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Unfortunately, the Iblis wizard turned just then. “Hey!”
Gabriel thumped him on the crown of his balding head, and the man dropped like a sack of grain. The boy who’d been helping load the wagon gaped, eyes bulging, then turned and ran.
Nic threw Gabriel a look of utter exasperation.
“Oops,” he said, unable to suppress an unrepentant grin, striding over to join them.
“I thought we discussed this,” Nic hissed. Narlis hobbled slowly to the steps, lifted a foot with painful deliberation.
“I didn’t kill him,” he countered.
Narlis, leaning heavily on Nic, pulled herself up the one step.
Gabriel looked at the steep column of several dozen steps remaining. Narlis lifted a foot slowly to the next step. “Gran,” he said, “forgive me the impertinence.” Lifting the woman gently into his arms, he carried her up the steps. It was like carrying a shivering sack of dandelion fluff. Nic raced ahead of them to ready the horses.
Narlis blinked cataract-fogged eyes at him, lifted her gnarled fingers to his cheek, and patted it. “You’re a good boy,” she said.
“I try.”
“That’s all we can do, try.” Her blue-veined eyelids drifted closed.
“She’s not going to be able to sit a horse,” he said to Nic when he reached her.
She only nodded, having the grace not to say she’d told him so, leading the horses as she walked beside him. “The Elal wagon shop, then?”
“Will someone there recognize you?”
She pursed her lips, wrinkled her nose. “Possibly. Is that the real reason you didn’t want to get an elemental-powered wagon?”
“It’s another reason, but I definitely don’t want to be beholden to Elal.”
“More than you already are,” she pointed out saucily.
“True. I wonder if they’d give me a wagon in lieu of your dowry?”
She rolled her eyes. “Papa showed me the contract. If they offer you that deal,don’ttake it. In fact, I wouldn’t mention whoyouare, just in case.”
“Because your father hates me?”
“No, actually.” She slid him a look. “Papa said you had balls and deserved a chance to rebuild House Phel. He encouraged the match.”
Gabriel didn’t know how to feel about that. If your hated enemy approves of you, what does that mean about the sort of person youare?
“We’ll have to buy Narlis warmer clothing, too. Maybe a couple of blankets.”
At the sound of her name, the old familiar opened her eyes again and smiled at him vaguely. “You’re a good boy,” she said.
“I’m not sure she even knows who I am,” Gabriel said quietly to Nic.
She had a worried turn to her mouth. “You were right to steal her away.”
“Did you just admit that I was right and you were wrong?” he asked, a smile tugging at his own lips.
Nic glared at him. “I never said you were wrong. I said it was a bad idea, and it still is. Trouble is going to follow us on this one.”
“Let it follow,” he invited. “We can handle it.”
Nic muttered something about impossible wizards.
