The man was about the same height as Shade, but his body beneath his clothes was very thin. He kept his head slightly lowered so that his hat concealed his face, and from Shade's angle, his features were completely hidden.
"Any traces of elements?"
No.
"Is he a Ring Arcanist?"
You need to get closer.
Shade set down the newspaper in his hand and pretended to look across the street. He took out the pocket watch that had been ruined by soaking in Coldwater Port, glanced at it, then shook his head and sighed as though complaining about someone's lack of punctuality. Only then did he fold up the newspaper and walk to the other side of the street.
He brushed past Miss Swann in her red blouse. She was briefly drawn to Shade's appearance, but after one look, she did not stop walking.
Shade headed straight for the antique shop beside the alley entrance, and the voice in his head gave him an answer:
Neither of them was a Ring Arcanist.
Miss Swann had already left the alley entrance's field of view, and by the time Shade turned into the alley from the antique shop's doorway, the watcher had vanished as well.
He hurried forward to pursue him. The alley marked by the "Black Corner Alley" sign was a rather narrow straight passage, with nothing inside to conceal anyone. Shade had only been delayed by a few seconds, yet there was already no one in sight.
Since the other party was not a Ring Arcanist, there was only one possibility: he had hidden somewhere else in the alley.
The two sides of Black Corner Alley were lined with identical three-story apartment buildings. Moss covered the mottled walls everywhere, and the buildings' original colors had long become indistinguishable. The stretch