Page 65 of Devil's Deal

That’s why I made so many more. Not to sell them but to aid Darobor in his strategizing.

“They only work if you bury them within the boundaries of a lot, and there has to be a house. A house where people live,” I explain. “So it’s not like you can quickly bury them on the road and cut off its way, but… After seeing where you faced the werewolf yesterday, I thought you might have a use for more of my pouches. I’ll leave distributing them to your judgment.”

Waclaw gives me a faint smile and a nod. He doesn’t speak much, but in that gesture, he conveys a lot. It seems I have a friend in him, and why shouldn’t I? After all, I helped his family when Czeslawa refused.

Darobor doesn’t smile when he looks up. Instead, his face is stern, thick brows furrowed. I bristle, bracing for him to tell me he has no use for my whispering, or that he doesn’t trust me after last night, or that I should leave and never come back, or…

“Promise me you’ll stay in your cottage tonight,” he says, standing up. “You shouldn’t have been out last night. It was dangerous, and I can’t have you running around again. Stay home.”

I open and close my mouth, completely taken aback.

“What? Why?” I finally manage to say.

Darobor gives me an incredulous look, his blue eyes flashing with irritation. “What do you mean why? So you don’t get torn to shreds! For Perun’s sake, Jaga. What even got into your head to go out last night?”

“I… I don’t…”

Gods, this is mortifying. Suddenly, I’m six years old again and Mother tells me off for trying to pet a rabid fox that came into the village one day. The poor beast was foaming at the mouth and growling, too sick to be scared of humans. All the children ran from it while I thought it looked so sad and forlorn as it limped down the road. Tolimir’s father shot it with an arrow as soon as my mother snatched me away. I still remember the scolding I got.

That very same day, Wiosna praised me for being unafraid of danger.

“A whisperer must be fearless,” she said. “You will face far worse. Though do keep away from rabid animals. My rabies treatment only works half the time.”

Wiosna was bold like that, taking me into the woods at night as soon as I became her apprentice, bringing me to assist with labors and minor surgeries when I turned seven.

But now, I remember she told me to run last night. Even Wiosna was scared of the werewolf. And I was, too, except…

Except, I’m used to fear. It’s so familiar, I sometimes forget to act on it.

And it’s easy, too. Being out in the open, facing danger with a raised chin and bared teeth is second nature, because it’s the only way I know. I never felt like I deserved to be protected. The very village where I spent my whole life was always hostile, the people suspicious, no one coming to my defense when other kids bullied me.

And who was there to protect me? My mother didn’t, too afraid of being cast out, just as I am now. Wiosna looked sad and angry when I told her about kids throwing stones or calling me names, but she never did anything, either.

She told me to bide my time and wait, because nothing could be done. Sometimes, she promised that when I became the whisperer after her, as she intended, my fate would turn around and those who persecuted me would be forced to bow and kiss my shoes.

In the meantime, I was expected to endure it.

So is it really surprising that Darobor’s honest worry about my safety is shocking to me? I suppose it’s such a normal thing, too. He’s a father of five, two girls and three boys, and it must come naturally to him—the worrying, the protectiveness.

“Thank you,” I say, gathering my wits. “I… Yes, I will stay home tonight. I have to watch over Swietko, anyway.”

“Yes, yes,” he nods, tugging on his mustache. “How is he?”

“Better. Resting. Alina is with him now, but I really should go back.”

Waclaw stands up, too, a respectful goodbye, and I nod at them both. I’m about to walk away when something occurs to me.

“Darobor,” I address him directly, knowing he is the one in charge. “Will you please send for me if someone gets hurt?”

He frowns, his head tilting as if I said something strange. When he speaks, he sounds surprised I even asked. “Of course. You’ll be the first one we get.”

I nod in thanks, biting back a smile. The lightness fizzing in my head makes me feel giddy at this small triumph. Because not only will I be called to treat the wounded like a real whisperer—they’ll call for me first. Hopefully, I will get to see Czeslawa’s face when she realizes.

My fate is on the brink of changing for the better, I just know. And the only thing that stands between me and a better future is the werewolf.

And Woland, of course, but I’ll worry about him later.

Chapter twenty-two

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