Page 17

She snorted, gesturing to glass cases that lined the store which were filled with enchanted cards. “You and everyone else who walks into my shop.”

Apparently, merchants’s attitudes towards service had changed since I was a child.

I stepped closer and examined the cards. “I need travel staples, so some warmth, body enchantments, and protection. And two disguise cards.”

We could wander around the village with just our cloaks hiding our identities, but in the city, it would take something stronger to hide Raphael’s red eyes. Besides, I didn’t know if the guards might come looking for me before I had a chance to get to the Monastery.

“Is that all?” A huff. “Let me see what I can do.”

She eased off her stool and trudged to the back. The door chimed as someone else came in. I fingered the coins in the pouch, trying to figure out what would be reasonable to pay while scanning the cards. One was enchanted for clean drinking water, made by an aquamancer. Could be useful to have. It came in a variety of types, from littleenough to sip from, to enough to enchant a never-emptying flask.

“Alright, I’ve got your cards.” She slapped a small deck onto the glass desk and took her place back on her stool. The cards fanned out, and she pointed to them, one by one.

“Warmth for a cloak, to keep off the spring chill for a week. Bodily enchantments for your legs so they don’t tire. A hunger spell to stall your body’s needs for up to three days—if you want a card that will give you food, that’s extra—this one will make you a tent, no muss, no fuss, and collapse when you’re done. Two disguises.” She gave me a judgmental look. “Will distort your face. Just picture how you want to look, and it’ll work. These ones will let you start a fire, even if the wood is soaked through. And for protection, this is premium.”

The icon on the card depicted a swarm of insects.

“Bees?” I asked.

“Hah!” She looked down her drooping nose at me. “Wasps. Much better.”

“Do you have anything more powerful?” Wasps wouldn’t be any good against ogres or trolls. I had the vampire for protection—for now. But counting on someone to keep me safe was asking to get hurt. “Like a fireball or… or an explosive?” I asked hopefully.

She snorted. “Bah! I’ll be surprised if you can afford these. Fifteen gold pieces.”

“Fifteen?” I clutched the coins in my fingers. It sounded high, but the truth was, I had no idea what a fair price was.

“Fifteen?” a voice echoed. “Now, Darlene, you and I both know this is nine, at best. Eight, if Brian made the tent one.”

I blinked.

The other patron who had come in had wandered closer. He was a boy, or maybe more accurately a man close to my age, except he seemed so much softer than all the men I’d seen.

He eased closer, peering over my shoulder to look at the cards.

“Seriously, Darl?”

The shopkeeper—Darlene—frowned, clearly unhappy that he was negotiating on my behalf. “Don’t you have your own business to ruin? And don’t call me Darl, boy.”

I peered up to see his reaction, my shoulder brushing against his. He gave her a stern look. My savior was blond like the sun itself loved him, with bright brown eyes that twinkled with mischief, and a mouth that even at its sternest with the dealer wanted to smile.

“I can’t have you taking advantage of a pretty girl like this, now can I?”

Darlene glared at me, like this was my fault. “Twelve.”

The boy put a hand on my shoulder, leaning in conspiratorially, “Honestly, it’s probably only worth seven. She doesn’t even carry the goodstuff anymore.”

I flushed at the easy contact, and the impish tone he had, whispering even though it was obviously said for Darlene’s benefit. How long had it been since someone had just… touched me? Not to hurt me, not to threaten me. Touched me like I was just a village girl.

“Ten. Take it or get out.”

I slid out a handful of coins and placed them on the counter before the boy could continue to argue on my behalf. “I’ll take it.”

I scooped the cards up and slid them into the pouch. I should get a proper deck holder for my belt; most people wore one. But that was an expense for another day. Still, I hesitated. “Do you have anything specifically for vampires?”

Darlene scowled. “Case to the left of the door. Back row.”

I went to look while the boy spoke to Darlene. The back row had several cards that wouldn’t fit my needs. Only one card could’ve been the one she meant. It wasn’t one I’d ever seen before. The glass was enchanted so I couldn’t actually take the card from it, so I went back to Darlene.