Chapter Six, Part I

There was a chill down my pale green corset like fate's bite at my spine as I faced the man in front of me. I couldn't see his face through the scarf and hood, so I had no way of telling what he was going to do. He'd said he had questions. What was he going to ask? I didn't know anything about him other than the fact that he looked like a ruffian, so it would be plain dumb to go outside with him to talk in private, but if we stayed in here, Tremie and Lefeli would undoubtedly be listening to every word. Even I know that safety comes before comfort, though.

"Please hang your garments and come inside," I said, motioning to a bench away from the dress racks and attempting a smile. "Ask away."

He unwrapped his scarf, revealing disheveled black hair, and when he turned around I got a good look at his face and my shoulders tensed. He was devilishly good-looking, and probably not much older than me. His pale skin made the color of his hair richer, his face sharp with a set jaw but also with a gentle upturn of his lips that made me want to stare. There was no girl I could think of that wouldn't be fawning over him, but I forced a straight face and kept my posture rigid. No weakness.

He sat on one side of the bench and I sat on the end opposite him. He looked me straight in the eye as he spoke. "Where did you get magnesium?"

I snapped out of my stupor. "What magnesium?"

"What other substance makes a flame that bright? The thing you threw on the road was a piece of magnesium, wasn't it?"

My eyes narrowed. "Yes, it was." He didn't need to know I'd gone to a magician out of town to have it enchanted in secret. A flame bright enough to blind, and incredibly sensitive to water. He would never find a more dangerous piece of magnesium no matter how hard he searched.

A moment of silence revealed a series of soft giggles from upstairs and I shifted uncomfortably. If the boy noticed the sound, he didn't show it.

"Just who are you?" He said after a beat.

"None of your business."

"Why not?"

I scowled. "Why not? And who are you to be asking me that?"

He let out a breath and sat straighter. There was another short pause before his face lit up. "Do you happen to know chemistry?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Just answer, please."

I pursed my lips and folded my arms over my chest. On one hand, I didn't know this boy and he seemed awfully sketchy. On the other hand, though, I didn't see any reason not to answer since his question wasn't really intrusive or personal. "Yes," I decided. It couldn't hurt. "My father was a chemist."

"I see. Is there any way I can meet your father?"

"Why?"

His eyebrows knit in what looked like irritation. "Why do you keep asking that? I'm wanting to learn about chemistry."

"Well that's too bad," I said. "He died eight years ago."

His face blanched and a heavy feeling settled in my stomach. This boy confused me. I had lived in this town my whole life to know that not very many people confused me. I covered the unfamiliar feeling with sturdy resentment, putting a firm hand on my stomach and bringing my chin up.

Finally, he spoke. "Let's make a deal. I want to know about chemistry, and you know chemistry. Is there anything I could trade for your time?"

"I need nothing you could offer me."

I stood and brushed off my skirt. I gave him a cold look as he got to his feet as well, then I strode over and unhooked his scarf and cloak from the stand, shoving them into his chest with just enough force to get the point across. He took them from me carefully.

"It's, um, been a pleasure meeting you, Miss..."

"Veia."

"Veia," he repeated with a smile not unfit for a painting. "I'm Atlas Jeims."

"I'll consider your offer, Atlas Jeims." What a lie.

Still, the thought made his smile brighten even further as he dipped into a short bow and slipped out of the shop. My questions came flooding back to me just as the door clicked shut and the unfamiliar heaviness returned, creeping up through my shoulders and to my head. I sprung forward and crashed through the door into the dark street. Atlas swiveled around, startled.

The question burst out before I could stop it. "But how did you find me if you didn't even know my name?"

He relaxed, his gaze settling in a way I was positive was hiding something. "A peculiar girl told me."

Then he turned his back and kept walking, and I could only stand there and watch him leave.

The door to the shop closed behind me as I went to grab my bag. Lefeli and Tremie just stared, dead silent, and only offered a small wave as I left the shop again. I could hear an intense fit of whispers break out as I walked out into the street.

The night was a quiet one. The darkness loomed in the shadows, creeping up through the tree branches and pooling in the underbrush. It began to pour as I came upon my house, and the rain slammed down on the roof above me in unforgiving torrents. Each drop seemed to sing a thunderous song of warning, conveying in silent voices a tragedy I couldn't hear.

I was exhausted beyond the point of fainting by the time I collapsed in my bed that night, but no matter how hard I tried, sleep was not a ghost that graced me in the dark hours that followed.