Chapter ONE - Weebly

hitting him full in the chest. Nap and Ethan were about
the same size, but Nap hadn’t managed to brace
himself. He flew off his feet and crashed into a group of
ladies wearing fine linen dresses. All of them wound up
in a heap on the cobblestones. Ethan stumbled, but kept
his feet and ran on, his shoulder screaming agony.
He was on Union Street now. He had no doubt that
the others were right behind him. Rather than continue
toward the Dowsing Rod and risk leading Yellow-hair
and the others right to Kannice, Ethan followed Ann
Street eastward, down along the wharves and
warehouses.
His leg was growing worse by the moment, and his
lungs burned. He didn’t slacken his pace, but he knew
he couldn’t outrun Sephira’s men forever. They were
younger than he was, stronger. He scanned the street
for somewhere he might hide, even as he continued to
run. Too late he realized that the lanes were less
crowded here, that he was more alone than he would
have been had he taken a different route.
At the next corner, he turned, intending to head up
into the central part of the North End. But he halted