by Jasmine Walt
“Man.” Annia wrapped her arms around herself as a chill wind whipped through the dingy streets. “I should have thought to grab a warmer jacket.”
I glanced sideways at her. “You won’t want to be encumbered by a fluffy winter coat down here,” I told her as we passed a textile warehouse. The acrid scent of fabric dye stung my nose, and I grimaced. “Not if you plan to make good use of your sword.”
The sun was hanging low in the sky now, backlighting the grimy buildings as it crept ever closer to the horizon. One by one, the gas lamps began to turn on, lighting the cracked sidewalks and illuminating the faces of those walking them. The locals were easily picked out from the ones who were just here for the thrills—the former wore threadbare, faded clothing, while the latter were well-dressed beneath their coats and cloaks. The prostitutes hanging out beneath the brothel awnings were the only spots of color in this seedy part of town—they were all dressed in skimpy outfits that allowed them to bare their wares for anyone who looked like they might have enough money to pay them. A few even reached manicured hands toward me, grazing painted fingernails against my leather-clad arm as they promised me wicked delights.
“That last offer sounded tempting,” Annia murmured with a wink, and I choked back a laugh.
“Thanks, but I don’t really swing that way.” I glanced back at the prostitute, who waved cheerfully at me. She looked like she actually wanted to be here, but then again, it was hard to tell. They painted those seductive smiles on as easily as the rest of their faces.
Ignoring the brothels, clubs, and gambling dens, I led Annia down the street, cutting toward a bridge that arched over a dirty canal. “This was one of the places I was telling you about,” I said as we walked along the sidewalk that ran along the top of the embankment. “Some kid with a spark of ingenuity built a shelter beneath the bridge. A group of kids used to stay in it.”
“Yuck.” Annia wrinkled her nose, and I couldn’t blame her—the canal water smelled foul, bringing back unpleasant memories that I deliberately pushed away. We came to a stop at just the right angle to get a good look under the bridge. “I don’t see anything,” she said after a moment. “A few planks of rotted wood, but no shelter.”
I sighed. “It must have been washed away by a flash flood. It was bound to happen at some point.” And it has been six years since I last huddled under this bridge myself, I added silently. It would have been more surprising if the shelter had managed to survive intact. I just figured there would still be kids using this spot, but apparently not. I couldn’t make out any signs of life down there, not even a sewer rat. “Let’s go with Plan B then.”
We crossed the bridge, then headed for a cluster of warehouses on the other side. I led the way around the back of a tanning factory, and my heart warmed at the sight of the grizzled old guard snoring away in his seat by the back entrance. Sure, he wasn’t the most industrious employee, but he’d let me spend many a night in this warehouse, and I’d been grateful for the shelter.
“Damn,” I muttered when I tried the rusty doorknob. “It’s locked.” I took a step back, preparing to use my brute strength to force the door open even though I didn’t want to wake the old man or scare the girls inside.
“Hang on there.” Annia laid a hand on my shoulder, then reached into an inside pocket of her leather jacket. I blinked when she pulled out a small leather case and selected one of a dozen shiny lock picks inside. She jimmied the tiny metal rods into the lock. In less than a minute, I heard a decisive click as the lock disengaged.
“Not bad for a rich girl,” I teased as she put the picks away.
Annia stuck her tongue out at me. “I don’t have super strength, or an internal lie detector, so I’ve gotta get by somehow.”
She pushed the door open, and I cringed as it squealed loudly. Small feet scrambled frantically against the cement flooring inside, and my heart jumped in my chest. “Wait!” I called, keeping my voice low. “We’re not here to hurt you! We’re just looking for a friend.”
“That’s what they all say,” a dark-skinned girl accused, meeting my gaze boldly. She stood behind a small fire that had been set up in the middle of the concrete floor, along with six other girls who gaped fearfully at us. The girl who’d addressed us pulled a knife from her boot and brandished it, and the others assumed threatening poses, though they kept well behind her. “We’re not going to let you take us.”
