Among The Shoals Forever (A Deadly Curiosities Adventure Book 5) by Gail Z. Martin

Author:Gail Z. Martin
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: A Deadly Curiosities Adventure
Publisher: DreamSpinner Communications
Published: 2013-09-29T04:00:00+00:00

I met Hawk at the end of his alley just before two p.m., when the tide would be lowest. In the daylight, it was more difficult to see him, but when Hawk stepped into the shadows, he was nearly as clear as he had been last night. Hawk’s fatal dueling wound was as raw as the first time I’d seen him, but if it still gave him pain, he did not show it. Instead, he seemed as excited as a ghost can be about the day’s work.

“Where’s your other friend?” Hawk asked, looking for Evann.

“Coltt and Evann have the house staked out. They saw the judge leave this morning for court. He shouldn’t be home until around 4 p.m.”

I followed Hawk back to Mama Nadege’s cabin. The other slave homes were empty, their occupants presumably about their daily business. Mama sat on the steps of her cabin, weaving a sea grass basket and singing. Around her were sea grass baskets of all sizes and shapes, beautiful objects with intricate patterns, woven with the touch of a master.

“You like my baskets, huh?” Mama greeted me. “Now that I’m old, this is what the master has me do all day. When I’ve made the ones Master needs for the household, I can make as many as I can to sell for myself down in the Slave’s Market.”

“They’re beautiful,” I replied, looking at the array of designs.

Mama Nadege laughed, a deep belly laugh. “Oh, you just looking at the surface, child. Stretch out your magic, and see what it tell you.”

I did just that, and my eyes grew wide. The baskets weren’t just beautiful, they were tinged with power. Magic to bring luck, to win love, to keep relationships harmonious, to prevent food from spoiling. ‘Household’ magic my mother would have called it, often not respected as much as the great magics to affect weather or turn the tide of battle. Yet as my mother always reminded me, such small magics were the warp and woof of our lives, and without them, we would be much poorer. “Do your buyers know?”

Mama let her head fall back and gave another deep laugh. “What, you think I’m crazy, child? No one knows why, they just think my baskets are lucky as well as strong. Make them feel good when they own one, make their food last longer, make their house happier. Then they come back and buy more, and get more lucky.” She gave a crafty grin. “And the more of these baskets Master have, the more he like me. The nicer he be to my people.” She chuckled.

When this is over, if I live through it, maybe I’ll be back for one of those baskets, I thought. Something for protection, or to make the ladies notice me.

Mama held out a woven basket that looked like a cylinder with a matching lid. “I made this for you, child,” she said, and her dark eyes grew serious. “To take into that house where you’re goin’. When you find that thing your master wants, you put it in there, and my magic will keep it still.

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