Weakened Mountains (Artemis University Book 4)

by Erin R Flynn

  I snorted. “They eat lots.” I shot a look at the humans and then back to her as if saying I would tell her more, but we had too many ears around. “So, can I touch?”

  She asked and nodded after getting a response. “Yes, I told them you are not typical tourists but renting a house with friends that you are needing to stock for weeks.”

  Oh, that was smart cover. Much better than I had a packs of fae dogs to feed and would take it all through magical portals to the US. I wonder if people would faint or just lock us up if we told them that?

  Probably just laugh and assume we were drunk.

  “You need more of this, yes?” one of the aides asked, typing out on her phone what I’d already had bagged up. “For your packs?”

  “Those aren’t her packs,” Irma said as she caught up with Craftsman. “One has found a home at the hobgoblin sanctuary and another at the undisclosed haven she has allowed to be another fair folk sanctuary.”

  “Yes, of course,” the aide accepted, dipping her head. “I meant the purchases and provisions you were speaking of earlier, yes? We can get more from other stalls once you move on so you don’t spend all your time shopping.”

  “That would help, thanks,” I accepted. “And yes. Lots of it. There’s no such thing as too much with them.” I smiled when several people snorted.

  “You can go grocery shopping at home,” Darby reminded me, amusement in his tone.

  “Yeah, but these prices are killer,” I muttered. “And yes, I know the conversion rate from Euro to dollar, but it’s also not pounds but kilos. Some of this fruit is an arm and a leg if you can even find it in Kansas not completely crappy. The more variety they get, they happier they are. We maybe should do this now and again anyways or bribe an intern to or something.”

  “Not a bad idea for one of my younger cousins to make some pocket money,” Mel agreed, already picking out some more of what I was talking about. “And I have a lot of them that can carry a lot.”

  The next stall was all kinds of spices, dried herbs, and cool cooking ingredients that would cost a buttload to get near us. Irma was practically giddy as we reached there. Even Mel, Izzy, and I were picking out dried mushrooms since we loved them and asking if she would make us some sort of nummy cream soup with them.

  “Can we just get a personal shopper for Irma?” I asked Mel. “Is that like a job title?”

  “I think you’re going to make Irma faint,” Mel warned as Irma stared at me with love and sparkling eyes. Clearly the woman wanted it and the school didn’t spoil her in such a way.

  “Tell Claudia. She’ll know someone. She knows everyone,” I teased, knowing the dragon could hear me since of course she’d demanded to come with. So had Geiger and Zack and Ray. They were all so protective of me after all.

  Yeah, I liked them too.

  I really did. Us misfits had to stick together after all.

  24

  We purchased a bunch of potatoes at the next stall before we reached the center and… Holy. Mother. Of. Seafood. The whole interior of that massive market was full of seafood stalls that put most grocery store seafood counters to shame. There had to be two dozen at least. It was like seafood heaven.

  “Oh yeah, this alone makes a quick trip here every other weekend or whatever for the dogs totally worth it.”

  “Yeah, I’m on board now,” Darby agreed. “I didn’t have time to research this place but if you got one of those huge produce carts I saw someone pushing through like they were buying for a restaurant, that would fit through the door to your house. Fine, it’s one in the morning our time when it opens here but come right when it opens, you guys know what you need, get it done and boom. Dogs fed.”

  “I see why you keep him around,” Mrs. Courtenay praised as we moved up to the first counter.

  “The list of Darby’s fine qualities is quite long,” I agreed, not hearing the inuendo at first until several people snickered or coughed. I ignored it. “He’s incredibly smart and I think one of the sexiest qualities a man can have.”

  “Yes, on this we agree,” she chuckled, winking at her mate over her shoulder. “Even if they misbehave at times.” She looked the other way. “List what she orders so we might help her with additional orders.”

  Darby cleared his throat. “The list of what they cannot have is much shorter. Anything with too hard of shells. Snails, mussels, oysters, clams, or the like. Otherwise pretty much anything alive, dead, or cooked they will eat and clean the bones if they can’t eat them.”

