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Scarlet shyly brushed aside a lock of dark hair. Her grandmother had raised her to be a real lady. No doubt, I could learn a few things fromher.
Kaza gave my bottom a pinch before wandering away with Dahvi to admire the store’ssupplies.
My boots clomped on the polished wooden floors as I entered the shop ahead of Scarlet. One wall had shelves filled with jars of teas and other dried herbs. The front counter was filled with parcels of healing teas, ready for delivery by Scarlet’s assistant Iassumed.
Scarlet leaned into me. “Since when do you hang out with two adorable guys? Well, that blond one looks pretty ill; is that why you’rehere?”
What was she saying? I was a saint who didn’t date? Hmmm. Guess she was right for the most part, but if the genies stuck around, that mightchange.
Scarlet gripped my chin and swiveled it from side to side. “Look at your skin. It’s glowing. You finally took that lavender solution I mixed up foryou.”
“It’s taken away that uptight edge,” joked Kaza as he picked up a jar of something that looked like driedweeds.
No. The lavender wasn’t the reason for my glow. For that, I owed a big “thank you” for the genies’ presence and the amazing sex I had that morning. But I wasn’t saying that outloud.
“Listen,” I said, trying to get off that topic. “We’re here to get some ferret’s leaf. Do you haveany?”
Scarlet’s eyebrows rose. “That’s an extremely rare and potent herb. Expensive, too. What do you need itfor?”
My gut twisted into knots. Gods. I hadn’t even thought about payment. And the less she knew, the better. If the priestess caught wind of our visit and came snooping for answers, I didn’t want to leave my friend in anydanger.
Scarlet must have read my thoughts in my eyes. “Pay me back when you can,okay?”
Sometimes, she did this for me when I couldn’t pay in full, and I repaid her in installments. She was generous that way. Her motto was she’d rather help someone than be rich. Something I was totally downfor.
Dahvi’ clamped his hands down on Kaza’s shoulders and spun him around to show Scarlet the bloodstained wound dressings. “My brother here isinjured.”
She gasped, and her hand flew to hermouth.
“Tiger scratch, to be precise,” said Kaza. “But it doesn’t hurt much. I had a good nurse clean my wound and bandage me up.” He gave me awink.
My heart did flips. I’d tend to him anyday.
The yellow-vested genie barely limped as he crossed the room, but I caught the shivering racking his body and the grimaces he tried to hide. Ali did the same, trying to play down his illness when he wanted to go out and fish in theriver.
“What kind of trouble are you in, Azar?” Scarlet whispered to me. “The only person who own tigers in Utaara is thesultan.”
“And the vizier,” Iadded.
Her mouth pressed into a thin line and she nodded. Apparently, may answer was enough to end her questions. While she was aware of my line of work, she didn’t always approve but understood it was how Ali and I had survived thislong.
Aromas of various herbs hit me. Sweet, bitter, woodsy, spicy, minty, andmenthol.
Glass jars on the top shelf clinked as Scarlet shifted them. She hunted through cupboards, removing a tincture bottle, alcohol preservative, a pot, mixing equipment, and a measuringflask.
“Heavens, Azar,” she said on her return to her counter. “Your leg is swollen and bruised. Let me get you something forthat.”
“Twisted it,” Ianswered.
Scarlet gave me a fierce look that told me she was very worried before she got busy preparing the mixture. She sprinkled all sorts of herbs into a pot with water, along with three drops of a brown liquid. While this boiled on a fire stove in the back corner, she measured out preservative in a tincturebottle.
I helped her, readying a gauze to drain and extract the liquid. I knew how to do these things after I’d watched her do them before, and she’d taught me how to create some brews forAli.
Unable to keep his hands to himself, Kaza trailed his fingers along the many jars and sprigs of dried herbs tied in bunches. “Look, Brother,” he said, pointing to a water jar with a hose and suction pipe. “Ahookah!”
“Scarlet,” said Dahvi. “May we try yourtobacco?”
“Sure,” she said, measuring out some spoonsful of herbs onto a set of scales. “Helpyourself.”
