I nodded. ‘Very.’
They glanced at each other again.
‘You should stay here, with the shop,’ said Mr. Greenwood.
‘No,’ his wife responded. ‘I can’t let you go alone.’
‘You need to keep up appearances,’ he ordered. ‘I will bring him back to you.’
‘What if something happens to you? How will I know?’
‘I’ll be fine,’ he assured her. ‘I’m a healer, remember?’
‘You can still die,’ she snapped.
‘Not easily,’ he smiled.
‘Um … I’ll let you two talk about it, okay?’ I said, stepping towards the door.
I left the Greenwoods to discuss their options, rejoining Dagon and Fae in the street. I noticed that two of the men who had been following us were talking to them. I hurried over, though the conversation did not look hostile.
‘What’s going on?’ I demanded, marching towards them.
Dagon looked around and saw me approaching. ‘Ask her yourself,’ he said to the men.
‘Ask me what?’ I said, standing amidst them. ‘What are you doing here?’
The two men seemed nervous, shifting their weight from foot to foot.
Fae sighed. ‘They want to know where you’re going,’ she said, rolling her eyes.
‘What? Why?’ I asked.
‘They want to follow you,’ she said.
I narrowed my eyes. ‘Follow? Are you mad?’ I ignited my hands threateningly. ‘Get out of here, both of you, before I-’
‘No! Ma’am, you don’t understand,’ piped up the smaller man, who looked to be Dagon’s age, but was far skinnier. ‘We want to join you.’
I raised my eyebrows, shocked. ‘Join?’ I repeated.
They nodded in unison.
‘Is that why you started following us?’ I asked. ‘To join us?’
‘We want to aid your cause,’ said the larger man.
‘This isn’t a good idea,’ Fae muttered to me. ‘We can’t trust them.’
‘They want to help,’ Dagon objected. ‘We should let them come along.’
It was like having an angel and a devil perched on my shoulders, with Fae and Dagon whispering different things in my ears. The trouble was, I didn’t know who was right.
I beckoned Fae and Dagon closer. They dismounted the Vulmessians and huddled next to me. We whispered so the two onlookers couldn’t hear.
‘What do we do?’ I asked. ‘How do we know if we can trust them?’
Fae spoke at once. ‘We can’t be sure. They could be spies.’ Bundled in her arms was Willow and Rue, who were fast asleep.
Dagon sighed. ‘They want to help,’ he said. ‘They know how dangerous it is to approach yeh. Why would they risk it?’
I hardly considered myself dangerous, but that was the impression I seemed to give.
‘If they betray us,’ I said slowly. ‘Do you think we could take them on?’
Dagon smirked. ‘I reckon yeh could take ‘em on single handed, Lass.’
Fae nodded in agreement. ‘If not, you have us, and the Vulmessians. We’re more than a match.’
I nodded, coming to a decision. Straightening up, I turned to face the two strangers watching us.
‘All right,’ I said. ‘You understand what I am trying to do, and where I am going?’
They nodded.
‘You’re going to free our family … my daughter,’ said the larger man.
I licked my lips nervously. ‘Your child is human?’
He nodded.
‘What are your names?’ I asked.
‘Terry Pratchet,’ said the smaller man, stepping forward. ‘My brother was taken by the Realm.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ I said. ‘What is your Power?’
‘I’m … uh … flexible,’ he said nervously.
‘Flexible?’ I repeated. ‘Show me.’
I watched as Terry Pratchet pulled his leg high over his head, and wrapped it around his neck. For anyone else, such a manoeuvre would be impossible. Just looking at him made my muscles hurt.
‘Ugh, gross. Okay. Thanks.’ I winced.
‘It’s almost impossible to confine me,’ he said. ‘I’ll get out of any situation, no problem.’
‘What about you?’ I said, pointing to the larger man.
‘Gregory Boil, ma’am,’ he said, tipping his hat. ‘I’m a Switcher, and I’m on a mission to find my daughter.’
‘I’ve got no idea what a Switcher is,’ I said, honestly.
‘I am able to switch places with another living creature, human, or otherwise. Say someone pushes me off a cliff … I’ll be able to switch places with them so I am standing safe and sound at the top, while they plummet towards the ground.’
I raised my eyebrows. ‘That sounds amazing! But … can’t you use that Power to get your daughter back?’
Gregory shook his head sadly. ‘Unfortunately, I must be able to see the person with whom I’m switching, and have had physical contact within the last few minutes.’