It was the second time in less than a month that he’d been happy to see the Guard arrive. Which said something about how his life was going.

Only now he had to avoid being taken himself. He pulled his sodden cap low on his head and pointed in a random direction, forcing his voice into a plaintive whine. “They went that way. Bloody street rats took my purse and threatened to cut my throat, they did! Hurry or they’ll get away.”

Han reasoned that if demons were mentioned, the bluejackets would be less likely to pursue.

The Guard charged off in the direction he pointed. “There’s a reward in it if you get my purse back!” he called after them, for good measure.

Han stumbled away on shaking legs in a completely different direction, not really watching where he was going, focusing only on putting distance between him and the place he’d encountered the demons.

As he ran, he noticed that his wrists were warm. When he yanked back his sleeves, he saw that the silver cuffs were glowing. What was that all about? Had the demons done something to him, done something to his cuffs? Could they use the cuffs to track him? Desperately, he tried to pry them off, mangling up his hands in the process, but with no more luck than any time before.

Thoughts spiraled through his mind. Who were the demons and why were they looking for Shiv? Had his sins been so great that the Breaker sent a special team of servants to claim him?

Or was it some kind of war among the Southies themselves? Or between the Southies and another gang? If so, he’d put his money on the side with the demons.

Finally, exhaustion made him slow his pace to a walk, and his pounding heart began to quiet. By then he was thoroughly lost. He looked up at the sky, but got a faceful of rain for his trouble. He sniffed the air. The stink of the river seemed to be behind him, so he should strike the town walls before long if he headed the other way.

A sudden flurry of sound behind him made him fling himself sideways. A body flew past him and hit the ground hard. At first Han thought it was the demons come back again. But no. This figure was much smaller than the demons had been—only a boy with a knife in his hand. Han released a long breath in relief, but then realized his troubles were far from over. The other boy was up like a cat and moving toward him, leading with the blade.

This can’t be happening, Han thought dispiritedly. Oh, go away, he felt like saying. I’m at my limit.

The boy came forward, passing under the streetlight, and Han started in surprise. It was Shiv Connor, looking gaunt and hollow-eyed, all of his manic confidence evaporated.