I arrived at the expected address—and paused. I’d seen nearly every building in the city by this point. It would have been impossible not to, given how many times I’d run through it. How many trails I’d followed to how many homes. But many I had only seen in passing. Something about this one was vaguely familiar, but I’d never been inside. I was fairly certain I hadn't, anyway. It was too small to be a proper home. It was too well-maintained to be abandoned. On a whim, I decided to examine it using the spell around us.

  I reached for the threads of time. The same I used to bring Margaret and then Lucas back. The same I used to save Junia, and Millie, and anyone else under Vitinia’s control. It’s not as easy as it is with people. People have a mind. A soul. And often, their soul is already tied to the spell. I’m almost certain they are what is powering the loop, afterall. I can follow that, if I need to find another version of them. Buildings and the city itself are… different. I could sort of make them out. Like shapes moving in the night.

  This time wasn’t much better. It seemed unchanged in the loops without Margaret, when Vitinia was active. It appeared absent, however, for at least part of Margaret’s loops. I couldn’t tell much from this, except that the building likely burned on the second night. I wasn’t certain what happened to its occupant. But I didn’t think I'd met them before. Regardless of how many loops I’d been through. I could have been wrong. I honestly don’t know. But it felt true. Either because of basic deduction, or because there was something in the threads of the world I could feel. But it made me nervous.

  I’d been through the loop enough times to at least recognize maybe a third of the town. That was far from everyone, but it was more than I needed to feel like I did know the whole town. Which made new people frightening. Dangerous. I didn’t want to meet another Margaret, or another Vitinia. I wanted to end this. And for once, I didn’t want it to hurt.

  “Are you going to go inside?” Lucas asked. I took a deep breath and looked in his direction.

  “I am, yes,” I answered. I could explain to him why I was hesitating. But that wasn’t his problem. It was mine. I needed to face it either way. I took the question as a sign that I'd been standing outside for too long, and forced myself to walk to the front door. I knocked three times, idly thinking about how surreal it felt. It didn't used to. But by that point, it had become strange every time I knocked on a door I didn’t recognize. It was probably that familiar cowardice in a new form. But it didn’t matter. It wasn’t ruling me anymore, at least.

  Even so, my breath caught as the door opened. I barely tensed, but the woman who stood inside seemed to notice.

  “You’re new,” she said. She lifted an eyebrow as she examined me. “I don’t bite, you know.”

  I took a deep breath, looked at Lucas for only a second, and forced an answer out. I realized I was being strange. That I had no reason to fear some surprisingly young blonde woman in a quiet shack. At least, she hadn’t given me a reason yet. She looked friendly, even. And considerably shorter than me. Even so, I couldn’t stop myself from flinching.

  “I know. Or… I guess I don’t. But I didn’t think you did, I just…” I trailed off.

  “Scary times, huh?” she asked. I nodded. “Well, alright then. What did you need help with? The Quiet, or something else? I’m afraid I can’t help with the Quiet. That’s obviously got some magic nonsense going on, and I have no idea how to approach that. Ask a mage, if you can find one. Anything else, though. Sure. You don’t look like the romantic type, but if you have a partner taking the end of the world as an excuse to step out, I can find them. But uh, not right away. I already agreed to help someone else this morning.”

  I stood still for a moment. “Uh, I’m sorry, who are you?” I asked.

  She laughed at me, but it was a friendly laugh, like chirping birds. There was no mockery in it at all. “Lady, you knocked on my door. You don’t know who I am?” she poked.

  “Uh, Captain Octavia sent me,” I replied.

  She sighed. “That woman. Always pawning her work off on me. Still, it must be pretty important if she bothered. Or you are, I guess,” she complained.

  “I’m not sure how to measure that, really,” I answered. It was something of a lie of omission, and I caught a disapproving sigh from Lucas. I was—by the standards being used, at least—very important. Just by way of my magic, even if I couldn’t actually use what authority that bought me. Not long-term, considering how thoroughly my grandmother had ruined my reputation. And my goal was extremely important, but Octavia wouldn’t have realized that. Either way, it was worth explaining the specifics. Not when I could be moving forward.

  “Not on good terms with her?” I asked.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  The woman shrugged. “As good as ever, I guess. She’s my sister, and we’ve never really gotten along. She sent you to me because our mom taught us both how to do the job. Helping people like the city guard is supposed to, I mean. But only I took the route where I could actually do it. That is… not actually joining the guard,” she answered. “So. Which is it, then? Are you important, or is your request important? I know it’s one of them, so there’s no reason to dance around it.”

