THE BAZAAR (The Devany Miller Series)

by Jen Ponce

  Then she was walking again. One moment so close I could have spit on her, the next pacing around me again. My head fell back against the spongy ground. I pictured Liam and Bethy in my mind. Panting, sickly, but alive. I also reminded myself that there was always hope. Hard to see the glimmer of it in hell, but damn it I had to try. "What about Tytan? Would I still be his, whatever?" My brain hurt too much to come up with the word. I expected him to argue, but still he remained silent. I frowned at him. "You don't want to participate in this conversation?"

  Ravana laughed. "He can't speak. I won't allow it. And he won't risk it. I know where Cyres is."

  Cyres. Nex had said I would help Tytan find Cyres. Whoever she was. Of course, Nex had never said whether that was a good thing or bad thing. Once again I was playing a game without any idea of the rules. "Your pet. Means what?"

  "My beck. My call." Her face held tortures I couldn't even imagine. "Bring me souls." One slender, dark shoulder lifted. "I might even allow you to remain Tytan's Archaeon Tezrya."

  "I'm not killing people," I said automatically, thinking of the man who'd disintegrated. I'd done that. But perhaps he wasn't dead. Perhaps I'd merely sent him to another universe, another reality.

  Perhaps I was dreaming this and any moment I would wake in my bed, Tom sleeping beside me, the cheating, the hook, the heart: a dream. "My kids. I have to still be with my children."

  Her smile glittered. "I can wait. Let them grow. Train with me in the Slip when I wish it. Join me in the Slip when I call." I didn't like how she said join her. I had no idea what she was into and had no desire to find out.

  'Arsinua?' But of course, she didn't answer. 'Neutria?"

  Power always good. More power better.

  Yeah, she would be in favor of it. "No more taking bits of my soul?" Already I felt hollow, empty in parts of me that used to be full. It wasn't easy to comprehend, even for me to whom it had happened. I was missing parts of my essence. It didn't feel good.

  "Bring me souls to replace what you steal from me in magic. Learn to control the power inside you."

  "Don't," Tytan said.

  Ravana whipped around. His head snapped back and slammed against the wall. If the wall hadn't been there, his body would've flown back a few hundred feet.

  And I'd thought Tytan was strong.

  "Okay. Okay!" Okay. Shit. Why did it feel like the equivalent of selling my soul to Satan? If Satan were a dark skinned, glowing female with astoundingly original fashion sense. "My kids will be safe. If you can guarantee that, I'll be the most loyal—Archaeon Tezrya—you've ever seen."

  Her laughter, hot, fetid, swept over me. As with Tytan when I'd first become his Archaeon Tezrya, a power swelled inside me for a moment and then a feeling of completion settled into me. I'd done it. Whatever it was. "My kids?"

  "You have my guarantee they are safe. Now."

  Now. Which meant that they hadn't been safe moments earlier? Of course, she must have been talking about their capture at the hands of Yarnell. She came at me and I cringed, but I couldn't avoid her hand as she gripped my arm and pulled me to my feet.

  "So I can go home?” Her hand seared me. I tried to yank free but couldn’t. Colors splashed in front of my eyes.

  "Back. You owe me souls."

  "Back?" But she'd already sent me back. Back to the room where Yarnell had sent me with his goons, where Zech had been tortured. "No, no, no. Damn it!" I was on the floor again, in the same spot as if I'd never left it. The men ignored my yells as they pulled me to the rack that had held Zech and manacled me to it. Manacles. Funny word, that.

  "How the hell am I supposed to help you, you silly bitch!" I rattled the chains as if she were watching. Hello? I'm manacled. Fucking manacled.

  The men looked at each other, exchanging the 'Yeah, she's insane,' look. I cursed at them and then searched for the heart. It was there but I still didn't have the energy to use it. The drink she'd given me left me awake but not strong enough to escape. Great. I'd be awake and aware for my torture.

  'I wish I'd never met you,' I snarled at Arsinua.

  Witch hiding.

  If I hadn't been strapped down I would have slapped my forehead. 'Can you change? I'll pull from Ravana. Hell, I'm an unspawned Skriven now. Whatever the fuck that means.'

  The spider assassin stretched in answer to my question. Bones cracked, skin split. This time I didn't retreat. I changed with her, came with her as she formed into her true self. The power surged in me, a power that didn't come from the heart or the Slip; it was the power in Neutria's own body, in her confidence and arrogance.

