Page 96 of Charmless

Delphine smirked at him. “I bought the bone off of some drunken idiot who thought it was a good idea to perform the Corsair Sabre Dance when he was barefoot and ended up slicing off his own toe.”

“And I would happily cut off another one if you’d make me one of those magic lock picks,” Waldo said.

“In your dreams, Wharf Rat,” Delphine retorted.

I shuddered with revulsion, not wanting to think about the process Delphine had used to transform Waldo’s severed toe into the Skeletal Pick. I handed the splinter of bone back to her, dreading to find out what else she might have in her bag of magic tricks.

The next item she produced was not as gruesome. Cupped in the palm of her hand was a cloudy blue marble.

“This is a Mist Pellet,” she said. “Fling it at the ground as hard as you can, and it will produce a temporary fog.”

“Is that what you used to escape on the night of the King’s ball?”

She nodded. “You’ll need this to get past the prison guards.”

“But I already have the magic shoes.”

“The shoes will turn you invisible, but they won’t help Mal.”

“Invisibility shoes?” Waldo rested the oars long enough to stare wistfully at the glass slippers cradled in my lap. “I’d hack off my whole foot for a pair of those.”

“If you cut off your foot, the shoes wouldn’t do you much good, numbskull,” Delphine said. “Now keep rowing.”

Waldo grunted and resumed his labors as Delphine drew forth the last items from her bag, gingerbread cookies cut in the shape of mice.

“You thought I might get hungry?” I asked in disbelief. “Delphine, I assure you I have absolutely no appetite.”

“These aren’t for you. These are in case you encounter any Aura cats.”

“Aura cats?” I gasped. “They have those patrolling the prison?”

“I don’t know for certain, but you might just run into one or two. Even though, they won’t be able to see you, they will still sense your aura.”

“Oh, wonderful,” I muttered.

“Don’t worry. Just toss them a cookie. These are laced with a powerful sleeping potion. The cat will keel over as soon as it swallows it.” Delphine looked pensive. “I only hope the cookies work just as well on the dragon.”

“Dragon?” I had to smother my shriek.

“Just teasing.” She chuckled and Waldo grinned.

I glared at them.

When Delphine stopped laughing, she conceded, “There are some wild tales about a dragon kept in the dungeons, but I am sure it is nothing but a ridiculous rumor. If you should come across a dragon, there is one important thing you should remember.”

“To run very fast?” I asked sourly.

“Yes, that is always a good idea when a dragon is after you, especially since invisibility shoes won’t work on magical beings like dragons, fairies, mermaids, or pixies. They might not be able to see you, but they will sense your presence. But I doubt you will encounter anything like that inside the prison.”

“No, just aura cats and hordes of nasty prison guards,” I grumbled.

“Don’t worry, Ella. You are going to be fine.” Delphine gave my shoulder a reassuring pat. “You can do this. Just think of Mal and how much he needs you.”

Thinking of my beloved friend was the only thing that kept me from diving off the boat and swimming back to shore. Delphine handed me the pouch and I fastened it to my belt. After that, the witch lapsed into silence with no more dire warnings or unsettling jests.

Delphine was obviously more worried than she would admit, and that realization offered me little comfort. The hue of her hair shifted from silvery to stark white. Waldo turned quiet and somber as well. The only sounds disturbing the night werethe rhythmic stroke of his oars, the trilling of frogs along the riverbank and the mocking call of a loon.

We had now come further along the river than I had ever traveled with Mal those times we had gone fishing. There was no sign of habitation along the shore, just a forest of trees, dense and black with forbidding shadows. Despite my misgivings about Waldo, I was forced to concede the Wharf Rat knew the river and how to avoid any hazards that could bring a small craft to grief. His shoulder muscles strained as he steered us clear of any rocks or shoals.