Booker was waiting in the parlour when Trinket returned. There was tea on the table, and as she took a seat, he handed her a cup and moved from the armchair to the settee beside her.

"Grace got home safely?" he asked.

"Yes, she did. She seems confident in her recovery and thanks you for your generous assistance." She gave him a sidelong glance as she sipped her tea. "All right, you've shown the proper amount of concern. Go ahead with what you truly want to talk about."

He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "That moron with the tattoo is Viper."

"Does this change things?"

"No, not really, I suppose."

"He was bringing up Benedict's creations. Do you think he's the one who's been sending Scales after them?"

Booker shook his head. "No, it's definitely Scales who has the interest. If anything, Scales is manipulating Viper to get him to hunt Benedict down. Seems like he's feeding him dreams of using Benedict to obtain vicious monsters with which to rule the city."

Trinket tilted her head in thought. "Why does Scales want Benedict?"

"Well, the gang will belong to him should something happen to Viper. Maybe he's trying to build up an arsenal for that very day."

"Or maybe he plans on using said arsenal to make that day come sooner."

Raising his eyebrows, Booker nodded slowly. "That is a possibility."

"This new revelation aside, we still haven't found the girl we're looking for."

He sighed. "Right. Well, tomorrow is a new day."

~

Tomorrow was indeed a new day. As was the next day and the day after that and the day after that. And still, they were unsuccessful in their search for the girl who had been spotted at the scenes of both of the vampire deaths. They staked out the apartment building almost daily but never caught sight of her. Or maybe she had actually been there but had been so ordinary that she slipped through the crowd without catching their attention. It would've been much more helpful if there had been something unusual about her appearance.

It didn't help that Trinket was so distracted. Though she did think that finding this girl was important to the case, she was far more interested in searching for Tory. There had been no sign of the wild-eyed girl since she last encountered her, and the fact that there had also been no other vampire attacks didn't give Trinket much confidence that her old friend was innocent.

She counted herself lucky that Booker was so focused on the other mystery girl. It kept him from noticing her eyes wandering through the crowds, her gaze catching on every young blonde woman. But none of them were Tory. It almost made her wonder if she had imagined her. Maybe Tory was just a figment of her imagination. If that were the case, how useful could Trinket be to the case with such an unreliable psyche?

After another unsuccessful day spent hunting for information, she and Booker dined at the Clocktower in hopes of questioning some of the patrons. However, with no success there, either, they made their way home.

"Blast it all. This city used to be so good at gossiping," Booker said as they stepped outside.

A blonde girl pushed past them, bumping Trinket's elbow as she headed into the Clocktower. For a brief moment, Trinket's eyes met hers, and it was in that instant that she recognized her. That wild, paranoid look was unmistakable.

Tory.

But the girl either did not recognize her or chose to ignore her, as she hurried into the alehouse without a word. Trinket nearly chased after her but quickly remembered that she had yet to tell Booker about her old friend. She couldn't very well run off after the blonde girl without an explanation. Once she was certain Tory was involved with this vampire case—or was, in fact, the vampire herself—she would tell him.

Even if the guilt of keeping this from him ate her from the inside out.

Go ahead. Betray her. Like you betray everyone else in your life.

"Perhaps I should try staking out the apartment tonight," Booker mused. "The girl has to sleep at some point, right?"

"Unless she's a vampire," Trinket said, trying to keep herself calm lest he notice her agitation.

"Haha, very funny. I think it's worth a try, though, don't you?"

She let go of his arm. "Maybe you could do the staking out on your own tonight? I'm feeling a tad tired and was hoping to go to bed."

He gazed at her with such deep concern that she thought she might be sick with guilt. "Of course. I can head out after—"

"No, no. Go now. I'll walk myself home. It's only a little ways further. Besides, what if the girl heads home early? Wouldn't want to miss her, would you?"

Tapping his head, he nodded. "Always thinking, my dear. This is just one of the many reasons I need you in my life."

She forced a smile. "Stay safe. Don't do anything stupid, all right?"

"What sort of stupid thing would I do?"

"Confront a girl who might be able to inject toxic snake venom into you."

"Ah, good point. I promise to be wary. Have a good night's rest, my dear. I'll see you in the morning."

They parted ways, Booker heading towards the girl's apartment building while Trinket continued on home. However, as soon as she was sure Booker was well on his way to his destination, she turned on her heel and ran back to the Clocktower. She may have been the one warning against confronting potentially venomous girls, but that wouldn't stop her from doing just that.

