Alchemy's Child (The Mindbender's Rise Book 5) Page 9

  “Got it.” She handed him her book. “Take care of this for me ’til we get a sack I can tie on my shoulder.”

  He slipped both books into pockets inside his fur cloak. “Now it’s safe.”

  She grabbed his shoulder and spread open his cloak. “I didn’t put no pockets in this thing.”

  “No, turybird, I did.” He backed away from her and pulled his cloak tight. “I’m always looking for places to put things. I want to keep my hands free. I’ve been adding pockets ever since you sewed in the lining.”

  “You and your pockets and pouches.” She turned away and stalked down the street, forcing him to hustle to keep up with her. “You’re worse than a street magician.”

  “Don’t say that.” The kid laughed and flicked his fingers to the south. “Trevor would weep in his grave.”

  Tsai hung back to walk with him. “Will you do a magic show here?”

  “Maybe. It depends on us finding a good place to do it.” The kid limped a little slower, like he was thinking hard. “The captain said he’d have the horses out of the hold in a couple of hours, but he didn’t want to offload the wagon. Too much trouble for a short layover.”

  Lorel nodded and slowed. They weren’t even trying to keep up with her.

  The horses needed sunshine and fresh air something desperate. Baby Bear did, too, but she wasn’t sure how she’d sneak her sweetie off the ship. Her sweetie surely wouldn’t fit in the kid’s pockets.

  And it was getting really hard to hide Baby’s scat before it got smelly. Straw could only do so much. “You think we could sneak Baby Bear off the ship tonight, and claim we bought her here on Kara?”

  Tsai perked up. “That’s a great idea.”

  The kid wrinkled his nose. “We’ll have to pay extra for her. And what if Miquel refuses to let her back onboard?” All of a sudden, he grinned. “It’s worth a try.”

  The kid was up to something. But if it got Baby out of the wagon before she climbed out a window, it was worth the risk. “Let’s go back and rescue the horses. I saw a good, clean stable back that away.”

  The kid snorted. “Only you would notice every stable in town. Show me where and I’ll make the arrangements.”

  Tsai saluted her. “Sumach will be grateful. But we’ll be lucky to get her back into the hold.”

  They’d be lucky to get the team down there, too, but she was pretty sure the kid would manage it. For some reason, them roans trusted him.

  Hmm. What were the chances this town sold warhorses? And that she’d talk the kid into advancing some of her wages so she could buy one?

  Chapter 8.

  The next morning, they tromped down the plank single file. Well, almost single file. His turybird’s arms were full.

  Miquel turned his back while Lorel ‘snuck’ the blasted creature – which now was as big as a wolverine and hung in her arms like a squirming sack of laundry – off the ship.

  Had the captain had known about the wretched serdil cub all along?

  His dearest dream was of the captain refusing to let the monster back onto the ship. From the grins on the faces of the crew, he wasn’t optimistic.

  As soon as they walked past the shipyard gate, Tsai’dona, the traitor, pulled long, gray-furred strips of leather out of her coat pocket. “Now will you let her wear it? She doesn’t obey very well.”

  A leash and collar made of serdil pelt? On a serdil cub? It seemed obscene, somehow.

  “She’s only a baby.” Lorel nuzzled the cub’s black fur. “She’ll do better when she’s bigger.”

  If the beast got much bigger – and it would – it’d bankrupt him trying to feed it. Kyri had cleaned out most of the ship’s rat population as it fetched food to the sandblasted creature. The only good thing about having the monster in the open was now he could buy a cageful of coneys for the Dreshin Viper and claim they were for the bottomless pit of a cub.

  “I hate putting a collar on my baby,” Lorel whined.

  He shook his head at her nonsense. “Townsfolk don’t tolerate stray animals wandering around.” Especially wild predators like a serdil, even if it was only an eighth of its adult size. The blasted thing would get three or four times as big as he was. “A collar will make them appreciate it better.”

  “And she’ll look more like a regular puppy.” Tsai’dona shoved in front of Lorel and buckled the collar around the monster’s neck. “There, see how pretty she is?”

  What was pretty about a furry slave’s collar? Not that he’d ever say so to Tsai’dona. She’d come too close to wearing one herself.

