It was before six the following morning when the four of them set off for docks. They had returned from their visit to Lau's establishment late the previous night and Ciel, Will, and Jem seemed to be wishing for death as they trudged through the London streets half-delirious with tiredness. Sebastian, on the other hand, was just as alert as usual. Will didn't know how he managed it. Warlock or not, it was unfathomable he could be so awake on so little rest, the shadowhunter thought. Will's boots dragged on the cobblestones, bones aching with exhaustion. It seemed the only people on the streets so early were mudlarks, the men who sold newspapers, and sellers. But it soon became clear that this was not the case. An entire city of early-risers patrolled the streets. And for every seller, there was someone filling their baskets with wares to sell later that day; flowers, fruits, buttons, all in a spectrum of colours.

Ciel gravitated towards a newsboy shouting his wares.

"Mornin', sir." The boy said cheerfully. How was someone so pleasant this early? Will's tired mind couldn't imagine. "Tuppence for a paper."

Ciel reached into a pocket under his lapel and handed the coin over, exchanging the silver for the day's newspaper.

"'ave a good day, sir." The boy said, pocketing the money.

As they walked Ciel skimmed the news stories. Only a couple of pages in he closed it with an irritated exclamation.

"It's in the newspaper!" he snapped in annoyance. "Clearly, you don't want word of this getting out if it concerns demons and magic and things. And I don't want word of it getting out because this," he jabbed at the article with a question fiercely. "Is a disgrace to her majesty's name, to have such scandal taking place under her rule."

"Come on," Jem said. "Let's hurry to meet Lau. He will surely have some information."

Ciel nodded, composing himself back to the professionalism he maintained. "Of course. Let's go."

The four of them hastened their pace, keeping their speed steady until they finally reached the docks.

The docklands were as overwhelming to the senses as Lau's establishment had been, though without the sugary, floral scents of opium. The shouts of men loading and unloading cargo from the tall-masted wooden ships crowding the waters filled the air. The mixture smell of fish and smog and the murky river Thames was intense. Atop the boats' decks stood men yelling to one another, slinging boxes and crates from ship to ship and man to man. Around fifty traders were on the banks, taking the crates full of their shipments and loading them onto carts. A huge man with his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows hoisted a wooden box into the air, shouldering Will in the head, bumping Jem's cane from his hand, and knocking Ciel's hat off – all in one smooth motion.

"Sorry, boy." The man laughed, passed Jem his cane back and jammed Ciel's hat back onto his head.

Ciel drew in a breath in barely concealed anger and straightened his hat, furious. He glared as, behind him, Sebastian stifled a laugh.

"Lord Earl and company."

The four of them turned to see Lau, the teal of his robe making him instantly identifiable amongst the dull greys and muted greys the other men wore.

"Mr Lau," Jem said. "Good morning."

"Can we help at all?" Will asked.

"So helpful." Lau said appreciatively. "No, no. You boys have a job to do. You don't need to be doing my job as well."

"Allow me to help you unload your shipment, Mr Lau." Sebastian insisted, bowing low.

The two men walked over to a tall boat stacked with three large crates marked as carrying medicinal substances among other wooden boxes. Two men from the boat turned as Sebastian called them.

"Gentlemen, I am collecting Mr Lau's supply of, ah, medicinal substances. Might you tell me which crate that would be?"

"No problem, sir. Need us to take it to ya cart?" one of the men called back as two others hoisted it onto their shoulders with a grunt of effort.

"I'm sure I will be quite alright." Sebastian informed them. The men looked at him sceptically.

"Whatever ya say, mister."

They heaved the box down to Sebastian, who took it as easily as if it was made of air. He smiled politely as they stared in shock.

"Thank you, gentlemen. Your assistance is very much appreciated." He nodded, and turned to leave.

"Hang about! Sure you don't wanna job as a porter?"

Sebastian turned back. "A kind offer indeed." He thanked them. "But I must decline. I am a Phantomhive butler."

Then he left, Lau following close behind.

Another man was waiting beside the same ship and unloading a similar box.

"Will," Jem said, tapping his parabatai's arm. "He's unloading opium too. That might be them."

Will nodded. "Let's go and talk to him."

With Ciel in tow, they set off across the cobblestones towards a tall man in a suit beside the ship where the box was being unloaded.

"Sir, good morning." Jem said, and the man turned.

"A moment, boy." He turned to the porters on board. "Can you load that onto my cart?"

"Aye, sir."

The man turned back. "Now what do you boys want?"

