And I only have a kitchen knife in my hands. The one she stole while no one noticed. On a brilliantly sparkling blade, cloudy spots of bovine blood darken. The butcher did not have time to wash and clean the tool before I managed to pick it up. I was lucky...

"Boom..." A soft echo echoes back to me.

I inhale the scent through my nostrils. Thick as pitch and cutting like the sour spirit of tavern spirits. Loud, confident footsteps are heard from behind.

– What are you doing here? - Anne asks displeasedly.

He does not notice the silver gleam of steel hiding in the folds of my...