ise

state gave way to the wet

d rain. Modern double-decker buses rumbled along the distant avenue, their red frames splashin

s just an ordinary, dreary

de Charing Cross Road. Tucked between a bustling modern bookstore and a brightly lit record

eaky

ns sitting in the dim corners barely looked up from their pewter tankards. I didn't stop at the bar. I walked str

f plain hazel with a low-grade core-and tapped th

Three. F

he surrounding masonry with it, expanding unti

of Star-lantern All

n window displays, and enchanted brooms hovered in mid-air above polished wooden pedestals. Owls screeche

my pocket. Fi

e secure a room for the night. I didn't turn toward the grand marble facade of

w, shaded passage that branched

bby stalls lined the cobblestones, displaying shriveled house-elf hands, cur

leaned over a rickety wooden crate, his voice dripping with greasy charm. "Fresh ma

er on his counter: cracked porcelain dolls, rusted da

breath

overed in thick grime and green verdigris, looking no different from an ancient piece of oxid

elic from the First Mag

pper needle, turned it over, and then casually nudg

ap?" I asked the vendo

grimy chin. "That old tomb copper? Give me five

ained relaxed. "Five Knuts for oxidized iron? I can

ed. "Four. Don't

l bronze coins onto his counter with

the coins into his greasy p

a second glance, I slipped the coin into my pocket and turned back toward the main alleyway, keeping

Sincl

loor balcony of an exclusive tea house ov

light. As the undisputed prefect of the House and heir to the Sinclair bloodline, I carried a reputation I h

ver cuffs of his valet uniform. "The carriage is prepared. Lord Sin

lain cup, my gaze pinned directly to the filthy street below. I was tr

my voice low, ve

iron railings. "It is merely a girl from the alleys, m

"Look at her stance. Her center of gravity doesn't waver. And her eyes... someone who scav

ief, tense exchange of words, noting the absolute stillness of her hands even as she bartered. Finally, she dropped three

Knuts," Silas muttered, shaking h

setting my cup down onto the saucer without making a sound. "She

cutting a sharp silhouette

ark eyes still fixed on the spot where she