Trial by Flame

Chapter 36

 Nothing happened up to nighttime, at least not anything he could find. He spent the rest of the day scouring the leads he'd already opened, from trying to track Snake-Ring to paying the textile factory another visit.

He couldn't find the former anywhere he looked, and the latter was fruitless. All that remained of the factory was its stone skeleton and a few empty pots—the vats of red liquid had been dumped, any cloth burned or removed, and there wasn't an upstairs left to investigate. The corpse of their attacker was gone, too.

It didn't help that the city was massive, and walking from one district to another could take well over an hour. By the time he'd visited both uptown and 118th, it was close to sunset, and their room was far enough away that he was already set to be late.

His steps were hasty as he strode by the emptying central park, then passed a block of shops closing for the night. More wildlife was out than usual, from lizards climbing up the brick buildings to the same yellow birds he'd seen scavenging the city. One bird in particular followed him almost the entire way back, but disappeared somewhere on the last street, likely distracted by the bakery.

Not even a shred of sunlight remained when he pressed open the door, met with a room nearly as silent as the hall. For a moment, a sense of worry crawled up his chest—Tellik was rarely quiet. But it slipped away as soon as he saw him standing by the mirror, focus wrought in his features while strands of light encircled his head.

"You look so serious," Trelisti mentioned, plopping down on the chair nearby. There were two cups of tea already made, a fancy, half-drinken one, and a darker, untouched one at the opposite end. "Have you been waiting long?"

"Only a few minutes. That tea's yours," answered Tellik after a pause. He finished healing the last section before responding. "And I'm being careful so my hair will grow back."

"Ah. I should've guessed." Trelisti gave him a nod of thanks before taking the tea, which he drank so quickly he didn't taste it. Walking in the sun and heat for so long left him parched.

"Goodness. Remember to breathe," Tellik said, watching him inhale it before sitting down with his own drink. "Tell me you at least found something for all that trouble."

Trelisti's unrest sank into irritation. He shook his head.

"The only thing that stuck out was they swept the factory, but it's not like that's a surprise," he scowled, gaze lagging towards the window. "They did get rid of that corpse, though, so I'm sure they know somebody's interfering by now. I wouldn't be surprised if they suspected us."

"Good thing we'll be gone by the end of the week," Tellik murmured. Outside, there was a slight fluttering, though it was too distant to make out clearly. "The less time they've got to find us, the better."

Trelisti didn't exactly feel safe as it was—dragging Tellik's injured body was never subtle, and he didn't have enough mana to hide the whole trip. But mentioning that wouldn't do any good, so he kept it to himself.

"Did Lias ever send someone by?" he asked instead. "Or even say when we should expect news?"

"Not that I recall. I doubt we'll hear anything to—" Tellik interrupted himself halfway through the sentence, inhaling sharply. "Does it smell odd to you?"

A flash of concern crossed his face at the same time he spoke, followed by a dash towards the door. Trelisti smelled it a few seconds later—something tart and biting, like alcohol. The scent underneath was subtle, growing, and alarmingly recognizable.

Then came the sound. The fire catching, like a blanket tossed in the air. Thunderous wind as it swept through the hall, enveloping everything flammable in its path. The doorway muffled a crackling chorus.