Chapter 343

I yelped and crashed down beside Ms. Clara, careful not to jostle her.

Mahmud squatted next to Raquel, holding a small silk pouch tied on a ribbon. He put a finger to his lips.

Raquel took a handful of herbs out of the pouch and sprinkled them over Ms. Clara, silently chanting. She pressed a hand to Ms. Clara's throat and a hand to her heart. "Her respiratory system needs to heal. I'm leaving her in this magic coma."

"The smoke inhalation?" Ari said.

"There may be damage to her vocal cords, but she'll live."

Raquel wobbled as she got to her feet, and Mahmud leapt to steady her. The heels had broken off her expensive shoes. She kicked them off, leaving them in the dirt. Like the rest of us, she was streaked with soot and burned in a dozen places on her skin and hair.

Baruch threw my friends off of him. "Thank you," he said to Raquel, in a voice more gravel-filled than usual.