The man didn’t seem to know what to say, the broom’s bristles thumping to the floor. “I am required to report you if you break curfew. Or if you are caught by the Knightguard and it is discovered I knew of your act I will be considered just as guilty.”

“I know, but you won’t report me.”

“And why is that?”

Shim lifted the bag of coins and gave it a shake. Then he tossed it on a table. “You never saw me. Repeat it.”

“I never saw you,” the man said, eyes fixed on the pouch.

Shim went to the door, slid the bar away, unlocked it, and stepped out into the night. “Don’t forget the hot water for my companion,” he called over his shoulder on the way out.

Loris

The owner of The Milky Udder, one Loris Loriston, counted his coin, stacking it in neat piles by denomination. It was an unexpected boon requiring very little effort on his part. Enough to keep his suffering business going for a while longer, at least. The snakeman had been more generous than was necessary—he would’ve agreed to keep his mouth shut for half of what he was given—and yet Loris owed him no allegiance. The man, snake, whatever he was, didn’t belong here.

Which meant there was even more coin to be made. The Knightguard appreciated information and had always been willing to pay for it in the past. Before he did anything, however, he should check on the young woman. Whatever their relationship was, it wasn’t natural. For all he knew, the girl was a hostage.

And the gold-leafed markings on both their skin? They were queer and wrong.

With that in mind, he secured his newfound wealth in his lockbox and headed upstairs emptyhanded. He had no intention of heating water for her. What would the snakeman do about it? He knocked twice, lightly, so as not to give the girl a scare, and then waited. No call from within. No sound of feet creaking across the floorboards. Just…silence. Had she turned in early after the snakeman had left her alone?

“Hello?” he tried again, rapping harder and longer this time.

Still no response. “What the void?” he wondered aloud, fitting his skeleton key into the lock and then turning until it clicked. “This is the owner, Mister Loriston, I’m coming in to make sure you’re alright!” He waited a few beats longer before opening the door, just in case the girl wasn’t decent. The last thing he needed was an accusation of perversion made by a half-dressed young woman.

He needn’t have bothered. The room was empty. He frowned, searching the space for some clue as to how the girl had escaped when he’d witnessed only the snakeman leaving by way of the front door. Unless…

He rushed out of the room, down the opposite length of the hall, past all the unoccupied rooms, and then down the rear stairwell, one rarely used by guests as it led to his own quarters and the kitchens. It also led to a back exit, which the girl could’ve easily used while he was distracted by her companion.