Free The Shifter by Janice Hardy Page B

said she was gone, and no one would say where.” I kept wiping my eyes, but there were too many tears. And now my nose was running.
    “Maybe she went on a heal call?”
    “No, something bad is going on. Have you seen a fancy man in yellow and green silk here today? He was here yesterday, over by the pain merchant’s shop. Did you see him?”
    Aylin blinked at me, her dark red lips a wide circle of confusion. “A what?”
    I told her about the fancy man and all his watching. About the missing apprentices, Tali’s fear over Vada, and the Duke’s assassins. It sounded crazy, but Aylin had lived through it all before, just as I had.
    She rubbed one of the two beaded bracelets she always wore. “Nya, you have to be careful. People don’t follow other people for fun.”
    “I know that, but I have to find him.”
    “No you don’t. You have to make sure he doesn’t find you.” She hugged herself and glanced up and down the street. “You have no idea what he wants.”
    “He wants Healers.”
    “Then why is he following you?”
    I bit my tongue. I’d all but admitted I was a Taker, though with luck, Aylin wouldn’t realize what my slip really meant.
    “Because of Tali,” I said. “He knows I have access to Healers. He’s seen me with them.”
    “But he can get all the Healers he wants at the League. There’s no reason for him to—”
    “Aylin, I don’t know!” I said, probably more harshly than I should have. I took a deep breath. “All I know is that there’s a good chance he knows where Tali is. He has to tell me. I’ll force him if I have to.”
    “If he’s a tracker, you can’t force him to do anything.”
    But I could. I snapped my mouth shut before something else stupid spilled out. “I have to find her, Aylin.”
    She twirled a loose strand of hair and stared upward, brows wrinkled, lips mashed. “Are you sure she isn’t on a heal call?”
    “They would have told Enzie that.”
    “Not if they didn’t want anyone to know. Maybe she had to go heal someone important, or in secret—like the Governor-General.”
    “He has his own Healers from Baseer. And what about the other missing apprentices?”
    “Maybe they didn’t tell her. Maybe it’s all secret.”
    “Three maybes don’t sound like truth to me.”
    She put her hands on my shoulders. “Don’t panic—let me ask around and see what I can find out. Maybe you’re worrying for nothing.”
    “That’s four.”
    “Stop that. None of this makes any sense, so we’re missing something. I know a guard at the League. Maybe he knows something.” She stabbed one finger in front of my nose before I could say “five.” “He’ll be able to get me inside either way, and I can ask around.”
    “Won’t you lose your job if you leave?” Tough as it was for me to find work, Aylin would have it tougher. People didn’t like any Gevegian who worked for a Baseeri, and even worse, the owner of the show house was the Governor-General’s brother. Aylin pretended not to care, but I saw the hurt look in her eyes when folks called her names. Probably wouldn’t be so bad if they’d let her work inside, where only Baseeri would see her, even if Aylin did insist she was a lot safer outside.
    “I’ll be fine. My lunch break is coming up. I can go early.”
    “Be careful.”
    “I’ll be okay.” She hugged me, and I caught a whiff of jasmine. “It’s you who needs to be careful. Whoever this man following you is, he’s up to no good, so stay hidden.”
    “But I need to talk to him.”
    “Not alone. Wait for me to get back, and we’ll look for him together.” She grabbed my face in both hands. They trembled against my cheeks. “Promise me, Nya? Promise me you’ll stay out of sight?”
    I nodded.
    “Wait for me in the Sanctuary on Beacon Walk. You should be safe there.”
    I doubted it, but it gave me more time in the open to spot my fancy men.
    No one had jumped out at me by the time I reached the Sanctuary. I cast one last look