A Darker Shade of Magic

The narrative moves to Booth, the man who picked up the black sword Lila wished into being. The dark magic possessing the man’s body is too powerful to be contained by the people of Grey London. It tries without success to spread to other humans and burns them to death instead. In search of a new host, the magic drags Booth’s rotting body to the Stone’s Throw and transfers itself to Ned, the magic enthusiast who asked Kell for a bag of earth.

Back in Red London, Kell uses the stone to make himself and Lila invisible and intangible. He asks Lila about her family. Her mother died when she was 10, and the last time she saw her father, he tried “to sell [her] flesh to pay his tab” (250). Lila was 15 at the time, and she killed the man before he could touch her. This was the first time she took a life, and it granted her a feeling of power.

The royal family alerts the city that Kell is missing and offers a reward. Kell and Lila slip inside Fletcher’s shop, which is closed. The veins of Kell’s hand are black with dark power, and it takes a great exertion of will for Kell to release the stone and allow Lila to carry it instead.