Kire shook her head in response. “I haven’t pressed her for details just yet. And we didn’t exactly leave our last conversation on a good note.” She rubbed her nape, sighing. “The window would be brief, I imagine. But while we’re here, it would be useful to know when this Gemini had come here, too, while we’re at it.” She looked about, observing the crowds, as if she would expect to see green eyes looking back. [i]Where are you?[/i] It was terrible enough to worry about finding Ikegai and Akuma; throwing a Gemini into the mix just sounded like the perfect storm.

At Ruli’s observation about Ysaryn, Kire smiled, if only briefly. “She is, isn’t she? I see what you mean,” she said, without looking terrified at all. “A rather intense woman, that.” Her smile disappeared, though, as she pondered on what he had just told her. “If the Gemini is thinking of opening a gate, a whole community of elves that these humans don’t care about would make for a perfect blood sacrifice. Maybe the dormant magic in elf blood would feed more power into the ritual. But at this point I’m just guessing. When these blood mages are involved, my mind just assumes the worst.” She shook her head. “That means I need to find them before this happens. Gods be damned.” 

She grunted, not liking any of this at all. “Alright. Find the elves first. Let’s start with your suggestion. Vagabonds, children, anyone in the margins. Not anywhere around here, I’d assume?” Despite herself, she was relieved that Ruli didn’t refuse to help with the task. “Outskirts of the city sound like a good place to start?”