a laugh. “Suit yourself.”
Taesia sprang to her feet and charged. The thief ducked and hit her in the back, dangerously close to her kidneys. Taesia caught her arm and twisted. The thief stomped on her instep, making her yelp and let go.
“Whew!” The girl's face was alive with glee despite the dirt and sweat streaked across it. “Must've stolen something you care about.”
“Not really.” The shadows trembled around her, ready to be called in, but she couldn't risk it. She'd already been too careless using Umbra. “Just needed to stretch my legs today.”
The girl barked a laugh as they circled. Her dark eyes flitted to the alley over Taesia's shoulder before a blow caught Taesia across the backs of her knees, sending her reeling forward.
As Taesia fell, a young woman — likely the thief's partner — ran to the nearest wall and made a broad swirling motion with her arms. Both of the thieves were caught in a sudden cyclone of wind that lifted them up onto the roof.
An air elementalist.
Cheater.
“Better luck next time,” the thief called with a mocking salute. Taesia gave a rude gesture in reply, and the girl laughed before she and her partner disappeared.
A moment later, Dante burst out of the alley. “Taesia, what the fuck—”
“She got away.”
“I don't care! I told you it didn't matter.” He ran a hand through his hair, hood fallen across his shoulders. “You're filthy. We can't let anyone in the villa see you like this.” He pointed a stern finger at her. “Do not do that again.”
She wasn't sure if he meant chasing after thieves or using her shadow magic out in the open. Before she could ask, he turned and began the trek home, not even bothering to see if Taesia would follow.