  Lorel huffed, but knelt and set the serdil’s feet on the ground for the first time in his memory, not counting the times the animal had escaped and bumbled off.

  Tsai’dona knelt beside them and tied the leash onto the collar. “Now she can get some exercise. She needs it as much as the horses do.”

  He was paying handsomely to have stableboys exercise the fractious horses everyday while they were here. He would not pay anyone to do anything to that monster. It was bad enough he had to feed it.

  Lorel stood and tugged gently on the leash.

  The pesky cub looked up at her.

  She took a few tiny steps down the cobblestone road.

  The little monster blundered along beside her.

  “Such a good girl.” She bent down to pet the creature’s head. “Walking so good and keeping up with me.”

  He could keep up with her for a change, too, the only benefit to come from the little brute.

  Together, they wandered toward the center of town. People on the street pointed and smiled behind their hands. Others whispered and giggled.

  This was getting embarrassing.

  Lorel grunted and pointed with her thumb. “Here’s a funny-looking shop. There’s swords in the window, but this ain’t no weapons shop.”

  Tsai’dona peered through the bubbly glass. “Take a good look at those swords.”

  “Wood swords.” Lorel shrugged. “Practice swords. But they’re all carved up.”

  Wasn’t that a jewelers’ across the street? Maybe he could sell some of the Kresh jasper and sapphires he’d stashed in his pockets. “Rich kids’ practice swords,” he said over his shoulder. “I’d hazard it’s a rich man’s toy store. Come on, will you?”

  “This I gotta see.” Towing the whining serdil by its leash, Lorel charged into the shop.

  Tsai’dona rolled her eyes, but followed her.

  “No, wait, I have business to conduct.” Both girls ignored him. Some bodyguards they made.

  If he was honest with himself, he wasn’t in any hurry. He’d humor his Gyrfalcon for a few minutes before he chased them back onto the street.

  He trailed in after them, but froze on the door sill.

  Rows of wooden swords lined the walls: intricately carved oak swords, lacquered swords, enameled swords, even silver-painted letter openers shaped as daggers. Tall baskets filled with gilded mahogany axes stood in the corners. Tables crowded the uneven floor, tables covered with music boxes and silver mugs, glass buttons and gold tableware, mechanical birds and gemstone trees.

  Low, mellow music crooned from the back of the shop. Music that reminded him of the sea on a warm, sunny day.

  The shop was so interesting he didn’t want to leave after all. Better yet, the golden-oak counter was unusually low. He wouldn’t need to crane his neck or stand on his toes while bargaining.

  Lorel could probably see over it to the floor behind it. The sandblasted pine tree.

  “Come in, pet, come in,” called the gray little woman behind the counter. “You’re letting the cold in, you are. Call me Jessie, dearie. See anything to take your fancy?”

  Viper shut the door and his mouth at the same time. He glanced wide-eyed at the little shopkeeper, but went back to staring at her wares.

  “This is sorta neat.” Lorel held up a gold-inlaid short sword. “It’s real pretty, but it ain’t gonna be worth sh– ah, salt in a fight.”

  “No, dearie,
you don’t fight with that one.” Jessie laughed and gestured at the crowded walls. The smile on her wrinkly, heart-shaped face reminded him of his grandmother. This was someone who laughed with the world, not at it. “You hang it up and look at it.”

  The walls of his wagon were covered by real weapons, mostly Crayl steel. He understood Lorel’s confusion.

  “People really buy this junk?” Tsai’dona shook her head as if she suspected the woman was lying to her.

  Of course people bought it. And bought sillier things, such as the filmy headscarves both girls purchased yesterday. What did they plan to do with gossamer silk?

  Lorel frowned down at the shopkeeper. “You’re poking my ribs.”

  “Wealthy folk buy stranger toys than that.” Age-spotted fingers tapped the sword. “I’ll give it to you for half price. Eighteen patrons.”

  “I’ll give you five silver patrons for it.” Viper leaned one elbow on the counter and smiled.

  Lorel stared at him as though he’d offered to ride a bahtdor. “How come you want a toy, kid?”

  “We can sell it to a rich man in Dra or Zedista.” He looked up at her and grinned. “Rich people love imports.”

