Cara Cantrell felt sweat under her arms. She couldn't let the Preserver of Rites find out about the Midnight Apothecary Shop, but it looked like they were going to pass by. She relaxed her grip on the wooden floorboards.
Indeed, as she watched out the window, the woman with short brown hair swung up onto her mount and looked to the Preserver of Rites, who nodded and urged her own horse forward. She felt her body relax a little.
Then, just as the other woman turned to motion the protectors behind her to follow, the door swung open, and Sharl was standing in the opening. The robe he wore hung down nearly to his knees, even on his tall, thin frame. Behind Sharl, light leaked through the doorway.
"Cara?"
She watched through the window as the brown-haired woman turned in her saddle and squinted at the window.
"Shit."
She turned to the man who had come to her door seeking sanctuary from some unknown threat. The stranger had blond hair cut shaggy around his face and falling just to the back of his neck and a short, blond beard. He wore traveling clothes, but they looked new—hardly dirty at all. The clothes were still so stiff she could hardly make out his build beneath them, though by his face, the man looked fairly young, maybe twenty, and he appeared to be trim. Briefly, she wished he had come here for her remedies. She'd have liked to see where his secret desires laid.
Most noteworthy about the stranger right now, however, was that he also stared at the woman outside the window. Now she knew. This man had the Arcani after him, and this night was turning into a nightmare. To the stranger, she mouthed the words,
Stay still.
She held up a hand to Sharl and stood. After she crossed from the corner to the doorway where Sharl stood, she shouted across the room, toward the main door.
"A moment, please."
She curled a finger at Sharl, beckoning, and he leaned down closer to her height. When Sharl was nearer, she whispered to him.
"Get the wanderer to the back." She grabbed the collar of Sharl's robe, making sure she had his attention. "
Unseen.
"
Sharl nodded, the long, fine hair hanging down in his face. Then she turned and stomped toward the counter, making sure her steps were as loud as possible. She called toward the door again.
"A moment. I'm getting the lantern."
As she lit the flame, she heard the door behind her
snikt
closed. That meant Sharl and the wanderer were in the back. She took in a breath and walked toward the door at the front, holding the robe closed in front of her. She pulled the key from her pocket, unlocked the door, and turned the knob, pulling it open. Then she poked her head out into the night for the second time tonight.
This time, she looked up directly at the Preserver of Rites. The woman was tall with long blond hair and a serious face.
"I'm afraid the shop is closed in the evening. You'll have to come back during the day." She looked the Preserver of Rites up and down, making a show of taking in her religious cloak. "Rites Keeper."
Though it wouldn't have seemed possible, Preserver Falis stiffened further.
"I am the Preserver of Rites."
"Apologies. I didn't know."
Preserver Falis nearly choked on her words as she bent down toward Cara's face. "You didn't—know?"
She shrugged. "I'm newly apprenticed here."
"Then you should tell your master to train you properly—with respect for the order." The Preserver of Rites straightened up again, as though her body locked itself in place on a hinge. "Never mind that now. I'm looking for someone. A man." Preserver Falis held herself stiffly upright and looked down at her. "Have you seen anyone pass through?"
"Tonight? No."
