Stolen

by Evangeline Anderson

  “Anal gland seepage?” Penny tried to keep the disgust off her face but she wasn’t entirely sure she succeeded.

  “Why, of a surety, my lady!” the merchant exclaimed. “For instance, do you want to spice your mating life up a bit? Simply rub some exotic anal scent from a different tribe all over your fur before your mate begins biting your neck. It will be as though you were a strange and lovely female come to tempt him. He won’t be able to resist mounting you!”

  “Before he starts biting my neck?” Penny asked.

  “Of course! Or maybe you’d like to switch things up a bit and you mount him instead?” the merchant asked, grinning slyly. “I sell male mating scents for females to wear and female mating scents for males to wear. It confuses the senses most delightfully.” He winked at Penny. “So if that’s your desire, you’ll find no judgment here.”

  “Well, that’s…very nonjudgmental of you,” Penny said weakly. “But I just don’t know—”

  “What have you got to barter?” the merchant asked, looking with interest at her white fur pouch. “I’m running a special right now—three anal seepages for the price of two—providing you have good items to trade, of course.”

  “Um…” Penny began, not sure how to turn him down.

  “Perhaps we’ll come back later, friend,” V’rex said, giving the scent merchant a genial nod. “At the moment, we’re going to be introduced to Chieftain Swift Tail and his lovely lady.”

  The merchant’s eyes widened.

  “Oh, why you must be very important persons indeed! Don’t let me keep you. Here…” He pressed a blue cut-glass bottle into Penny’s hands before she could protest. “The finest female anal scents—my most expensive blend—a mixture of three different Alpha tribes,” he explained. “No, no—I can’t take any payment—it’s on the house.” He winked. “Though of course, if you might happen to open the bottle and let the scent waft out past the estimable Chieftain’s sensitive nose, I would be forever grateful.”

  “I’ll try,” Penny promised, tucking the blue bottle with its cut-glass stopper into her furry white pouch. “Uh, thank you so much.”

  “You’re very welcome, lovely lady!” The merchant bowed low, his bushy tail wagging joyfully as they finally resumed their walk.

  “Told you that wasn’t your kind of perfume,” V’rex murmured.

  Looking up, Penny saw amusement dancing in his pale gold eyes.

  “You could have warned me!” she hissed. “I mean anal gland scents?”

  He shrugged.

  “Hey, what can I say? I told you the Fox’ens have an incredibly strong sense of smell—scent is what turns them on more than just about anything else. Though they do like a female with a shiny coat, too,” he added, stroking the black fur over her shoulder.

  “Oh, you!” Penny gave him an elbow to the ribs but the big Hybrid just laughed and she couldn’t help grinning herself.

  At last, after winding their way completely through the busy marketplace, they came to a vast set of carved double doors that stood at least three stories high. There were two more guards in front of the doors and the guard who had brought them from the front entrance introduced them formally.

  There was a polite bit of shuffling while the guards at these doors said they thought the Chieftain might be too busy to receive guests. However, when V’rex produced two more of the strong smelling meat balls, the new guards appeared to remember that this was actually the perfect time to introduce visitors to their Chieftain after all and the carved doors at last swung open.

  Inside was a shining cavern with hundreds of gleaming stalactites hanging from the vaulted ceiling—some of them almost a hundred feet long. Seated in the center of the cavern, on thrones that appeared to be carved out of the same kind of stone as the stalactites, were two extremely well groomed Fox’ens.

  “Chieftain Swift Tail and Lady Bright Coat,” the guard intoned and bowed low so that the furry tips of his ears brushed the stone floor.

  Penny and V’rex bowed as well and when they came up, she was able to get a better look at the Fox’en ruler and his mate.

  Chieftain Swift Tail had pitch black fur and brilliant blue eyes that reminded Penny of an Australian Shepherd. Lady Bright Coat certainly lived up to her name—her fur was a brilliant, spotless white, tipped all over with the barest hint of silver. The color combination made her fur appear to shimmer and flow like liquid when she moved even slightly.

