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IT TOOK MOST OF THE rest of the day to maneuver through the packed streets and roadblocks to find the warehouse. The task was even harder since I had only seen it from below. Fortunately, Saboraak was guiding me.
So close! I can see you every now and then when you pop into view between the buildings.
The walkway I was on now was narrower than many of the others, only allowing the traffic to be two people wide. We were nearing a very large red building with four different peaked roofs at various heights. In front of it, a large sign depicting a glowing gem hung over the walkway. It read Bright Redemption.
I think that’s the place.
Really? It was hard to tell from here ...
Try it.
I thought that you disapproved of me doing this alone?
Well, now that we are here ...
There was a shadowed nook between the Bright Redemption and the next building. I snuck into that space to gather myself.
“Boo.”
I jumped, my heart leaping into my throat before a hand slammed over my mouth.
“Shh!” In the darkness, Zyla’s golden eyes seemed to almost glow.
“Zyla?” I gasped. “How are you here?”
Her expression was wry as she pulled me deeper into the shadow. I couldn’t help the stab of enjoyment I felt at our close quarters. She could pull me into a shadow any time.
Focus.
“You left egg everywhere at Apeq’s house,” she scolded, her fists on her hips to emphasize her point. My eyes trailed down to them and she sighed. “Eyes up, Tor. You aren’t the only one with half a brain! Apeq and I already knew we were going to need magical items to help Bataar. We came into the observatory to look for you and found that mess you made. Seriously, do you need to be house trained?”
Well, that just took the cake! Here I was risking myself to help someone else and she was scolding me?
“If you could just learn to talk to us and stop running off on your own, Tor Winespring. I swear, you are going to be the death of me! I was so worried about you that I had to leave everyone with Apeq and chase after you!”
“Worried about me?” Why did I like the sound of that?
“Of course, I was worried about you! You don’t know what you’re doing!” she hissed. “You don’t know who these people are. You should have left this to Apeq!”
Apeq? The sound of his name on her lips made my teeth clench. Apeq, was it?
“Was it Apeq who rescued you out of that camp?” I asked. “Was it Apeq who took your sister along, too, when the dragon didn’t even have room for her? Apeq who found the arch and flew us through? Apeq who risked his life looking for a healer for Bataar? I don’t remember Apeq doing those things!”
“Are you so self-centered, Tor Winespring, that you expect a thank you for every single thing you do? You can’t just do good things for the sake of doing good?”
She kept using my full name like it was some kind of weapon.
“You can’t show a hint of gratitude?” I countered. I just couldn’t stop thinking about her practically throwing herself at Apeq with all those sultry-eyed smiles.
“If you hate helping so much, what are you doing here?” Her expression sharpened, like she thought she was scoring a point.
“Well, I can’t leave these things to you. You’d waste the day away smiling at Apeq instead of doing anything to help. Someone had to get up off their comfortable backside and find a solution.”
She smirked. “You have a comfortable backside?”
“Don’t twist my words, woman!” I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks. Why did girls always manage to make a fellow look like a fool? “If you want my help – and trust me, you need my help! – then stop pestering me and join in. Maybe you don’t realize this, but this building has magical artifacts in it – like the kind that might heal Bataar.”
She rolled her eyes, but her smile seemed genuinely amused. “Yes, I can read signs, Tor.”
“Signs?”
“Bright Redemption? Apeq told me that it buys and sells ancient items and that some might have some magical power to them.”
“Oh.”
So, Apeq had known where to look, too. My face felt even hotter. Just when I thought I’d gotten ahead of him, it turned out he was ahead of me.
“Don’t scowl, Tor. He’s helping us! We should be grateful, not truculent.”
I wasn’t ... whatever that was. I was here to help a friend. She might make me feel knee high, but I could still help. I took a step toward the daylight, but I was pulled back by my cloak. There was amusement in Zyla’s eyes combined with ... what? A softness of some kind.
Could it be compassion? It’s foreign to you, but she might know what it is.
“Tor?” she said in that husky voice. My breath caught in my throat.
“Yes?”
“Let me do the talking, okay?”
“Why? I’m good at talking.” I flashed her my charming grin, though it wobbled a bit under her intense gaze.
“Because I need you to watch my back. Apeq warned me about this place. He said he was worried that there might be some sort of ... deception going on. Things aren’t precisely what they seem.”
I wasn’t going to promise not to talk. That wasn’t my style.
“I’ll watch out,” I agreed, turning.
“And Tor?”
I turned back again.
She took a deep breath, like it was hard to say the next words. “I am thankful.”
Women were the most confusing creatures on the planet. They were even worse than dragons.
I heard that.