  Lucas shot me a sheepish glance, and I sighed. “Both, I suppose. I’m not really important, but the captain of a city guard would think I was,” I answered. The woman crossed her arms and tilted her head.

  “And why do you think you are?” she asked.

  I knew what her response was going to be, but I answered anyway. “I’m, uh. I’m trying to end the Quiet,” I replied quietly.

  She let out a breath. “Like I said. Find a mage, if such a thing exists here. I’ve tried. I can’t follow magic. Not without any of my own. Unless you…” she trailed off. “Oh. OH! That’s why she’d think you’re important! You certainly don’t look local. Plus, you carry a big book on your hip with what looks like a fairly expensive embroidered design. Well. That changes things! If you don’t mind a bit of an idiot who didn’t spot that immediately, I’m happy to help if you’ll help me. Well, after I help the first guy. He got here before you, after all. And I did promise.”

  “I just need help finding someone who I believe is involved,” I answered. Then paused. “Who came to you this morning?” I asked. “The man with the missing child?”

  Her eyes lit up. “Oh, did he speak to you as well? I don’t suppose he gave you a little more detail? He’s uh… we got interrupted while I was taking notes,” she asked. As she did, she stepped to the side and showed me the man in question. He was sitting in a wooden chair, facing an old, too-short desk. He was also dead.

  I swallowed hard. “No, I just… I overheard him talking to your sister. She sent him here first, that’s how I knew to ask,” I said.

  Her face fell. “That’s unfortunate. It’s going to make this job a lot harder. I don’t have a lot of leads to start with, especially with… how withdrawn people are. But, you know what? Tell me where to find you. Once I finish his job, I’ll meet up with you and help you find this person you are looking for. I know the inn is closed up for the wedding. Did you find somewhere else, or did Livia make an exception?” she asked.

  “I… I am at the inn. But… if you’ll let me, I can help you with this first?” I offered, the question clear in my voice. There was something about her I was already starting to trust. The idea that she was fulfilling a promise she'd made to a man who died before he could pay her in any way. She cared about his child, whether he knew she was still looking or not. That type of kindness reminded me of Cammie.

  “Really? I mean, I’d be happy to have a real mage helping me. I don’t know what you can do, but magic probably isn’t gonna hurt my efforts, right?” she said.

  I wasn’t certain I could honestly say that was true. Magic was plenty capable of hurting good intentions, in my experience. As everything was, I supposed. But I understood what she meant.

  “I can’t say whether I have a spell that will help. But I do think there are a couple of things I can do, even if you don’t have a lead yet,” I answered.

  “Like what?” She asked.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “What things can you do?”

  It was a reasonable question. But the answers weren’t easy. Especially knowing they wouldn’t be believed. My first was simple. I’d learned that the trails of aura at my feet didn’t only lead to victims of the Quiet. That, and this loop had far fewer of them than the others. They’d only helped me so far. And if I found one that had been there in every iteration of the loop, I might find the missing child. It was maybe a stretch, but it was better than nothing.

  If it failed, well. These three days would end. And the next time I met this woman. I would have the answers she failed to get from the dead man in… what must be her office, of a sort.

  Both honest answers would sound like a lie. So I had to tell an actual lie instead.

  “I can’t say, exactly. It’s sort of a… I don’t know. Mage secret, I guess?” I answered. Lucas gave me another disapproving look. If I didn’t know how dedicated he was to being honest, I’d have thought he was upset with my inability to lie well, rather than my choice to do so. I did feel bad either way. Not about stretching the truth, exactly. But because this meant the way he lied for his mother’s sake must have cut him even deeper than I thought.

  “A mage secret?” she chuckled. “And one that will help me find who I’m looking for, but not you. Is that right?” she asked.

  “Well. Yes? It might, anyway. It’s worth a shot, isn't it?” I asked. It was the best I could offer. She gave me a long, appraising look.

  “Well. That’s strange. But I can’t think of anything you’d get out of scamming me. At least, nothing that isn’t worth the risk to find a missing kid. It’s a deal. Let’s work together and find this kid,” she finally responded.

  I took a deep breath. It felt nice to be trusted. Even if her trust was simply knowing I was being dishonest, but choosing to rely on me anyway.

  “Can you tell me more?” I asked. “Who are we looking for?”

  She nodded, then closed the door behind her and joined me in the road.

  “Of course, I’ll tell you on the way. After we’ve made proper introductions. I’m Maximillia, by the way. A pleasure to meet you.”

  “Um, Mars. My name is Mars,” I replied. “On the way where?”

  “Nice to meet you, Mars. And to the only people who truly care enough to notice the little things when a child goes missing. We have to speak to the children who may have known her.”