I’ve never been in Mid when a flare goes off before. I’d assumed, considering they have a whole other wall between them and wherever the Katerakts have breached, that they’d be calm. They’re not. The market empties so fast it’s a blur of people and yells and the Peacers shouting futilely at everyone to slow down. A man rushing past jostles me, and I’m forced to step out of the path of a woman with two young boys, and then a cart comes up behind me and I have to veer away from that too. I don’t know why they’re all panicking - even in Under we wouldn’t panic like this - but it makes me feel jittery too. Should I be running? Is there something I don’t know about - some kind of lockdown?

  Klaus pulls me into him. ‘Don’t just stand there,’ he snaps, and drags us into the crowd. People move out of his way, even though he’s not even looking at them. Must be the height. Or the scowl.

  We get to the side of the street, out of the rush, and I look back up at the fading green smudge in the sky, visible over the tops of the roofs. ‘They get trained, don’t they?’ I blurt out. ‘The soldiers - they don’t just throw them in with the Katerakts. They train them first, right?’

  Klaus frowns down at me. ‘How should I know?’

  In my pocket, I grip Thesp’s metal badge so hard it hurts my fingers. They won’t have sent Finn straight out - it’s only been two days, there’s no way.

  ‘I suppose we’ll have to go back to Colemere Row,’ Klaus says as he scans the crowd. His frown deepens. ‘God, I need a drink.’

  I don’t think he meant me to hear that part, muttered under his breath, but I snort. ‘Yeah,’ I say, bitterly. ‘That makes two of us.’

  We end up catching each other’s eyes. A weird moment passes in which he’s not sneering and I’m not angry - we’re just looking at each other. And then I snap out of it.

  ‘I’m not going anywhere,’ I say, turning away to survey the fast-emptying market. My heart’s still beating quickly from the shock of the flare. ‘I need to find a tailors.’

  ‘A tailors?’ Klaus repeats in a flat voice.

  I look down at my shirt and threadbare trousers. ‘I need scholar’s robes, don’t I? To get into the University.’ That’s what Thesp said, anyway. He said it was against the rules to wear normal clothing - everyone has to wear stupid black robes, even when they’re just walking from building to building. Sounds like bullshit to me, but considering my badge has someone else’s name and is dated to forty years ago, the last thing I want is to stick out.

  ‘You’re not going to find a tailors that can do scholar’s robes in Mid,’ Klaus says. The fact that he doesn’t immediately negate it confirms Thesp was telling the truth.

  ‘Why not?’ I frown at him.

  ‘The University is in Top. Most of the people who go there are from Top. Ergo—’

  ‘Alright, fine,’ I say, before he can get all smarmy. ‘Do you think I can get away with this at the gate though?’

  Klaus’s gaze skims from my hair, all the way to my scuffed boots. For some reason my cheeks grow warm. ‘I presume you’ve got a badge?’ he says.

  I fumble in my pocket and draw it out. It looks like a large silver coin, around the size of my fist. Klaus holds out his hand expectantly and then rolls his eyes when I refuse to give it to him. He peers closer, eyebrows furrowed.

  ‘How on earth did you get a scholar’s badge?’ he murmurs as he reads the front. ‘Did you steal it? You must have done. And who’s Theodore Hammond?’

  ‘I didn’t steal it,’ I say, drawing it back. ‘Someone gave it to me.’

  ‘Right,’ Klaus says, straightening with his eyebrows raised. ‘Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. No, they won’t let you in with this. If they check the date, they’ll see it’s twenty years too old.’

  My thumb worries against the edge of the badge. ’I heard they don’t check it that closely.’

  ‘Perhaps they wouldn’t, if you looked like a student. But you don’t. You couldn’t even make a cleaner, like this.’

  I stare at him for a beat, then step forward and slam my heel into the toe of his stupid pointed shoe.

  He jolts backwards and almost trips up the curb.

  ‘Be nicer to me,’ I tell him, smiling through my teeth.

  He glares up at me. ‘What are you, twelve?’

  ’You’re supposed to be helping me,’ I remind him. ‘So help.’

  ‘You’re making it very difficult,’ Klaus says through a clenched jaw.

  There are barely any more people around us - we need to go somewhere before the Peacers start wondering what we’re doing.

  Klaus clearly has the same thought as me, as he sighs. ‘Just follow me,’ he says, turns, and cuts through to the next street.

  I stare after him, tongue pressing into my teeth. Didn’t he want the Edelweiss? Why is he suddenly walking off like that - like he’s so confident I’m just going to trot after him, like a dog at his heels?

