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Wolf panted with excitement.

I grinned at her. “You love playing catch, don’t you?”

Her tail swooshed back and forth like a hyperactive pendulum.

“Well, she did ‘catch’ my boot this morning.” Marlow lifted up his foot to show the chew marks etched into the leather.

“Good girl!” I told her, which elicited an amused eye roll from Marlow.

“Oh, yeah, your daughter is exactly like you,” he told my mom.

I tossed the tennis ball up in the air and caught it.

Wolf let out a happy bark. Her big blue eyes locked on to the ball in my hand. And the moment I tossed it, she shot off after it like a rocket.

Marlow chuckled as Wolf returned and dropped the retrieved ball at my feet. “How can it be that my dog already loves you more than she loves me, Savannah? She’s only known you for a few seconds.”

“I have a way with animals.”

I pitched the ball clear across the garage. It bounced off a thick concrete pillar and ricocheted hard. Wolf pursued it, yelping with excitement. A few of the traders cried out in surprise as she barreled through their stands, nearly knocking them over.

Marlow watched his dog, chuckling. Then he turned his attention to us. “What can I do for you today, ladies?” he asked. “I had a good haul yesterday.”

“You’re a Scavenger, aren’t you?” I said.

The well-worn trekking outfit was a dead giveaway. Fitted t-shirt, frayed hiking pants, mud-stained jacket. They were all printed in an ugly green-brown camouflage pattern: the uniform of the Scavengers.

The Government regularly sent its Scavengers beyond the town walls to collect abandoned things from the World That Was. It was a very dangerous job because there wasn’t just treasure out there; there were cursed creatures too.

“What’s it like out there, beyond the wall?” I asked him.

“Dangerous. I’d say too dangerous for nice girls like you…” His suddenly-serious gaze swept up our black sports outfits. “…but those are the threads of Apprentices. Soon you will be Knights. And then you’ll see what’s out there, whether you want to or not.” He cleared his throat, his smile returning. “But we’re here to discuss my fabulous wares. On my last trip, I found a very stylish pair of heels in just your size, Dr. Winters.” He gave his brows a slow, suggestive lift.

“I told you before, Marlow. Call me Alara.”

“Of course, Dr. Winters.” He smirked at her.

She rolled her eyes, grumbling something about “scoundrels”.

He winked at her.

Mom folded her arms across her chest. “Are you flirting with me?”

“Of course not.” He winked at her again.

“He totally is,” I told my mom.

Chuckling, Marlow reached into his bag. When his hand reappeared, a pair of glossy, fire-engine-red stilettos were dangling from his fingertips.

For the teeniest, tiniest second, Mom looked tempted, but then she waved the shoes away. “Too impractical.”

“At least try them on.”

“No. We’re here for something else.” She nodded at Kylie.

“Garden tools.” Kylie swung her backpack off her shoulders. “I need garden tools.”

“I have two pairs of garden scissors and a hand shovel. What can you offer in trade?”