“Baby Greg?” Greg raised an eyebrow at Doran who squeezed his shoulder.

  “Yeah.” He nodded toward the booth at the back of the balcony they were heading toward. “Kael started calling you that after you told us you were a couple weeks old. Don’t find a lot of mad lads running from hordes of frost kissed in the middle of the night, so I guess you left an impression.”

  “Celestials are bad news, Greg. If you’re planning on raiding a nightclub full of criminals you’ll need help, but maybe there is a different course of action?” Isabella warned from his mind.

  Kael grinned wide from the booth and stood as they approached. The silver braid and alabaster skin of the woman sitting across from him were unmistakable, even with her back to him.

  “Baby Greg!” Kael batted away his hand when Greg went to shake it and scooped him up in a hug. Outside of saving him, these people barely knew him. The only one he’d had any other interaction with being Seraphae, and he wasn’t even certain he’d call that pleasant. For some reason, they were all very enthused to see him. “Come on, grab some leather.”

  Greg slid into the booth after Doran, Kael taking the end again after he was situated. He glanced up at Seraphae, her thin pink lips curled into an amused smile. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and sat down his tankard.

  “Thanks for helping me out back there. I don’t think he would have told me anything without your help.” Greg said looking over at Doran.

  “No worries,” Doran bumped him with his shoulder and grabbed his own glass off the table half full of a bright pink cocktail. “How about you tell us what you’re doing looking into frost.”

  He swallowed and found himself looking across the table again. Seraphae’s expression had not changed, though she did square her shoulders in his direction. “Uhh…yeah, sure. Why not?”

  “Be careful what you say here.” Isabella said, obviously suspicious of Seraphae, but clarifying a deeper concern. “These people don’t know that you’re summoned. Whatever motivation you tell them needs to make sense without exposing you.”

  Greg finished off his ale and cleared his throat. “After you guys saved me from the horde that day, I started looking into the frost kissed a little more. My mentor gave me some details, and once I got a little stronger, I started looking for leads to see if I could do something about it.”

  Kael nodded a little, obviously inspecting him. “You look a little stronger than the last time we saw you, I think. Maybe not busting open a crime ring strong though. Did we hear right you fought one of the Rillon kid’s lackeys?”

  Greg frowned. Word got around fast. “Yeah, I did.”

  “Heard you beat him pretty handily,” Doran added.

  “I guess so.” He shrugged. “I mostly ran away until I got him alone, then teleported around and stuck him a few times.” That was definitely not all he did, and if they’d heard the story they’d know that, but he’d prefer not to keep going over it.

  The three of them were quiet, exchanging glances for a few seconds like they were having a silent conversation before Kael finally nodded. “Greg, the adventuring community is small. May not seem that way, since you’re embroiled in it, but if you look around…most people are just normal folks. The only thing smaller than the adventuring community is the Gifted community. There’s usually a lot of overlap there, but my point being, when something happens with a Gifted, even in a city as big as Rhobair, word travels fast.”

  “In other words.” Seraphae crossed her arms, returning to her reclined position. “We heard the story, and we just want to know what actually happened. You’re not going to find any friends of the Rillon’s at this table.”

  Greg tipped his tankard, checking to see if anything was left inside before sighing. “If it’s all the same to you guys, I’d prefer to talk business then get out of here. Not a big fan of bars, and Brannoc gave me strict instructions to stay away from spots I might run into any Rillons again.”

  “Boo!” Kael slurred. “Come on, you gotta at least tell us if the hells really opened up around you.”

  “Kael!” Doran and Seraphae snapped at him.

  “Sorry, Greg. He can be a bit of an asshole when he drinks.” Doran added.

  “I’m not being an asshole! I’m just curious. Don’t get a lot of Gifted on Gifted violence around here, especially not with such wild rumors.” Kael tried to defend himself, but the other two members of his team gave him a flat look. “Fine, whatever. Business, I guess.”

