I sprinted for the stairs. My senses told me he was still in the alley. Maybe I could catch up to him.
As I ran out, he sprang atop a dumpster, leaped across the alley, and scurried up the side of the three-story building, as fearless as a squirrel. Grumbling, I climbed after him. An adult troll wouldn’t have been light enough or agile enough to climb a building, but this kid hadn’t put on his grown-up mass yet.
But I could climb faster and had almost caught him by the time he reached the flat rooftop. He pulled himself over the edge and ran. I swung up and sprinted after him, feeling like a truant officer.
“I’ll give you twenty dollars if you answer a few questions,” I yelled, not wanting to tackle a kid. I was trying to improve my reputation among the magical community, not make it wo
