Nell pulled her sword. “We’re not here to sellher, you foul creature!”
The man lunged for the boat then and, in the next moment,frozemidair.
What the…?
My jaw dropped, and Nell jabbed her elbow into my side.
“Oww,” I muttered. Glancing up, I locked gazes with the swirly eyes of a high mage, his irises practically glowing from within his hood. He stepped up to the man frozen in midair and flicked his wrist, sending the now petrified body flying. Like a boulder, it crashed into an open tent stall fifty feet away.
Whoa.
He pushed his cloak back, and my jaw dropped with recognition. This was the high mage who’d asked me to choose my elements, the nice gray-haired one with the silver robes.
Crap. We were busted.
My mouth dried, and I waited for him to ream us for being here, only it never came. Still, my heart pounded against my ribs in a desperate attempt to flee. Maybe it wasn’t us who’d caused the bedlam. Maybe it was the creepy, swirly-eyed mage.
He looked down his nose at us. “Welcome to Dark Row, ladies. I trust you have good reason to be here?”
I gulped. “Our friend is dying. We need help saving her.” After swallowing again, I added, “Also, thanks for saving us.”
Probably should’ve started with that.
He nodded, which I chose to take as approval. As soon as I disembarked the boat and stood on the dock, he spoke again.
“Let me offer you one bit of warning.”
Legit, I’d take all the help I could get. Shifting uneasily from foot to foot, I asked, “Yes? What is it?”
I had no idea what he was doing here, and I probably didn’t want to know. The high mages were the rulers of our society, and Dark Row was where all of the illegal activities of the magic world took place. Why would he be here? Unless he was here procuring something illegal as well…
He took a deep breath then cocked his head and continued. “Take your injured wolf with you if you mean to keep her intact.”
Oh, Mother Mage.I shook my head.He did not just say that.
“Thank you,” Rue said, inclining her head. “And what do we owe you for this?”
Wait … why would we owe him?
The sinking sensation ofwhat-the-hell-is-going-onsettled over me, and I realized just how out of my element I was.
“You never saw me here,” he replied and turned to leave.
Pausing, he looked back over his shoulder at us and said, “If you want your friend to be healed, there is only one mage strong enough to do this: Madam Surlama.”
He spun around, and we all muttered our thanks to the dude.
I looked down at Kaja. My chest tightened as I thought of us carrying her on a stretcher through a market.
“What I wouldn’t give for a wheelbarrow,” I muttered.
Nell gasped, drawing my attention, but when I looked at her, she pointed toward shore.
The cloaked high mage was gone, but at the end of the dock sat a wheelbarrow.
Shaking my head, I blew out a long breath. “I have a feeling I’m going to owe him someday.”
We set Kaja into the wheelbarrow, and Nell pushed while Rue and I flanked on either side. Rue said nothing as she directed us toward Dark Row and the glowing lights of the black market.