She burst through the door. Her sudden entrance only garnered a few odd stares, mostly from those sitting nearby. Taking a deep breath, she moved further into the alehouse, scanning the crowd of drunks and night flowers, searching for blonde hair and wild eyes. Somehow, the place was even more crowded and boisterous than it had been only moments ago when she and Booker had been dining. The noise was clogging her senses, and her eyes couldn't seem to focus in the dim lighting, particularly with the thick clouds of smoke wafting through the room.

As she coughed and tried to wave the haze away, she saw it.

A glimpse of blonde.

She held her breath and moved towards the owner of the hair. It was a girl sitting with her back to her. She was in a corner all alone, hunkered over the table.

The closer she got, the harder Trinket's heart pounded. Was this really a good idea? Should she be approaching this girl all on her own? What if it wasn't actually Tory? What if her eyes were playing tricks on her? What if—

Somehow the girl sensed her presence, and she whipped around to face her, sending her tangled blonde hair flying as she fixed her wild gaze on Trinket.

It was her.

Tory.

A thousand memories played through Trinket's mind. Stinging lye, a drug-induced fog, smudged lipstick, electric shocks coursing through her bones.

And a young woman who bore it all with a manic smile.

"Tory," Trinket whispered.

The girl narrowed her eyes and dug her long nails into the table. "Who are you?" she asked, her speech clumsy and almost muffled. "Who sent you? What do you know?"

Swallowing down her fear, Trinket stepped closer but stopped when Tory twitched. The girl was poised to flee at any wrong move. She had to be careful. She had to approach this in just the right way or else she would lose her once more.

"Tory, don't you recognize me? From before. From," she swallowed again, "Elysium."

The girl seemed confused, but as she looked Trinket over, recognition dawned in her eyes. "Katherine?" she said.

Trinket flinched at the name. "I go by Trinket now," she said, moving a step closer.

"You get married or something?"

Shaking her head, she took another step. "No, I just started a new life, which required a new identity of sorts."

Tory stared at her for a long moment, and Trinket worried she might still run. But then that big, rather unhinged smile spread across her old friend's face, lifting her lips and revealing her teeth.

And two metal fangs.

Trinket's breath hitched, but she forced herself to return Tory's smile.

"I thought you were dead," Tory said, nodding towards an empty seat at the table.

Sinking into it, Trinket shook her head. "I came close, but things got in the way."

"Did you try to kill yourself again?"

Her throat tightened. She'd forgotten how much this girl knew about her. "I did. Or rather, I tried to let the elements kill me. It didn't work out."

"That's too bad."

Precisely.

"Well, I'm happy in my current situation, so it turned out for the best, I think."

Tory nodded. "As long as you're happy, that's what counts."

Hesitating for a moment, Trinket leaned forward. "So fancy meeting you here. How long have you been in Tinkerfall?"

Tory shrugged and tore off a piece of the bread she had in front of her. "I don't know. It's been so long since I've bothered to keep track of time that I'm not sure I even know how to do it anymore. Wait, so if you aren't dead, how did you get out of Elysium?"

"Ah, I escaped."

"Seriously? I didn't think anyone escaped Elysium outside of a casket. Actually, I don't think they bother to put us in caskets. Hmm, I wonder what they do with all the dead bodies?"

Trinket drew back slightly. "Well, perhaps they sell them to doctors in need of practice cadavers?"

"Doctors do that?"

"So I'm told."

"I'm happy you didn't end up as a doctor's plaything. That would be unpleasant."

"Yes, it would be. So, Tory—"

The girl rested her chin on her hands. "So you escaped. Fascinating. How'd you do it? Did you have to kill someone?"

Kill!

Dead!

Murder!

Monster!

Trinket closed her eyes and tried to ignore the memories of Merrill's bleeding body. "No, I didn't," she said, opening her eyes. "I was shoveling the walkway while that orderly who looks like an ape watched."

Tory gave a shudder. "I hated him. So did the voices. But not as much as that fat woman."

So she was still hearing the voices. Not much had changed. "The one with the smeared lipstick?"

"I don't know about her lipstick, but I know she was fat. And she was feeding them information about me."

"Them?"

Widening her eyes, Tory leaned in. "Them. The people. The ones the voices try to protect me from."

Trinket nodded. "Right, right. Sorry, it's been a while."

Tory sat back again. "That's why I attacked her."

"You attacked her?"

"Yes. The voices told me she called for the people who were after me. She had some deal with them, trading me for money or something. I panicked. I didn't know what to do. So I went after her. I tried to strangle her, but her neck was too thick for my hands, so I attempted to bite her throat out instead."

