That was the catch with feeling magic. You could only feel as much as you had yourself, whether the magic came from another Wyrd Blood or a magical object. If I admitted to having this, she’d know how much I had. I couldn’t pretend anymore. This was a conscious choice to show my hand. And any Wyrd Blood who wanted to stay free knew that you hid your magic as much as possible.
It had been a risk walking in here with the claw on me, but she hadn’t sensed it. Now, I either turned back and handed it to her, or I walked home with nothing, to five hungry sets of eyes. They hadn’t eaten a decent meal in weeks. If I didn’t take the risk, somebody was going to get sick soon. I’d seen it happen before. You went too long without a solid meal and the cold and wet found its way into your bones. I’d already heard Marra coughing. I knew what would come next. I’d watched it play out to its bitter end before.
My crew needed to eat. If it kept us alive, I had to gamble. I turned around and walked back in.
Loretta lifted her head. “I thought we were finished?”
I reached into my shirt and withdrew the dragon claw, knowing she’d been around enough to recognize it, even if she couldn’t feel it. There was no faking a dragon claw, with its black glass appearance. It was said that if you filed the claw into a dust, mixed it with wine, and drank it, you could breathe fire for a week. It wasn’t something I could use, but with Loretta’s connections, she could surely sell it for a pretty coin.
I didn’t care who she sold it to as long as I was paid and those people didn’t come looking for the person who’d found it. That was the biggest risk here. Would it be worth it to her to sell me out for the price she’d get, or would she keep quiet, hoping to get more like this?
Loretta’s eyes narrowed and then shot to my face. I’d never seen her speechless before.
“I know what it’s worth. I want a full jar of hollyhoney.” It was a bargain for her and salvation for me. Hollyhoney didn’t taste anything like bee honey, but a couple of spoons could get you by for a day—if you could hold it down, anyways.
Loretta didn’t argue. She stood and turned, walking over to a door behind her and pulling back the cloth that covered it. I leaned over, trying to catch a glimpse as the fabric fluttered. What I wouldn’t do to get in that room for a few minutes alone, but I wouldn’t risk stealing from Loretta.
Since I’d known her, only one person had dared, a kid named Tweed who’d wandered into the area, shortly after I’d arrived myself. He’d been the lazy sort, always looking for handouts. None of the crews would take him in, seeing him as dead weight.
Then, one night, there were screams so loud that everyone in the city heard them. I’d made a move to go look and see what was happening when Ruck laid a hand on my shoulder. His face somber in the moonlight, he shook his head before retuning back to his sleep spot.
The message was clear. That was when I’d learned what survival really cost. Standing back and letting others die so that you and your crew made it another day. I often wondered if I’d sold another chunk of my soul that night.
No one ever saw Tweed again, but there were rumors he’d tried to steal from Loretta.
Loretta walked back in the room with a jar of hollyhoney in her hand. I placed the dragon’s claw on the table.
She held the jar out to me. The memory of Tweed reminded me of whose hand was feeding me.
I took the jar with a nod, my fingers grazing hers as I did. Her other hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, her eyes going unfocused. This had happened before, so I knew it was her gift of sight. Unfortunately, I never liked what she saw, and I doubted this time would prove different. I hated when she did this. I knew sight was one of her gifts, but it freaked me out on a very basic level. No one should know what tomorrow held.
Her eyes were still off, seeing some distance place. “You’re ill.”
I froze. I’d expected her to tell me something about tomorrow, not today.
Her eyes focused again as she waited for an answer. “No, I’m not.” You didn’t admit to sickness until you were dead, not when the animals around you liked the smell of blood.
She eyed me, and I knew I didn’t look sick, even though she was right and something was wrong.
She didn’t let go of my wrist as she said, “You will be, then.”
“Thanks. I’ll make sure I get my sleep.”
She knew something was off. Between that and the dragon’s claw, she’d be even more likely to sell me out while she could still cash in. I took the jar and put it in my sack, brushing my other hand over the dagger at my hip. I left the room before she picked up on anything else.
Chapter 4
I kept my sack close as I passed back through the house. Loretta’s people might not be willing to rob me in her building, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t get a visitor in the night if they knew what I was carrying.
Obviously, if you weren’t starving to death, you had food, but no one broadcast what supplies they had. It was the quickest way to lose them. Staying trim didn’t hurt, either. Last person who looked too healthy hadn’t stayed that way long.
I climbed down the stairs, keeping the sack hidden by my body as I passed where Loretta’s thugs seemed to congregate. I beat the hastiest exit I could without appearing to rush, and kept to that pace until I got home.
Marra was standing right inside the shadow of the door, a sword hanging at her hip, nearly as long as her short legs. Her brown hair bobbed as she silently asked me how it went.
“Good,” I told her.
She tilted her head toward the upstairs, and then put two fingers up over her head, as if she had antlers, her way of telling me Ruck was up there. I wasn’t sure if that had become his signal because she thought he should have horns like the devil or Ruck rhymed with buck. If she ever talked, I’d ask her.
“Where’s your sister?”
She put a hand over her heart for her sister, Sinsy, and then made her hands into claws before throwing something invisible. Sinsy had gone with Fetch and Tiger to go pay the scouts. It was good to know she hadn’t gone alone. There were a couple of new faces in that crew who had a sly look to them.
“Thanks.”
Ruck met me halfway up the stairs and followed me into my room.
“How’d it go?”
I wiped my hands on the back of my pants before digging out the jar from the sack. It was the most valuable thing I could’ve traded for, and I already knew I was going to catch grief.
Ruck let out a moan, as if his stomach were already cramping. “Is that what I think it is?” He leaned in, looking closer at the amber color, a little opaquer than the last time we’d gotten this. It was a sure sign it would be as bitter as ever.
“If you’re thinking hollyhoney, then yes, it is.” These guys were getting a little ridiculous. Now they not only wanted to eat but to like it too?
“Have we really given the thought of starvation its due? It might be underrated. Who knows until you really commit yourself.” He straightened and gave me that face, like an elder would give a child who was thinking through their situation.
“Not going to happen now.” I patted his shoulder before moving to place the jar onto the floor in the dry corner, where we kept our supplies. For a food stash, it was pretty abysmal, but it was looking a lot better than it had this morning, since it now had something.
“I mean… It’s… It’s a nutrient.” He shrugged, a sad little sigh escaping his lips.
No one was going to be excited about dinner tonight, that was for sure, but at least our stomachs would stop growling every two seconds.
“Has anyone ever told you that you have a real gift for stating the obvious? Your timing is brilliant.” I pulled my coat tight around me, trying to warm back up from the damp walk.
“What can I say? Some people just have it like that.” He looked upward, through one of the particularly large holes in the ceiling, probably a good five feet wide. His shaggy brown hair fell away from his face as he stared at the dark grey clouds. “You ready for another winner?”