The Fae looked over at him narrowly, her lack of trust evident in her stony gaze.
Aw, come on, don't look at me like that. It's a Faelyr! How far could it have possibly gone? He signaled toward the shape of the large city in the distance, the horizon crowded with towering buildings. Travelers were entering into view now, coming and going from the city gate with heavy packs and weapons. A loaded wagon rolled by as well, along with a few passersby on horseback. “We're just about there. We'll pass through the main gate and have ourselves a look around. It's really not bad—for a human city, that is.”
Just as he was about to further plan their itinerary, he stopped in his tracks.
Something reached him on the wind; a strange, but not unfamiliar scent.
“What's the matter?” asked Minx.
Kaleb worked the air for a few moments, then nodded. “It's that scent again. The dragon scent, from yesterday.” He frowned, still perplexed by it. There's no mistaking it. It's the exact same. But who does this scent belong to? he wondered. It doesn't sit well... Something about this gives me a bad feeling, but I can't put my finger on why...
“The same scent?” asked the Fae huntress, eyes wide.
He nodded. “It looks like we might be on the right track. This seems like more than a coincidence to me.” He quickened his step, passing a handful of travelers. “Come on, let's hurry.”
For once, she didn't argue as she came up beside him.
Chapter 9
This great city of men, large and busy though it was, struck her as primitive compared to her own home. Reportedly the pinnacle of human society, Karn felt anything but civilized or modern. Its architecture was bland, utilitarian, and there was very little greenery to be seen between its crumbling outer walls. The varied characters that shambled through its streets, too, were of the surliest and seediest kinds—it seemed a city of hooded vagrants. She held her bow close as they drifted through the crowds, taking in the sights. Just when I thought my opinion of humans couldn't get any lower... she thought with a grimace.
Minx followed the young dragon shifter through the main gate, passing a number of large buildings. Beggars lined the streets, seeking charity, and would-be pickpockets in search of easy marks hung back near the alleys and byways, watching the crowd. To their right gurgled a fountain, its clear water reflecting the sunlight in brilliant glimmers—just about the only pretty thing in sight. Deeper in, positively choked by a large crowd, was what appeared to be an open-air bazaar. “What's going on over there?” she asked, giving Kaleb's arm a tug.
He'd been too busy trying to lock onto that dragon smell again to notice. “Oh, it's a marketplace. Trading, buying, selling—don't you have those back home?”
It took all her strength not to sock him in the gut. “Of course we do. Fae cities are the greatest and most sophisticated in the world.”
The pair started into the market area, wandering by swathes of howling merchants and muttering buyers. “Have a look around. Maybe you'll find a little nicknack worth buying. Traders come here from all over. It's said you can buy almost anything in Karn—and looking around here, I believe it,” said Kaleb, strolling casually with his hands behind his back.
It took only a few minutes of wandering through this open-air market to discover that the wares on offer were unlike those Minx had dealt with elsewhere. Many vendors set up along the square worked in living stock—strange creatures of every shape and size were being sold at varying prices. Some among them looked familiar, boasting qualities of Wuff, Krah or Plurn heritage, though others, sickly and malformed, possessed more unheard of characteristics. These creatures, bred by the Zuscha, squealed and growled from large enclosures all around them.
The Zuscha, known informally by her kind as the “Dark Fae”, were not evil as their common name might suggest, but were rather fond of unethical biological experiments. It had been the Zuscha who, through their perseverance in the darker ley-line arts, had created the artificial races that now populated every corner of the world. Their dark work had brought forth certain successful species, such as the Wuff, along with less spectacular specimens, like the Krah. The Zuscha possessed an unquenchable curiosity regarding the mingling of species, and had used their peculiar talents to breed many different creatures—the least successful of which were now being sold at this marketplace. One could purchase highly unnatural organisms in this place, born from combinations impossible in nature, and utilize them for hard labor, defense and more.
The sight of these strange creatures was distressing to her, but as she and Kaleb walked through the bazaar, she pondered something. All of these strange creatures. Could Mau have been brought here? “Do they sell Faelyrs?” she asked, stepping past the dragon shifter. She looked around narrowly, seeking her companion in the rows of cages.
“Probably,” he replied, eyeing a certain of the species on offer with particular disgust. “This slave-trade is rather barbaric, isn't it?”
Merchants hawking their goods called out in loud voices across the square, trying to lure buyers to their stalls. “Come and get 'em,” shouted one. “Fine work-beasts here. They're skilled at heavy lifting and farming work.” Still another voice rose up over the crowd noise. “Half-off, today only! When they're gone, they're gone! You're gonna regret missing out on these. You—yeah, you! I think you need to come and take a look. These prices are truly rock-bottom!”
Minx pushed past a number of idling shoppers. “Can I interest you in a necklace, miss?” asked a merchant to her right, holding out a number of gaudy pendants. “Can't beat these prices!” She ignored him and pressed on, nearly losing Kaleb in the crowd. Mau, are you here? she chanced, hoping that the Faelyr would pick up on her thoughts.
There was no reply, though.