  But it wasn’t her gorgeous coat that caught and held Penny’s eyes. On a bright silver chain link necklace around her slender neck, Lady Bright Coat wore a pendant painted in gold and brilliant blue.

  It was shaped like an eye.

  Chapter 100

  The Eye of Ten’gu! She’s wearing the Eye of Ten’gu!

  Penny couldn’t take her eyes off the pendant around Lady Bright Coat’s neck. There was no doubt it was the artifact they had come to find. It looked exactly like the drawings from the ancient Kindred archives.

  But it had already been claimed by the Fox’ens—now what were they going to do?

  She glanced at V’rex and raised her eyebrows but the big Hybrid only gave her a small shake of his head.

  “I’ve got this,” he murmured, for her ears alone. Then he lifted his head and smiled brightly at the royal Fox’ens on their stone thrones.

  “Ah, Chieftain Swift Tail and Lady Bright Coat,” he said, stepping forward to address the Fox’en Chieftain and his mate directly. “Many light years have I traveled to see the wonders of the hidden city beneath Mount Ra’gar and many stories have I heard of the boldness of the Kin’kee Chieftain and the beauty of his lady.”

  “You speak with a honeyed tongue, Merchant.” The Fox’en Chieftain sounded bored. “But you must have good barter or my guards would not have let you disturb my day.”

  “A thousand pardons for any disturbance I might have caused, oh great Chieftain,” V’rex said, bowing again. “I have but a few humble tokens but I come not to barter but to give a gift, if I may be so bold?”

  “Very well.” The black Fox’en sat up straighter in his stone throne. “Let us see this ‘gift’ you have brought from afar, Merchant.”

  “Yes, of course. If your Excellency will just give me a moment to find it…” V’rex beckoned to Penny, who came forward to join him in front of the royal Fox’ens. She was completely bemused by his “humble merchant” routine and amazed at how easily he could get into character when he wanted to. This was a side of the big Hybrid she hadn’t seen before.

  V’rex made a great show of opening his furry black pouch and looking through the contents.

  “Hold this, will you please?” he said to Penny, handing her a delicate golden bracelet lined with diamonds and rubies as big as blueberries. “And this,” he added, giving her a black lacquered box.

  As he gave her the box, V’rex casually let the lid pop open and Penny heard a faint whistling sound that was almost like a tune, though it was too high for her to hear very much.

  “Oh, what is that lovely melody?” Lady Bright Coat had a soft, sweet voice. She stared curiously at the box in Penny’s hands.

  “My apologies, your Loveliness,” V’rex said dismissively. “That is but a trinket I picked up on my travels in the Shola System. It is an Oberian music box which plays a different melody every hour. Though I must commend your fine taste—it is said that only those with the most refined interest in music can hear its lovely songs.” He shrugged. “I myself hear almost nothing—but of course, I am only a Merchant, not a musician or an expert on music.”

  “Oh, I see.” Lady Bright Coat’s large, liquid eyes were bright with interest and she was leaning forward a little in her chair. Chieftain Swift Tail, however, still seemed unimpressed.

  “Is that the gift?” he asked in a flat tone.

  “By no means, your Excellency. Now, I know it’s in here somewhere…Please hold this as well, sweetheart,” V’rex said, handing Penny a tough leather braid that had knots as big as her fists
on either end of it. It had a very strong, meaty smell.

  Like beef jerky times ten, Penny thought, trying not to wrinkle her nose as she took the leather braid.

  Clearly she wasn’t the only one who smelled it, though. Chieftain Swift Tail suddenly sat forward, the nostrils of his wet black nose flaring.

  “Now, what might that be, Merchant?” he asked, nodding at the braid in Penny’s hand.

  “Oh, that is but a Rostian fang sharpener,” V’rex said, shrugging. “It’s meant to last for a hundred cycles so that the owner’s fangs never grow dull as long as he or she chews on it at least once a day. Also, it makes some rather amusing noises.” He reached over and pinched one of the knots at the end of the braid and a squeaky sound came out.

  A chew toy, Penny thought, trying not to smile. It’s nothing but an expensive chew toy!

