Storm knew she should return to the Pact until Lake finished trading, but her heart sank at the thought. Until now, she hadn’t realised how oppressive the constant surveillance had become. Besides, perhaps today was the day she would meet an old man with a monkey. He must be in town somewhere – there had been something about the old goldsmith that made Storm trust her. She came to a decision. “I don’t want to go back to the main square after all. Not yet. Let’s go see if we can find some witches performing.”

“That’s more like it!” Cloud’s face lit up. “Let’s go find some magic. This way, I think.” He pointed back the way they had come.

They walked side by side. After a few more twisting alleys, the streets grew wider, the houses more prosperous looking, and Storm found herself in a square crowded with market stalls and sightseers. She scanned the crowd, looking for the elusive old man, and spotted a group of guards pouring into the square. The leader was Tolbar. The guard’s eyes met Storm’s.

Overwhelming as a tsunami, determination flooded through her. She had an old man and a monkey to find. Besides, she was cursed if she would allow herself to be harried and followed, kept virtual prisoner by the Pact and their servants!

“Follow me,” she hissed to Cloud. “And keep up!” Cloud stared in amazement, and Storm laughed. Recklessness flooded through her veins. “Follow, or go back to the Wayfarer now and keep out of trouble! Choose!” She wrinkled her nose at him, wheeled around and darted for the nearest alley, feeling ridiculously cheerful.

She didn’t know where she was going and didn’t care. But she would lose Tolbar and the other guards if it was the last thing she ever did! As Storm began to run in earnest, she heard shouts behind them. Talon’s guards were giving chase.

13

Storm trotted from one alley into another, and another. Cloud caught up and ran beside her. She gave him a cheeky grin, then slid without warning into a cut-through and took to her heels, praying she hadn’t chosen a dead end. She heard Cloud swearing and panting behind her as he sprinted to catch up.

Storm was one of Yanlin’s best runners. Now she stretched her legs as the alley opened up into a proper street. She hadn’t been able to run for weeks and weeks. Despite the heat of the afternoon, it felt glorious!

She dodged through the crowd as fast as she could; darted down a likely-looking side street, took a left, a right, another right, and found herself sprinting up a narrow winding street of tall, thin houses. The houses gave welcome shade. Sweat was pouring off her. It was too hot to run like this much further.