  Half of me wants to leg it. He’s already told me some useful information - namely that I’ll have to get the robes from Top, which means the next hurdle is getting through the gate. And I don’t trust him. If getting into the University is so dangerous for him, why did he accept my ultimatum so easily?

  ‘Hurry up,’ Klaus calls over his shoulder without bothering to look back.

  I take a slow, calming breath, and stride after him. If he’s so important than maybe he can get me through into Top. I’ll just have to be careful.

  ‘What’s your name then?’ Klaus says when I catch him up. ‘I’ve been calling you thief in my head, but I suppose I can’t do that forever.’

  I hesitate, reluctant. ‘Addie.’

  He looks at me out the corner of his eye. ‘That’s a lot letters for someone from Under.’

  I bite my tongue. ‘Are you always such a fucking asshole?’

  ‘Charming,’ Klaus says, like I’ve proven some point.

  ‘Well, don’t act like a fucking asshole then.’

  He clucks his teeth. ‘You know we don’t swear here, it’s seen as uncouth.’

  ‘Uncouth,’ I repeat. ‘But you don’t mind tying people to a wall and shoving biomech in their ears?’

  That shuts him up.

  I look stubbornly ahead. I need to stop reacting to the stuff he says, especially as I know he’s only saying it to get a rise out of me. From now on, I’ll just ignore it when he makes a shitty comment.

  I make myself feel better by thinking about the ‘Edelweiss’ around my neck. Here he is, walking with me side by side, when what he really wants is actually right in front of him. He could reach out and take it, but he can’t, because he’s an idiot.

  ‘Why are you smiling?’ Klaus says after a few moments. He sounds suspicious.

  I roll my eyes, keeping the smile in place by way of gritted teeth. ‘Is that uncouth too?’

  His nose wrinkles. ‘No, it’s just… you look weird.’

  ‘Why don’t we just stop talking?’ I suggest. ‘Then you won’t say something rude and unhelpful, and I won’t have to knee you in the balls again.’

  He recoils, and says something under his breath which I try not to catch.

  I then unfortunately remember that I’m following him with no idea where we’re going. He’s leading us through more streets, in towards a part of the city I’ve never been in before - more tall white houses and dark arches windows. It looks residential.

  I clear my throat. ‘Where are we going then? Is it somewhere we can find robes?’

  ‘I thought you didn’t want to talk?’ he says. ‘We’re going to my safe house. Someone there can get you robes.’

  ‘Safe house? I thought you were a Laufey.’

  ‘That’s exactly why I have a safe house.’

  ‘Convicts also have safe houses,’ I say lightly.

  ‘I thought you said we should stop talking?’

  I roll my eyes and follow him in silence.

  We walk for ten minutes or so before we reach the house. It’s in the middle of a terraced row, tall and proud with two white columns. He walks up the stone steps then raps the door knocker, which is old brass and shaped like a lion’s head.

  I wait down on the street, my arms folded. ‘Aren’t you supposed to be hiding?’ I say.

  The door swings open before he can reply. A woman with coppery brown hair blinks at Klaus, then ducks her head in a short bow. She’s dressed in normal Mid clothes - green trousers and a blouse - but I recognise hierarchy when I see it. She works for him.

  They trade a few words, then Klaus looks back over his shoulder. ‘Do you want robes or not?’ he says, arching an eyebrow.

  I glance down the empty street in both directions, then walk up the steps. I’ll be fine. I have a smoke bomb, and my knife, and the key - and Klaus won’t hurt me. Not whilst he thinks I’ve got the Edelweiss hidden away.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  The copper-haired woman stands back as approach, clearly curious. She’s only a few years older than me, with sharp, pointy features, shiny hair spilling down her back.

  I follow Klaus past her, into a narrow hallway that smells faintly musky, like wood polish. It’s not the kind of house I’m used to: there’s framed art on the walls, and a vase full of flowers in the hall, and nothing’s broken or cracked or peeling. He said it was a safehouse, but someone clearly lives here full-time.

  We go through the first door on the left, into a sitting room. It’s wide and spacious, with three red velvet chairs positioned around a coffee table, the surface covered with newspapers. I’m tentative as I step further in, the sounds of my boots muffled by thick cream carpet. Why anyone would have a carpet that colour is beyond me - already I’m scuffing it up with mud.

  Klaus goes straight to one of the chairs and folds his long legs into a seat. He flaps a lazy hand at me. ‘Sit.’