  “Pretty much,” I snickered as I moved along without buying anything. That shocked everyone but seafood stalls and counters were all right there together so might as well do one sweep of them to see what they had before digging in. I really wasn’t that impulsive of a person. I was normally pretty diligent and savvy with my money.

  It ended up being the right move because several stalls down there was a large one of whole, unprocessed fish. Why pay more for fillets and cut prepped fish when the dogs would be happier to have all of it?

  We did stop at a stall that had amazing fried seafood that they got from one of the local distributors right there. It was so damn good that I wasn’t the only one gobbling my order right up.

  And several more but I was pretty sure no one was judging me on that.

  Yeah, right.

  I caught Professor White’s gaze and realized she’d been hoping for that, quickly flipping on my telepathy.

  “Eat more and yawn, Ms. Vale. You’re a few tiers up already. You know what the young hobgoblins sound like when they’re tired.”

  I blinked at her slowly as if to nod and flipped back off my telepathy. I leaned into Darby. “I think we forgot I’ve not had enough sleep for this, and we were eating faster the other times. I feel like I’m losing—I want juice.”

  “We didn’t factor in the lack of sleep,” White worried, moving closer and looking around me. “Her aura is drained. She needs fuel, now.”

  As if my body was in on the ploy or that really wasn’t a lie, my stomach growled obnoxiously loud. I sighed. “That never gets any less embarrassing.”

  “We all find it endearing though, kid,” Mel chuckled, looking over my shoulder. “I’ll get what she needs as I know her tastes best. I’m leaving her in your care. You fail in protecting her and I will burn your clan to the ground.”

  “We will shield her with our last breath if needed,” the guy swore.

  Well damn, Mel.

  The logical solution would seem to be eating some of the chocolates and treats we’d already brought… Except it had made sense to start bringing all the purchases we were making to the portal so we didn’t have to drag it all with us.

  Whoops.

  Mel came back balancing a drink carrier with two juices, two fruit cups, and an armful of sandwich wraps which she passed off to Darby. “Keep going?”

  “You think I have a clue?” I threw right back, giving her a look and then cutting a quick glance at White so she understood this wasn’t just my idea.

  She nodded and headed right back out. She wasn’t the only one because by the time I finished all of that, someone else was handing me more food, this time a dessert crepe that was amazing. By the time someone else brought some Greek food—or so they told me—I was actually feeling better even if I kept playing it up for my audience.

  I yawned as I went back to the right counter and started ordering the fish and seafood I needed. It was hard not to laugh at the before and after when Mel brought over several orders of fish and chips. The amusement wasn’t lost on her or Darby from the way they were smirking.

  It might have seemed boring just to go shopping, but that was such an understatement of what we were doing. There were fish and seafood I’d never seen before, not to mention the culture and even how cool the place was. The prices were unreal, and it was all right there. For someone who hadn’t seen anything outside of the US besides Vancouver now and never a market like this… It was amazing.

  Which was why I
knew the crystals would tier up pretty fast.

  After a shit ton of seafood, we moved onto what I was totally, utterly, and super thrilled for—Spanish jamón. There was said to be nothing like it and from the little I looked up on my phone I was dying to try it. Oh, and the cheese.

  It lived up to the hype. Salty, savory goodness that I groaned over and devoured, making sure to give someone else the “zesty” pepperoni that came in the sampler cups. I ordered some more of different types after checking they weren’t spicy and just kept eating. I wasn’t the only one pigging out though.

  Yes, pig puns at the jamón stall.

  We weren’t at the super expensive place so I figured five of the legs would be enough for my one pack. I told the guide that and one of the guards cleared his throat to interrupt.

  “Forgive me, Ms. Vale, but you don’t purchase two hundred Euro Spanish jamón legs for dogs,” he muttered quietly. “We can show you the butchers and get as much meat as you want for them.”

