There was nothing but endless walls ahead. Endless walls that brushed against his sides all while they navigated the narrow passageways of the lower district. The alleyway wasn't particularly straight, but neither was it a maze of twists and turns. Roofs overhead practically laid atop of one another, keeping daybreak from cutting through. Pipes below crisscrossed the floor as if it was an objective to trip any passing wayfarer. That was the sordid underbelly of the district; seemingly the only part of the area that hadn't been ripped apart or set fire to by vicious creatures of the underworld. It made traversing easier, not having to expect danger every time a corner was turned.

The tumult from Main Street had since reared into a dull buzz the farther down they went, hushed behind anxious thoughts that crowded Ty's mind like that of flies over rotting meat. It was a chance to calm down and think without the grisly sights of demons and death, and Ty readily seized it as if it was a piece of bread offered to a starved man.

Find Alexi. Safety. Escape. Answers.

The worries spiralled over his mind like the whirlwind of a tornado barely kept at bay. Ty was grateful for the jacket that protected him from the collective number of splinters to his sides. It was one less nuance to think about, to worry about. Kept his mind focused on the job.

Ahead of him, Tobias wasn't faring much better; twitching and mumbling so often it was becoming worrisome. The boy had been less than composed since Main Street. His hair was a mess, his expression ghostly pale as he clutched onto the small cut on his arm where the torn sleeve was. Several times Ty had offered to check on the state of the boy only to be ushered along.

'I'm fine, really,' he would insist, his eyes darting to Ty's face before glancing away. Then, the boy would continue onwards, gaze turned away from him, shoulders and back straight, rigid. Stiff.

This time Ty didn't let it go. Tobias' rebuff, amongst all that had happened, was the tipping point of his emotions. Suddenly, everything welled up inside of him. The social injustice, Alexi's supposed lies, the demons, and... what happened at the garden; all of it roiled in him like the churning waves of an ocean. His hand came up and clutched the boy's shoulder, jerking it back until Tobias stumbled backwards and was looking at Ty with wide-eyed confusion.

'We're not taking another step further until you talk!' He snapped, his grip tightening when he tried to pull away. 'You've been acting weird since we left the burial grounds. What's going on? What happened to you at the gates?'

His eyes glanced down to Tobias' arm and it instinctively moved out of his line of sight. He was met with a watery glare, which only enforced his resolve to question more.

'I've told you, nothing happened!' Tobias hissed, whipping away. 'We don't have time for this.'

He jerked out of his hold and – after a pause of breath – hustled down the lane. Ty was quick to follow behind.

'Bull!' he snapped. 'I know you and I know the tell-tale signs that show up when you're trying to hide something.'

'Oh yeah, Tyfell? And what is that, do you reckon?'

'For one thing, you look like crap.'

Tobias didn't look back, but Ty was almost certain his eyes rolled at that. 'Smart as a whip...'

'And your fingers.'

He didn't stop walking but picked up his pace. Ty followed suit, grabbing for his arm so the boy would turn his attention. One more turn and they would be onto the terrace cutting through Main Street.

'You pick at them whenever you're keeping something from Alexi, ever since we were kids, you would do that. And you're doing it right now, they're practically red Tobias! Bleeding!'

Ty brought up Tobias' trembling hand only for the boy to wrestle it back. The two glared at one another, neither backing down. Ty tried for an even tone this time; forcing himself to calm down and to keep from shaking.

'You know I'm not going to let this go so why don't you just tell me already?'

Tobias rubbed a hand over his face, his pained expression mingled with hints of frustration. 'It's just... We're racing against time. Anything could happen at any moment—'

'Exactly!' Ty pointed out. 'Anything could happen! This could be the only time when we're not running for our lives, at least not until we're safe out of the city.' He maintained his gaze, unyielding. 'Especially if what you've theorized about the summoners and Alexi is real.'

Something dark flashed through Tobias' gaze and a creeping feeling went up the back of Ty's neck. 'It's definitely real alright...'

For a second, he looked like he wasn't going to say more but then decided against it. 'At the gates when the demons came, I was... attacked. A girl. S-she just emerged out of nowhere and swung at me with a knife, I think. It would have struck somewhere more fatal had the crowd not pushed onto me.' He brought up his injured arm and hissed lightly. 'Got this instead. Turns out the knife she used had some sort of acid on it.'

A churning wave of unease rushed over Ty with the violent force of a flash flood. He... what?

'It's fine, it-it hurts like hell but I'm pretty sure I have the antidote in my workshop,' Tobias forced out, and his eyes closed. He looked like he stubbed his toe and was trying to hold in the pain. 'She seemed like she wanted to kill me, until she came close enough to see my face. Then she just... looked like she didn't. She just stopped with her knife inches from my neck. One of the spiked tentacle things swooped by and knocked her off her feet before she could do anything else. And you found me not long after that.'

