10
In an instant, The Lonely Wagon turned from a sanctuary to a prison. With no escape, Toby raised his juggling sword just as someone booted the door so hard they dislodged the bolt.
‘Harry’s not here,’ Toby said to Nicko.
‘I can see that!’
‘What now?’
A corpse-like henchman launched from cover and grabbed Toby. He screamed, lashing out, and the minion rolled back down the steps. Toby flashed a worried look at his wrist. Where the creature had seized him, a bracelet of yellow boils festered on his skin.
‘Don’t panic!’ Nicko yelped in a way that sounded a lot like panicking. ‘That’s Pox. He’s contagious but not deadly in most cases.’
‘Most cases?’
‘You’ll be fine.’
‘He’s given me chicken pox!’
‘Or smallpox. It’ll be gone when we get out of this.’
‘If!’ The single word came from
