She quickly immersed herself in the world around her, expanding her senses outwards, the world slowly becoming an extension of herself. Long ago she had been taught this as a simple but effective measure to improve one’s control over their magic.

It used to be that she could never see the point of it and would be unable to build such a clear image. But now she knew all too well that it would be an all too important to be able to practice whenever possible if she wanted to achieve her goals.

As her senses and magic continued to flow outwards into the world more details and information flooded into her consciousness. Each and every thing in this world left an imprint within the ebbs and flows of the world around her.

By no means did it allow her to read minds or predict the future but it did allow her to gain a greater grasp of the situation around her.

The two men stood by the door and although she could not hear their conversation, she could tell that from their imprint on the world around her that they were nervous, very nervous indeed. While behind her she picked up the imprints of four men, who paced back and forth, their footsteps heavy and erratic.

She spread out her senses further trying to gather as much information as she could but she had to be careful, if she spread it out too far, too quick she might miss something important.

A few minutes later she drew her senses back within herself, collecting all the information she had gathered and beginning to sort through it.

To her surprise they hadn’t hidden as many people through the street as she had first thought and none of the men station outside had any hint of being Sorcerers. They were all small fry, armed but not with any of those Kalashnikovs Rebbecca had promised.

None of them worried her too greatly, what did worry her on the other had were the unknowns hidden within the [Interference Barrier] that enveloped Dullahan’s.

Alice was confident she could beat one Sorcerer, maybe two at a push but any more than that and she would be in serious trouble. If she did indeed end up needing to fight more than one of them, Alice would need to be the one to attack first, catching them unaware. She stood no chance in a head-on all-out brawl, not at her current level, it wouldn’t even be a challenge for her opponents. Either way, she knew for sure that she wasn’t going to let her prize slip away without a good fight.

She stood up slowly, joining the crowd once more, her eyes constantly looking for an opportunity. Alice knew she needed a plan... and fast if she had any hope of finding out what all the security was about.

Suddenly a hand reached out from the crowd grasping ahold of her tightly, stopping her in her tracks. Alice calmly turned around, to witness a man, roughly shaven and severely overweight, his left hand fastened tightly upon her left wrist.

Seeing this alice took half a step back, studying him with her cold uncaring eyes. The vest he wore was smeared with countless stains of indistinguishable sources, not that Alice would have wanted to know what they were anyway. His right arm was covered in scratches while his left fist looked bruised and discoloured.

"I thought I recognised you... you’re from ’Gardens’ aren’t you?" He spoke, his raspy voice breaking out from between his dry and cracked lips.

"No... You have me mistaken for someone else.." Alice replied, a sickly sweet smile upon her lips.

"No... No... I do recognise you..." He continued regardless.

"You used to parade around beside, that damn bitch Risha didn’t you.. Mistresses favourite toy, according to the girl. I’d constantly hear them bitching about you and the so called special treatment you received. But... for you to be out here on these streets, seems like someone’s fallen out of favour."

Special treatment. My arse, Alice thought, glaring at the utter buffoon of a man before her.

"No need for such eyes my dear... I mean you maybe a little dark and depressing for my usual tastes... but your looks sure make up for that... and I’m more than willing to show you a good time, once we agree a price of course..." He smiled, inclining his head towards the nearest alleyway.

Alice had to resist the urge to laugh, speaking softly as she did so. "I’m not who you think I am... and I’m definitely not cheap enough to be bought by you..."

A strange look of confusion and anger consumed the man face and all around people had begun to notice their predicament. Noticing this he sighed deeply, releasing her wrist as he did so.

"Turning away a paying customer, Gardens’ reputation is really not what it used to be.." He mused almost jovially, stepping towards her as he did so.

Alice’s expression immediately changed, turning sour as she felt the sharp steel point of a blade press firmly against her abdomen. Gritting her teeth her frown broke out into a full blown scowl. It’s exactly for these reasons I hate people, she mused, quickly thinking up several horrible ways to kill this unneeded and unnecessary annoyance.

"Oi! You’d better move quickly unless you fancy having your pretty little insides spilt all over the floor," he whispered, jabbing the knife into her once more for good measure, at this Alice relented.

