Run: 2026-02-19-01KHSZ09EBTNB7Y2WBW6BCH6ZW

Detective Harlow Quinn ducked under the caution tape stretched across the entrance to the abandoned Tube station. Her polished oxfords clicked against the grimy tiles as she descended into the bowels of London's underbelly. The air hung heavy with the stench of mildew and decay. "Detective Quinn," a uniformed officer greeted her at the bottom of the stairs. "Didn't expect to see you here." "Just finished another case nearby. Heard the call over the radio. What have we got?" She scanned the platform, her sharp gaze missing nothing. The officer flipped open his notebook. "Report of an altercation, but by the time we arrived, the place was deserted. We found traces of blood though. Forensics is collecting samples now." Harlow frowned, her eyes tracing the graffiti scrawled walls. "An abandoned station is an odd place for a squabble. Any witnesses? Security cameras?" "No cameras, but we're canvassing the area." He hesitated. "There is something else... We found this near the blood." He held out a small brass compass, its face etched with strange symbols. Harlow took it gingerly, careful not to smudge potential fingerprints. The needle spun erratically, defying the cardinal directions. A flicker of movement caught her eye. She turned to see a figure emerge from the shadows. "Eva? What are you doing here?" Eva Kowalski stepped into the pool of light cast by a bare bulb, nervously tucking a curl behind her ear. "The Market's moved. I heard whispers of an incident and came to investigate." "You shouldn't be here. This is an active crime scene." Harlow pocketed the compass. "The Market? You aren't involved in that Veil nonsense too, are you?" Eva bristled. "The Veil isn't nonsense. It's a crucial part of our world, whether you choose to see it or not." She peered past Harlow at the bloodstains. "You have no idea what really goes on in this city, Harlow." "I deal in facts and evidence. Not magic and monsters." "Maybe you should expand your worldview." Eva's gaze snapped to the compass in Harlow's pocket. "Wait, is that - Where did you get that?" "We found it here. It appears broken." Eva held out her hand. "May I? I've seen similar devices in the restricted archives." Harlow reluctantly handed it over. Eva examined it with the practiced eye of an historian, her finger tracing the sigils. The needle stilled, pointing down the darkened tunnel. "It's not broken," Eva murmured. "It's a Veil Compass. This needle doesn't point north - it points to power." "Power?" "Supernatural energy. Rifts and portals between realms. Someone used this to find something down here." Eva looked up, meeting Harlow's skeptical gaze. "Or to open something." A shout from the forensics team cut through the tense silence. "We've got another blood trail!" Harlow turned to the officer. "Secure the scene. No one in or out without my say-so." She grabbed Eva's arm, steering her toward the exit. "You're coming with me. We need to talk." Eva didn't resist as Harlow marched her up to the street. They emerged blinking into the grey light of pre-dawn London, the city just beginning to stir. "Spill it, Evie. Everything you know." Harlow crossed her arms, fixing Eva with the same piercing stare that had broken hardened criminals. "I... I don't know much for certain. Only rumors." Eva hugged her satchel to her chest like a shield. "But there are whispers of a new player in the Veil. Someone seeking an ancient Shade artifact, powerful enough to rip away the Veil entirely." "And that compass?" "A tool to find it, I suspect. Crafted by Shade artisans. But it's just a piece of the puzzle." Harlow pressed the heels of her hands to her temples, feeling a migraine building. Magic and monsters. Artifacts and other worlds. It was the stuff of fantasy. And yet... that compass defied explanation. Just like the strange circumstances surrounding Morris' death. "I can help you," Eva said quietly. "I have access to information you don't. Centuries of records and first-hand accounts. If you let me, I can assist your investigation. Unofficially, of course." Harlow considered her childhood friend, weighing the risks and potential benefits. Eva was brilliant. Patient and perceptive in equal measure. A keen mind honed by years of study and a meticulous attention to detail. "Fine," she relented. "But if you interfere with my investigation or break the law, I will arrest you. Friend or not." "I understand." Eva adjusted her glasses, all business now. "So. Where do we start?" Harlow stared back at the station entrance, the Veil Compass a comforting weight in her pocket. "Let's see where that needle leads, shall we?"