Walking down the street Freya marveled at how, contrary to the rumors, there really wasn’t much difference between downtown Ireslone, the capital of the country of demons, and downtown Blacrith, the capital of Lorian. Although some of the people that surrounded her held features unfamiliar to her such as horns, fur, tails or other such traits of the like, the streets were just as busy and lively.

Looking around, Freya could see young demon teenagers in school uniforms, with their trademark longhair, chatting with friends as they walked. In another corner was what appeared to be a horned salary woman arguing on the phone as she walked briskly to the nearest bus stop, joining the crowds of working demons and students who had just finished another day in their lives.

“What are you looking at?” came Ifera’s voice from behind her.

Freya glanced back at the beautiful demon and replied, “Just thinking.”

Ifera had since changed from her maid uniform into dark jeans and a dark sweater. Now she pushed her hands into the pockets of her jeans while replying, “About what?”

“I’ve never tried clothes from the country of demons. I wonder what is considered in style here,” Freya lied.

“Wait, you’re really going to spend,” pausing Ifera glanced at the crowded street before continuing, “that person’s money?”

“Wasn’t that the plan?” Freya said with a smile while adjusting her backpack straps.

“Why aren’t you afraid?” Ifera asked.

Taken aback by such a blunt question, Freya asked, “You’re quite forward.”

“Teacher Zacheus says that you should always first ask a question to something that you need the answer of.”

Freya paused for a moment and against her better judgment asked, “Before that shouldn’t you seek out the answer to your question yourself?”

“What do you mean?” Ifera’s silver eyebrows bunched in confusion.

“Let’s play a game,” Freya suddenly said clapping her hands.

“A Game?”

Freya nodded, her eyes shining brightly.

“What are the rules?”

“Its simple really, follow me around just as what you are doing and find the answer you are looking for.”

“And if I can’t?”

“Then I lose.”

“And what does the winner get,” Ifera asked crossing her arms over her chest.

Folding her arms behind her back, Freya leaned closer to the she-demon and gave a gentle smile as she responded, “A favor.”

“What favor could I possible want from you,” Ifera retorted.

Shrugging Freya answered, “Who knows, it’s just a game.”

“A game?”

“Yeah, so are you in,” Freya paused for a split second before saying, “unless you’re scared of losing.”

“Why would I be scared of some human who didn’t even know they could control magic?”

“Then you’re in?”

“Yes, I’m in,” Ifera snapped before a look of confusion covered her face.

Not wanting the demon to dwell on whatever thoughts were going through her pretty head, Freya asked, “Then what’s Ireslone’s most popular and expensive shop?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

In response, Freya took out the mobile she only reserved for contacting family and went onto the Magicore while logging onto her secondary account.

Speaking into the mobile, she asked, “What is Ireslone’s most popular clothing outlet or store?”

Immediately, a list of search results appeared, mostly travel forums for tourists, students, and businessmen planning on spending time in Ireslone. Interesting enough, there were quite a few demons who responded, the demi icon next to their usernames indicating that they were answering from a Demicore account rather than a Magicore account.

On that note, Freya thought she might have better luck if she downloaded a Demicore browser. These forums were good, but experience had taught her that there were just some places locals weren’t willing to share with foreigners. On that note, Freya deleted her search and typed in “Demicore Browser”. The first search showed the official Demicore browser typically used mainly by demons and half-demons alike. Clicking on it, she accepted the warnings that came with installing a non-Magicore approved browser and waited for it to download.

“What are you doing?” Ifera asked.

“Looking for somewhere to shop,” Freya answered without looking up from her screen, scrolling the Magicore forums while she waited for the download to complete. They all seemed to mention a place called “Arlynne’s Clothing Emporium”. Checking the demicore browser, Freya found that only seventy percent had downloaded. She could check it out and if it was a bust, the browser would have been installed by then. Double checking the address on her Magimaps application, Freya found that it was only a few minutes away from where they were.

Orientating the mobile, Freya began walking in the direction towards the clothing store.

“Where are we going?” Ifera asked.

“Some place called Arlynne’s Clothing Emporium. Have you heard of it?”

“I think some of my colleagues have mentioned it during mealtimes, but I’ve never personally been there.”

As they walked through the crowded streets avoiding running into passersbys, Freya asked, “Then where do you normally buy clothes?”

“I just order whatever looks comfortable on Demitreasure and it gets sent over to the mailroom through a magic circle.”

Freya filed away the information that Demitreasure was probably the equivalent to Magibazaar, which she often used when unable to find anything in person within a short time frame. Freya preferred shopping in person, but she couldn’t deny the convenience of being able to pay for an item through her Magicore account and then have it immediately sent to her mailbox through magical means as soon as the order was processed.

“Are there any shops you prefer,” Freya asked to keep up her image.

“Not really, it’s just clothes.”