"So... where are we going then?" She remarked almost sarcastically, before marching swiftly into the alleyway next to them, while all around the people watched with utter disinterest.

They continued down the alley for several meters, before Alice was ushered into a side-alley, her gentlemanly escort throwing her up against the wall as he did so, and pinning her there beneath him.

"See now we have somewhere where we won’t be disturbed", he laughed, placing the blade against her neck, backing away slightly and unbuckling his belt as he did so.

Alice closed her eyes, staring downwards into her eyelids before slowly lifting her head, a gentle smile upon her lips, while the man slowly teetered closer and closer once more, his eyes scanning her up and down with an intense excitement.

As he did so his tongue licked his fat greasy lips, his hand slowly snaking towards her thigh. In his excitement a globule of saliva trickled from his mouth. Quickly he noticed it wiping it away, speaking as he did so.

“As I said we still need to settle payment... for this little transaction.”

"How about I let you leave this alleyway with your life," Alice coldly remarked, the smile not once leaving her lips.

"Hahahah! Very funny my dear... but I should be the one saying that!" He continued, whistling as he did so.

"Well if you satisfy me I’m sure I’ll consider letting you off lightly..." the man retorted his eyes focused intently upon her.

Slowly he began to lightly caress her inner thigh, moving his hand upwards as he did so. His face covered in a dumb grin, so fixated on her body he didn’t even notice her change of expression.

When his hand reached the top of her leg she clicked her fingers summoning a small spark of flame upon his wrist. In the next instant it exploded, tearing his wrist apart and sending the fool reeling back in shock. Letting the knife fall, clattering upon the floor and a scream erupt from between his lips.

Without giving him a moment to recover she promptly drove the heel of her boot into the underside of his jaw, knocking him off balance and stealing his voice from him.

He sat before her, bent double and clutching the ruined stump that had once been his hand. His whole body shook as he raised his gaze to meet hers, tears cascading down his face. The wound was bleeding profusely. In all likelihood he was in shock yet Alice knew, she knew he was shaking in fear.

He was afraid of her, she thought a faint smile breaking through her scowl.

Desperately he tried to speak, and began to crawl away from her, dragging his body across the cobbled path beneath him. Observing this she bent down, placing her hand gently on his shoulder, whispering as she did so.

"Congratulations! You’ve been promoted from useless meatbag to distraction. Your current mission is to do exactly as I say, with the added catch that, if you don’t, that little flesh wound will be the least of your problems."

"Did you get all that? Or do you need me to write it down?" She continued, dragging him to his feet as she did so. His head shaking slightly as she quickly coerced him back towards the main street.

"Okay here’s the plan..." She muttered, placing her open palm on the small of his back. At this the air rippled around them, sending him flying forwards into the street with a deafening crash.

Dazed and confused he lay stunned unaware of his surroundings, his vision blurring in and out of focus. Slowly he staggered to his knees, his eyes recovering just in time to notice the tram bearing down on him.

He attempted to utter a sound, his groan suddenly transformed into a half-formed scream of pain as the speeding vehicle ran through him. The weight of it splattering him across the cobblestone pavement below.

"Should of listened to me earlier," she murmured, strolling out of the alleyway and slipping into the crowd once more.

All around her screams tore through the hustle and bustle of the busy city street. Some people rushed to see what the commotion was about while others stood frozen, horrified by what had happened before them. All the while Alice kept her eyes focussed on the two men who had stood by the entrance to Dullahan’s.

One had seemed to go off into the crowd that had swiftly formed around the tram. The other remained close-by to the entrance, his head on the swivel, scanning across the crowd. The gun snuggled against his breast, sat grasped tightly in hand, ready to be drawn at a moment’s notice.

They seemed to be at least somewhat competent. Enough to realise that Alice’s victim had the chance to be related to them at least, she reasoned, looking towards their fervent actions. Even the men who had blended into the crowd had become to make their own moves, passing through the crowd searching for the perpetrator.

Unfortunately for them Alice was already on the move, moving from group to group, slowly making her way towards the man who stood guarding the entrance.