  “You’re a trader, are you, pet?” Smiling a little, Jessie nodded sagely. “Seven swords like that one for eighteen patrons.”

  He gestured at the wall of carved weapons. “Three inlaid swords, three lacquered swords, and three enameled swords for twenty patrons.”

  A box of oversized playing cards and a trio of five-inch-wide hoops marked Magician’s Rings on the table nearest the counter caught his attention. All the magicians he’d ever watched used cards and rings in their shows. The tricks couldn’t be too hard to figure out.

  He picked up the ‘magical’ implements and set them on the counter. “Twenty patrons and five commons if you throw these toys in.”

  “My, my, pet, you drive a hard bargain.” The gray woman gazed at the counter, glanced at the wretched cub, and smiled at him. “It’s a deal. You’ll head straight to Dra from here, then?”

  Hey, that was no fun. She gave in too easily. He could have haggled until noon.

  “Nah, we’re going to Shi, first.” Lorel turned and ambled around the shop, fingering anything that caught her fancy.

  Tsai’dona trailed behind her, putting back the toys Lorel displaced and preventing the blasted cub from chewing on the table legs.

  “Shi, is it?” Jessie scratched at the counter. “A strange place, that. I’ve been hearing rumors…”

  He hustled around the store, picking out the swords he wanted. If he couldn’t bargain, he’d choose her finest. Praise the Thunderer, the ones he liked best were low on the walls. “Rumors?”

  “Nasty stuff, pet.” Jessie frowned and stared out the window. “Folks say, during the last Alignment, their seawall officials refused to lift up late-arriving ships.”

  “Blood in the Weave.” Lorel dropped the tiny ragdoll she’d been examining. “That means all hands dead!”

  Tsai’dona restored the doll to its pile.

  Shaking his head, Viper set nine toy swords on the counter. There was more wrong in Shi than anyone knew, and he didn’t dare talk about it. Praise the Thunderer, the girls were keeping the quest to themselves, too.

  Jessie nodded. “It’s hard to countenance.” She wrapped each painted sword in a soft linen square. “No one has come forward to prove the tale, but no ship master who’s heard the story will go near Shi at Alignment time.” She tied the bundles with twine, making a tight packet. “They’d be safer out at sea.”

  Lorel picked up a pink-dyed wooly puppy. “Not by much.” She stroked the doll, but set it back on the shelf.

  Tsai’dona picked the toy up and rubbed her thumb under its chin.

  Viper counted twenty-five coins onto the counter. “It’s a troubling rumor.” He stowed his new playing cards and hoops into his cloak’s second-largest pocket.

  “It’s not the worst of it.” Jessie looked away and clenched her jaw. “They’ve gone back to wholesale slavery, even worse than before. There’s a new, huge slave market at the center of the city.”

  Tsai’dona paled and laid the puppy back in the box of stuffed animals.

  The leash slipped to the floor as Lorel wandered along the table and poked at the toys. She picked up a cornhusk doll and cradled it. The doll looked tiny in her hands.

  The sandblasted doll would dwarf his own hands. The turybird rarely reminded him of his size on purpose, but sometimes her accidents made him grit his teeth. Being Outcast for being too short still haunted him.

  “That’s disgusting.” Lorel scowled at the stuffed toys in front of her as though they had committed the atrocity. “Slavery’s evil.”

  Tsai’dona stepped on the serdil’s leash, trapping the creature.

  The little monster whined.

  The music stopped. Why hadn’t he listened better? He wished he’d heard more of it, or could find out more about it. No time, now.

  Dropping the doll onto a pile of velvet coneys, Lorel darted back, forcibly lifted Tsai’dona’s foot, and scooped up the leash along with the cub. “Poor Baby!”

  The stupid creature licked her face enthusiastically.

  “I think so, but rumor has it that raiders are stealing free folk from Nashidran villages.” Ignoring the coins, Jessie rubbed the counter as if she were trying to hide how badly her hands were shaking. “Folk hereabout worry pirates will come to Kara and raid for slaves.”

  “They’ll have to deal with your seawall, first.” Viper laid his hand on top of Jessie’s. “If your officials hear the rumors, they’ll keep track of any suspicious ships in the yard.”

