Page 73 of Truth's Blade

“Yes, old man, I would be able to tell.” Melodie’s eyes closed, and Theo saw her throat work as she gave up her secrets to their enemy. As she made herself irresistible to him.

“I have no use for the horses or the packs, so I agree.”

Melodie swung her bag over her shoulder and stepped out, and Theo bet Marchant salivated at the sight of her, all lit up with magic—her own and the spell-worked items she carried.

“The horses and packs,” she said coldly, and Gallain and Caro stepped out behind her.

“He can’t take his eyes off her,” Caro murmured to Theo from his place pressed up against the wall beside the door. “He’s moving to the stables, but he keeps looking back, like he can’t believe his luck.”

“Remember all the places we told you about where there are traps,” Theo reminded Ivan and Jacinta as they headed out of the door themselves. “And there may be others, so avoid the forest, use the main road as much as possible.”

“We’ll get them out.” Jacinta clapped her hand on his arm. “We won’t let you down.”

Vivi said nothing, she just gave him another hug, and Genevieve did the same. The boys tapped their chests with a fist as they went by, and Ric really did look like he was moving more easily.

Theo saw he kept rubbing the spot under his shirt where Vivi had put the embroidery.

Theo heard the sound of a horse whinnying, and a few thumps.

He wished he could see what was happening, but one of their few advantages was the fact that Marchant didn’t know he was here and he couldn’t risk being seen.

“Nice try. You wanted an early test of what I can do?” Melodie asked, voice dripping with scorn.

“Can’t blame me for it, can you?” Marchant couldn’t contain a cackle of delight. “Wait—” His shout was outraged as Theo heard a crack of something breaking.

“Oh, you wanted me to treat the nasty things you tried to hurt my friends with carefully, did you?” She didn’t even try to sound sorry.

“My mistake,” Marchant said.

Theo worried about his tone. It promised retribution.

“Yes, it was.” Her answer was cheerful, as if oblivious to his fury.

He bet she wasn’t oblivious at all, but he could do nothing about it but keep silent. And wait for his chance to kill the bastard.

CHAPTER 29

Marchant wasincapable of hiding his glee at the sight of her.

Melodie could see the way his eyes turned to her over and over, even though he tried to keep an eye on the others as well.

He wasn’t doing a very good job of it.

She picked up the rope he’d tossed into the semi-circle along with the packs, careful to avoid the pieces of clay she had smashed, and the white stuff that had spilled from the vessel.

They still exuded a glimmer of spell work, slimy and rotten.

She’d gagged as she’d lifted the small pot of what looked like salt out of Gallain’s pack. She could tell it was poison, but she didn’t have time to work out the effects. It didn’t matter, this would not harm anyone else.

Her smashing it had given Marchant a real shock. He hadn’t considered the danger of putting something harmful into the packs, only the benefits. She bet he’d smugly decided that the results would either be that he poisoned his prisoners, or that he found out if she could really see what it was.

He hadn’t counted on finding out what she was capable of doing in more ways than one.

“Put your hands in the loops.” Marchant was almost dancing with excitement at the edge of the rock barrier. He was leaning on a stick, and it glowed.

She looked at the rope carefully, but there was no magic woven into it. It was a plain, unspelled rope. It was just going to be difficult to get out of once it was tightened.

She had taken the handkerchief, which held the few leftover sparkles from the box in the forest, out of her pocket before she had gone outside to confront Marchant, and had tucked it up her sleeve, where its very faint glow of protection would not be seen.

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