Ty's breath hitched. 'You almost died back there.'

His mind could barely wrap around it. Two attacks in the space of an hour, both fixed on Tobias.

The blonde's eyes opened and he stared down at him. 'I almost died at the burial grounds too. But something happened there, something happened with you and you saved me.'

The look in his eyes had Ty freezing. A sick feeling slid over him. He didn't understand why, maybe it was fear, maybe denial, but he found himself shaking his head. His skepticism only served to irate Tobias further and the boy pushed at him like a child would when they were hurt or upset.

'Admit it, Ty!' he yelled. 'Admit something happened to you! Instead of trying to get me to say my part, why don't you start with yours first, huh?' He didn't stop to look at Ty's expression – a mingling of pain and shock – and brought up two fingers to pinch at the bridge of his nose. 'It didn't take me long to figure it out, right at the moment I saw the confusion of that girl's face. She hesitated to kill me because she saw my eyes, or rather, the lack of something in them.'

'I don't understand,' Ty said helplessly. His mind swam with uncertainties. What did Tobias' eyes have anything to do with the summoners chasing after them?

'Back at the burial grounds, right before the attacker shot at us, the centre of your eyes turned a golden yellow.' Tobias looked away to stare at the ground, his fists clenched. 'It's been like that since, flickering on and off.'

His eyes were what? Immediately, he wished he could look at himself in the mirror.

A feeling of horror settled over as he flashed back to earlier that night when his eyes burned right after the incident, as if he had rubbed salt in.

All of a sudden, things seemed to snap into place. The burning pain he had wrongly assumed was caused by the strain of shock. The look of surprise and glee sprung onto the fat man's face at the time – from seeing the colour of his eyes.

The conversation between the two men from the jail block.

'He's not actuated yet. This will make it easier for us.'

It didn't hit him at the time, as the word was not one people used when going about their everyday lives. But Tobias did, whenever he talked about his inventions. Actuate, another word for operate, set in motion. Activate.

The summoners were after him and Tobias had probably been in the way of every single attack up till now.

'Tobias, I didn't—! I don't —!' he started, but a sudden angry noise from around the corner stopped him.

Tobias didn't care to listen despite what he had to say, cutting him off with a raised hand as the boy carefully padded over to the end of the alleyway. Ty was reminded of a blonde cat angrily stalking its prey, looking over to the terrace just beyond. He followed behind reluctantly, his own mind still reeling.

Beale Lane was usually crowded with vendors of odds and ends, different from the meat and vegetable stalls that runs down Main Street. On a normal trading day, the narrow footpath would be forcing people to walk in a straight file like they were soldiers going to battle, but today the area was eerily deserted; the atmosphere cold and lifeless, unsettling like that of a graveyard.

A lot of the stalls were empty, which made sense as the district was attacked in the middle of the night, but there were a few trader stalls toppled over, the supplies crushed as if a crowd had trampled over them. Yet not a single person was in sight.

A low growl travelled across the area, and Ty took a step back. He barely had time to turn in the direction of where the sound had come from when Tobias ducked into the street.

'What are you doing?' Ty hissed, his eyes darting around.

'We have to help her,' Tobias said. He pointed to an overturned wagon. Most of the contents had fallen out, and it took Ty a moment before he caught sight of the body. It was an old lady, unconscious with her bottom half trapped beneath the wagon, partially obscured behind a pile of rolled-up cloths. He didn't miss the pained groan that came out of the woman.

He also didn't miss the small tremors wracking through the cart.

'Tobias!' He hissed, grabbing the boy by the collar before he could venture further.

He didn't dare tear his gaze from it, this time quavering harder than before, disturbing the cloth pile next to it. Both of them ducked behind a stall just as the hindquarters of a large dog shuffled out from one side of the cart.

Except, the creature was definitely not a dog. It was like something out of a horror story, a hairless and skinless emaciated dog-like creature.

The cart shuddered one last time, and Ty watched petrified as the old lady suddenly disappeared entirely. There was the muffled sound of bones crunching, and the two of them let out a shuddering gasp. Tobias was pale and sweating, his eyes wide as saucers and his mouth agape. They slowly backed away, anxious for the safety the alleyway provided not a minute ago. They were only halfway there when a shout stopped them in their tracks.

'Brutus! Where is that bumbling hound?'

The harsh, snobbish voice came from somewhere down the street. Then, a familiar tall redhead appeared, kicking thrashed pieces in a manner that only suggested one that was bored and idle. 

A deafening bark came in response, and the boy looked up just in time to see Ty shrinking behind another one of the stalls. He didn't miss the smirk; two cold grey eyes crinkling as their gaze met for the briefest second.

'Brutus, git over here. Think we've found ye a couple of wee shites to play with.'

Another bark. Then, the loud crash of the cart toppling to its side.