As the sunset’s gold faded from the world, Magdala reached the place where Walton ended and the merchants’ myriad tents began. The smoke and scent of hundreds of cooking fires and ovens filled the air, preparing to fuel the lifeblood of Soura. Magdala’s stomach growled. After skipping dinner, sneaking past Taylor, and using magic to create the concussive potions clinking in her cloak, she was starving. She should have grabbed a snack before she left, although considering how long it had taken to change out of that blue dress and into her traveling clothes, maybe it was for the best.
But had it been a good idea to leave Taylor and Mei behind? Certainly the corporal could have carried many more of the concussive vials than Magdala, and the hunter could pass for a shadow. On the other hand, Mei’s skills shouldn’t be used on human beings, and Taylor was still recovering from that attack. It was better if they stayed out of this. Magdala could handle this alone. She would walk in, concussives in hand, and demand that the culprit turn themselves in. The law was on her side after all.
Pulling her cloak around herself, Magdala stopped in the long shadow of the shop, a gray wooden building with dark lampless windows that stared blankly into the burgeoning twilight. She shuddered. This place reminded her of the blank eyed statues that still stood watch underneath Yumma, but she pulled her shoulders back, marched up the steps, and knocked on the doors anyway.
There was no answer.
Magdala snorted. Had she expected someone to answer, even at this time of night? Sneaking up to the shop’s window, she squinted to see through the gloom and into the shop’s interior. The shelves were still full of books and knick knacks, a sign that the place hadn’t been abandoned yet. She could go home now; the shop’s owner was clearly out or asleep, but what if the culprit was still here, planning their next sinister move? Any hesitation here would put her lord uncle and all of Soura at risk. Magdala knocked on the door again, hard enough to wake the dead.
Again, silence.
Magdala sagged. “Well, that’s tha-“
An agonized moan sent ice down Magdala’s spine, and her hand was on the doorknob before she knew it, but she stopped herself from opening the door. Sure, maybe someone was trapped in there, but didn’t Fo magic require living bodies? Although if she broke in and nothing was wrong, she’d only endure embarrassment and have to pay some sort of fine, right? That was nothing next to saving a life. She jiggled the doorknob. It was locked. She took two steps back from the door, pulled a concussive out of her cloak, and weighed it in her hand. She could go back, find Mei and Taylor ,and then assault this place with them, but that would put those two in danger. Besides, she didn’t need their help. After backing up three more steps, Magdala threw the vial at the door and dove to the ground. When the blast’s noise had died away, she stood up and charged past the smashed doors and into the gloom of the shop.
Admaeus Speaks 
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