Still undeterred, she hung a tight right and found herself walking through a new wing of the bazaar, this one stocked with larger cages. She studied their contents, gritting her teeth. Come on, Mau. If you're here, let me know. We've always shared a special connection. If you can hear me, please give me a sign of some kind! I can't stand this.
“Hey,” uttered Kaleb, tapping her arm and nodding at a mass of cages across the way. “Maybe we ought to give this guy's wares a closer look...”
Within one of the cages Kaleb had pointed out, she spied something that made her heart soar and her stomach lurch all at once.
Inside the cage was a lonely-looking Faelyr, ears low and tail limp.
“Faelyrs for sale!” shouted the merchant, pacing up and down a narrow strip of the square. He worked a large stand, behind which were dozens of steel cages, and wore a sand-colored garb with a wide straw hat that kept the sun off of him. Within the cages, peering out dourly, were Faelyrs of every size and color. The poor creatures looked pitiful as they awaited willing buyers.
“Kaleb!” Minx grabbed the dragon shifter's shoulder and pointed at the stand. “Look! They do have Faelyrs!” She tugged him onward. “We need to see if Mau is here!” Without stopping to speak to the merchant or even to feign interest in buying, Minx started quickly to the nearest cage and peered into it. The Faelyr within perked up at seeing her and loosed a great purr.
It wasn't Mau, though. Sorry, little one. I'm looking for someone in particular—my best friend. Quickly, she climbed atop the cage and started onto the next, glancing between the bars of every cell in view.
“Hey!” snapped the merchant. “Get down from there! If you've got a question about the merchandise, you've gotta ask me!”
Kaleb watched from the sidelines as Minx disappeared behind the edge of the stall. “Don't get yourself killed!” he warned.
A large mass of cages awaited her behind the seller's stand, each of them bearing at least a single Faelyr—and in some cases, two or more. She studied the faces of the poor things, seeking that of her old friend, but finding only unfamiliar eyes staring back at her.
And something else.
From behind one of the cages there stepped a large man with a blade in his ha
nd. He was dressed in rags and easily dwarfed her in both height and width. Minx knew the kind very well; he was a hired gun, a mercenary tasked with looking after the goods at the slave market and ensuring the safety of the merchandise. “You stop right where you are, little miss,” he snarled, holding out his blade as a warning. “You aren't allowed back here.”
Minx didn't care about following procedure. She was going to scour this barbaric place in search of her friend. It didn't matter how many armed men they sent after her. “Get out of my way,” she ordered. “I'm looking for someone.”
The mercenary chuckled, advancing so that his shadow now eclipsed her. “Yeah, and I'd say you found him. They don't let just anyone back here to mess with the goods. Now, you're gonna put that bow down real nice and slow, and we're gonna have a long talk with the manager, all right? Make any funny moves and I'll bleed you dry.” The fist he had locked around the handle of the blade tensed as if in promise of swift action.
“I don't think so,” replied the Fae huntress defiantly. “Get out of my way.”
“So, that's how it's going to be?” blurted the mercenary. “Don't say I didn't warn you!” He reared back and jabbed his blade at her, releasing a savage yell.
Minx, though, had been on the move before he'd been able to thrust the knife. Swiveling to the side, she yanked an arrow from her quiver and held it out, the tip pressing into the strongman's throat. “I warned you, didn't I?”
The mercenary stumbled back a few paces, a nervous laugh leaving his pale lips. “Not bad, miss, not bad.” He cleared his throat, sizing her up for a beat before suddenly launching another attack. Without warning, he reached out and seized the shaft of the arrow, wrenching it easily from her grasp. Then, with a mighty upward swing, he brought out the knife and sought to bury it in her stomach.
And had he been dealing with a clumsier opponent, he might've been successful.
No sooner did the blade catch the light of the high sun did Minx step just out of range. With the mercenary's arm still outstretched toward her, she took him by the wrist with both hands, leveraged the whole of her slight weight, and fell to the right, offsetting the man's balance and taking him to the ground. Then, before he could try and pry her off of him, she dealt a hard blow to the back of his elbow. His hand lost control of the knife and it clattered to the ground. On the verge of twisting his arm out of its socket, Minx leaned toward the man's sweaty face and offered one final warning. “If you come at me again, I'll take it personally. You won't get another chance.” Giving the limb an extra twist for good measure and extracting a shrill yell from the mercenary, the Fae huntress let go of him and stepped away, resuming at once her examination of the cages.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the mercenary guard did not follow.
Her tour of the grounds completed, Minx found no sign of Mau. She slipped out from behind the seller's stall and was reunited with Kaleb, who'd been waiting nearby. “You didn't have to make the poor guy cry,” said the dragon shifter, pointing out the mercenary limping down the square.
“There was no sign of her,” reported Minx. “She might be here, but I can't hear her thoughts. Are there other markets like this one? Other sellers specializing in Faelyrs?”
“I'm not certain, but nothing would surprise me at this point.” Kaleb pointed across the way, to a smaller stall fronted by a lone man in baggy dress. “While you were searching behind the scenes, I took a look at the other sellers. Seems that gentleman is offering tickets to an exclusive auction taking place here. Might be a big deal—they're catering to the wealthier shoppers. Now, I'm not saying there's any guarantee, but do you think—”
Minx finished the sentence for him. “Do you think that's where Mau is being held? That she's going to be part of that auction?”
