“I still don’t understand what they are.” I tore up some bread. “Are they anything like the Rephaim?”

“I’ve heard stories. The red-jackets like scaring us.” The firelight played across her face. “They say the Emim take on different forms. Just being near them can kill you. Some say they can rip your spirit straight out of your body. Some call them rotting giants, whatever that means. Others say they’re walking bones that need skin to cover themselves. I don’t know how much of it is true, but they definitely eat human flesh. They’re addicted to it. Don’t be surprised if you see a few missing limbs out there.”

I should have been sickened; instead I was numb. It just didn’t seem real. Liss reached over to adjust the curtain, concealing us from the people outside. A stack of colored silk caught my eye.

“You’re the contortionist,” I said.

“Did you think I was good?”

“Very good.”

“That’s how I earn my flatches here. Lucky for me I picked it up quickly—used to busk near the penny gaff.” She licked her lips clean. “I saw you with Pleione last night. Your aura was a talking point.”

I didn’t say anything. It was dangerous to talk about my aura, especially when I’d only just met this girl.

Liss studied me. “Are you sighted?”

“No.” That was true.

“What were you arrested for?”

“I killed someone. An Underguard.” True.

“How?”

“Knife,” I said. “Heat of the moment.” False.

Liss looked at me for a long time. She was full-sighted, typical of soothsayers. She could see my red aura as clearly as my face. If she’d read up on the subject, she’d know which category I fell into.

“I don’t think so.” Her fingers drummed on the floor. “You’ve never spilled that much blood.”

She was good, for a soothsayer.

“You’re not an oracle,” she stated, more to herself than to me. “I’ve seen oracles. You’re too calm to be a fury, and you’re definitely not a medium. So you must be”—recognition dawned in her eyes—“a dreamwalker.” Her gaze returned to mine. “Are you?”

I held her eye contact. Liss sat back on her heels.

“Well, that solves it.”

“What?”

“Why Arcturus took you on. Nashira has never found a walker, and she really wants one. She’ll want to make sure you’re protected. Nobody will touch you if you’re his human. If she thinks there’s the slightest chance that you might be a walker, she’ll do you right down.”

“How so?”

“You won’t like this.”

I doubted anything could surprise me now.

“Nashira has a gift,” Liss said. “Did you notice that weird aura coming off her?” I nodded. “She doesn’t just have one ability. She walks several different paths to the æther.”

“That’s impossible. We all have one gift.”

“You know reality? Forget it. Sheol I has its own rules. Accept that now and everything will be easier.” She pulled her battered knees up to her chin. “Nashira has five guardian angels. Somehow she gets them to stay with her.”