Elemental Thief

Chapter 5

"Archer Davenport?" Ridley's friend Meera repeated the following morning as they sat together on the couch in Meera's family's living room. "Seriously? What was he doing behind your building?"

"He was probably lost," Ridley said, hugging one of the threadbare cushions to her chest. "I mean, it's a long way from the top of Aura Tower to a back alley in Demmer District. Easy for a rich boy to take a wrong turn and lose his way." Her tone was light, but Meera's question was the same one that had been plaguing Ridley's mind as she tried to fall asleep the night before.

What was Archer doing in that alley?

Had he ended up there by chance? Wrong place, wrong time? Or did he actually know the man who'd been following Ridley earlier that afternoon? She kept thinking back on the few seconds she'd seen them standing together. They'd been speaking, she was sure of it, but she hadn't seen enough to be able to tell if they knew each other.

"Okay—so—wait." Meera sat up straighter, looped her long black hair behind her ears, and pushed her owl-like glasses up her nose. "Archer Davenport was in your store, and then you saw him in the alley behind your building talking to some stranger seconds before that stranger ended up dead—killed by a knife with magic on it. And now Archer, who can't have performed any magical conjuration himself because it's been confirmed he still has both his amulets, has been charged with the murder."

"Yes. Mrs. Longbourne said she saw the stranger, the knife in his chest, and Archer standing right in front of him. No one else." Ridley frowned. "Haven't you looked at the social feeds today? Or the news?"

"No! Anika's got some educational documentary on." Meera gestured to their old TV, where the ocean from a time before the Cataclysm moved across the screen while a soothing British voice spoke about whales and dolphins and other species on the brink of extinction. "And she's not even watching it," Meera groaned, climbing off the couch and picking up the remote from beside her eleven-year-old sister. Anika lay on her stomach on the floor, her chin propped up on her palms as she read a book. Meera exited the documentary and opened a news app. She started scrolling through the various recent stories.

"Well, it's not like you need to see it now that I've told you all about it," Ridley pointed out.

"True." Meera lowered the remote. "So ..." She shook her head again, as if still trying to wrap it around everything Ridley had just told her. "Wow. Alastair Davenport must be furious. It can't be good for the public image when your son winds up accused of killing someone and getting involved with magic. Though why you'd need to put magic on a knife that you're about to stab someone with, I have no idea. Wait—" Her hand flew out and smacked down on Ridley's knee as her eyes widened. "Do you think they'll give Archer the death penalty for this? I mean, he couldn't have pulled the magic himself, so at least he didn't break that law, but the crime is magic-related."

"I don't know. I doubt it. Someone else without an AI2 must have applied the magic to the knife and given it to Archer. That isn't enough to earn Archer the death penalty, is it? And no one actually saw him stab the man, so I'm sure that charge won't stick for long."

"But it must have been him, right? Who else could have done it if he was the only one there?"

"Yeah ..." Ridley said slowly. But there was someone else who could have done it: the blond figure she'd seen running from the scene. She hadn't mentioned that bit to Meera. She was ninety-nine percent certain she recognized the guy, but she didn't want to start a rumor if it might not be true.

"This is crazy," Meera continued. "Archer Davenport, charged with both murder and possession of an illegal magical item. And he just got back," she added, as if this somehow made it worse. She tilted her head. "When did he get back?"