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No sooner than I did so, Sal’s arrow swiveled from me to Hanna.
The witch’s face creased in surprise. “What do you think you’re doing?
Sal increased the tension on the bow. “I’m getting my lady the fuck out of here.”
By the way she said this, I couldn’t tell whether she was using my lady as a title word or endearment. A treacherous little spark of hope leaped into my chest, but Sal didn’t make eye contact with me.
Hanna adjusted her cloak and righted herself just as one of her felines would have had it fallen from a high surface.
“Unlock Kat’s cage,” Sal ordered.
Hanna’s chin lifted a notch, but she waved her hand, and the cage bottom disappeared from under me with the protest of rusty metal. I hit the floor hard and came away slightly oily from the sweating cheese. Parmesan, now that I had a closer look at it.
“Come here,” Sal ordered. “Quickly.”
I gained my feet but remained stationary. “I’ll not be leaving without my brother.
The arrow’s silvery tip bobbed as Sal’s shoulder slumped.
“You said yourself he won’t give up on her.” Her eyes burned with the same intensity they’d had the night we met. A thousand questions churned in my mind, but the answers would have to wait.
“If you intend to leave, I’m guessing you’ll want your navel back?” Hanna asked almost conversationally.
I looked at Sal. “Your navel?”
“Wickedly effective way of sealing a contract,” Hanna explained. “As long as I have it in my collection, his owner is beholden to me.”
My mind drifted back to the night before. To the way Sal had guided my hand away from her stomach.
“Unless” Hanna continued, “someone else’s hold over them becomes stronger than their own will to live.” Her eyes narrowed on me suspiciously. “It’s a pity we couldn’t be friends. We have so much in common.”
One of the things we have in common cleared his throat.
Hanna’s lips pursed as she considered him, then turned her attention to Sal. “I’ll tell you what. The moon is nearly full, and I’m feeling generous.”
I made a snorting sound, and Mark gave me a warning glare.
“If Kat can guess which one of navels is yours, I’ll release her and her brother and allow the three of you to leave unharmed.” The hem of her cloak rustled the bundles of dried herbs as she spun dramatically. “I’ll even give her three guesses.”
“What’s the catch?” Sal asked, the point of her arrow tracking Hanna as she paced.
“She can’t use any powers, and if she fails, I get to use her soul for my potion.”
“Powers?” Mark asked from the cage. “What powers?”
“That’s the part about what she said that concerns you?” I demanded.
Hanna placed a hand on her rounded hip and cocked her head at me. “Can it be your brother doesn’t know you’re a witch?”
Mark and I locked eyes for an extended moment and what he read in them told all.
“How could you hide something like this from me?” he growled between the bars. “All this time, and you never once thought this might be something I needed to know?”
“Whose business is it but my own what powers I have, or how I choose to use them?
“As if there wasn’t already enough of a target on my back, you think father and his friends would have abided me had they known? Why do you think I want to go to the colonies. At least there, they believe in religious freedom.”
“Blah blah blah,” Hanna intoned, resuming her spot by the cauldron. “You two can finish your sibling spat if you live. Will you take my offer, or no?”
