Nina went off to school, just like she had many times over the past years, once again believing in the promises her uncle made to her, believing that he would be waiting in the shop for her after school.
Perhaps she no longer believed, but she still stubbornly acted as if she did.
Duncan stood behind the antique shop's ground floor display window, watching as Nina's running figure quickly turned the corner at the end of the alley and disappeared from his view.
Uncle Duncan would be waiting in the shop when she got home, he had promised her so.
"Ai Yi, come here."
With a thought in his mind, a green stream of flame suddenly swept through the air, and the figure of a pigeon appeared in front of Duncan.
The bird cocked its head, looking at its master with beady eyes.
