I chuckled at the thought and stepped into the entryway of the shop. My heart fell into my stomach when I saw the “Closed” sign in the front and only one dim light on inside.
No.
Truth be told, I hadn’t wanted to break in. I didn’t want to steal, but I had no coin to pay for this, and I’d come this far, so there was no going back.
Looking over my shoulder, I made sure that I was in-fact alone on Willow Street. When I didn’t see anyone, I casually bent down and grabbed the large rock that lined the cute flower bed in front of the sizable entry window.
My heart fluttered in my chest, but the memory of my father lying unconscious with waxy, pallid skin kept me motivated.
Without overthinking, I smashed the rock through the glass door pane closest to the lock and it shattered in one shot. The rock slipped from my fingers and fell with a loud thump on the floor inside of the door.
I turned around again, waiting to be caught by a passerby or guard, but no one was there. Reaching inside, I flipped the lock on the door, and it opened with ease, smacking into the rock and dragging it across the floor.
I stepped inside and quickly shut the door behind me. I was close now, moments from finding a cure for my father. Energy rushed through my system as I stumbled forward, glancing at all the shelves. There were powders, salves, capsules, crystals, teas, oils. Small bottles, big bottles, bags, droppers, jars. It was overwhelming.
My eyes flitted over everything and I audibly gasped when I saw the wordTincturesengraved on a sign behind the counter. There was a whole wall of them, all in little blue glass bottles. Side-stepping the counter and walking behind it, I began to read the labels in the low light, grateful Sorrel had taught me how.Mind-Numb, Back-Ease, Swollen Eye-Reduce, Rash-Away—
“You must be desperate to have broken my window,” a female voice called behind me. I froze, hand shaking with theInfection-Begonebottle I had just grabbed. My breath quickened and my muscles tightened like a coiled spring, ready to run at any moment.
I spun and came face-to-face with a kind-looking fae woman who had brown hair streaked through with a few greys. She was in her late thirties to early forties, standing in the middle of the shop wearing a nightgown, staring at the broken glass window with a frown.
“My father’s dying. Red streaks from a smelly wound grow towards his heart. I can’t pay. I’m sorry,” I said in a rush, hoping she wouldn’t attack me with paralyzing magic or call a guard.
Should I pull my dagger? Did she have magic to apprehend me?She was standing in the way of the exit, and I wished I’d thought this through better.
She nodded slowly, clasping her hands together as she gave me a subtle frown.
“If it’s red streaks, then the tincture won’t work. He’ll need a healer. The Academy has healing students who will take on patients for free, for practice. They need a certain number of different types of cases to graduate.”
My mind rolled her words over as I processed them. Confused. She was…helping me?
Didn’t she know I wasn’t from here?
“I broke your window,” I blurted out, wondering why in the name of the Light she would help me after that.
She nodded. “Which means you must really be in need. I’m in the business of helping people. I wish you would have knocked.”
Shame burned my cheeks, and I instantly felt awful. I hadn’t thought of knocking and just asking for a handout. Did she live here? I peered to the side of the shop and, sure enough, there was a popped-open shelf that concealed a secret door, which must have led to her home.
“I—I’m so sorry. I’ll try to pay for it.” It was a futile lie. We didn’t use coins in Isa. I worked at the tavern for barter.We had no need for money.
The woman gave me a stern look then, her eyes sharpening as she put a hand on her hip. “Oh, I fully expect you to come back and work off this debt.” She motioned to the broken glass.
Work.In The Gilded City? So, she didn’t know that I wasn’t from here. Her news of an Academy that seemingly trained healers and did free work was what held my attention now.
“Which way is The Academy again? My father doesn’t have much time, it’s been an awful night and I’m all turned around.” I pointed to the back of her shop and then the side as a way of asking for directions.
She rolled her eyes. “The Academy! The big black building west of here. Surely, you’ve dreamed of going since you were little?”
I nodded. “Of course.ThatAcademy.”
I had no idea what The Academy was, but I wanted to go now, to find a healer for my father. I’d bring the tinctureandthe healer, then there was no way he’d die.
I slipped the bottle of Infection-Begone into my pocket. “I’ll work this off too,” I lied. “Just in case it helps him.”
She sighed, resigned. “Well, all right, dear. Next time, knock. You know I don’t mind helping the people who live on the West Side.”
There. Again. The guard and now her. It dawned on me then that The Gilded Citydidhave poor people and my heart ached when I realized that they were able to immediately identify me as one of them.