  “Zilrin told us he thinks the gang that’s been using him to transport their frost operates out of Lux Noctis.” Doran’s glare faded as he looked away from Kael to Greg again. “Even with the four of us, hitting a nightclub full of artifact wielding criminals feels like a bad idea.”

  “We could stake out the warehouse.” Greg said. “Probably be a lot safer, but we don’t have any kind of a timeframe for when the batch is going to be.”

  “Seems like a nublar hunt.” Seraphae shook her head. “The club is the better bet. We just need more people.”

  Kael made a dismissive hissing noise and down the rest of his drink. “We don’t need more people. What are they going to do to us? Who are we talking about?”

  Greg blinked, eyes shifting from Kael to his companions. “Is he okay?”

  “Just an idiot.” Doran shook his head and pulled a leather pouch from somewhere within the formfitting vest. He slid a couple gold obols across the table like it was chump change. “Kael, could you go grab us another round?”

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  Kael scooped up the coins and rubbed them between his fingers as he stood. With a flourish of his hand, the coins vanished. “Idiot couldn’t do that, could they?” He clicked his tongue and pointed at them. “Be right back.”

  “Sorry about him.” Doran made eye contact with Seraphae whose lips twitched but otherwise didn’t respond, before looking back at him. “Getting another group of adventurers is going to be a pain in the ass. Especially after they hear where we’re going. I hate to say it, but this might be a justicar job.”

  “You think it will be that dangerous going in there?” Greg asked.

  Doran sighed, but before he could respond, Seraphae spoke up. “Lux Noctis is a popular spot for less…civil clientele. Some of that clientele are also adventurers, and some of those adventurers are also Gifted.”

  “Not to mention, Ynes Jan’s kid runs the place, so they’re up to their ears in artifacts.” Doran added.

  “Okay.” Greg’s voice perked up once more with fleeting hope. “What about the warehouse? I can scout it out, is there some way I can contact you guys if I find anything?”

  They exchanged a glance again, and Seraphae nodded. “Sure.” She reached into the bag at her side and slid a smooth river stone across the table to him. “That’s a message stone. It will deliver a message directly to mine.” She indicated her ear, where a tiny version of the same stone had been punched into the concha.

  While he wanted to trust they weren’t screwing him, he didn’t. So he glanced at the stone to scan it.

  “Smart.”

  Scanning…

  Message Stone

  An ordinary stone that has been enchanted to provide one message to the origin stone. Simply squeeze and speak, and the holder of the origin stone will receive the message as if you are speaking directly to them.

  Greg put the stone into his inventory space and nodded to her. “Thanks.” He glanced over to the stairs and looked down at the table. Not exactly according to plan, but at least something was being done. “I don’t know how to report something to the justicars.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Doran gave him a smile full of pity. “We’ll take care of it. I know you were looking forward to doing something with that information, but it’s better this way.”

  Greg gnawed at the inside of his cheek but nodded. “No, I know. Thanks for the help.” He stood up. “I’m gonna go before Kael decides to pepper me with more questions.”

  Seraphae stood up with him. “I’ll walk you out.”

  Greg looked her up and down a moment, then remembered suddenly and turned back to Doran. “Oh, this is dumb, but my roommate wanted to know if she could meet you. I told her I’d ask the next time I saw you.”

  “She cute?” Doran raised his eyebrows, lips pursed.

  Greg cocked his head slightly, but nodded. “Yeah, I mean…she’s my friend, but if you’re into buff, short girls?”

  “She Gifted?”

  Greg shook his head, drawing a deep sigh from Doran. “That’s bad?”

  “No,” he said in a way that made it clear it was. “I can’t date nulls. Creates a weird power dynamic. Happy to meet her though.”

  He’d never heard them called nulls before, but it wasn’t a stretch to figure out what he meant. He hadn’t considered a possible power dynamic issue between Gifted and those that weren’t but there certainly was.

  After a quick farewell to Doran, he made his way down the spiral staircase again followed by Seraphae. Kael had found a seat at the bar and was downing shots, not even noticing them as they walked back. Greg took a deep breath as the cool air coming off the sea hit him and the heavy wood door closed behind.

