Whistling away, he ground pungent dried herbs in a stone bowl.
“Hey, Jakko.” I knocked on the doorframe and waited for him to notice.
He looked up at me with those same red, glassy eyes he’d had before. Dude either had permanent allergies or was constantly high.
“Miss Trouble,” he said, raising his eyebrows.
“Har har,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “I need your help so that all of our people don’t become blood slaves.”
He froze, his gaze narrowing. “I’m listening.”
Good.
“I want some bombs of that powder that takes away our powers.”
He grinned like a young wolf who’d just learned to shift. “You know, I discovered that.”
Okay, so he wanted an ego stroke too. “Yeah, I heard. It’s very cool.”Unless you’re on the receiving end—then it sucks. “This time, I’d like to be the one dishing it out.”
His eyes lit up as I spoke. “Thanks. How many do you need?”
“That depends. Will it work on a blood mage?”
He shrugged. “It won’t keep them from sucking your blood as that’s not really a power, but it’ll subdue their magic. Strength, speed, and whatever else those creepy bastards have.”
“You’re sure?” I asked.
“Yep,” he said. “Magic is magic.”
That was good enough for me. If we were going to take out the queen and Kalama, we needed to level the playing field. “I’ll take as many as you can make in the next ten hours.”
His eyes widened. “That’s going to cost you.”
I crossed my arms. “Really, Jakko? I’m about to fight to the death later and save you from future blood slavery, and you want to charge me!”
He sighed. “Fine! You can pay me after … if you survive.”
Oh, that wasnice. “Fine.” I growled. “I need one more thing.”
“You’re really piling on the favors here, Nai.” He gave me a sobering look.
Maybe his weed was wearing off.
“I’d like you to spread the word throughout Mageville that we need fighters. Tell the mages what we’re going to do, and ask them to join us. We want as many mages as we can get … from Dark Row, the villages, even in the outlands. I thought maybe your mom and siblings could help.”
He studied me, seemingly considering me or my plea.
“It’s bad, okay? They’re way more powerful than we ever could have realized.”
“I was there in Ozzie’s throne room yesterday. I heard.”
I took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eyes. “Then you know we needeveryoneif we’re going to defeat them.”
His pupils dilated, and he swallowed. “I’ll get word out right away.” He stood.
“Thanks,” I turned to walk away and then spun on my heel to face him once more. “I’ll pick up those powder bombs later tonight. And I’ll need antidote flowers for those of us throwing them so we aren’t affected by the powder.”
“Anything else, princess?” He gave me a hard stare like he wanted to kill me.
