Eventually, I find myself in front of a tiny little door. It’s almost too small to fit through.
Almost.
It looks unusual. In a row of shops, this one is almost squished between two others, as if someone shrunk the building and nestled it between the two others. Hesitating for just a moment, I look around. The blue door is exactly where it ought to be and is just as Martin described, but it seems...different.
Something doesn’t seem right.
Something doesn’t feel right.
This is where Martin said his wizard friend lives, but there’s a strange feeling in the air. It’s almost ominous. It’s not often that I get uncomfortable feelings when I’m searching for something or looking for something, but suddenly, I feel like I’m being watched.
Suddenly, I feel like I’m not supposed to be here at all.
If my mother taught me one thing, it’s that you should always trust your gut. It’s saved me in more ways than I dare to count. Part of me wants to ignore the feeling and push the door open, burst inside, and ask for the potion I need, but there’s another part of me that knows this is a terrible idea.
It’s a horrible plan.
So I stoop down and pretend to tie my shoe. I cautiously look around as I do, and that’s when I see it. Just across the alley from the shop, there’s a little flower pot and inside the pot is a small, tiny stone that seems to glow. No one would notice it unless they happened to stop, as I have.
So Luther’s shop is under surveillance.
That can’t be good.
The little monitor is so small that I doubt anyone else has even seen it. The charmed stone could have been there for days, weeks, or even months without detection. It blinks again and I look away. I finishing fake-tying my shoe, stand up, stretch, and keep walking. I spin the amulet, just in case, and then I round the corner. As soon as I’m out of sight of the shop, I breathe a sigh of relief, but I don’t quite know why.
Why is someone watching Luther’s shop?
What are they looking for?
I lean against the wall and hesitate for just a moment. Maybe I’m completely overreacting. Maybe...
But then I hear it.
Footsteps.
Loud ones.
A group of soldiers suddenly marches by me and I flatten myself against the wall and turn my head down. It doesn’t matter because they don’t seem to notice or care that I’m there. Instead, they walk by me, round the corner, and knock on Luther’s door.
Of course they do.
I peer around the corner. There are six soldiers and they’re headed by a man in a long, white robe. He draws attention to himself. I can’t tell if it’s more distracting that his robe is a pure white and he’s somehow managed not to get any mud on it or the fact that his hair is a bright silvery white. He’s not old. Not by a long shot. His hair, though: it’s incredibly unusual for someone of his youth.
The door opens and I hear a faint, “Hello? Can I help you?”
“Wizard Luther,” the man says. “You are under arrest for treason against the Fae King.”
“Treason?” The wizard says. “What? I don’t understand.”
Before he can say another word, the man in white motions for the soldiers to seize the wizard, and they do. They grab him and haul him out of the house.
“But this is outrageous,” the wizard says.
“Don’t mess with me,” the man in white hisses.
“I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Really? We have word that you’ve been harboring demons.”