  I glanced at the guy and raised an eyebrow at him. “You do when the dogs give you much more than that back, mate. The more variety and awesome stuff they get, the more they give as long as it’s stuff they should have.”

  “And even if they shouldn’t sometimes as I shouldn’t have all the ice cream I do but it makes me happy,” Mel added. “You know fair folk like rare or unique, the dogs are no different. Dogs shouldn’t have fried food, but we’ll bring some of it back as a treat and they’ll go nuts for it.”

  “I’d love to see that,” he admitted.

  “I don’t care if you deliver some stuff to Jeremy Sims and the sanctuary, people know where that is,” I said with a shrug. I narrowed my eyes at him when he opened his mouth. “Weren’t you one of the people who had extra crystals on them earlier? And you want me to trust you like ever again?”

  “I understand,” he grudgingly accepted.

  Yeah, well, he made his bed on that one. They all did.

  “She’s got one more tier left,” Professor White told Mrs. Courtenay quietly when we were finished. “Her aura is draining and fast. I suggest you take her to these tourist-type food stalls for a quick refill and then to something she will find delightful for one last push. The rest of the shopping and market she can see another time. She’s going to crash like she did after the Vogels’ party.”

  “I think we can handle both in the other corner of the market down this way,” she muttered, giving me a worried look. “If we did not truly need them to be tier seven I would not push her but it would be so much harder to restart the process another day.”

  “It would?” I asked as our party changed directions and headed the way she pointed.

  “You truly understand none of this?” Mr. Courtenay asked.

  “I haven’t had time,” I sighed. “I want to, but… It’s complicated. There’s so much to learn and it’s not like the road has been easy.”

  We stopped at another stall real quick because it was sausages and all kinds of other goodies we hadn’t gotten yet. I was distracted with what I was buying until Mr. Courtenay raised his voice.

  “What do you mean she didn’t finish high school?” he demanded.

  I spun around and shot Headmaster Edelman a look that would make most people run when they knew how hard I could punch. “That’s not information you’re allowed to share, as we’ve previously discussed.”

  He sighed, running his hand over his head. “It’s not something for you to be embarrassed about, Ms. Vale. You should be—”

  “Don’t tell me how to feel,” I snapped. “And lots of people are embarrassed about that. That’s neither here nor there at the moment as it’s not your information to share with all these people I don’t know or trust. I’ve also stated that I’m worried what the councils will pull if they find out, okay? So please, just don’t tell people my shit or you’re not invited next time.”

  I spun on my heel and went back to what I was doing, but not before I saw his eyes go slightly wide in shock. Stupid men. Seriously, he wasn’t my dad or guardian. I got he tried to protect me now and again, but he didn’t speak for me or get to answer questions like he was… Family or something. He really was an enigma for me that I couldn’t figure out.

  And sometimes I didn’t want to. Sometimes I just wanted to put distance between us even if he gave that Santa safe feeling.

  “Great, now I’m still supposed to be happy, fuck,” I grumbled.

  That ended up not being a worry when Irma got super excited over another stall selling more cooking stuff and wanted to show me all of it. Mel, Izzy, and I politely nodded along as she tried to teach us about what it all was and how great the quality was. Honestly, it was really hard to focus when the two people working the stall were giving us freaked out looks.

  Well yeah, because from what they were seeing a little girl was lecturing us on cooking and the importance of quality ingredients and knew what that all meant. I mean… Yeah, that would freak most people out.

  “Your daughter is extremely gifted,” the woman finally said, glancing from Craftsman to Irma.

  “Yes, she is,” he agreed, smiling as his eyes danced with mirth. “Her mother is a renowned chef and she grew up sitting in on her classes. She shares her passion even if she still mixes up what children do.”

  The look on Irma’s face as she remembered her glamour’s age was priceless. She buried her face against Craftsman’s chest, completely mortified, and muttered what she wanted to purchase for this mythical mommy.

