Page 46 of The Nowhere Witch
Gregor was already there, giving me a smile. “Beautiful day, huh?”
“It was, but not so much now. Looks like there’s a storm about to let loose.”
“Really? I didn’t see that coming. Oh well. So what have you been up to? How’s it going over at the broker house?” He came over and leaned on the bar next to where I was standing.
“It’s okay. Not the worst. I’m sure you’ve heard all the gossip, but it’s not as bad as all that.” The way people stared at Hawk, if I didn’t downplay it a bit, they’d imagine he was about to murder me.
“Yeah, I’ve noticed you hold your own with him.”
“Not that big of a deal. I swear.” I grabbed the towel off the bar, looking for something to wipe down or anything other than this conversation. Gregor was a nice guy, but when he looked at me like I walked on water, it was a bit much to swallow.
He followed me as I worked my way along the bar top. “You know, I’ve been meaning to ask if you want to go get that…”
Zark slammed the door open, walked in, and gave the crowd a stare-down. “Who brought the black cloud? You know that’s not allowed here. You have a black cloud, you stay home or go somewhere else.”
He scanned the crowd.
No one spoke.
I leaned closer to Gregor and whispered, “What’s he mean by brought the black cloud? Clouds just happen…don’t they?”
“That cloud you saw when you got here, someone must have brought it when they came. Maybe they thought your good luck would rub off on them.”
“You mean that cloud that is overhead right now isn’t bad weather?” The one that seemed to be moving with me for my walk. Oh, no. I saw where this one was heading, and I wasn’t going down because it wasn’t a sunny day. Not this time.
“A black cloud doesn’t move like a normal cloud, not even for the fifth wind. It follows a particular person, and it’s easy to spot because it seems to stagnate over a person no matter where the wind is blowing.”
“Speak up!” Zark said loudly. “Who brought the black cloud, and don’t lie. It’s been hovering over here for ten minutes already.”
Gregor’s brows dropped as he looked my way. He wasn’t the only one. Most of the people in the room were starting to look at me too. It was like a contagion that was spreading until all eyes landed on me. Someone might’ve come in right before me. Maybe they’d been walking here a few minutes in front of me? It was possible. It wasn’t necessarily me.
Zark followed everyone else’s gaze and settled on me, the lines on his face growing deeper by the second. He crossed the room.
A clap of thunder rang out so loud that it felt like the building shook. One of the regulars I knew by face got up and started edging his way toward the door, as if hoping no one would notice.
Zark saw him. I saw him. The entire room saw him.
Itcouldn’thave been me. I was good luck. Everyone thought I was. Was everyone wrong? For once, I was the beacon of light? Right?
Zark looked around again and then back to me.
“Tippi, can I have a word with you?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Another customer, this one near the far wall, headed toward the bathroom. There was a back door in that direction. It was such an obvious ploy. I didn’t even bat an eye when he quickly dodged to the exit instead.
I walked around the bar, thinking we’d go in the back to talk.
Zark walked toward the door. “We should talk out there,” he said.
He opened the door and waited. Outside, the darkness of the cloud loomed overhead and ate up our shadows. Everywhere else, the sun was shining.
“Let’s walk a ways down the street. I don’t want patrons listening in.” He was looking up as he said it.
He walked to the end of the building and waited. Okay, that wasn’t that far. He’d be hard-pressed to notice a change that slight, even if he was staring upward with an eagle eye. But if he wanted to go any farther, I was going to have to fake an ankle injury. I couldn’t lose this job. Not with immigration looming. And to lose it over a storm cloud? That was insane. We were probably going to be buried in snow soon, and I’d be out of work? No. I wasn’t taking the hit for bad weather.
I made my way to him, avoiding looking up.