Before Freya could think of a way to try to continue this rather awkward conversation, Freya’s mobile said, “You have arrived.”

It was faster than what she thought it would take, but when she looked up, she realized the issue. The so called Arlynne’s Clothing Emporium was more of a marketplace of connecting shops with different gates. Originally the map had pointed her towards a gate that was a few blocks farther than were Freya and Ifera currently were, but the system must have realized its error and tried to fix itself by stopping at this much closer gate. The gate in question looked more like an alleyway with only the symbol for gate scrawled into the side.

“Are you sure this is the right way to go?” Ifera asked behind her looking at the seemingly dark and impassable alleyway.

“I believe in the power of modern technology.”

Ifera grabbed Freya’s jacket before releasing a grimace and letting go.

Frowning, Freya asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t think that’s normal,” Ifera said pointing at the alley with no foreseeable end.

“Its probably just some protective barrier so competitors can’t see what’s on the other side.”

Ifera stared long and hard at the alley before saying, “I’ve never heard of any store capable of implementing such a complex barrier.”

Looking at the suspicious demon Freya asked, “Then I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Ifera, how long have you lived in Ireslone?”

“My entire life,” Ifera stated with confidence lacing her voice.

“And in your entire life, how often do you go into town?”

“Only for work.”

Careful to keep her tone light while putting on a small smile, Freya responded, “And how often is that?”

“Whenever that person has guests.”

Realizing that Ifera was avoiding the question Freya decided to try a different tactic by reasoning, “In Lorian the shops usually have a mage on staff to deal with security issues, system malfunctions, and to keep everything functional with a proper flow of magical energy.”

“Why would someone with magical talent accept such a lowly position,” Ifera asked in confusion.

“Not everyone wants nor seeks glory,” Freya started before seeing the look of confusion on Ifera’s face at her response so Freya quickly added in, “or that’s what Ashzak always said.”

A look of recognition crossed Ifera’s face as she replied, “Ah, him.”

Freya decided to ignore what that look meant for now. It would probably look to suspicious if she were to ask if Ifera knew her eldest brother. Moreover, the last thing she wanted was Ashzak of all people knowing where she was. Maybe Verias and Alley she could talk her way out of, but bleeding Ashzak was an entirely different mountain to climb.

Before her mind wandered into dark childhood memories concerning her eldest brother, Freya asked, “So are you coming or not?”

Ifera only glared at the alleyway, her golden eyes taking an almost steely edge in response.

“I told you that you have nothing to worry about. At the worst-case scenario, it’s some weird marketing scheme to attract customers while warding away competitors.”

“Are you absolutely sure?” Ifera asked, finally turning to face Freya.

At the start, she was sure at the safety of entering the alley, but Freya would have been lying if she didn’t hold a little bit of doubt after Ifera’s protests. Shaking her head, Freya pushed away those doubts. She wasn’t in some small border town or even in Lorian anymore. This was bleeding Ireslone. No one would be stupid enough to set up such an obvious trap in the capital of one of the three global superpowers. Besides, in the very tiny microscopic chance that Ifera was right, Freya was confident that she could talk her way out of any situation that arose.

“Well,” Ifera asked, pulling Freya out of her thoughts.

Confident that she knew what she was doing, and more importantly, not wanting to lose face, Freya marched with her head held high into the dark shadowy alley as she replied in an exaggerated tone, “Absolutely.”

After stepping inside, Freya mentally let out an internal sigh of relief to find that Ifera had followed behind her.

Tucking a stray lock of blue hair behind her ear, Freya said, “See there was nothing to worry about.”

Looking straight ahead, Freya could even clearly see a light at the end of this dark shadowy tunnel. Strange enough, everything around her seemed to be dark and shadowy, but she could still clearly make out her own hands and Ifera standing slightly beside her.

Ifera’s golden eyes darted around the alleyway at lightning speed before she said, “So it would seem, but we won’t be sure until we get to the other side. Stay where I can see you.”

“Aw, my own personal bodyguard,” Freya almost dramatically swooned. If the she-demon hadn’t already made it perfectly clear that she wasn’t interested, Freya would have kissed her on the spot.

At Ifera’s eye roll, Freya began walking ahead while she reminded herself that there were plenty of fish in the sea. Immediately an image of the blushing demon king from earlier popped into her head. Unlike Ifera who stayed cool throughout all of her advances and side comments, his reactions were much more interesting. It made her wonder what type of expressions he would make in more interesting situations. That said, it would be best not to move too quickly with people of his type.

To try to get her mind out of where it usually wandered when alone, Freya asked, “So is there anything in particular that you want to get while we are out?”

Not hearing even a sigh in response, Freya turned around only to find that she was completely alone. Moreover, the light she had been walking towards had also seemed to disappear.

In such a situation, rather than panicking, Freya let out a curse followed by, “I really hate today.”