“We’re not here to take you any place you don’t wanna go,” Annia said soothingly. She held up both hands, and I followed suit. “We’re just looking for a girl whose parents are very worried about her. Do you mind if I show you her picture?”
The dark-haired girl measured us for a long moment, her golden-brown eyes taking in our bracelets. “You’re from the Enforcer’s Guild.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes.” I met her hard stare. She couldn’t be more than fourteen, but the girl who stared back at me out of that brittle face was far older than her undernourished body. “We’re looking for a girl named Cerlina, around ten years old. Have you seen her?”
The girl shook her head. “Don’t know anyone by that name.” She glanced around at the other girls, who hadn’t moved a muscle. “Any of you know her?” The girls all shook their heads, and their leader shrugged. “Nope, no one here.”
“Oh, come on.” I planted my hands on my hips. “You guys don’t always use your real names with each other. I know I didn’t when I stayed here.”
The girl’s eyes widened. “You stayed here?” She looked me up and down again. “You don’t look like someone who grew up on the streets.”
I shrugged, ignoring Annia’s curious stare. “I wasn’t out here for that long—maybe six months before I was taken in. But I remember what it was like. The constant gnawing hunger. The feeling that you could never quite get warm enough, or comfortable enough. The twenty-four/seven exhaustion, because you always had to keep an ear open at night in case the pimps came stumbling into your hideout.”
The leader’s gaze softened a little, and the other girls seemed to relax as well. “Let’s see the picture,” she said, gesturing impatiently for us to step forward. “We get a few new faces popping in every now and then.”
We closed the distance, and Annia silently handed Cerlina’s picture over to the girl. As the other girls gathered around to look at the photograph, I took a moment to study them. They ranged between ten and fourteen, dressed in torn jeans, sweaters, and coats that were clean enough, though worse for the wear. They wore their hair in ponytails or messy buns back from their gaunt faces, and though my nose twitched at the greasy smell of unwashed hair, their faces were clean. They probably sponge bathed themselves whenever they could. Scattered on the floor around the fire were thin pallets and threadbare blankets. In the far corner was a cracked sink and a metal toilet that I didn’t remember seeing the last time I was here. Guess the place had gotten an upgrade.
“Sorry,” the dark-haired girl said, handing the photograph back to Annia. “We haven’t seen her around. She might be hiding out in a different part of town, if she hasn’t been taken.”
My heart sank. “Thanks,” Annia said, tucking the photograph away. “We appreciate your help.”
“W-what are you going to do if you find her?” one of the girls, a blonde with porcelain skin who looked about twelve, asked in a soft voice. Her lower lip trembled as she gazed up at us with uncertain eyes. “Are you going to punish her for missing school?”
“Of course not.” I gave the girl a reassuring smile. “We’re just going to return her to her parents. They’ll be so happy to see her that I don’t think they’ll even consider punishing her. They’ve been worried sick.”
The trembling increased. “I want to go back to my parents,” she said in a voice thick with tears. Her big blue eyes began to shine. “I haven’t seen them in weeks, but I can’t leave because the pimps will find me. They already almost caught me once.” She buried her face in the dark-haired girl’s shoulder and began sobbing
.
“Don’t cry, Larina,” the other girl said, patting her back awkwardly. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Do you know how to get home?” I asked the blonde girl. She definitely didn’t look like the kind of girl who should be on the streets. How long had she been out here?
She stilled for a moment. “I t-think so.”
“And you’re sure you want to go back?” I asked, wondering what had driven her to leave in the first place. “Will they welcome you?” My aunt certainly wouldn’t have if I’d tried to sneak back into her home.
She cried even harder at that. “Yes. It was just a foolish disagreement. My father is strict, but now I see that he was only trying to protect me.”
“Good. Then we’ll take you there,” I declared. My nose told me that she was sincere and truly not afraid of whatever awaited her back home.
The blonde raised her head, and the hope shining in her wet eyes made my throat ache. “Can you really do that? What about the pimps?”
“They won’t bother us.” Annia patted the hilt of her sword. “Not if they know what’s good for them.”
The little girl began bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, then stopped and looked guiltily toward the dark-haired girl. “You don’t mind, do you?”
