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 dabreath
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, keepingSincl
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 threeKnuts," 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
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