A Hero of Realms(46)

Julie had been covered with armor, but even still her face and hands were badly burnt. Out of all of us, Arron seemed to have gotten off lightest. Bahir healed his own skin before moving to me. He brushed his hands along my burns—causing them to sting horribly—before the burns disappeared. I was glad I didn’t have to wait for my body’s own healing capabilities to kick in. It would only exacerbate my craving for blood—which was already starting to come on full force again after the exertion I’d just put my body through.

After Bahir had finished with Arron, Arron approached and looked down at the scale. He bent down and picked it up, examining it in his hand.

“I’ll take care of this for now, shall I?” the Hawk offered. “It’s too big to fit in that sack and it shouldn’t be bent.”

I shook my head. “No, I’ll keep it with me.” After all the trouble we’d gone through to get it, I didn’t want to let it out of my sight.

Raising a brow, Arron placed it back down on the ground next to the brown sack.

Once I’d rested my limbs a little and regained my breath, I sat up.

“Are you okay?” Julie asked, leaning against the cliffside wall a few feet away.

I nodded. “Thank you,” I said, “for helping me back there.”

“That’s okay.”

Picking up the sack and fastening it back to my belt, I tucked the scale beneath my arm and stood up. I walked to the border of the ledge and gazed out at the brightening sky. I was surprised that the dragon hadn’t come out of the cave to look for us.

“So today is the day you have an appointment with the witch doctor, correct?” Bahir asked, moving next to me.

“Yes, today.” The time had flown by, and in the end it was a good thing that the doctor hadn’t been available before now. We would not have been ready.

“I suggest that we rest here a little longer,” Arron said, taking a seat and stretching out his legs. “We still have hours to pass before the appointment.”

Although I was raring to go, we could all do with more rest. I for one could hardly remember the last time I’d slept properly and although I wouldn’t be able to sleep, at least I could rest my eyes. I walked over to my cloak and wrapped it around me, covering the brown sack at my waist, before lying down on my side and sliding the scale behind my back, safely guarded between me and the wall.

Julie lay within my view. She met my gaze, and gave me a small smile. I returned the smile politely, then turned to face the other way, blocking her out and turning my thoughts to another girl. My girl. River. Will I ever see her again?







Since it would take seconds to travel to Uma’s island, we left our camp as late afternoon approached. Our appointment was in the evening but Uma’s sister had advised that we arrive a few hours earlier just in case.

When we arrived on the hilly island, the sky overhead was heavily overcast, so much so that not a ray of sun broke through the clouds and Bahir didn’t need to use his powers to shelter Julie and me. We approached the doorstep of the castle. Before Arron could, I stepped forward and knocked on the heavy door.

Uma’s sister opened the door promptly. Her round face lit up with recognition. “Aha. Come in, come in.”

She swung the door wide open and allowed us all to step inside. She led us across the waiting room—now empty—and took a seat behind her desk. She opened up her ledger, and then glanced up at me. “So? Were you successful in acquiring the ingredients? I have noted down here you are due to pay a werewolf tooth, a strand of merflor, and a dragon scale.”

“First, here’s the dragon scale.” I removed it from beneath my arm and handed it to her, watching with bated breath as she examined it.

Seemingly satisfied, she nodded and placed the item in a drawer. She looked up expectantly. “And then?”

I detached the brown sack from my belt and planted it down on the counter in front her. She loosened the string wrapped tightly around the opening and gazed down into the bag. She frowned.

“What?” I asked, my jaw tensing.

She pulled out the werewolf tooth. “This seems fine and genuine,” she said, rolling the huge tooth in her palm. Her eyes flicked back up to me. “But I still need the merflor.”

My stomach dropped. “What? It’s in the bag…”

My voice trailed off as I snatched the bag from her and gazed down into it. It was empty.

How? I’d been examining the merflor just the day before yesterday.

Could it have fallen out? What happened to it?

Could it have been removed?

I spun around to face my companions. “Did one of you touch the merflor?”