Chapter One
“Do not be afraid; our fate
Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.”
― Dante Alighieri, Inferno
My phone kept vibrating annoyingly in my pocket; it hadn’t stopped ringing since I left my tiny flat half an hour earlier. I tried to ignore it for as long as I could, but I knew that it was Ricky subtly reminding me that I was yet again running late. I was going to work, making my way through the cold and wet, gloomy streets of Brixton. Keeping my eyes open to my less-than-safe surroundings, I was careful of the people around me, sometimes passing busy-looking humans on the streets who were definitely up to no good, but I was still smiling through my sleep-deprived state. Last night people kept pouring me drinks, and my cards were awesome, so I didn’t want to leave early and lose
