Witch Song (Witch Song #1)

Chapter 6

6. GUARDIANS

 In the early morning light, Brusenna carefully separated the branches of the bush she was hiding behind and peered at the city in the distance. Her breath made a small cloud as she exhaled, momentarily blurring her view. Her gut clenched and bile rose in her throat. Towns meant people. And people had never been good to her.

But she needed a horse. Plus she'd been traveling through virgin forest for two days and she'd eaten all her food. She needed more supplies. Shifting her satchel to ease the ache between her shoulder blades, she steeled herself before leaving the cover of trees to step onto the baked, yellow path. "I don't think I should use my real name anymore," she said softly to Bruke. "From now on, I'll use Senna."

Like Gonstower, Perchance had the same frame houses with split-shingle roofs. The poorer parts of town were a dull, cheerless gray, while homes in the richer parts gleamed with white paint and dark trims. But as Senna drew nearer, she realized that was where the similarities ended—Perchance was easily four times the size of Gonstower.

She nearly turned and fled back the way she'd come. But if she couldn't even face strangers, how could she fight the Dark Witch? "They don't know you're a Witch," she muttered to herself. "Just keep your head down and stay out of trouble.

It wasn't long before Senna started passing people. She felt the hard lump in her gut soften as the bustling people continued to pay her no mind. For the first time in her life, no one was glaring or pointing or whispering. "Anonymity is a wonderful thing," she whispered to Bruke.

Bruke, who had glued himself to her side, looked up at her and whined.

Upon entering the marketplace, she noted that instead of just outdoor booths, Perchance also had buildings with elaborate signs indicating everything from shoe cobblers to master looms.

Senna stopped at the first money changer she found. The man behind the counter bit her gold, weighted it and turned it over several times before announcing his price. "One silver, ten upice."

Determined to get a fair price, Senna snatched it back. "I'll go somewhere else with it then."

"Wait now! Wait!" He hustled to come between her and the door. "All right, two silver and ten upice."

She gave him a look of exasperation.

He snorted. "Two silvers, twenty-five upice and not one single coin more!"

"Done." She handed over the coin with a flourish. Her pocket jingling with lesser money, Senna bought Bruke a dozen dried fish. Then she ordered herself a breakfast of hot squash with cream and sugar and a slice of thick, soft bread to eat it with. And because she couldn't resist, a dozen honeycakes.

She saved the honeycakes for last, savoring every tiny bite. At first, the honey was strong and sweet, but it also dissolved earliest. When it did, she was left with the medley of citrus and nuts. When nothing but a bit of doughy bread remained, she finally allowed herself to swallow.

When she'd licked every bit of sticky goodness off her fingers, she reluctantly wrapped up the rest for later. She found a bathhouse. After scrubbing her skin pink, she washed her clothes, donned a clean dress and braided her hair. With her wet clothes hanging over her satchel to dry, she bought her supplies and made her way back to the friendly merchant who had sold her the honeycakes—a pleasant-looking woman with a beautiful, curly-haired daughter.

"Don't tell me you want more!" the woman exclaimed upon seeing Senna.

Senna patted her stomach. "Unfortunately, no. I was actually hoping you knew of a man by the name of Wittin."