  I don’t, because I’m petty, and instead perch on one of the armrests, arms folded. I’m trying not to seem overwhelmed, like this sort of wealth is normal to me, but really I want to look around at all the weird shit they’ve got in here. There’s a grandfather clock in the corner. Pretty glass trinkets on the windowsill. On the coffee table is crystal-gold ash tray that glitters in the sunlight.

  Klaus turns to the copper-haired woman, who’s lingering near the door. ‘We need scholar’s robes for her,’ he tell her, nodding at me. ‘And a badge for the gate. And some lunch, I should think.’

  The woman nods and peers at me again, this time much more closely. I think she’s assessing me for size, so I let my arms drop, raising my eyebrows. Her cheeks turn faintly pink and she frowns, but after a while she slips soundlessly from the room.

  ‘Who’s she?’ I ask Klaus as soon as the door shuts.

  ‘Emily,’ Klaus says. ‘She owns the house.’

  ‘And she just lets you order her around like a servant?’

  ‘I’m not ordering her around like a servant.’ The chair creaks as Klaus relaxes back into it. ‘She’s merely repaying a debt.’

  ‘You didn’t even introduce her,’ I say. I’m not sure why I feel the need to defend her, but his casual dismissal is pissing me off.

  ‘You’re not supposed to be here, remember? The less people you speak to, the better.’

  But I’m in her house, I want to point out, but remember I decided not to argue. Instead I take a seat, in the armchair, sinking down with a sigh. It feels good to sit down. I’m tired - and hungry. I’m glad he asked for food. I wipe the sweat off my forehead with my elbow and prop my chin in my palm.

  The room lapses into quiet. No footsteps, no hum of automobile traffic or conversation from the market. Just the faint tick of the clock from the corner. My foot begins to tap the ground. I can feel Klaus looking at me, the heavy weight of his gaze.

  ‘Who do you need to find in the University then?’ he asks eventually. ‘I might know them.’

  My foot stills. ‘He’s called Tom,’ I say slowly.

  ‘Tom who?’

  ‘I don’t know. I don’t know his last name. I just know he said he was doing research at the University.’

  ‘Right,’ Klaus says, words oily with sarcasm. ‘Well, that narrows it down.’

  I sigh and sit up in my seat. ‘He’s tall, with short dark hair and dark brown eyes.’ I look at Klaus, up and down, unimpressed. ‘Attractive.’

  ‘Oh god,’ Klaus says, lips quirking. ‘He’s your boyfriend, isn’t he? How tragic. A forbidden romance.’

  ‘He’s a friend,’ I snap, but the damage is done and I can feel the heat in my face. ‘He was with my brother when he got taken.’

  ‘Taken by whom?’

  I look down at my hands on my lap, the faint white lines in the creases where chemetal has bleached my skin. There’s dirt under my nails from climbing the tree. They look out of place next to the red velvet. All of me does: I am out of place.

  I need to tell him if he’s going to help me.

  ‘The reason I wanted the biomech is for my brother, Finn. He’s missing three fingers - he was going to use it to make a prosthetic for his hand. But last night… two days ago,’ I correct, ‘we got jumped by the Flock on the way back from the pub.’

  ‘The Flock,’ Klaus frowns. ‘Where have I heard that before?’

  ’They’re a religious group in Under. They, uh… they had a Katerakt. They were going to feed us to it. Then something went wrong and the warehouse we were in blew up. When I woke up I heard Tom talking to someone. They were telling him and Finn to get into an automobile. And he said he was a researcher from the University. Then I passed out again. So now I need to find Finn - and the one person who might know where he is is Tom.’

  For a while, Klaus stares at me, wordless. I can’t tell what kind of expression he wears, I don’t know him well enough, and he’s good at hiding his thoughts. Then all of a sudden he snorts. ‘That’s ridiculous,’ he says.

  My fingers clench into fists on my lap.

  ‘So you thought you’d just waltz into the University and ask for him?’ Klaus continues, shaking his head. ‘To have the confidence of a little urchin from Under.’

  ‘Watch it,’ I grit out, but he something’s set him off. He leans forward, elbows on his knees, and smiles.

  The air in the room changes. I don’t know if it’s because he’s back in his comfort zone, but the fine hairs on my neck stand up. That old instinct inside of me is telling me to pay attention. Dangerous, it’s saying.

  He’s smiling, but his eyes are cold.