The older girl shook her head. “No. You go on.” She cracked a smile. “We’ll survive without you.”
Annia leaned in close to me as the other girls gathered around Larina to give her goodbye hugs. “This is heartbreaking. Did you really live on the streets for six months?”
I nodded. “It’s a tough deal, especially if you’re a girl. I like to think my shifter instincts helped keep me out of trouble. Most runaways get kidnapped within a month or two of ending up on the streets. The ones who make it past that point, like this one,” I jerked my head toward the dark-haired girl, “are some seriously tough cookies.”
Annia and I each took one of Larina’s hands, and we kept her close between us as we walked out. The girl only had a blanket over her thin dress to protect her from the chill, and I didn’t want her to catch cold. In silence, we herded her across the bridge, then back up the street toward the parking lot where we’d left Annia’s bike. The lot was only ten minutes from here. Once we got there, it would be a piece of cake to get the girl home. The address she’d given us was on the north side of Maintown, not very far at all on a steambike.
“Hey!” A fat, balding man wearing dark sunglasses and a fur coat stepped out of an alleyway, directly into our path. Two tattooed thugs in leather jackets followed suit, flanking him. “Just where do you ladies think you’re going?” The man looked straight at Larina, an unholy grin spreading across his face. The little girl let out a terrified squeak and ducked behind Annia, clinging to her thighs.
I pulled a chakram from my pouch. “Straight up your ass with this if you don’t get the hell out of my way.” They didn’t budge, and I suppressed a sigh. Did we really have to do this now? “It’s cold, and I’m not really in the mood for a fight, so if you move now, we’ll leave you in peace.”
Two more thugs joined the man, who grinned at us. “I don’t think you’re in any position to make demands. I’m happy to let you two fine ladies go, but the girl comes with us. My boss, Big Leo, has plans for this one—those golden curls and pretty blue eyes will fetch good coin for years to come. A sound investment, he would say.”
Annia and I closed ranks in front of the girl. “You do realize you’re talking to enforcers?” Annia asked, brandishing her bracelet. “We could haul your furry ass to jail right now.”
The man laughed, the sound full of contempt. “I don’t think so. You’re outnumbered.” He snapped his ring-covered fingers at the thugs. “Go get Big Leo’s property.”
The thugs lunged for us, four hulking mountains of muscle that no doubt thought they had this in the bag. I flung a chakram at the nearest one, and he went down in a spray of blood, his decapitated head rolling into the street. Larina screamed from behind me as I ducked a blow from another thug, and I twisted around to see that the third had somehow snuck around me. He grabbed the little girl by the collar as she twisted away, and my mouth dropped open in horror as her skimpy dress ripped open to the waist, baring her mercifully flat chest. I tried to lunge for her, but the thug behind me kicked me in the stomach and sent me crashing to the sidewalk. Thankfully, I’d tightened my abdominal muscles against the blow, but it still sent the breath whooshing out of me. Not wanting to waste the momentum, I backflipped myself onto my feet, soaring over Larina and her kidnapper, but before I had a chance to do anything, Annia buried a knife in his throat from ten feet away. The thug released Larina, blood gushing down his chin and chest as he grasped for the knife in his throat. I snatched the half-naked child up as he stumbled to his knees, turning her face into my chest so she wouldn’t see him topple to the ground, his final breath leaving him.
The girl had seen enough death tonight.
“P-please,” the pimp stammered, backing away as Annia stalked toward him. She’d dispatched the fourth thug already, and he was the only enemy left. This part of Downtown was thicker with shadows than most, and the few passersby hurried on, not bothering to give us more than a second glance. “D-don’t kill me. I was just following orders.” Eyes trained on Annia, he didn’t see the curb behind him, and tripped backward, landing hard on the asphalt.
Annia pressed a booted foot against his throat, and the man began choking. “Tell your boss,” she said, her voice like a lover’s whisper as she leaned close, “that Annia Melcott sends her regards. And that one day in the near future, she will personally toss his ass into the coldest, darkest cell she can find on Prison Isle.” Her lips curved into a vicious smile, and I let out a slow breath of admiration. Uptown girl or not, Annia was one scary bitch right now. “You’d be headed there right now if I didn’t have more important things to do. Now get lost.”
