"Let's go, lad!" I slip through the leisurely shoppers at the candy counter with red, green, and orange lollipops (the only colorants they can afford).

"Where are we going, Madam?" the boy asks when following me.

I didn't tell him to go with me, but I didn't tell him to stay. It's all his fault if he gets into trouble with me. Poor lad is pretty out of breath after fighting his favourite mara; he is stumbling; his foot is stuck in a muddy puddle; he is dirty; he looks like a real sorcerer. I'm pretty proud of him!

I hide behind another pitcher counter, the kid does the same. I can't understand whether he is afraid of disobeying me, because I'm an older sorceress (and that is the first and foremost reason he has followed me) or he is just as crazy as I am (rather the latter, judging by how hard and lovingly he tried to communicate with his mordacious mara).

"Did this woman commit some kind of crime?" The boy is sitting behind the barrel. He used the weakest disguise spell, and his face looks like a barrel cap. If I saw his disguise just walking around the market, I would have a heart attack (although, they say, witches more likely do not face such a malady).

"You're too curious. Do you know the story about the misfortunate cat and what happened to it?"

"Do you mean the very shifter cat that killed the entire village a week ago in the Crooked Towers to the north of the capital? Do you think she's that cat?" he gasps.

Oh, Amixantra, have mercy on me. He is perfect! If I did not prefer women, he would be the first candidate for my husband-to-be: a devoted and executive idiot. The policy of our queen and the new rotten trends in the academy's training are clearly leaving an indelible imprint on the minds of young generation, making them obedient, gullible to the words of all "powerholders"!

"Nooo, this is your educational mermaid, I mean, my mermaid from the mountain. Long story. I want to find out where she is going and what she is up to. Have you ever met a person about whom you always thought one thing, but they turned out to be completely different and then different again?"

"I'm not sure. Do you think she wants to hand you over?" says the barrel-head.

He's not that bad!

"Do you want to find it out together?" I don't want to go back to Svartalf. Performing my little spy plan with the boy, I am free from being confused or shy looking at her after our kiss.

I'm slowly remembering his frail figure at the huge table in the Old Library. As his classmates played in the yard and threw waterball spells at each other, more and more books appeared around him. He was like a little talisman of the reading room. To tell the truth, I was not a frequent visitor to the library, but when I bothered to go there, it became a little nicer for me when I saw his tiny transparent nerdy body studying so hard. If he can, I can do it better.

"Of course! I'll be so glad Sorceress Sorrel! I'll be honored! Let me introduce myself, I'm Zil, Zil from Green S... " He wants to bow like a knight, but his awkwardness almost pushes the barrel onto the road. Several people look around, attracted by the noise.

"Hushhhh Zil from Green Something! You don't want to fail the whole mission, do you? Move on. Right here. Don't crane your head. Look over there, but don't be too obvious! She has just walked through that door. Do you know who owns this house?"

I'm sure the boy studied the map of this settlement up and down before working on his thesis and the mara. His answer does not disappoint me.

"This is the only unmarked building on the map of the city. Technically it exists, but it has no owner, moreover, it seems to be empty unlike other buildings and streets. They are all marked, even the ruins of an old temple. Look." He shows me the buildings on the tattered map he has just got out of his pocket. "A hospital, a council, a house where the main herbalist lives, dungeons and guards territory, also a bakery, a shop Gardener and Gardener..."

"Hold on, hold on. Do you want to say that it just stands here neat and comfy, but it's supposedly empty and no owners around? Niceee!"

The building doesn't look abandoned, it isn't up for sale either. Everything about the house says "Don't look at me, I'm sooo unimpressive." Modest, gray, with a good roof and tiles without holes the house stands squeezed between an old warehouse and a thick patch of greenery. Very convenient I must say for those who want to hide something and be less noticeable for villagers: some might think it's another warehouse building, some would think it's the property that the owner haven't started using yet. There are no bright banners on the door, howling for customers with their great discounts and bargains. The windows are made of glass, which means that the owners have money, but they are tightly curtained, and it is simply impossible to see what is inside, impossible for an ordinary person. I grin wickedly and rub my hands together.

"Are you thinking the same thing as me, Madam?" asks the lad in anticipation. He is as happy as I am. In the long years since Malva's death, I am feeling my old adventurous teenage spark.

"We will know what you're hiding, Lodda the mermaid!"

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