Chapter 23
We returned to the quaint cottage and had just stepped onto the path when a terrible scream came from inside. My eyes widened, and I whipped my head up to Torvus, who stared at the door. “That sounded like Ramaro!”
We rushed down the stones and tumbled into the cottage. Torvus had taken the lead, and he paused just inside. That meant I collided into his back and had to grab his sides to keep myself from falling.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him as I looked around his stiff form. “What’s happening-”
My words died in my throat as I beheld the scene laid out before us.
Baba stood beside the hearth, poker in hand and a wicked smile on her lips.
The cauldron had been set on the bricks in front of the hearth, and the spit had been lowered closer to a full fire.
Ramaro was roped to the spit, which Baba slowly turned with a cackle every rotation.
“Let me go, you hag!” he snapped as he thrashed around. He spied us at our entrance, and his eyes widened. “About time! This witch is trying to cook me alive!”
She wagged the poker at him. “Only because you tried to steal my shard again.”
“I only wanted to look at it!”
She tapped the tip of the poker against his snout several times. “That’s not what the cookies told me.”
He wrinkled his nose. “I don’t care what they told you! They jumped into my mouth!”
A smile danced across Torvus’ lips as he sauntered up to the pair. “Wait a moment, Baba. I need him.”
“Why? You want his leg or his tail?” She used the poker to point at each of the said body parts. “Or do you prefer the skull?” She rapped the poker several times against his forehead. “It’s probably hollow, but there might be a peanut in there.”
“I’m very useful!” Ramaro insisted as he squirmed in the ropes. “So useful that I have something for Rose!”
I straightened at the mention of my name. “For me?”
He nodded at his stomach. “It’s in there if you don’t believe me, but you have to untie me so I can get it out.”
Baba clapped the poker into her other palm and narrowed her eyes at him. “How do I know this isn’t a trick? I’ve been hankering for lizard for quite some time.”
“Release him, Baba,” Torvus commanded her.
She wagged the poker at him. “You wouldn’t have anything to do with this theft, would you?”
“Not this time. Maybe next time.”
“Next time indeed. . .” she grumbled as she waved her hand over the agama.
The knots came unloose at the beckoning of her fingers and unwrapped themselves from around Ramaro in a way that they created a slide from the spit to the floor. The lizard tumbled down on his side and landed on his back. He rolled onto his feet and scurried over to us, where he hid behind my legs.
Ramaro peeked out from behind me and flicked his tongue at Baba. “Witch!”
“You flatter me, lizard,” she quipped as she leaned the poker against the hearth. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “Now show us what you have, or it’s back to being my supper.”
Torvus leaned toward me and lowered his voice to a whisper. “That would be an improvement over the stew.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, and she reached backward for the poker. “What was that?”
“I was just telling Miss Larkin that I was curious to know what Ramaro was hiding in his pouch.”
I blinked at him. “His pouch?”
He smiled down at the lizard. “Ramaro, show her what you have for her.”
Ramaro sat back on his haunches and brushed his front claw down his chest. His paw disappeared into a pouch that perfectly blended in with the rest of his skin. He fumbled around for a few moments before he drew out a small envelope, which he held out to me.
“This is an envelope with powder from my scales.”
I reluctantly accepted the envelope and peeked inside. A tan colored powder presented itself to me. “I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but what do I do with this?”
He rolled his eyes at me. “You toss it in the face of your attacker, of course. My scales can cause horrible rashes if inhaled as a powder.”
Torvus grinned at the lizard. “Is that why you were late getting on the boat? You wanted to fetch your scales to protect Miss Larkin?”
The agama wrinkled his snout. “I’m only doing this because we’ve gone to too much trouble keeping her alive up to this point. There’s no sense letting her die now.”
“Is that the only reason?” Torvus asked him.
Ramaro’s tongue flicked out. “What other reason would there be?”