  But it seemed to be exactly the kind of thing the Fox’ens liked, for Chieftain Swift Tail’s brilliant blue eyes were trained on it avidly.

  “Is that the gift you wished to give me, Merchant?” he asked, sounding hopeful, Penny thought.

  “Ah, alas, I cannot insult your Excellency by offering so mean a present,” V’rex remarked. “Please bear with me just a moment more while I find what I’m looking for.”

  He dug around in the bag some more and brought out the carved wooden box with the Silka spice inside.

  “And what may that be?” Lady Bright Coat asked, leaning forward. “It has a most intriguing scent—I can smell it even through the box.”

  “Ah, this is rare and expensive Silka spice.” V’rex opened the lid carefully to display the indigo sticks of compressed spice on their cushion of brilliant orange velvet. “It is said to give the one who imbibes it a vision of their future or an answer to the most pressing question on their mind.” He closed the lid again and went back to digging in his pouch. “Now where can that gift be?”

  Penny understood what the big Hybrid was doing now. He was piquing the royal Fox’ens’ interest and showing them his wares as he supposedly hunted for just the right gift. She wondered if he would be able to find something that Chieftain Swift Tail and Lady Bright Coat wanted enough to trade the Eye of Ten’gu for.

  “Ah, here it is at last!” V’rex held up a blackish-greenish-purplish oblong object encased in a clear crystal box edged in gold. It sat on a plump cushion of white velvet and looked like a large egg to Penny.

  “And what might this gift be?” Chieftain Swift Tail asked, looking at the box and its contents with interest.

  “Why, a Millennium Egg, laid by the now extinct jounga bird from the forests of Belsen Five,” V’rex explained. “This egg was preserved in liquid kamite over a thousand years ago and allowed to ripen in a bed of silken locan lard for many lifetimes as it absorbed the flavors of a hundred thousand different herbs and spices. It has been sealed in this vacuum box for over a century to preserve its flavor and aroma. And now I present it to your Excellency for your consumption.”

  He bowed as he handed the delicate gold and crystal box with its large, discolored egg to Chieftain Swift Tail.

  The Fox’en Chieftain took the box and broke the seal which released the most awful odor Penny had ever smelled. The reek of rotten eggs, hot garbage spoiling in the sun, dirty socks, and strong, stinky cheese filled the throne room like a cloud of poison gas.

  Oh my God, she thought, trying not to gag. It’s gone over! They’re going to be so offended that he offered them a spoiled egg!

  But though the fumes made her eyes water and her stomach turn, when she looked up at the Fox’ens, the royal pair were putting their long noses right in the box and sniffing avidly.

  “What a heavenly aroma!” Lady Bright Coat exclaimed.

  “It is, indeed, a princely gift,” Chieftain Swift Tail agreed. “Shall we share it, my love?”

  “Oh yes—please! My mouth is watering to taste it!” Lady Bright Coat clapped her clawed hands together eagerly.

  “You must have the first bite then.” Gallantly, Chieftain Swift Tail plucked the large egg out of its box and, holding it gingerly with the tips of his long black claws, presented it to his mate.

  Lady Bright Coat took a bite that was just a little less than half of the egg and rolled it around in her mouth in what was obviously rapturous ecstasy.

  “Mmm—mmm,” she moaned, her eyes rolling up in her head in pleasure. “How exquisite!”

  Wow, she looks like me eating really good dark chocolate, Penny thought. She was getting a little more used to the fumes by now, but she was still sure that if someone had asked her to eat that rotten egg she would have puked.

  “I must have some as well.”

  Chieftain Swift Tail popped the last of the Millennium Egg into his mouth and closed his eyes to savor it.

  “Ahh, that was delicious! I have never tasted or smelled anything like it,” he said at last, opening his eyes. “Merchant, you have won the favor of myself and my lady.”

  V’rex made another low bow.

  “I am gratified that my humble gift has been met with so much pleasure, your Excellency,” he said.

  “I hope you and your mate will stay in our lovely city a while,” Lady Bright Coat said, smiling at them. “And perhaps you’d like to take dinner with Chieftain Swift Tail and myself tonight in our private residence?”