"Ten meters, eight meters, six.." she slowly counted down the distance between them, readying herself.

"[Invisible Bullet]!" She whispered. Extending her hand outwards and drawing mana in from the surrounding environment and using it to activate her magic. Within her palm a condensed ball of gas quickly became to form, before being shot out and propelled towards the guard at a speed impossible to follow with the human eye.

As it impacted with the guard the end sequence of the magic activated, releasing the compressed gas outwards, swallowing the guard within. As the guard drew his next breath he quickly became agitated, his face straining as he desperately clutched his chest, gasping for breath.

It was to no avail as he steadily began to collapse, leaning heavily upon the steps that led up towards the entrance way of the store. And within a scant few moments he lay crumpled at Alice’s feet, completely unconscious.

Calmly she stepped over him, opening the heavy doors of Dullahan’s and leaving the hustle and commotion of the city behind. Leaving in it’s place a calm and peaceful tranquility.

All around Alice bookcases tens of feet tall stood, their shelves filled with a menagerie of books, trinkets and many other-wordly oddities. The air in here hang heavily in the air, while the soft smelling fragrance of incense could be found, it’s smokey paths trailing between the bookcases quite listlessly.

Alice had once heard that the name of the shop came from the fact the first shop’s owner was in fact a Dullahan himself but considering the shop had now been open for over two centuries, she wasn’t too sure how much faith she put in this rumour.

She sighed, wanting to spend more time enjoying the great wealth of knowledge and history that inhabited the store but she knew she couldn’t waste any time. She would only have a small window of opportunity before someone on the outside realised something had gone wrong, ruining her chance to discover what was going on.

Quickly Alice skirted around the edge of the store, sneaking silently between the piles of books that littered many of the walkways of the store. Slowly edging her way forward to wards the interior of the store.

Ahead the bookcases fell away, leaving the store to open up into a larger space, that sunk down into the floor diving the store between the two levels. Several tables sat arranged into rows their surfaces hidden beneath piles of books and manuscripts while beyond them a old wooden counter resided.

Several men sat, arranged closely around one side of the counter, across from them a sullen elderly gentleman sat, heavily scrutinising several items before him under some sort of magnifying glass, held in place by it’s stand.

"So what’s the result Victor?" One of the men asked, questioning the old man who continued to silently observe one of the items.

"Interesting..." The old man replied, not once lifting his gaze from the counter top.

"Look! Old man we don’t care if they’re interesting we care...." One man blurted out before being quickly silenced by another.

"What my associate was trying to say Victor.. is that is any of these items worth our time... and our coin?" The other man interjected, hoping to retain the friendly atmosphere.

"My fee?" Victor questioned, picking up another item from the table to begin inspecting it.

"Ten percent of the total transaction price, to be delivered after the deal goes through." The man replied, folding his hands together and leaning back heavily against his chair.

"See I was going to say twenty percent, with half of that being handed out before the transaction... So let’s say we skip the haggling and settle for fifteen percent with five of that being handed over before you leave today Samuel?" Victor retorted, finally looking up towards the men before him.

The man named Samuel leaned forward resting his head upon his hands heavily, letting out a disgruntled huff before replying. "I think we can make that work... so how do they look to you?"

"All of these items are of at least [B Grade] status, with several belonging to Either the [A Grade] or [S Grade]. This crystal is especially interesting, if it wasn’t so useful to you and your line of business I’d actually consider buying it for the store." He retorted, thumbing the crystal gently between his fingers.

"Oh really?? What is that crystal then?" Samuel inquired, his interest truly piqued.

"it’s the [S Rank] item [Clairvoyance Crystal]. When hooked up to the right machinery you can forcefully observe pretty much anyone’s memories. And as we both know Risha pretty much has the monopoly on that aspect of the market."

"S-S-So how much would this all be worth then... together I mean?" Samuel replied, his nervousness quite evident.

"Hard to say... the [Clairvoyance Crystal] alone should go for at least, well at least a million. The others depending on who you sell them to could go for another million but I’d say if you’re acting as the middleman... all altogether I’d put a price of about one and a half million. That is if you deem that an acceptable price to part with them for Mr Olivier?" He summarized, tilting his head to face the man who stood off to the side.

