The small, dim apartment felt even more claustrophobic as the tension between the two men shifted from tactical to theatrical. Kaelan disappeared into the shadows of the cramped back bedroom. There was the sound of heavy dragging, the scraping of leather against old floorboards, and then he emerged, hauling a massive, overstuffed duffel bag that looked like it belonged to a traveling circus rather than a destitute laborer.
Luca watched from the table with a look of genuine, cold bewilderment. He had lived for centuries in the shadows of power, but the sight of Kaelan struggling with such a gargantuan piece of luggage was an anomaly he hadn't calculated.
"Where in the name of the Void did you get that?" Luca asked, his silver eyes tracking the bag as Kaelan heaved it into the center of the kitchen. "We are supposed to be living on the edge of poverty, Kaelan. A bag of that quality and size in 3rd Street is an invitation for a mugging."
