Chapter 1

Rolduin swore he heard noises coming from within the apothecary building. He stood outside the small shop, leaning against the back of the building in the shadows. Directly in front of him was the edge of the forest. The shop stood by itself on the fringe of the village, and next to it was a home that he presumed belonged to the apothecary.

The shop should be closed at this hour. What was going on in this little village that a darkened shop emitted sounds? Still, he was certain he heard a steady, rhythmic thumping. He had no idea what it might be. All he knew was that he needed to find somewhere to stop and rest, and if someone was awake within the shop, they were his only chance at shelter without waking some poor, unsuspecting villager.

He creeped around the edge of the building, edging out of the protective shadows and into the moonlight that fell across the yard and the dirt road beyond. The grass here was healthy and sprung up after each step he took. As he came around to the front of the building, he saw a small light burning within. Not much, but enough to indicate that someone was in there, at least.

He gripped his cloak around him and walked up to the front of the shop and the wooden door there. Glancing to one side and then the other, he knocked and then tensed up as he waited. Perhaps a house would be a better choice. What had that sound been?

No time to worry about that now. The door creaked inward, and below his line of sight a small, pale face poked into the strip of moonlight shining in the narrow opening. The eyes were not wide and fearful. Nor were they twinkling with curiosity. Rather, they were cautiously inquisitive. Not a child, but a petite woman. Perhaps she was a halfling.

“Are you here for a remedy?” The small woman’s voice was soothing, like a mother’s. Not his mother’s, though.

His eyes hardened, and he shot a glance to the road. “Of a kind. May I come in?”

The woman pulled her head back from the door crack a bit and took a longer look at him with her deep brown eyes. “You may.”

The door pulled further open, and the flickering light of the lamp within danced across the wooden floor. The little woman had disappeared behind the door. He knocked the dust off his boots and stepped inside. As soon as he was in, the door creaked shut behind him, closing with a soft snikt.

When he turned to look, the woman was turning a key in the lock. She glanced over her shoulder at him, sliding the key into a pocket of the thin robe she wore. The garment was clearly made for indoor wear. Did she live here in the shop?

She strode over to the apothecary counter, taking longer steps than he would expect from one so short. Using a stool kept nearby, she hopped up onto the counter and sat down on it. She crossed one leg over the other and peered at him.

“What have you come for?”

His face got hot and suddenly he didn’t want to ask. He tried to build up his courage to request hospitality from this woman he had just met, when he noticed the look on her face. She didn’t seem intimidated at all by a strange man showing up at her doorstep in the middle of the night. In fact, was she leering at him? The heat spread across his cheeks and down his neck.

The woman raised one dark, arched eyebrow. She had chubby cheeks with a strong jaw and a splash of freckles across her small nose. From the bottom of the robe, her bare feet and legs poked out. That’s when he realized she was wearing nothing else beneath it.

“Well?”

He stumbled over his words. “Well. Umm. You know, I didn’t mean to disturb your rest. I should leave.”

She laughed heartily. “Disturbed my rest? You’ve done no such thing. Now speak up. What is it you came in for?”

He lowered his head to look down toward the floor and then flicked his eyes up to look at her from under the shaggy fringe of blond hair that fell in front of them.

“I need a place to stay for the night.”

Disappointment crossed her face. “No need for a remedy then?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Well, I’m afraid you can’t stay.” She hopped down from the counter, ignoring the stool and landing deftly on her bare feet. The robe flapped up as she dropped, revealing her ivory thighs.

He frowned. The woman walked past him and padded over to the door. His shoulders rose up and a jolt of tension shot through the back of his neck. His jaw felt tight.

He turned and made his way over to the door. “Is there anywhere else you can recommend I turn?”

The woman looked him up and down. “Why did you come here?”

“As I said, I need a place to stay tonight.”

“Why, though? What are you doing in Salthill?”

“The flames drew me here.”

“The flames?” The woman laughed.

“I thought there would be people about, tending the fire or performing rituals.”

“It’s not a festival night.”

He hadn’t thought of that. It also occurred to him that he had not thought to ask the woman her name. “I apologize. I have not asked who you are.”

“I’m the Midnight Apothecary.”

“Pardon—I meant your name.”

The Midnight Apothecary looked pleased. “You may call me Chaperone Cantrell.”

“Chaperone? That’s an odd title for a healer.”

“I find it appropriate for my work.”

He looked around at the darkened shop with only the two of them. “Is it a profitable business—a night time remedies shop? It doesn’t look like you get many customers at this time of night.”

A smirk lifted the corner of Chaperone Cantrell’s mouth. “I assure you that business is well.”

That reminded him that he had heard a strange noise coming from the back of the shop. He couldn’t hear it from in here. Thinking of it, however, made the hairs rise on the back of his neck, as he wondered if other people were in here. He didn’t like the idea of not knowing who else was within.

“Do you tend to the wounded here, as well?” He spied a door next to the counter. “That’s not typically part of an apothecary’s work.”