  It wasn’t until we were a few stalls down and out of sight until we all burst out laughing. Oh fuck, that was just too good.

  I leaned in and kissed Irma’s forehead. “I’ve always thought you were gifted no matter your age.”

  “You just let me ramble on,” she grumbled, swatting me away.

  “I’d never be rude enough to interrupt you,” Izzy muttered. “Last time you thumped me in the forehead.”

  It was true, which made us laugh all over again.

  “Tier seven,” Professor White confirmed. “But before fuel. Not good.”

  “Right here is where I wanted to be,” Mrs. Courtenay told us, pointing to a Korean food stall. “And right over there as well.” She pointed to another chocolates and sweets shop.

  “Is that fudge?” I groaned. “I love fudge.” I headed for the Korean food first and tripped over my feet, almost going down if not for the fast reflexes of one of one of the guards. I had been ready to hit the ground since I’d timed it for a group of tourists splitting us up, but damn he was fast so even better. “Thanks, mate.” I blinked at him a moment and then pulled away to stand on my own.

  And almost went right back down.

  “I got her,” Hudson growled, swinging me up in his arms. He set me on my feet at the stand and leaned me against the counter. He started ordering while Darby slid his arm around me for support.

  “Sorry.”

  “Why are you apologizing when I get to touch you, agra?” he asked gently, kissing my hair. “Let’s not do this again unless you get enough sleep first, okay?”

  “Might be tricky with the time differences and classes,” I reminded him.

  “No, as I can make a sleeping draught,” Professor White said quietly. “I’m sorry we didn’t think of this. We’ll do better next time.”

  I gave a one-shoulder shrug. “Thanks for making sure there weren’t all those other crystals. I’d probably be brain dead or something right now if you hadn’t.”

  Several people coughed or cleared their throats behind me. Yes, I knew how to lay on guilt along with act. I was pretty damn good at both.

  Once I was stuffing my face and had a private moment with Mrs. Courtenay standing next to me, I threw up a barrier around the two of us so no one could listen in. She flinched and gave me a shocked look before raising a curious brow.

  “I’ve never had a chance to stand next to an actual royal and pick their brain but just for my own curiosity… Thoughts on Meghan Markle?”

&
nbsp; She smirked at me before delicately eating a pork bun. “Thinking of being the commoner that mates a royal like I did? I see the way Hudson looks at you.”

  “Not why I was asking,” I answered, frowning when she gave me a look that maybe my statement wasn’t fully true. “Just curious in general. You’d be surprised how much you can tell about a person from their views on something completely off the wall as opposed to questions they’re ready to answer.”

  “Wise.” She took another bite and gave a regal half shrug. “I think she thinks as a woman, wife, and mother and good for her as she probably won’t be queen. I will say the loudest voices will always be one’s critics as outrage and shouting go hand in hand. Those with the calmer and objective views tend to stay out of the mix as they have more on their mind and in their lives than time to weigh in on such matters.

  “You’ll find it in your own life, my dear. You’ve taken center stage and fast. Never listen to the shouters without first perspective and time to cool your own head. They criticize her that their taxes paid to update her home and they’re not getting their money’s worth if they can’t see more of her. What does that sound like to you? Take a step back and who else hears such complaints?”

  I choked on my next bite. “A whore.”

  “It does, doesn’t it?” she chuckled darkly. “Even if it’s really about seeing her son and their life, her critics feel she’s been bought and paid for, so allow them access. The question really becomes if they choose to stay citizens and that’s the system or if they are saying they believe their royals are their whores. One is acceptable. The other is not.”

  “In the next breath they tear her apart for wanting to work so yeah, they really do own her,” I muttered, wondering what the answer was then.

  “Quite the conundrum, but as a royal—though a ruling one and not figureheads as the British system—I will say people also forget the job of the British royals. Do attachés not get paid? Diplomats for other governments do and yet they also raise millions of dollars for charities around the world—another job that people are paid to do.”