  “You’re not great at following directions, are you?” Seraphae asked, stepping up to his side and grinning over at him.

  “I used to be.” He chuckled before smiling back at her. “Been a point of contention with myself lately if I’m honest though.”

  Seraphae let out an airy chuckle and spoke again, her voice just above a whisper. “I told you to leave the frost kissed to me until you were stronger.”

  “Told you.” Isabella said before pulled up his character sheet and extending his skills to indicate one that had not activated since he’d gotten it currently gaining experience.

  Anchor to Self (Passive)

  Level 1 (27 of 100)

  You’ve been alone in the dark before. Your mind is hard to breach.

  This passive ability increases resistance to charm effects. Charm effects include any attempt to alter your attitude to view the source of the effect in a positive light. Will not stop outright mind control.

  She was using some kind of charm ability on him. That’s why he showed up at Brannoc’s instead of going to the apartment. He bit down on his tongue to stop himself from confronting her in that moment about it. If she didn’t know he knew, that put him in a better position.

  “You’re going to go home, have a nice hot shower, and forget all about this Frost kissed nonsense. Your biggest problem is Horatio Rillon.” Her fingers slid into the shaggy hair at the nape of his neck, and she leaned down to kiss his cheek gently. “The Mother asked me to keep you safe…so I need you to listen this time.”

  He swallowed hard. He couldn’t remember how he’d reacted the last time she’d done this. It was all so hazy. She said to go home, so that’s what he was going to pretend to do. At this point he needed to do something, not just stare at her like an idiot. He turned away and started to walk before she grabbed his hand.

  “Greg.” She turned him around, brilliant blue irises staring down at him. “Be safe. If you ever need me…use the stone.” She kissed his knuckles before letting him go and retreating into the Salt Lick.

  Fighting the urge to watch her go, Greg turned and walked away immediately. He needed to keep selling the idea that whatever charm she’d been using had worked. At least until he cleared the area.

  “Not showing your hand there was a good decision. Color me impressed.” Isabella said as he stepped into the bright lights of the entertainment ring. “Now you know that hussy is up to no good.”

  “Hussy?” Greg whispered to himself. He pulled the duster tight around him, the soft fur protecting instantly squelching the sudden chill. “Little rude, don’t you think?”

  “She was just using some charm ability on you, and I’m the one being rude?” Isabella sounded aghast.

  “In this situation, rudeness isn’t mutually exclusive.” Greg said.

  The streets of the entertainment district were normally packed, but winter was here, and apparently that meant foot traffic went down significantly. Excellent news for him as he didn’t have to worry about anyone hearing him talk to himself. “What did she mean the mother asked her to keep me safe?”

  “She’s a celestial. She could have parentage from a minor god I’m not aware of, but The Mother is almost always referring to Rauth, the Mother Below.”

  “The same goddess Maeve worships?” Greg asked.

  “Yes, but don’t go thinking that makes her one of the good guys,” Isabella said firmly. “In my experience, celestials do not have the same morals we do. They will follow the orders of their parents without question.”

  “I get it, you’ve got history with celestials. Doesn’t…” The thought faded as a sign caught his attention. The corner building reminded him of a cinema with its large wrap around advertisement. The background was black, and in bold white letters it spelled out ‘Lux Noctis’ then underneath ‘Current Act: Jewels Lightfoot’. Revolving doors occupied the corner of the building beneath the advert. A bouncer on either side was minding a line of people shivering and waiting to get inside.

  “They were right about not going in there alone. Looks like suicide. I’d prefer we go back to working the streets.”

  “That could take forever.” Greg complained. “I’d rather scope out the warehouse.”

  “They only said you could do that because it’s a waste of time.”

  “I know.” Greg frowned, looking back at the nightclub as they passed. “But Zilrin’s warehouse isn’t the only one at the docks. Do you know where I can get a lock picking skill book?”