  “We would be honored.” V’rex bowed again. “You are too kind, my lady! Too kind!”

  “We will see you there at the dinner hour tonight,” Chieftain Swift Tail said. “And don’t be shy about bringing things to barter with after the meal,” he added, watching as V’rex carefully replaced the items he’d given Penny to hold in his furry black pouch. “It might be that we can reach some deals together that will be mutually beneficial to all involved.”

  “I most certainly will bring my barter items,” V’rex said, smiling. “And now, my mate, Lady Penelope and I, will take our leave of your Excellency and your Loveliness. Until tonight…”

  “Until tonight!” Lady Bright Coat repeated, nodding eagerly as V’rex and Penny bowed again and left the throne room.

  “Well, that seemed to be a big success,” Penny murmured as the carved double doors banged shut behind them. “But I thought I was going to puke from the fumes that egg put out!”

  “It’s definitely an acquired taste,” V’rex said dryly. “But I thought it might suit them. Fox’ens enjoy scents other species find, shall we say, less than delightful.”

  “Less than delightful indeed!” Penny snorted. “So what now? You’re going to wait until after dinner and then see if they’ll barter for the Eye?”

  “Oh no, sweetheart…” He gave her a serious look. “I’m not the one who’s going to be doing the bartering.”

  “What?” Penny frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that it’s Lady Bright Coat who’s wearing the damn thing and she’s a royal Fox’en female. It would be an insult for me, as a male, to address her and ask her to barter.”

  “Well then what are we going to do?” Penny asked, confused. “How are we going to get the Eye?”

  “By bartering, of course,” V’rex said. “Only you’re the one who’s going to do it. As another female, you can address Lady Bright Coat without offense.”

  “But I don’t know how to barter!” Penny protested.

  “You didn’t know how to pick a pocket either before you met me, but you picked that up quick enough.” V’rex grinned at her. “We have a little time before the dinner hour. Come with me and I’ll give you some pointers…”

  Chapter 101

  The royal Fox’ens’ private residence was a cavern located far from the main part of the city. As they approached, walking through a twisty tunnel which was lighted with golden, glowing moss that grew on the walls and ceiling, Penny tried to remember everything V’rex had taught her about bartering…

  * * *

  The big Hybrid had given her one of the stinky meat balls he’d offered to the guards and told her to trade for someth
ing—anything that she thought was of equal or slightly higher value.

  Penny had done her best, but she only ended up trading the meat ball for one of the sausage links tied with red string. Which, to be honest, smelled even less appetizing than the meat ball itself had.

  “All right, not a bad start,” V’rex had said. “Now watch this.”

  He took one of the meatballs himself and approached a merchant who was selling gold and silver jewelry.

  “Excuse me,” he said to the merchant, cupping the meat ball in the palm of his hand as though it was something precious. “I’m new here and I’m looking for a good place to barter this rare Midlothian bullock testicle. Would you happen to know of any merchants who have wares worthy of such a trade?”

  The merchant, who was a rather portly Fox’en with reddish fur, puffed himself up importantly.

  “Actually, I have wares that are unparralled anywhere in the city!”

  “Do you?” V’rex had eyed the display of jewelry with apparent distain. “I see nothing here that could equal the value of the sublime taste and meaty texture of my rare bullock ball. Why, I brought it all the way from the Poopoola System. The bull it came from was a holy animal—sacrificed on the altar of Genwa, She Who Devours.”

  “She sounds like a most savage goddess,” the merchant remarked, eyeing the meat ball avariciously. “But I assure you, my wares are worthy, even of such splendor. Only observe the fine links of this tail chain—the gold so beautifully crafted that it runs like silk through the fingers…”

  They haggled back and forth like that for some time as Penny watched with wide eyes. In the end, V’rex traded the single, stinky meat ball for a solid gold bracelet with a little fox face charm dangling from it.

  As the merchant popped the meat ball in his mouth and savored its delicate flavor, V’rex and Penny walked off.