‘So you have decided to make my mission easy for me, child?’ Nadar said. He laughed; rows of short jagged teeth filled his mouth. Vinegar wafted out of his mouth with every breath. Nell couldn’t help cringing from the stench. Out of the corner of her eye, Cay-meka coughed and backed away a step. Nadar shuffled around the first sofa in front of him and raised his wrist to his mouth. ‘Prepare for the child,’ he said into a thick gold bracelet. ‘She will be there shortly.’ Fear raced through Nell. Did he mean to take her or did he call for the authorities? She couldn’t … wouldn’t let them put her away. She walked slowly around the back of the sofa until she faced the doorway of the room where Sam hid. Nadar continued around the opposite sofa. Cay-meka shrank back, as if trying to blend with the wall beside the sideboard so he wouldn’t notice her. Nell had assumed he intended to proceed in her direction. Instead, he stopped alongside Cay-meka and pulled her in front of him.