I knelt in front of him as he remained seated on his haunches. “Thank you so much for this.” I leaned forward and pressed a kiss against his cheek.
A faint blush tinged his cheeks as I drew away. He quickly shook it off and furiously wiped his paw against the spot where I had planted my kiss. “Disgusting! Is that the thanks I get for saving your hide?”
“I’ll trade places with you next time,” Torvus offered.
Baba plopped herself down in her chair and threw up her arms. “What an end.”
I held up the envelope. “Do you mean this?”
She scoffed. “No, to my supper plans. All I have left is my famous stew.”
My stomach churned like an ocean whirlpool. Torvus looped his arm through mine and bowed his head to our hostess. “You’ll have to excuse us, Baba, but we have some supplies to buy. You wouldn’t happen to have forgiven me, would you?”
She leaned back in her chair and scowled at him. “Why should I?”
Torvus looped his arm around one of mine. “Consider it a wedding gift.”
My mouth dropped open, and Ramaro dropped onto all fours.
Baba scoffed. “She would never marry you.”
“But she’s already accepted. We’re to be married as soon as we reach the Island of Tranquility.”
“And you need those supplies to reach the island,” she guessed.
He smiled and bowed his head to her. “Exactly.”
Baba’s eyes flickered between us, and she again scoffed. “You’re out of practice with lying, boy. I haven’t heard you say something that absurd since you were five.”
Torvus shrugged. “I’ll have to work on that.”
Baba flicked her wrist, and one of the papers from a nearby pile flew into her hand. My mouth fell open as I watched lines appear on the surface as though by magic, which is exactly what it was. The magic writing stopped appearing, and she held out the paper to him.
“Consider this my gift for meeting someone of such uniqueness,” she commented as he took the paper. Her eyes fell on me, and a crooked smile slipped onto her lips. There was something familiar about that wicked grin. “It isn’t every day I get to meet someone from another world.”
Torvus tucked the paper into his pocket and caught my eye. “We should get going before the sun sets. The wharf workers are quicker to scatter to the bars than sailors on shore leave.”
“Wait a sec,” I pleaded as I drew myself from his grasp. I stepped up to Baba, who eyed me with suspicion. “Thank you, Baba.” I leaned down and pecked a kiss on her forehead. When I drew back, I saw her wide eyes and slightly agape mouth.
She sat up and cleared her throat before she waved her hand at the door. “Yes, well, off with you now.”
We turned and moved to the door, but stopped in the entrance when her voice called us back. “Marc.”
He half-turned to her, and I looked over my shoulder. The woman looked so old and frail, seated in that high-backed chair. Her hands grasped the front of the arms, and they were pale and thin.
“Don’t stay away too long, boy, or your lies will get even worse.”
Torvus smiled and bowed his head. “I’ll be sure to swing around soon. Bye, Baba.”
We slipped out, shutting the door behind us. The young afternoon had gotten old during our land adventures. Night would fall in a few hours.
“What was on that paper Baba gave you?” I wondered as we strolled down the street toward the wharf.
“Baba’s mark,” he told me as he patted his pocket. “It’s a branch and flower of the rose bush surrounded by its thorns.”
“Is there anything important about those?”
“She likes roses, and they’re also known for their medicinal uses.”
“Then she’s not a bad witch?”
He grinned at me. “A witch is only as bad as her poisons. Baba’s helped people for all her life. That’s why Varga and the others like her so much.”
“You’ve known Baba a long time, haven’t you?” I guessed
His good humor faltered, and he stared ahead. “Very long.”
I leaned forward to catch his eye. “She raised you, didn’t she?”
A faint, crooked smile slipped onto his lips. “Yes.”
“She must have had her hands full with you.”
“I kept her life full.”
I looped an arm around his and smiled up at him. “I think I’d like to see her again soon.”
He looked down at my arm and patted it. “I think I’d like to do just that.”
Ramaro wrinkled his nose as he trotted along beside us. “Humans and their connections.”