The Demon and the City

once she looked to the side of the road and saw Deveth, in her dog-form, trotting along beside. Deveth looked at her and gave a vulpine grin, then vanished from sight. Robin worked steadily at the bonds, but with no result. They were made of thick hemp rope, and they would not budge.
    Although it was dark, she could tell that they were climbing. The air, however, did not grow any fresher: it smelled as though they were moving through a cellar, musty and fungal, with an undertone of decay. Her hands felt gritty, covered in dust, and there was a faint wind blowing which covered her face in the dust, too. Soon she found it more comfortable to close her eyes, though she tried to keep them open in the off-chance that she might be able to glimpse their destination or their route. Eventually the cart slowed and she was lifted down.
    The dogmen were growling and snapping at one another again: it was a moment before Robin realized that they were actually communicating. They pulled and tugged her into the narrow mouth of a cave, then released a lever. An iron grille rattled down, sealing her and Mhara behind it. Deveth peered through the bars.
    "You'll be kept here. Don't worry, they're not leaving you to rot. Someone will bring you food and water tomorrow; until then, the gags stay on. I suggest you try to sleep."
    Robin produced a series of strangled protests. Deveth's grin widened.
    "That won't do you much good. I don't have a lot of say in this, you know. It wasn't my idea." Somehow, Robin was certain she was lying. She kicked at the bars, but Deveth was already bounding away down the mountainside. Robin watched her go, consumed by a flurry of emotions: rage, despair, frustration. Mhara nudged her. She looked up and his eyes were full of understanding and compassion. She leaned against him, looking out over the dark mountain to the lights of what must be the Night Harbor port. They were dim and fuzzy, like lanterns seen through rain, and very far away. She sank down to sit with her back against the wall and fell into an exhausted sleep.
     
    The bars rattled her awake. Something was reaching in through the grille, a long, bare arm with claws that raked down her shin and brought fire in their wake. Robin screamed through the gag and scrambled away, waking Mhara in the process. She looked out onto a mouth filled with teeth, a narrow, bald head. Mhara and Robin shuffled back as far as they could, but the cave came to an abrupt end. They were trapped, and now the thing was questing about, its blind head raised as if testing the air. It made a small noise of approbation, then took hold of the lever. Mhara pushed himself in front of Robin and an undignified shackled scuffle broke out as each sought to protect the other. The grille shot up, the thing bounded into the cave and lashed out at Mhara. Robin hurled herself at it, caught her foot on a rocky outcrop and fell heavily to the floor. The thing, in turn, fell over her and sprawled across the cave. Then something lightning-quick and growling had entered the fray. Robin, trying to rise, glimpsed a long, narrow head and eyes like scraps of night. It was a badger—but whatever was a badger doing here? Then she heard shouts and a tall snarling form in a black coat seized the bald thing and banged its head repeatedly against the wall. A shorter man was there, then, accompanied by a girl. Together, moving with calm efficiency, they released Robin and Mhara from their bonds and tore away Robin's gag.
    "Thank you!" Robin whispered. It was all she could manage, for her throat was raw from lack of water.
    "I'm glad we found you in time," the man said. Robin looked into a round, pleasant, unremarkable face.
    "You're human," she said. The relief was overwhelming; she sagged in his grasp.
    "Detective Inspector Chen. I'm with the city's police force. This—" he pointed to the tall person, who had finished his assault on the thing and was now securing its hands with a pair of handcuffs "—is my partner, Detective Zhu Irzh. He isn't human, as you can probably see, but don't worry about that."
    "My name is Robin Yuan. And who are you?" Robin asked the girl. She had never seen anyone so delicately beautiful: the girl made Robin, who had always considered herself to be a slight person, feel like an ox in comparison. And what lovely perfume she was wearing: it filled the cave, canceling the odors of decomposition and dust.
    "I am a friend," the girl said with a curious firmness. Robin would