"We're investigating the contaminated supplies of opium cargo." Ciel explained.

The man pulled the three of them roughly aside into an alley.

"What do you mean by shouting a man's business like that?" he demanded sharply.

"You did it?" Will asked. "You tampered with the supply?"

"No, I did not! But I don't particularly want the general public knowing the nature of my work. And what are you, eh? Detectives or something? Spies?"

"No. We're working with Lau. He gets his supply from the same boat." Ciel explained.

"Yeah, I know Lau." The man said, relaxing slightly at the familiar name.

"So Lau isn't affecting the drug, and neither are you. That must mean it's the other trader whose shipment arrives on the same boat." Will mused aloud.

"Do you know who that might be?" Jem enquired.

"Sorry, boys, no. Must be new, mind. Us traders are friendly with each other, like. But what's your business with all of this?"

"Like I said, we're working with Lau." Ciel said. "He's an associate and it is in our best interest, therefore, to try and get to the bottom of this. He provides us with information on the market and we endeavour to keep his business afloat so he can do so. We would be happy to cut you that same deal."

The man paused for a few moments, then nodded. "The name's Alderton. I'll feed you any information I can."

"Earl Ciel Phantomhive." Ciel said. "If you need to contact me, Lau knows how to reach me."

"As he knows where I am based. I would write you the whereabouts of my establishment, but I wouldn't want it falling into the wrong hands."

"Well, if that's all..." Will said, and turned to go.

Alderton hesitated then called the three retreating figures back.

"Wait! I...I have something that might be of interest."

He reached into the inside lining of his jacket and pulled out a small pouch of cloth bound with string. He passed it to Jem, who untied the top and let the cloth fall flat on his open palm, the contents clear. The reddish-brown powder was easily identifiable against the white cloth, which had been stained by the substance.

"Opium." Jem said, slightly puzzled.

"It's a sample from the place where they're selling the contaminated drug. One of my clients had been doing the rounds of the dens around the East End and had some on them when they came to mine. They were barely conscious, so I slipped it from their pocket. They kept showing it to me, like. Saying it was magic. I knew it was the stuff from the newspapers straight away, you know. Don't know if it'll be any help, mind."

"Yes," Will said, scooping the bundle from Jem's hand and tightening it securely. "This will be most helpful."

"That's evidence, see? And I could find out more for you, so long as you don't go ratting on me, selling me out to the police." Alderton warned.

"Of course not, sir." Jem said reassuringly. "We're working with Lau, remember?"

Alderton nodded. "I'd best get going. And remember, Lau knows where to find me."

"A pleasure doing business." Ciel nodded, and the two parties departed down the alley in opposite directions.

"This is brilliant!" Will said, staring at the pouch of opium in his palm as the carriage bumped along the road towards the Institute. "I say we take this to a warlock."

"Good idea." Jem nodded. "Who is London's High Warlock?"

"Ragnor Fell." Will answered. "But he lives mostly in Idris so I don't know if we'll be able to get hold of him. We might be able to call him back to his townhouse to help us though if we offer a big enough sum."

"I don't understand why he even is High Warlock if he's never even here." Jem replied. "But yes, I definitely think we should take it to a warlock. It's Clave business so I'm sure they would cover the cost of the services."

"We'll apply with Charlotte for the Clave to cover the costs. I don't see why we – or Charlotte, for that matter – should pay when all we are doing is our job."

"It is rather tedious, isn't it?" Jem sighed. "Isn't it? It's an awfully long process. Every time I think we're closer to finding the culprit there's another obstacle, another hoop to jump through."

"What would a warlock do?" Ciel asked, and Will and Jem jumped. They'd half forgotten he was there. It often happened like that, that the two of them would start talking and suddenly the rest of the room fell away because they were so caught up in the conversation. It was usually quite a rude awakening when they were so abruptly yanked back to reality. This time was no different.

"Oh, a warlock could track the culprit with this sample." Jem explained, feeling slightly disoriented.

"And maybe – oh, bloody hell!" Will interrupted himself angrily and shoved the pouch of opium into Jem's jacket pocket firmly.

"What's wrong?" Jem asked, then looked out of the carriage window, following Will's glare. "Oh. By the Angel, give me strength."

"What is it? What..." Ciel looked out of the window and saw an unfamiliar carriage. "Wait, who is that?"

"Lightworms." Will and Jem muttered, in identical tones of distaste.

"What?" Ciel asked, confused. "What are Lightworms?"