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“What’s going on?” Elon Japher strides into the bakery through the front entrance as smug and arrogant as ever, his permanent leer locking on me immediately.

Nope, I’m done. No way I’m hanging around for this. I’m outta here. Spinning on my heel, I damn near bolt for the kitchen.

Imogen sniggers behind me. Jackson Maine says something. I don’t know what. My heart is pounding too hard, too fast in my ears to hear.

“Al,” Arlo mumbles as I push passed him, sympathy and worry in his voice, but am I stopping?

Nope nope nope.

I snatch up my bag and my tools, the ones I travel with, the ones I use no matter what kitchen I’m in, and I rush through the back door.

two

“Al?”Arlo calls as I storm along the narrow alley the bakery backs onto. I ignore him. He’s a great kid who always makes me laugh when we work together, but I need to be alone.

I hurry deeper into the shadows, my breath bursting from me in angry pants. A part of my mind realises I’ve never actually thought about the dank, dim stretch of alley behind Japher’s cafe. Until today, I’ve never used it, only ever entering and exiting the business through the front door. I learnt from Dad that it’s best to be seen coming and going so no one can accuse you of stealing. Another part of my mind wonders how freaking long and dark and narrow it is? Is it ever going to end?

Who cares? I don’t. All I care about is getting away from Japher and Imogen and Jackson Maine and…and…

A grimy brick wall looms up in front of me, and I stop and stare at it. Okay, so the alley doesn’t lead out anywhere. It’s a dead end.

Like my career.

Oh, shut up, brain.

Coloured layers of sprayed profanity cover the bricks, words of ironic wisdom, tags, and offers of sexual acts. A dry snort escapes me as I take in the most recent.

Welcome to the cave of Wunders!! Have fun!

Whoever the artist was, I appreciate their dark sense of humour.

Lowering my gaze, I curl my nose. Four beaten-up rubbish bins, the old metal kind, are strewn on the ground, their contents spewing out of their gaping mouths in a vomit of rotting food, packaging, empty cans and bottles, stuff I don’t even want to try to identify.

“Cave ofWundersindeed,” I mutter. So I have to walk past Japher’s Patisserie’s back door to get to the street. God, I hope no one is there, waiting to witness my walk of?—

Something on the ground glints in the dim shadows.

I pause, squinting. What?

Nothing. Just shadows.

Peering up at the thin stretch of sky visible above me—damn, where did those storm clouds come from?—I frown again. No visible sunlight means no the chance of something glinting in it. Maybe I needed to get my eyes checked? Or perhaps I ‘m getting a migraine? The kind with the flashy lights? I’ve never had one before, but I’ve also never been humiliated in front of pastry royalty before either, so…

Returning my attention to where IthinkI saw the glint, I squint harder at the gloominess.

Yep, there it is. Another glint. Definitely a glint.

A purply glint.

I take a step forwards and see a purple glass mason jar lying on its side in amongst the rubbish. “What the…” I crouch downto study it and then flick a look up at the narrow stretch of sky above me. Still no sunbeams getting down here. So what the hell is making the jar glint?

Only one way to find out, right?

I wipe my palm on my thigh and reach forwards and pick up the jar.

Ha. Okay, so not a mason jar. Not really. It’s a glass container of some sort, but the lid isn’t a screw-on metal kind. I frown, sitting back on my heels as I study the…the…glassthing. The lid isn’t a lid at all, more like a stopper, one that has a pointed top with a smaller hole at the tip. I’ve never seen anything like it, but it’s pretty. Maybe. It’s currently filthy and covered in grim, so it’s a bit hard to be sure.

“Let’s get a better look at you,” I murmur, rubbing its side on the top of my right thigh.

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