Sacrificed

houted from one of the cottag

and Umber's mother had started it all by saying Mum couldn't shift because she had syphi

gh the tree-lined streets of the wolf district. Maybe I was looking into th

hadows engulfed me from the tightly packed buildings that blocked out the sun. The scent of droppings, festering

mpromptu street fights. My lips thinned. What was it to

creeched. "Get out of there befo

to my heart, and

u

d I jumped over broken furniture, bags of trash

meone had pulled it off its hinges. A crowd of onlookers g

rst of fury, burning all thou

you doing to my h

up my pace and sprinted toward the commotion. My heart thundered. My thr

much as tou

, I shoved my way past w

, a tall black woman with braids. Healer Asena stood on a box,

o skanks-even four of the wretched cows at the

of here,"

glinting. "Lydia Gerrison," she said in a deep,

What the hell di

and smirked. "Tell Syphilis Sib n

the voice of reason. "But if the healer finds Sybil handing

f you are slandering my mother. She was not soliciting, and as a gra

ed her teeth. "Tho

in your clinic." I waved my arms for emphasis. "You don't

sed. "Did you hea

ing her door off its hinges?" I turned to Eliza with a sco

er of my eyes, I caught movement within the house. Since Mum and I were the only people who co

relief, but they shouldn't have been harassing a woman wh

h. "Get off my doorstep unless you wa

amydia?" she said with a nervous laugh. "

I held my features still. "Sounds like you want to avoid

it will be one against one. Let

nocked on the head. "Sounds great considering the last fight with

few jeers. I just wanted these people to bugger o

h hold up against the healer's ma

ealer Ase

hanged satisfied nods before pushing their way through the crowd and swagge

, but she was busy glaring at the

help getting

onize me,"

e goons to bugger off, and hand over two si

off her box. "That thing was b