  The shopkeeper nodded grimly. “I’ll see that the right people hear.”

  Holding tightly onto its leash, Lorel deposited the cub on the floor, retrieved the cornhusk maiden, and grinned at it. “Ain’t there gonna be a Spring Festival this year?”

  How in Menajr did she get from a harvest toy to Spring Festival? He simply couldn’t follow her thought processes some days. Make that most days.

  The serdil pawed at her leg and whined.

  “Why, yes, dearie! Ours starts in six days. Will you be here to see it? No? What a shame. Still, even Shi has a festival. Would you like to have that, pet?”

  Lorel touched its little bonnet, but jerked her hand away. “No.” She gently laid the doll on the counter, picked up the package of swords, and marched to the exit. “I need some air,” she muttered right before she shut the door – with the cub on the inside of the shop.

  The little monster squealed.

  Lorel opened the door, dragged the cub out, and slammed the door. Hard.

  Tsai’dona snickered and followed her out.

  An inquisitive face peeked around the curtain at the back of the shop. “What is making that noise, Jessie?”

  Viper glanced at the gray-haired woman, then gawked at her. She was identical to the shopkeeper.

  What a surprise. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a pair of identical twins.

  Even odder yet, their auras were different. Jessie’s was sharp-edged and uncluttered. Her twin’s was far more complex, swirling in greens and blues and yellows like flowers in a spring meadow. Someone he’d enjoy meeting.

  He smiled at the newcomer. “Greetings.”

  The second gray lady nodded shyly.

  Jessie looked back and grinned. “Hey, Bess, why’d you stop playing?”

  Viper beckoned her to come closer. “You’re a splendid musician. What instrument were you playing? It has an incredible sound.”

  Bess smiled slowly. “A seahorn.”

  “Fascinating. I’d never heard one played before.” All this time he’d wondered why Lorel had chosen to carve that particular instrument, especially since its magic wouldn’t let her play it. Now he understood.

  It was a relief to know real people actually played seahorns. He shouldn’t have too much trouble finding the quest weapon’s wielder.

 
But right now he needed to find his bodyguards before they fell into a sinkhole.

  He started to leave the shop, but he paused and picked up the pink wooly puppy and the cornhusk doll. They’d both fit inside his cloak without creating a lump.

  He turned back to Jessie. “How much for these?”

  To his later astonishment, he paid without haggling.

  Scooting out the door before he found some other trinket to buy, he inspected the crowded street. Where were his bodyguards? There, half a block away. Good thing he hadn’t needed to be rescued.

  “What took so long?” Lorel’s voice was as grumpy as a hungry bahtdor bull’s. But she wasn’t paying him any real attention.

  Now he was curious. “What’s up?”

  Tsai’dona grinned at him. “She’s looking for a good place for a magic show.”

  “We can’t use the wagon, so we gotta find some steps or something.” Lorel pointed across the street. “You can use that.”

  Tall marble stairs led up to a white granite, Nashidran-style building that must have been erected a thousand years ago, when the island was first conquered. Uniformed guards stood sentry outside, and people in formal clothing paraded in and out.

  “I’m not going near that place.” He glared up at her. “Doesn’t it look familiar?”

  “Looks sorta like Zedista’s city hall.” She shrugged. “So what? Lots of rich folk are hanging around it.”

  “Because it’s Kara’s city hall.” He knew she wasn’t stupid. Why didn’t she stop to think? “Loitering there will earn us a quick trip and a long stay in Kara’s jail.”

  Her lower lip puckered up. “Weaver’s chamberpot. That ain’t no fun.”

  He swore she looked paler. Could she possibly be afraid of prison? He could only hope so. “Besides, we need a place where we’ll find children.”

  The wretched cub toddled in a circle around her.

  “Grownups pay better.” Now her lip was all the way out in a true pout.

  Tsai’dona nodded. “Grownups have all the money.”

  “Grownups always come closer if strangers pester their children.” Somehow he wasn’t surprised neither of them had noticed that particular adult trait. “First we entertain the kids, then we amuse the grownups. And then we hope – hope, mind you – they’ll pay us.”