  ‘Tell you what, Addie,’ Klaus says in a soft, low voice. ‘Why don’t I save you some time, hm? I’ll find Tom for you. I’ll even find your brother. I can have people out looking for the both of them. You can wait right here for them. All I need from you is the Edelweiss - the ring. You give me that, and you can have both of them without needing to lift a finger.’

  I can hear the slow thump of my heart in my ears. Thoughts race through my brain but I keep my face straight.

  I want to believe him. It would solve it all so easily, just like he said. The ring is right here, I’m hyper-conscious of its weight on my sternum, and all I would need to do is unbutton my shirt and pull it out.

  But I just—

  I don’t buy it.

  I swallow, lean forward myself. I’m not afraid of you, I’m saying. ‘I’ll give you the ring if you give me Finn,’ I say. ‘Once he’s here—‘

  Klaus cuts me off. ‘I don’t think so. You’ll just slither away, won’t you? No, you give me the ring first. Then I’ll get your brother.’

  I consider it. Giving him the ring. Giving him the only bargaining chip I have - the only thing that gives me any sort of power over any of them.

  ‘What proof do you have that you can find him?’ I ask after a few moments.

  Klaus smile stretches, his eyes dark. ‘I’ve told you, I’m a Laufey.’

  ‘That doesn’t mean anything to me.’

  He shrugs, nonchalant. ‘It should.’

  ‘The ring’s in Under,’ I try. ‘I’d have to go back and get it.’

  ‘That’s fine. I’ll come with you and we can get it together.’

  I don’t want him to come with me. ‘Even with the flare?’

  ‘We can go in the morning,’ Klaus says. ‘We’ll know by then if they’ve broken through.’

  I lick my lips and watch him. ‘I give you the ring, you find Finn,’ I say, just to hear him confirm it.

  ‘Exactly. Win-win.’

  ‘But how are you going to do that? You can’t go into the University. You said Bauman will kill you.’

  Klaus snorts. ‘He’ll only kill me if he manages to get me alone again. If I stay in public spaces, I’ll be fine.’

  I frown. ‘But the Peacers, at the market…’

  ‘Oh, he’ll kill you,’ Klaus says flippantly. ‘And you’re easier to catch. Which is why going to Top is a stupid idea.’

  I sit back in the chair.

  ‘But I won’t be going,’ Klaus says. ‘I told you, I’ll send people to find him.’

  ‘You can do that?’ I say doubtfully.

  ‘Yes,’ he says.

  The door opens, and a man comes through, pushing a trolley. He’s older, mid forties, with a neat beard, wearing a black suit and white gloves. ‘Excuse me,’ he murmurs, keeping his gaze down. ‘The cook is preparing lunch, but in the meantime Miss Emily thought you might enjoy some tea and cake.’

  At that I physically turn in my chair. There’s a steaming porcelain teapot and a layered tray thing made out of shining silver, which has a bunch of small cakes and sandwiches on it. My mouth instantly pools with saliva.

  ‘Over here,’ Klaus says, bored, and gestures to the table between us.

  I watch as the trays and teacups and all the rest of it are carefully deposited in front of us.

  ‘Thanks,’ I tell the butler as soon as he steps back, then grab a little sandwich and stuff it in my mouth. Now that food’s in front of me, I realise how hungry I am. It’s been days, literally days, since I last ate. The sandwich isn’t the best thing I’ve ever tasted - it’s a bit like a wet, cucumber-flavoured cloud, which definitely isn’t going to fill me up - but the next one, some sort of small baked cake with raisins, is great.

  Klaus reaches out drops a plate onto my lap. ‘Here,’ he says in a dry voice, watching me with morbid fascination. ‘You might want one of these.’

  ‘I’m hungry,’ I defend through my mouthful.

  ‘Yes. I can see that.’ He wrinkles his nose, blinking away from my mouth. ‘Unfortunately.’

  I ignore him as he pours himself tea, focusing on shovelling food in my mouth. After a few more sandwiches, I can slow down. Klaus has poured me tea too, so I pick it up and take a few thirsty gulps. He’s probably not poisoned it. If he does, he can kiss his Edelweiss goodbye.

  …and that’s a good reminder.

  ‘So,’ I say, swallowing. ‘Tell me about the Edelweiss. Why’s it going to kill a bunch of people?’

  Klaus takes a leisurely sip of his tea, then replaces it on the saucer with brisk, graceful movements. I have another dizzying moment of surreality - that I’m sitting in a house in Mid, with some scientist from Top, having tea.

  ‘I don’t really want to tell you,’ he says.

