After taking a moment to slink away from the group and around the corner, Eli turned to Vespera and Captain Duskrend.

  “So where are we meeting our friend?”

  “At a tavern on the other end of the city.” The captain said, nodding in the direction they’d be travelling. “We need to be there in a few minutes though, or else we’ll miss our window.”

  Eli raised one eyebrow. “Do you want me to fly? It’s not exactly a subtle way to get there.”

  “No.” The captain said before placing one hand on Eli’s arm, then another on Vespera’s. “Prepare yourself.”

  “Prepare yourself for wha-ohshit!” Eli managed to say.

  The captain ignored him, looking upwards and casting a spell that caused the world around them to spin in a kaleidoscope of colors and unidentifiable shapes. It lasted for several moments until they emerged on a flat roof several hundred yards away, underneath the shadow of a canopy. As the world came into focus Eli instinctively reached out and held onto Vespera, the pair steadying themselves against one another.

  Captain Duskrend gazed out over a balcony across the city for a moment, giving the two of them a second to recover from their dizziness. As he blinked away the feeling Eli noticed several dark elves popping into and out of existence around them, each of them materializing for no more than a few moments as they located their next destination before disappearing again. The realization of what was happening dawned on him as their guide turned back around, placing one hand on either of them.

  “This is some sort of transportation hub.” He said, more a statement than a question. “You’re using them to shadow step across the city quickly.”

  “Yes.” Captain Duskrend replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “A darkstation. Does your Spider Queen not have these?”

  “No.” Vespera replied. “We’d looked at the possibility before, but our population is considerably more diverse – not all of us use shadow magic. And most of our people live underground.”

  “Ah, that would be a problem.” The captain nodded.

  “You can’t shadow step to somewhere you can’t see, right?” Eli asked.

  “Yes. And there are limits to the number of people I can bring with me. I will be pushing those limits as it is.” She responded. “Are you ready?”

  Eli steeled himself and nodded. “Fuck it. Let’s go.”

  The next several minutes were enough to make him regret his bravado. Captain Duskrend used the spell half a dozen more times, skipping from one hub to another without giving enough of a break in-between for them to recover. When she announced they’d reached the final hub and would be making the rest of the journey on foot, Eli breathed a sigh of relief as he took his high elven form.

  “How long do we have?” He asked, steadying himself once more.

  “They’re likely already there.” The captain said, pointing them to a set of stairs at the side of the tower. “You should hurry. Down the stairs, turn left, then it’s the large building on the right.” She paused to make sure they understood before continuing. “My people are in position and will be listening. I’ll be coordinating the action from here. Once we confirm the location of the book, we’ll move in.”

  “Got it.” Vespera replied before taking Eli’s hand, pulling him towards the stairs.

  Desperate to focus on anything except for his roiling stomach, Eli turned to Vespera as they moved. “You know, we probably still could have used some of those darkstations on Purgatory. Even a few of them would help a small force of dark elves scout the area around the castle faster than they can today.”

  Carefully leaning towards him so as not to poke him with her horns, Vespera lowered her voice. “While true, the other reason we didn’t want to do it was because we thought it might be a security threat.”

  “How so?”

  “Up until now, our greatest adversary was Shadowhome. Building infrastructure that could be used against us in an assault seemed like a poor choice.”

  “Ah.” Eli nodded as they reached the busy street below. “Hopefully that changes soon. Assuming this goes well.”

  “It will.” Vespera said confidently before nodding towards the building Captain Duskrend indicated.

  Taking a moment to steel his resolve and recall Zee’s words of wisdom, Eli strode confidently towards the door of the building and swung it open. He was greeted by a dimly lit room filled with a diverse set of patrons representing every magical race Eli had run across and then some. An orc and a dark elf stood behind the bar to his left, a group of elves played strange instruments along the back wall, and to his right were dozens of booths – many of whom had demons and lizardkin passing communal pipes back and forth, taking drags of a mystery substance before blowing smoke into the air.

