Up In Smoke by Katie MacAlister

thief taker, knew how to keep me from getting any leverage. “Run inside and fetch the watch.”
    The all-too-cheerful voice left me in no doubt as to its owner.
    â€œSally!” I hissed with outrage, struggling to get free from her. “What do you think you’re doing?”
    â€œShush! Rescuing you. Play along.”
    â€œShe’s mine!” the thief taker yelled, but there was a thread of pain in his voice that indicated he was still feeling the effects of my escape.
    â€œI’m not trying to take credit for your capture,” Sally said with obvious amusement. “I just happened to see her kick you in your happy place. Go get the watch, why don’t you? I can tell by this truly horrible outfit that she’s wearing that she’ll be too much to handle without lots and lots of help.”
    I turned my head to the side, peering as best I could up the stairs. The thief taker stood in the throes of indecision, clearly wanting to be the one to drag me in and at the same time injured enough that Sally made sense.
    â€œHurry!” Sally urged, releasing my hands just enough that I was able to almost rise. “She’ll get away!”
    The thief taker didn’t wait; he just whirled around and ran up the stairs. Before the door closed all the way on him, I was jerked to my feet, a not-so-gentle shove between my shoulder blades sending me reeling down the stairs.
    â€œYou’d better scoot, sugar. It probably won’t take him long to rouse help.”
    I glanced over my shoulder at the woman behind me, confused by both her actions and the friendly smile on her face. “Why are you helping me?”
    â€œSilly! You’re Magoth’s consort!”
    I hesitated, not buying her sudden turn of heart.
    She shoved me again, and this time I moved. She followed on my heels, saying, “Plus, they’re the good guys, and I can’t stand to see them win.”
    That, at least, made sense. I dashed down the sidewalk, spinning around the corner to the alley in which Magoth had chosen to enter the mortal world.
    Shouts behind us warned that the thief taker had returned to find me missing.
    â€œRun! They’re right behind us!” Sally said, following as I dodged garbage bins, emerging on the far side only to dash into another alley.
    We raced away through the streets of Paris, using every skill I possessed to avoid leaving a trail that could be easily followed. We ran up fire escapes and through buildings, and took shortcuts through yards and tiny Parisian gardens, until it seemed like my legs were ground down to nothing and my lungs were about to burst.
    â€œI think we’ve lost them,” Sally said after what I could have sworn were eons of running. We collapsed against the entrance of a seedy building. “I just hope you’re going to mention this on my evaluation sheet. It should get me beaucoup extra credit.”
    â€œConsider yourself credited,” I answered, standing up straight in an attempt to ease a stitch in my side. “Where are you going now that Magoth is in this world?”
    She straightened up as well, tidying herself via a reflection in a dirty window. “I have another two weeks with you all, so I’ll just run him to earth. See you later, sugar.”
    â€œBut—”
    Sally was off before I had a chance to question her more. I watched for a moment as she quickly blended into the lengthening afternoon shadows before I did the same into the slightly different version of reality that was known as the shadow world. I knew of only one safe house in Paris, and it was there that I headed.
    â€œHello. I’m May Northcott. Is Gabriel here, by any chance?” I asked some forty minutes later as the door before me opened.
    The woman who answered the door blinked green eyes a couple of times, then smiled and stepped back, gesturing me into the house. “Welcome back, May. Drake and Gabriel just returned.