Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

Will pulled me across the road and we wove through the carts and pedestrians to reach the other side. We ducked into a narrow alley behind a crowd of people. I finally had a chance to catch my breath and I set my hand over my chest to feel my heavy thumping heart.

“What the hell is going on?” I whispered to my guide. “Who are those guys?”

Will pursed his lips as he peeked around the corner. “If the balding man was not a distraction then he certainly played the part well for our real foes.”

“And the carts in the street?”

“A way to get us to stop so they could attack us and steal you away.”

“So what do we do now?”

Will tightened his grip on my hand. “Now we try to elude our pursuers and reach the perfume shop before it closes-”

A scream came from a woman in the crowd in front of us and the tall head of the ax-wielding maniac rose out of the group. He grasped his weapon in both hands and lifted his ax above his head. The people scattered and Will and I took that as our cue to do the same down the alley. The bulky man was slowed by the narrow confines but his thinner companion followed us without a problem.

Will slammed his shoulder against the rear door of the building to our right and the entrance gave way. We tumbled inside and found ourselves in a kitchen. The sweet smell of confections filled our nostrils. A pot of boiling oil sat on a stove near us. Will dipped his clawed hands into the rolling oil and drew out the most dangerous of weapons: the donut.

Our thin pursuer climbed in after us as the trio of chefs raised their voices in protest.

“Get the fuck out of here!”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“You’d better pay for those!”

Will pulled me to the island in the middle where he dunked the donuts into confectioner’s sugar. They were amply coated before he threw the treats at our pursuer. The man sliced them into bite-sized pieces with his sword, but his blade couldn’t stop the cloud of white puff that exploded in his face. He was sent into a coughing fit and Will tossed a few coins on the table before he pulled me to the front of the sweet shop.

We rushed out the front doors and crossed the less busy street. Unfortunately, the behemoth lay in wait and slammed his ax down at us. Will was forced to release me and he threw up his arms in front of him. The heavy ax clanged against his limbs and a slice in Will’s shirt showed me that scales now covered his arms.

Will threw the man backward and the monster stumbled a few feet before he righted himself. A noise behind us made me turn. The thinner, powder-encrusted pursuer staggered out of the front of the sweet shop with his sword in hand. The pair surrounded us and the heavy man clapped the handle of his ax in his other palm.

“Thorn!”

The shout came from down the street and all four of us whipped our heads in that direction. Raines drove the carriage at break-neck speed toward us. Pedestrians and carts scurried out of the way as the fine brown steeds stampeded down the cobblestones. Will wrapped his arm around my waist and stepped aside, allowing the horses and box to fly past. He grabbed a handle at the rear for liverymen and leapt onto the small platform. Will pinned me behind his body and the back of the carriage as we bounced along the road.

The swordsman and ax man lunged at us but their shimmering blades missed us by a hair.

I didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until we had rounded a corner half a mile from where we had left our foes and curved back onto our original road. Will’s heartbeat didn’t slow until then, either, but he remained tense. His eyes scanned the road for another half mile before he rapped on the back of the carriage.

Raines slowed to a stop and Will hopped off. He grasped both sides of my waist and eased me to the ground. My shaky legs were glad for the soft landing and I looked up at him with a frail smile. “That was different.”

“And unwelcome,” he added as he took my hand and guided me around the side of the carriage.

Raines leaned over the side of the box and looked us over. “You’re not hurt, My Lord? My Lady?”

Will smiled and shook his head. “Not a bit thanks to your timely intervention.”

Raines bowed his head. “It was my pleasure, My Lord.”

I stepped forward and set my hand atop Raines’ own and smiled up at him. “We can’t thank you enough, Raines. You saved us.”

A slight blush accented his cheeks before he cleared his throat. “Yes, well, I was only doing my duty, My Lady.”

“Thank you for doing that,” I persisted.

Will opened the carriage door. “The hour is late and we should get going.”

I offered Raines one last bright smile before I slipped inside. Will followed and we soon sped off down the road. There was a slight draft from the ventilation the ax man had left us.

Will brushed his hands against the tattered edges of the carriage’s interior and frowned. “This will not be a quick repair.”

“Do you think they were with the Agency?” I asked him.

Will stared ahead with a hard expression on his face. “Perhaps, but only their client will be able to tell us the truth.”

We rolled down the street and the simple shops changed to elegant boutiques. These stores were too good for the upstairs apartments and instead had high ceilings with gold-plated chandeliers. Their thick paned windows revealed interiors of marble flooring and tapestries featuring their products. Handsomely dressed men and women sauntered down the street toward their gilded carriages.

Raines parked the carriage in front of one of those fancy shops. The front windows stretched upward to nearly the twenty-foot ceiling and the width was an impressive ten feet. Heavy curtains hid the interior but portraits that hung in the windows advertised perfume bottles of various shapes and which contained contents of different colors.

Will stepped out first and scouted out the area before he offered me his hand. I couldn’t help but feel a little trepidation as he helped me onto the wide sidewalk that abutted the front of the shop. A few shoppers strolled past and a couple took one look at us and lifted their noses so high they nearly crashed into each other.

Will was undeterred by their rude behavior and crossed his arm over his chest. He bowed low to them and moved his hand just right so the coins in his full purse loudly jingled. The sound caught the attention of the couple and they gave us more difference by granting us a smile.

Will pretended not to notice their attention as he guided me into the shop. I looked over my shoulder and watched their snooty disappointed selves wander off. “Are those the types of customers Baddock would attract?”

A faint smile appeared on Will’s lips. “They wouldn’t have the coins to purchase his products, or so I heard from Alex.”

I wouldn’t have been able to guess from the steady stream of customers that moved in and out through the front doors. The traffic practically created a constant breeze and we had to wait a few times for the exiting traffic before we could slip inside.

Will and I walked through the doors and into the lobby of the elegant perfume shop. The business featured marble floors beneath our feet and three grand chandeliers hung above our heads. Perfectly white free-standing shelves featured velvet cushions down their entire length and atop the plushness were bottles of various sizes and designs. The contents ranged from soft violet to a harsh black, and all of them stunk.

We were nearly struck down by the strong smells from all directions including from the clientele who loitered about the room. A half dozen employees clothed in matching white vests, pants, and dress shoes scurried about offering samples and wrapping purchases.

One of them hurried up to us, a thin young man with a bright smile. He bowed his head to us. “Good afternoon! What can I do for you?”

“I will take care of these guests, Paul.”