Free Cyrion by Abigail Borders Page B

she’s visitin’ the market square, in town. If you’re going, ‘ere’s some spendin’ money.” Greta handed Saul a small pouch of coins.
    She shot a defiant glare at Naeem, as if daring him to object. Naeem closed his eyes, and emitted an obviously fake snore.
    Greta snorted in triumph. “Mind you remember to get that girl somefin’. She’s a good ‘un.” She gave Naeem another snort before stomping back to the kitchen.
    “About your friend,” Naeem said, his eyes snapping open. He held his hand out to halt the boys who were about to dash off. “What do you know about her?”
    “Her name is Anya. She’s a cyrion, and she can ask animals to do things,” Jon said.
    “Yeah. She helped us rescue the grumps.”
    “Grumps?”
    “Grown-ups,” Saul said. “She and her wolf friends helped rescue the grumps. But her friends can’t come into town. And we couldn’t save everybody.” Saul looked away, shame-faced.
    “I’m sure you did your best. That’s what counts.” Naeem smiled when Saul perked up.
    A renewed warm flood of love for his Grampa rushed through Jon.
    Naeem peered at them over his reading glasses. “But what do you lads know about cyrions?”
    “Only what she told us.” Jon tried thinking back to what exactly it was she said, and realized that she had not told them very much at all.
    “Well, when you do find her, you two need to be especially protective. Cyrions are not generally well-liked.”
    “Why, Grampa?” Jon said.
    “Just…be wary of her,” Naeem said. “There are some books on cyrions in my study, if you’d care to look.”
    Jon shot his childhood friend a quick glance and caught Saul discreetly shaking his head.No. No books. Not if they could help it was the clear message.Jon lowered his head, and studied the floor, biting his lips tight to hide his mirth. Saul had always hated reading.
    After a moment, Jon looked up to his grandfather’s face. “Maybe later, Grampa.”
    A now-familiar stomping echoed in the hallway.
    “Think I’ll do a bit of shoppin’ myself,” Greta said to no one in particular. “Mind you boys grab a bite before you go. Got some rolls in the kitchen. Made ‘em fresh this mornin’. You’re both too fin, you are.”
    Without another word, Greta left the house.
    “Notice? Even Greta’s worried about your little friend.” Naeem patted his pockets. “Oh, and before you go, take this key to the side gate.”
    Jon took a small bronze key from his grandfather.
    “Don’t lose it, and don’t forget to lock the side gate up again or the chickens will get loose. If you ever want to wander outside town, you can jump over the low wall in the backyard.”
    “Why not build a higher wall, Grampa Naeem?” Saul asked.
    “This is a Watcher house, lad. There might come a time when we need to…disappear quickly.” Naeem rose from the couch. “Right then, off you go. Daylight’s wasting and you have a city to explore. Have fun.”
     

 
CHAPTER TEN
    LINWOOD (AKA THE WALLEYE)
     
    Anya strolled through the streets of the Free City of Linwood with a young raven perched on her shoulder. She had coaxed the raven down from his branch outside her window earlier with a shiny button, and promised to give him more buttons if he agreed to be her eyes for the day.
    So far, she loved Linwood. She loved the jugglers and buskers at the square. She loved the colorful stalls where countless vendors offered everything from fresh fish to books to ribbons. She thought the best stall of all was the jewelry stall.
    The raven agreed with her, although he thought the fish stall, with its multitude of brilliant, delectable fishy eyes on display, was a close second. The jewelry stall held dozens of pretty, sparkling rings, necklaces and pendants, all sold at “very reasonable prices,” at least according to the vendor. She and the raven agreed that ‘shiny’ was their absolute favorite color.
    Anya was looking over the vendor’s selection of rings when it dawned on her