Clenching her teeth, Trinket did her best not to react.

"But it didn't work," Tory continued, picking at her bread again. "That ape orderly came running in and pulled me off of her. Then he smashed my head against the floor until I blacked out. When I woke up, I was back in my room. I'm not sure if I succeeded in killing her, but I never saw her again, so there's a chance."

Trinket didn't want to stir up Tory's paranoia, so she refrained from telling her about the Ape Man living here in Tinkerfall. "I guess that means I have you to thank for my escape," she said.

Tory furrowed her brow. "Me?"

"Yes. The reason I was able to make a break for it was because the Ape Man left his post to help the Lipstick Woman."

With a wolfish grin, Tory replied, "Well, then I'm glad I could be of assistance."

Trinket stole a glimpse at those metal fangs, but she was afraid to ask about them directly. "I'm guessing you escaped as well," she said.

Tory rubbed the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut. "Yes, but my escape was a little less dramatic."

She did not elaborate, and Trinket remembered enough about the girl to know better than to pry. If she pushed too much, she could be accused of trying to aid the people Tory believed were after her. Instead, she tried to reaffirm the semi-friendship they'd had in Elysium.

"Isn't it wonderful to be eating something other than gruel?" she asked, nodding at the bread.

"Mmm, yes," Tory said, rolling her eyes up in bliss. "Hard to believe I'd find crusty old bread in an alehouse a savory treat considering my upbringing. But my old life seems like a distant dream now. I don't know that I even remember what curried lamb or apple cake tastes like."

"I'm surprised you came here rather than finding your beau."

Tory scrunched her face up into a grimace. "He's moved on."

"You've heard from him?"

"The voices told me. He's engaged now. To someone not 'crazy'"

She rolled her eyes and stuffed a chunk of bread into her mouth.

"Well, Tinkerfall isn't the worst place you could have ended up, I suppose. But what attracted you here?"

"I didn't exactly have a choice about where I went."

A cold pit settled in Trinket's stomach. "Were you taken from Elysium against your will?"

Before Tory could answer, her attention was stolen away by someone in the crowd. Trinket followed her terrified gaze.

Squeeze.

The hulking brute was staring at them both, and by the look of his knit brows and slack jaw, he remembered them from the other night. Perhaps even from before then. From Elysium. And maybe Booker was wrong. Maybe he did want revenge.

You're dead now.

Finally.

"He's here for me," Tory said breathlessly, her gaze still fixed on the thug.

Fearing that the violent man would soon put the pieces into place, Trinket grabbed hold of Tory's wrist and pulled her from her seat. "We need to lose him. He's likely not here alone, and he's honestly the least of our problems."

They managed to slip out the door before Squeeze could approach them, but clearly something had connected in his brain. Only seconds after they had taken to the street, the Clocktower door burst open, the noise from inside trickling out into the empty center.

"Hey! You two!" he called out.

Trinket's grip on Tory's arm tightened, and she picked up her speed. Tory did not resist, and though they were fast, Squeeze was gaining on them. Could he be after them because he remembered them from Elysium? Or was this chase simply due to Scales looking for the vampire? Trinket wasn't sure which would be worse, and she really didn't want to find out.

"We should split up," Tory said, pulling her arm away.

Stumbling over her feet, Trinket stopped for a moment to turn to her friend who was already running down a nearby street. "Wait! Where will you go?"

But she didn't reply as she disappeared into the shadows. Squeeze, though having paused momentarily to look between the two of them as they parted ways, was now in pursuit of Trinket. Gritting her teeth and taking hold of her skirts, she sprinted down the road and did not stop until she reached home.

Slamming the door behind her and bolting it securely, she slid down to the floor and tried to catch her breath. Her heart hammered against her chest, her mind spinning in a dizzying carousel of memories.

The Jar.

Metal teeth.

Wild eyes.

Mocking voices.

Drugged-laced water.

A bloody knife.

Dropping her head on her knees, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her vision was unsteady, and it felt like the horrors of Elysium were closing in on her again. She could almost smell the feverish air that permeated the hallways. The sounds of moaning and screaming patients. The feel of large, sweaty hands clamped around her arms as she was dragged into a dark room and tied to a table where tubes were forced down her throat as electricity coursed through her bones.

Can't run, can't run.

You'll never escape

They'll find out.

They'll all find out.

He'll find out.

She covered her ears and slowly began to rock back and forth. "Ah poor bird, take thy flight," she whispered to herself, willing the memories of her past away. "Above the sorrows of this sad night . . ."