Annia turned back to us, and the pimp scurried off into the night as fast as his fat legs could carry him. “That was pleasant,” she muttered as she leaned down to retrieve her knife from the dead thug’s neck. She cleaned it on his coat before returning it to her thigh holster, then glanced toward Larina with concern. “Is she all right?”
I smoothed a hand across the trembling girl’s hair. “Yeah, but she’s gonna need some clothes. We can’t have her walking around like this, even if it is only for a few blocks.”
After a quick discussion, Annia and I led Larina into the same dark alley those ugly bastards had come from. Huddling behind a dumpster, I stripped off my clothes and gear, then handed most of them to Annia for safekeeping. The little girl stared at me as I gave her my too-big leathers, her wide eyes taking in my shivering body. The sun had fully set now, and it was colder than a mage’s heart out here.
“What are you going to do for clothes?” she asked as she put my leather jacket on.
“I’ve got a spare coat.” Winking, I crouched down on all fours, then closed my eyes and reached into that secret place inside me, where my beast always slept with one eye open. She sprang awake eagerly as I called, and white light poured from my skin, engulfing my body as the change started. Bone and muscle stretched, shrank, and rearranged, fur sprouted from my naked skin, and my face elongated into a whiskered snout. Claws scraped at the cement ground beneath me, my tail swished, and when the white light finally faded away, I was a black panther.
Larina gasped, her eyes wide with fear and awe. “I’ve never seen a shifter shift before,” she whispered, clinging to Annia.
“I’ve only seen it once myself.” Annia patted the girl on the back as she studied me with those dark eyes. “I wonder if it stops getting weird after a while?”
I stuck my tongue out at Annia, then padded toward them on silent paws. Larina let out a startled gasp as I moved close, then nudged my snout against her exposed belly. Giggling, she swatted my cold nose away, then finished buttoning up my jacket. It hung nearly to her knees, so she forewent the leather pants and inst
ead stuck her feet in my boots. I huffed out a laugh at how huge they were on her.
“Go on home,” Annia said, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “I’ll bring your stuff to you as soon as I’m done with our young friend.” I nodded, then licked Larina goodbye. The little girl giggled again, then buried her small hands in my fur. Since it wasn’t every day that a human got to pet a shifter, I indulged her for a moment, then loped off into the ever-darkening night in search of a fire escape or a rain pipe sturdy enough to hold my weight. Traveling across town in my panther form was best accomplished from roof to roof, as I knew from previous experiences, and there was no time to lose. Rescuing Larina might have been a rewarding side trip, but there was still another little girl out there who needed our help.
6
“It sounds like you’ve had quite the adventure,” Roanas remarked as I downed my third bowl of beef stew. He’d already eaten by the time I arrived home, but had put the pot of stew back on the stove the moment I’d rushed into the house. Buck naked, I had sprinted up the stairs to shower and change before coming back down. “Are you done for today, then?”
I shook my head, then swallowed my mouthful of food. “No. Annia should be bringing my stuff by any minute, and then we’ll be going out again.” I hoped she’d hurry—I felt naked without my weapons, even though I was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. “We still have to question Cerlina’s uncle. With any luck, he should be home now.”
“Ah.” Roanas toyed with the medallion that rested on his broad chest, the way he always did when he was thinking. It was a golden disk with runes etched along the outer edge, and a fang stamped in the middle—the mark of his authority as the Shiftertown Inspector. Shiftertown, Maintown, and the Mages Quarter tended to police themselves—the Enforcer’s Guild only got involved if a case was brought directly to them, or if it was an interspecies crime. I’d tagged along on many of Roanas’s cases. Watching him work was what had inspired me to be an enforcer in the first place. As a half-shifter, I would never be respected enough to become Roanas’s successor, but the Enforcer’s Guild employed humans, shifters, and even the occasional mage.