He’s admitted it! Hope thought, amazed, but now was not the time.

“They’re urging you to leave,” she said. “They can advise, but I’m here, and I can help. And I’ll do my bloody best. Now come on, we have to go.”

“Where?”

Hope shook her head, exasperated. She should in be awe of him, but his ignorance only made her impatient. “Son, I have no fucking idea. Away from here. We can think about a destination after that.” Where should I take him? she thought. Is there somewhere he needs to be? Or do I only have to keep him safe until . . .

But until what she did not know.

“Quick!” She waved him out. He passed her and started up the stairs to the outside, and Hope looked around her room for one last time. She had spent so long here, wishing for this moment, and now that it had arrived all she felt was an awkward sadness. She could not pin the emotion down—it certainly was not sorrow at leaving—but still it bore into her. Perhaps it was merely a hint of what was to come.

Before she closed the door she knocked a handful of pots from a nearby shelf. They shattered and spewed glass shards, spiders and scorpions across the floor. Unlike the spiders she often kept in a sac in her pocket, these were deadly breeds, their eggs gathered from the four corners of Noreela, nurtured by Hope, maintained to provide her with this defense. She slammed the door quickly and listened at the wood, just able to make out the mutter of feet on the wooden floor inside. The sounds ceased quickly as the creatures found places to hide. They would be there waiting for the next person to go inside.

That was it. She had left. She would never venture inside again. She had once seen the dreadful results of a slayer spider’s bite, and it would take much for her to risk one herself.

Rafe was waiting for her at the top of the steps. She pushed past him, opened the front door a crack and peered out. She glanced left and right, left again, and realized that she had never been this terrified before. Never.

“It looks safe,” she said, but even as she spoke she wondered whether safe would ever ring true for her again. “Come on.”

As they slipped through the door, Rafe held on to her hand and squeezed tight. Hope paused and felt a lump form in her throat. Stupid old woman, she thought, but she could not hold down the feeling of pride his trust inspired.

She led Rafe out into the busy streets of Pavisse.

Chapter 15

Chapter 15