  Vespera appeared at his side, slipping her hand into his. Squeezing it once he began to pull her through the crowd towards the bar, eager to lose the interest of some of the prying eyes he noticed when he stepped inside. The tactic backfired though, with the crowd parting for them as if to single them out. To make matters worse, the band playing at the back of the bar slowly quieted mid-song, further drawing attention towards them.

  Why do I suddenly feel like I’m in an old western movie just before a gunfight? Eli thought to himself as they reached the bar.

  “You must be new around here.” The dark elven bartender said as she leaned towards them.

  “How can you tell?” Eli asked dryly.

  “We don’t get too many high elven visitors in this neighborhood.” She replied.

  “For good reason.” The orc interjected in English. “Your kind’s not welcome here.”

  “Shut up Mork.” The dark elven bartender barked at her orcish colleague before turning back to Eli. “If you’re here to spend some gold, you can stay.” She paused for a moment before raising one eyebrow. “You are here to spend some gold, right?”

  “Do you have any firewhiskey?” Vespera interjected, leaning forward.

  “No. I’ve got this Serepenthran Liqueur though – it tastes damn close.”

  Vespera made a face, then shook her head. “How about harpy wine?”

  It was the dark elven woman’s turn to make a face. “What kind of fancy establishment do you think this is?”

  Eli decided it was time to intervene. Leaning in closer, he dropped his voice and whispered conspiratorially. “Listen, I’m really trying to impress her. I’ll tip you a little extra if you can give us something fancy here.”

  “I don’t know why you’d want to impress a succubus. She’ll jump in bed with you if you just ask.” The dark elven woman replied in a whisper.

  “Work with me here?” Eli pleaded.

  “Fine. Fanciest thing we’ve got is some human drink. It’s from Earth, believe it or not. The humans call it “to-kill-ya”. Why they’d drink something that would kill them is beyond me, but…I’ll pour you some.”

  Eli resisted the urge to smile as he pulled the gold coins from his pocket. “Perfect. 2 glasses, please – and keep the change.”

  Shrugging again, the bartender took the coins and poured from a familiar-looking gold bottle with a yellow label. Eli watched as the orcish bartender grunted and stormed off to serve another patron before taking the proffered glasses. He turned around and leaned against the bar, exhaling slightly as the conversations of the crowd around them gradually resumed. His eyes slowly scanned the room as the band resumed its song, seemingly confident that the newcomers weren’t going to cause an all-out brawl.

  Leaning towards him, Vespera took one of the glasses and kissed Eli’s neck before speaking into his ear. “So now what?”

  “Now we wait.” Eli said, doing his best to ignore the growing tightness of his pants. “They know we’re here. It’s up to them to make contact.”

  “Right.” Vespera agreed. “Do we drink these, to keep our cover of just being regular patrons intact?”

  Considering it for a moment, Eli nodded. “Sure. One drink can’t hurt.”

  Clinking their glasses together, Eli and Vespera drank the cheap liquor in one gulp each. It burned all the way down, reminding him of late nights and poor decision making while he was in university. He grimaced slightly before placing the glass down on the bar, turning to help his now-coughing succubus companion.

  “Fuck-I think I’ve been poisoned.” She gasped between coughs. “I feel like I’m burning on the inside, and I can’t get that fucking taste out of my mouth.” She narrowed her eyes at him incredulously. “You don’t feel it?”

  “I’m fine. Let me heal you.” Eli said urgently, summoning his mana while sliding one hand up the back of her shirt – both to hide his now-glowing hand and to touch her skin directly so that he could heal her.

  Shaking her head she placed one hand on his chest and doubled over, slowly bringing her breathing under control while fighting the urge to retch. “I just… need a second.” She took a few deep breaths. “I’m okay. I think my body’s having a bad reaction to that shit though. There must be something in it that doesn’t agree with my demonic physiology – something that humans tolerate well.”

  Eli dismissed his mana and chuckled as the succubus slowly recovered. “Based on your symptoms it’s working as intended. Humans have the same reaction to our first shot of cheap tequila, most of the time.”