  I sigh and take a biscuit. ‘I might be more inclined to help you if you do. If I understood the gravity of it all.’ Namely, what the hell this thing around my neck is.

  His eyes narrow, and he crosses one long leg over the other, regarding me. In the daylight pouring in through the blinds, his eyes have turned molten and cat-like, his hair almost white. He’s striking. It’s probably for the best he’s not going to go into Top with me.

  ‘Fine,’ he says reluctantly. ‘All you need to know is that it can detect magic.’

  My brow furrows. ‘I thought they made that up. Magic, and the Six, and all of that.’

  ‘No,’ Klaus says. He’s not smiling. ‘They didn’t. It’s real.’

  I take my tea, clasp it in my hands to feel the warmth of the cup. ‘The Six is real?’

  Klaus gives me a long, considering look, longer than is technically polite. He sighs. ‘What’s the harm?’ he murmurs, then takes a biscuit. ‘Yes. There were six families with the ability to use magic. One for each of the elements: fire, water, earth, air, ether, insight. They ruled Erudict, hundreds of years ago. The original city is mainly preserved in Under, which is why sometimes there are research trips there.’

  I stiffen, but Klaus doesn’t notice. He’s tipped into lecturing mode. Tom said he was the leader of a department or something didn’t he? I can imagine it.

  ‘Science progressed to the point where democracy should have been feasible. Magic and science were almost equal - it made sense to have the Dean of the University, to have some kind of meritocratic council. But the Six didn’t want to give up their power. And they were headed, at the time, by an incredibly powerful mage, who was incredibly power hungry. He began to kill those who opposed them. Wiped out any scientists he deemed a threat by turning their own minds against them. But one of them, as you probably know—‘ Klaus meets my eye—’found something that could stop him.’

  I know this part. ‘Chemetal,’ I say.

  Klaus nods. ‘He found chemetal, and realised that it was poisonous to those with magic. The city, the scientists, fought back. And one by one, the Six were bought to justice.’

  ‘And by bought to justice, you mean killed,’ I say.

  ‘Yes. Killed in the Red Courtyard.’ Klaus takes a bite of his biscuit, and then spends an irritating length of time chewing and swallowing. ‘But not all of them. Some lesser members managed to escape. And they mingled with the population of common folk, and they interbred. So there are some people in the population with magic. Technically. It’s low-level, certainly not enough to wield. But it’s there.’

  My brain puts together the rest of what he said, before. ‘The ring can detect it? And Bauman wants to use it—’

  ‘The ring can amplify it,’ Klaus glares at my interruption. ‘It has to amplify it to detect it. Originally I was exploring it because I thought it had potential in synthesising a stronger type of chemetal. Bauman encouraged me. And just before I completed it, he let slip what he was actually planning to use it for.’

  ‘You said genocide, before,’ I say, biting my lip. ‘Does that mean he wants to kill people with magic? Why? What’s the point, if they can’t use it?’

  ‘If you would just listen instead of interrupting, maybe I could explain,’ Klaus scowls. I hold the eye roll back by force of will. ’There’s not enough chemetal to fight the Katerakts forever. The new dig sites barely yielded anything. We’re running out.’

  I know that better than he does; I hold my tongue though.

  ‘It’s been hypothesised,’ he says guardedly, ‘that most of the people with traces of magic live in Under.’ A pause - he’s looking at my face, watching for my reaction. ‘Where, conveniently, there is a lot of chemetal. In a rather large wall.’

  My whole body stiffens as I stare at him, my throat suddenly thick.

  Klaus doesn’t say anything further. He doesn’t need to.

  ‘You’re joking,’ I say, putting the cup back on the plate too hard. Tea sloshes out over the rim.

  Cool silver eyes don’t flinch. ‘So now you see why I really need that ring,’ Klaus says softly.

  ‘Are you- He wants to take our wall?’ The words don’t feel real in my mouth. I almost want to laugh at how utterly ridiculous it is. Only it’s not ridiculous, because this is Top. They would do something like that. I know they would.

  Klaus shrugs. ‘I think that’s what he would suggest to the council, if he thought he had some sort of proof. Something the citizens could get behind. And people are scared - with the walls getting blown up, the flares going off, even when there’s still daylight. Scared people are willing to look the other way.’

  ‘But that’s—‘ I wet my lips and try to swallow around the knot in my throat. ‘They can’t do that.’

  ’Oh yes they can,’ Klaus says, and pops the rest of the biscuit in his mouth.