“This place is so much bigger on the inside,” Lukas said, failing to keep the shock and awe out of his voice. “It’s bigger than your clinic, isn’t it?”

“I had to put a lifetime of things somewhere,” Esther replied nonchalantly. “They say you can’t take everything with you when you go. I strongly disagree.”

“Sounds like something a hoarder would say.” He followed her deeper into the house, moving past where the squat building should’ve ended. The bit past the door, probably a staging area, wasn’t huge and now seemed like a disguise, so people who got glimpses of within didn’t realize how much Esther had and owned. “Seriously. This place is amazing.”

Floating furniture and nick-nacks surrounded him. Beasts of all shapes and sizes scurried and frolicked around the giant space, which looked like a cross between a barn and a castle’s main hall. Lukas almost tripped when a two-headed dog, a younger-looking specimen than the one in Kat’s smithy, ran into his path. It yipped at him excitedly before running off again.

“Are they all yours?” Lukas asked, eyes wide.

“I don’t like to think of them as possessions, but yes. They’re all mostly rescues. Traumatized. Crippled. Old. Their masters abandoned them, or they were unfit to survive the wild.”

“And you can afford to feed all of them?”

“If it weren’t so damaging to my coffers, I wouldn’t still be running the clinic.” Esther led him into an ample green open space illuminated by candles and moonlight. The area was larger than the giant converted stables that functioned as her clinic. “So, what do you want?”

“I barely remember,” Lukas said, struggling to put his thoughts back together. “Ah. Yes. I have another shard and a ritual to empower it.”

“Another shard? Who did you rob this time?”

“No one. You could say it's a gift from an old girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” Esther raised an eyebrow. “Your dragon mistress allowed you a girlfriend?”

“She didn’t know. I think so, at least. I doubt Silverspine would’ve let me live if she found out I was in bed with one of her rivals.”

Esther broke into a full-bodied laugh. “Of course. Of course, you played Greater Beings against one another and bedded one. You seem like the type. I think the old you and I would’ve been great friends.”

“Is the new me that bad?” Lukas asked.

“I can’t get over that boy face, or that you are speaking like an old man seriously enough. So, if I were to make a guess, you’re struggling to find reagents for this ritual?”

Lukas nodded. “The shard she sent me might help me untangle the journal from Silverspine, or at least disconnect me from the journal. Either is fine. But the shard is too weak as it is. It came with an upgrading ritual, but I need three magical essences and currently only have one. I’ve asked Penelope to look into the academy and research center’s vendors for me, but I am not particularly hopeful. The Essence of Repulsion might fill the second spot, but—”

“It won’t. Essence of Repulsion might spawn a magical effect, but it's considered more physical than magical.” Esther leaned back in her leather armchair. The furniture looked odd in the green courtyard and bathed in moonlight. “You’re going to struggle. Arcane and magic-related essences aren’t just available to the public because they’re rare but also because everyone is scared of what they might spawn. I have one I was holding… but I can’t just give it to you.”

“I can pay—”

“You can’t afford it,” Esther interrupted. “But. I’d consider a trade.”

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Lukas raised an eyebrow. “What do you want?”

She pointed at his belt. “I want the blood essence. It won’t be equitable, but I need it. The chances of finding one on the market, even with my connections, are challenging, and the methods of obtaining one are tedious. Amazingly, you managed to get one at all. Either the fool you took it from didn’t understand the current rarity and value, or he never intended to part with it.”

“I’m not sure I can give that up,” Lukas said. “Not yet, at least. There is something in the undercity that needs doing. I’m not sure I can leave it up to Penelope and the clones. Or I could, but I still need to be present. The healing spell might prove necessary. Afterward, though—”

“That’s fine.”

“No. You don’t get it. I’ll probably need the shard before we go down.” He hesitated, wondering how much to tell her. Given everything Lukas had learned about Esther, he was sure she’d be alarmed and want to get involved. Even if she did and the Shadow Seekers helped, the chances of the information spreading would be high, and containing it would be impossible. Then, someone else would get curious about the serpent and try to awaken it, putting the quest in jeopardy. “I can’t tell you about the job. But it might involve breaking through some wards and defenses, and the shard’s Mind Pillar ability specializes in that.”

“Ability to unravel magic?” Esther raised an eyebrow. “That’s a rare and potent ability. Dangerous, too.” She held out her hand. “Give me the belt buckle.”

Lukas hesitated.

The woman’s eyes narrowed. “I won’t steal it from you, Lukas Zaun. Just give it here.” The light stick she used to write on surfaces materialized in her right hand. “I’m just going to do a little something.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you. Just a bit sudden.” He removed his belt and passed it to her. “That’s all.”

Esther took the belt buckle and wrote on the body-facing side with the light stick. “Repeat what I say: I, Lukas Zaun.”

“I, Lukas Zaun.”

“Concede ownership of this object and am only its steward until I complete my planned job.”

“What if I’m also thinking of another job right now?” Lukas asked.

“Just repeat it for Vanheim’s sake.”

Lukas did as instructed. The runes Esther had drawn on the belt buckle flashed before disappearing. A faint blue pulse of energy washed over the pair of them before dissipating. Esther handed it back to him.

“I’ll know when you’ve completed your job and are out of the undercity. The belt buckle will tell me. Then, regardless of what happens to you, I can summon it to myself.” Esther smiled. “That sounds fair, does it not?”

“It does. Wizardry is certainly interesting.”

“I don’t know why you’d rather pick the sorcerer’s path. Your clones are perfect for the endless study and research that comes with wizardry.” She shrugged. “It’s your life and your path. Do what you want. It's harder.”

“But more flexible, right?”

“Right. With potentially more power as well. Tweaking threads of spells and enchantments is a nice bit of metamagic. It should help you bend existing spells to your needs better.” Esther reached into her pocket and pulled out a marble-sized essence sphere. She tossed it, and Lukas snatched it out of the air. “There you go. I hope Penelope comes through for you on the final piece.”

“You don’t trust me much, do you?” Lukas asked, inspecting the back of the belt for a moment. “I’m just asking. It makes sense for you not to.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you in particular, but what you are and the path you’re walking. Otherworlders. The reincarnated. Time-loopers. They—you—are an unreliable, unpredictable bunch. Also, there is no telling how this job will end.” Esther held up a hand when Lukas tried to speak. “I haven’t asked, and you don’t need to tell. You might not survive it, or you might have to flee in a hurry. The people you’re working with and have tied yourself to are also far too unreliable.” She snorted. “That includes Snake and the Shadow Seekers.”

“What is your issue with them? Weren’t you one of them?”

“I was,” Esther replied. It didn’t seem she was going to say anything more on the matter, but she continued of her own accord. “People don’t usually retire in this business. They fall into a more background role of training, teaching, managing, and directing. I’ve just grown disillusioned with the guild’s purpose. There is no fixing a corrupt system while existing as a part of the system. That’s how Ly—my former apprentice, the other otherworlder, ended up dead. Now, I want to cut ties and just live my life doing what I enjoy. But they’re not willing to let me go.”

“Sounds frustrating,” Lukas said. He knew what it was to be not left alone and dragged into things even after he had fulfilled his role and all promises. “So that you know, I haven’t told anybody else the truth about me—only you. You haven’t betrayed me and did right by me even when you didn’t have to. Believe me, I don’t say this often, but I trust you.”

“I do believe that.” Esther laughed. “I mean, you not trusting people often.” A roar from somewhere deep in the nonsensical structure gave her pause. “Now run along. Tonight is my night off, and you interrupted a reunion with some old friends. Don’t bother me again unless the fate of the city or Fracture is at stake.”