  “And you still drink it willingly?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And they call us masochists.” Vespera said under her breath as she stood back up, narrowly avoiding skewering Eli with a horn while wiping a tear from one of her eyes.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “You sure you’re okay?” Eli asked, shaking his head at the almost-comical scene.

  “Yes.” She nodded before a small smile appeared on her face. “You can keep your hand right there on my back, you know. I don’t mind.”

  Rolling his eyes, Eli settled back against the bar – this time with Vespera pressed close to his body. The tequila had only a minimal effect on him, meaning he was able to stay sharp as he scanned the crowd. Far too many of the figures wore hats, hoods, or other face coverings for him to positively identify any felinekin.

  Just as he started to debate using a spell to ‘see’ the mana of those in the room, a cloaked figure sat on a stool next to them and nudged him. “Did you have to get the whole bar’s attention?”

  “Come again?” Eli asked, turning towards them.

  “You heard what I said.” A felinekin man growled at him, pulling back his hood just enough for Eli to catch a glimpse of his face.

  Unlike the other felinekin he’d met in the past, this one’s fur was entirely black. His beady eyes were yellow, and they narrowed at Eli for a moment before turning away. Eli couldn’t help but notice that he grunted in pain as he twisted, with one hand holding his side.

  “I’m only here because a friend of a friend asked me if I’d be willing to do someone a favor.” Eli said defensively before squeezing Vespera. “I managed to convince this lovely lady here that we should move our date to this fine establishment. But if you’d rather talk to someone else, be my guest.” Eli finished.

  The felinekin man growled again before speaking. “You fucking high elves are insufferable, you know that?”

  “I’ve been told.” Eli chuckled, recalling Zee’s advice. “Now, are you interested in continuing this conversation somewhere more private? Or should I be leaving?”

  “Fine, leave. I’ll find someone else.”

  “Okay.” Eli replied, shrugging.

  He'd pushed off the bar and made it 3 steps away before the thief turned in his chair, placing one hand on Eli’s shoulder. “Wait. Come with me. I’ve got somewhere we can talk.”

  With a glance at Vespera, Eli stepped away from the bar and moved with the felinekin man towards the back of the room. He followed the thief out the door into an alleyway, then through a series of complex turns through narrow passages between buildings. By the time they reached their destination he’d almost given up on any backup coming from Captain Duskrend until he caught sight of a raven perched on a nearby balcony, almost out of sight.

  The thief wordlessly opened the door and ushered them inside. When Eli crossed the threshold he shut the door behind them before leaning against it while holding his side, breathing heavily for a moment. There was a long silence before the thief pulled his paw away, red blood covering his black fur.

  “You don’t look like you’re in good shape.” Eli said slowly.

  “I hadn’t noticed.” The thief replied sarcastically. “Now, can you get me out of this shithole of a realm or not?”

  “He can.” Vespera answered. “But you don’t want that, do you?”

  “What are you talking about?” The thief asked, tilting his head in confusion.

  In lieu of a response Vespera started moving her hands in undulating lines before whispering a few soft words of power. A red glow enveloped both her and the felinekin man, intensifying for almost a minute before fading. He lunged forward to stop her but Eli was there to intercept the attack, sucker punching him in his injured ribs before bodily shoving him to the ground.

  By the time Vespera was done casting she collapsed onto the ground next to the felinekin, exhausted. “He was…particularly strong willed. Especially given his injury.”

  “Are you okay?” Eli asked, kneeling next to her.

  “I will be. Just feeling a little drained. Hurry up and ask your questions though – the spell won’t last forever. He’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

  Nodding, Eli turned to the felinekin. “Did you steal a book from the House of the Raven?”

  “Yes.” The thief replied in a monotone voice.

  “Where is it now?”

  “In the bag on the floor.” The thief said, nodding to the right.

  Eli followed his gaze to a black leather satchel. He scrambled over to it and opened the flap, confirming that there was indeed a thick tome there. A grin quickly formed on his face before he moved to the door, opening it and giving a thumbs up to the raven outside.

  Seconds later, the street was filled with dark elven guards. They popped into existence all around him before rushing into the room, surrounding the felinekin with weapons drawn. Eli quickly stepped off to the side, both to help Vespera back to her feet and to get out of the potential line of fire.