"One and a half million... now that is a pretty penny. I feel we have a deal Mr Jones. Victor would you be so kind to keep this between us for the time being?" The man responded, stepping forward to join the rest of them.

From where Alice was hidden she’d been able to overhear most of the conversation. Yet had until now been unable to see this Mr Olivier figure. Yet now that he had moved forward she could see him quite clearly.

He was an old man, his eyes sunken and hollow somewhat hidden behind his long brown hair. Adorning his face a scruffy looking beard sat, parting only to show his pale disheveled lips. He wore a finely tailored suit, though his looked as if it had seen better days.

All in all Alice found the sight before her quite strange, as he didn’t seem like the sort of person to be just causally selling some random collection of items one and half million.

Just as Alice began pondering this a man hurriedly burst in upon the meeting, his shaken mental state showing from beneath his panicked expression.

Instantly the rooms mood changed, as all the men surrounding the table swivelled to see their unexpected guest, meeting him menacing glares.

"Speak! Why have you interrupted us!" Samuel bellowed, violently standing to his feet, slamming his fist down on the table as he did so.

"S-S-Sorry... It’s just that we’ve had a situation outside. Seems like some street thugs might have had an altercation which has ended up with one man dead and both the cops and the guild’s Enforcers heading our way!" He exclaimed, sweat dripping from his brow.

"Damn! What bad timing... we can’t be seen to be a part of this nor can we afford to get waylaid by them. We’ll have to leave immediately! Victor! Here’s your down payment... and the rest of it" Samuel yelled throwing a small metal case upon the table.

"Everyone else we’re leaving! I already got a report earlier our rendezvou location has already been secured. We’ll make haste to the financial district to complete the rest of the deal as the other team will have to secure payment for all this. Where are the guards from outside? What’s taken them so long?"

"Well Sir one of the guards was found unconscious soon after the incident outside, so they have been trying to follow trace elements of magic outside to find out if he was attacked." The guard from outside hesitantly replied, desperately trying to avoid eye contact.

"And you didn’t think to inform us of this before now! You idiots! Mr Olivier after me if you’d please, the rest of you ensure to sweep the building as we leave... we don’t want anyone following us!" Samuel roared, his orders sending his men into a hive of activity.

Unluckily for them Alice was already long gone and had once more disappeared into the crowd, all the while her [Spirit Puppet] silently flew through the sky observing the scene below. And with a few minutes, as she kept mulling over her ideas the, store entrance way became a hive of activity, with men pouring out from within, each and every one of them decked out in the same tacky grey suits.

None of them seemed to bare any more threat than the previous members who had stood guard outside, but the last five to exit instantly drew Alice’s attention.

The four of them walked together side-by-side, their presence emanated outwards filled the street with an oppressive killing intent. Their eyes were hidden, sealed off behind thick black glasses making Alice unable to tell what or where they were looking at.

Each wore a finely tailored black suit, that glistened slightly in the evening sun, this in combination with their slicked back hair almost made them look like something out of a gangster film. Behind them both Samuel and the man called Mr Olivier walked, a large metallic briefcase handcuffed to his wrist.

"Whatever is in there must be the items from inside the store! And those four at the back, in black... I can’t be for sure but.... I think they’re all Sorcerers. Shit!" She thrust herself back onto the bench beside her.

Her mind raced as her heart quickly sunk, there was no way she could snatch it from them if they moved as a group, they’d spot her before she even got close.

"Wait... they mentioned the financial district... So now what? Are they escorting him to their office? No... they must be going somewhere else and that’s got to be where the deal will go down! Which means, I still have a chance to steal it!!"

Alice sprung to her feet, the group had already started off and begun to make their way deeper into the financial district, she couldn’t afford to lose them again! Clicking her fingers she sent the Spirit, high above trailing after them, while she sat back at a safe distance.

"I can’t afford to make a mistake here," she thought to herself, a mean glint in her eyes, as she followed them, off into the financial district.

Next Chapter: Falling Inside The Black