Kaleb offered a shrug. “I mean, it's possible. You had a look over there and couldn't find her. If she's in this city at all, this special auction probably warrants a look. But it won't be easy to get in. First off, you caused quite the ruckus back there. I won't be surprised if other mercenary guards come stomping around in search of us. And then there's the fact that they're not just going to let the owner of a stolen Faelyr stroll into an auction where said Faelyr is being sold off, you know? We're going to have to be crafty about it.”
“If we can find out where the auction is being held, I'll find us a way in,” she promised.
“I'll look into it. It's possible nothing will come of this, but it seems worth investigating. Give me a minute.” Kaleb urged her to stand down while he approached the vendor hawking tickets to the exclusive auction. “I'll see what details I can glean from the guy. In the meantime... don't go killing anybody, all right?”
Minx watched Kaleb pass through the crowd and toward the ticket seller. I hope this works, she thought. If Mau is really there, we need to save her. Time isn't on our side...
Chapter 10
In his dealings with the ticket seller, Kaleb had come away with a pair of tickets to the event. The auction was set to take place the next day, in a large stone building nestled deep within the city of Karn. This building, as best they could tell during their surveillance, boasted three entry points and would likely be manned with guards at the time of the auction. The buy-in was somewhat costly, but rumors of exquisite wares and rare specimens circulated amongst the market-goers. It was decided that the two of them would stay overnight in the city, both of them taking rooms in a small inn under fake names.
Minx went further than her counterpart in the way of caution, opting for a disguise to keep her from standing out. During the day, before checking in at the inn, she picked up a long, black cloak, the hood of which hung low over her face and obscured her true identity. While wearing it, she looked just like any other unremarkable traveler in the bustling city. She kept her quiver and bow on her at all times, walking the city armed as so many others chose to do.
She spent the night in her gritty room, the door barred with furniture to ward off thieves or mercenaries with grudges, and was thankful to sleep on a bed, no matter how lumpy it was. She awoke early in the morning, just past daybreak, and found Kaleb awaiting her in the lobby of the inn. They reviewed their plans over breakfast and spent the remainder of the morning strolling in the vicinity of the auction building, keeping a low profile.
Morning faded into afternoon and finally it came time for them to launch their operation.
They could not be sure what caliber of guard would await them outside the auction house, but presumed that their combined strength—that of a Fae huntress and a fire dragon of the Pyra clan—would be more than sufficient to overpower the security. They selected the eastern entrance to the sprawling stone building for its relative seclusion and nearness to a long alley that allowed them various places to keep watch.
A half-hour before the expected start of the auction, Kaleb and Minx split up, each of them entering the east alley from opposite routes. Strolling leisurely, careful not to attract undue attention, they met in the middle and quietly made their way to the building entrance. As expected, the door was manned by not one, but four guards. These figures stationed at the door, all of them hardy Plurn stock, were armed to the teeth with axes and garbed in form-fitting leather armor. The muscled guards muttered quietly to one another, their feline eyes scanning the crowds in search of trouble.
“So, is this all?” asked Kaleb. “Four Plurn?”
Minx looked upward, noting shadows on the nearby rooftops. “I don't think so. There are more waiting nearby in case of trouble.”
“Perhaps we should warn them,” he joked. “They'll need several more men to make it a fair fight.”
The time had come for them to attempt their infiltration. They planned to present their tickets, and if at all possible, avoid a fight with the guards. If they could blend into the crowd and merely attend the auction as regular customers, their position would be far more advantageous. It was possible that the guards were on the lookout for them—Minx, especially, due to her violence ag
ainst the mercenary the day previous, as well as her associations with a certain Faelyr who might wind up on the auction floor.
They stepped forth, heads low, and held out their tickets for the guards.
One of the Plurn took the tickets in turn, inspecting them, and then gave a grunt. “All right, come this way,” he ordered.
It was one of his fellows, a Plurn with a silver streak of fur over his eye, who stopped them. “Hold on a minute, let me see that.” He plucked the tickets from the other guard's grasp and held them up to the light. Then, grumbling, waved them in. “They're legit, let 'em in.”
The first guard added gruffly, “Check any weapons in the door, there.”
Maintaining low profiles, Minx and Kaleb slipped into the building. A Plurn waited near the door, and he accepted Minx's bow and quiver without a word. She was loathing to hand either of them over, but in the interest of maintaining her secrecy, she complied without complaint. Leaving the entrance and starting into the auction hall proper, she took in her surroundings from beneath the edge of her hood.
Inside, the sights that awaited them proved curious.
If the array of stock sold in the open-air bazaar was disquieting, then the menagerie held within the dim auction building was also likely to be so. The numerous cages scattered about the showroom had been draped in plush linens, meant to hide the contents of each cell and build suspense prior to the auction's start. The event appeared well-attended, with many dozens of whispering buyers, most of them cloaked and furtive in their movements, milling about the main room. What are they all here to bid on? she wondered.
How to Kill a Dragon (Heir of Dragons Book 1) Page 5