  “Do you have the book?” Captain Duskrend asked.

  “Yes.” Eli confirmed, opening the flap of the satchel before snapping it closed when the captain reached for it. “I believe we had an agreement though – I want an hour with the book before I give it back.”

  The captain glowered at him. “That can be done back at the castle. Give it to me and I’ll-”

  “Not a chance.” Eli shook his head. “You’ve still got a potential traitor in your midst who might steal it again the second I let it out of my sight. I’m taking my reward right now.”

  “You realize you are in a room full of my guards, right?” The captain replied threateningly.

  “I think your Queen isn’t going to mind waiting.” He leaned forward before whispering. “Little moon.”

  “I…how do you know that name?” The captain said, her eyes wide.

  “A certain glimmershade shared it with me.” He grinned. “And unless you want me to share that specific memory with all of your guards-”

  “Everyone out!” The captain interrupted him, straightening up as she addressed her subordinates. “Take the thief back to the castle. I will stay here with the book until the Royal Blood is done.”

  To their credit, none of the guards dared question the order. They moved with speed and professionalism, binding the thief and hauling him out the door on a makeshift stretcher that seemed to appear out of nowhere. The entire time they moved though, the captain glowered at the two of them.

  “If you ever so much as breathe a word of what you saw-” The captain hissed the moment the last guard was out of the room.

  “Not a word.” Eli promised.

  “Very well. Take your hour.” The dark elven captain said. “Though, I am unsure how you plan to read that entire book in that time.”

  “I don’t.”

  Ignoring her quizzical look, Eli found a nearby desk before placing the book reverently down on top of it. He then pulled out his phone and began recording before handing it to a confused-looking Vespera. Finally, he opened the book and flipped to the first page.

  “Just keep recording the book as I flip the pages.” Eli said to the succubus. “Try to keep it in focus as much as possible. There’s ways to clean it up later if we have to, but they’re a pain in the ass.”

  “Got it.” Vespera replied.

  Over the next 60 minutes, Eli flipped through the book twice – once to make sure he had some record of every page, then a second time more slowly in a higher resolution setting to ensure he could capture as much detail as possible. By the time Captain Duskrend finished poking around the small apartment and insisted that their time was up, he was confident he’d be able to recreate the entire book from start to finish.

  “What now?” Vespera asked as she handed Eli the phone.

  “I guess we go home now.” Eli replied, checking the recordings to make sure it was all there. “You did a great job.”

  “Why thank you.” She grinned. “We make a good team.”

  The two of them locked eyes for a long moment, slowly leaning closer to one another before they were interrupted by the captain. “I have something more for you. Something that may help you in your quest to find out more about Royal Bloods.”

  The seeming whiplash of being threatened then offered a gift broke Eli out of the particularly pleasant thoughts he was having about the succubus in front of him. “What?”

  “I said, I have something for you.”

  “That’s…surprising.” Vespera said.

  The captain grunted in reply. “Ugh. Do you want it or not?”

  “I want it.” Eli said.

  “While you were doing that, I searched the apartment. Apparently this thief is a professional, working for someone well-connected.”

  “Who?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t even think the thief knew. But they were due to drop the book off on Earth, at this location.” The captain said, handing him a slip of paper. “The instructions are to put it into a specific place at midnight tomorrow, then leave. Then, they’d be paid afterwards.”

  “A dead drop.” Vespera summarized.

  “Exactly.” The captain confirmed.

  The realization slowly dawned on Eli. “I’d be interested to know who this mysterious benefactor that has a strong interest in Royal Bloods is. If we move quickly, we might be able to drop a fake copy of the book then follow whoever picks it up.”

  “Not that we’re not grateful, but why are you helping us over and above what you were ordered to do?” Vespera asked. “You haven’t liked us since the moment you laid eyes on us, and we probably haven’t given you too many reasons to start liking us.”

  “Because this seems like the only way to guarantee you’re going to get the fuck out of this realm.” The captain replied fiercely. “And now I have a vested interest in doing just that.”