  The men weren't expecting the spider that pounced at them. Neutria's—my—fangs sunk into the first man. The other flung a burst of energy at Neutria, but as with Arsinua’s attacks, the magic hurt her but didn’t slow her down. She claimed that kill too, injecting her poison deep into the man's chest. His screams didn't last long.

  Neutria crawled through the doorway back up a long hallway to the main room. Yarnell saw us first. He yelled for Cambion, who ran at us. Neutria jumped high and we hit the wall, clinging with the sticky pads on her feet. Cambion hissed, whipping around in midair. Before he could fly at us again he vanished.

  Called home?

  I grinned inside Neutria as we watched Yarnell. He muttered a thick, black curse that he hurled at us. Instead of a ball of energy like the others, this one branched and split like lightning. Neutria fell straight down but snapped to a stop before hitting the floor with the silk she'd attached to the wall.

  Yarnell dashed from the room. As he did, he split himself and his copies hid his escape. Neutria caught one and it crumbled at her touch.

  Damn. A door slammed. Then another, quieter noise, a ratcheting sound. She skittered up the wall, settling in a shadow to wait. We didn't wait long. A woman lurched into view, her hair lank, and her face blank. She looked like a zombie, moved like a zombie.

  Neutria screamed, though it wasn't a scream of anxiety. It was a challenge.

  The zombie woman began to split in a horrifyingly familiar way, black hairy legs sprouting from the woman's head. Who had she been before the chythraul had taken her? Then Neutria screamed her challenge again and dropped.

  'No! He's getting away. We don't have time for this.'

  Challenge. Must kill rival.

  'We don't have time. Neutria, please.' I started to stretch, to change but her next words stopped me.

  You change now you die.

  I assessed the spider. About the same size as Neutria, but the large furry mounds under her eyes were a bright red. Neutria's were blue and they splayed as she showed off her six-inch fangs underneath.

  The other spider responded. Smaller. 'We can take her. Easy.'

  Yes. Now shut up. Let me win.

  I shut up.

  TWENTY-SIX

  Yarnell escaped. After Neutria had defeated the other chythraul and slurped the liquefied innards, we hunted the bastard throughout the Theleoni compound. He'd vanished, helped by the Skriven. I hoped Cambion exacted a stiff toll from Yarnell for his aid.

  I stumbled through the hook into darkness. I didn't know what day it was or where I was so I reached out for Arsinua. 'Can you find him? Sense him somewhere?' I was torn between hoping he'd gotten my kids to safety and wishing he'd stayed close by, waiting.

  I was half right. Arsinua cried out. Zech lay motionless in the gloom of the factory. My gut clenched hard. She said they were safe, I raged in my head as I ran to him. She said they were safe.

  I grabbed him by the chin. "Zech. Zech! Where are my kids? Where are they?" He didn't move or talk. The left side of his face was bruised on top of the burn. When I remembered, I let go, but my heart still thundered in my chest like a racehorse on steroids. "Liam? Bethany?" My voice echoed in the large metal building. A horn blared in the distance. The low, constant rumble of traffic.

  I'd felt better once I'd seen them. I'd relaxed knowing they were with Zech. Now that terror came rushing back, cramping my insides, making
me want to kick the walls and scream.

  I needed a phone.

  He needs help.

  He didn't look good. And there wasn't a nearby fleshcrawler indebted to me to do the job this time. I dug in Zech's pockets for the money I'd given him, then ran from the building, determined to find help. Two blocks down I found a small bar, fifty bikes or more parked out front. I plowed through the crowd and waved the twenty in the bartender's face. “Call 911. Please.” I brushed hair off my face. "Where am I?"

  "Casey's." She was dialing but her attention stayed on the bar, on the customers. A bald man at the far end gestured and she held up a finger.

  "No, what town?"

  She didn't even blink. "Abilene."

  "Texas?"

  This time she did look at me, then began talking into the phone.

  Abilene, Texas. Holy crap. How would I ever explain being in Texas to Tom? I stewed, then remembered Lucy and the knot of tension in my belly eased.

  A hand grazed my ass but I ignored it. Even Neutria reacted mildly. She only wanted me to maim him. I guess being well fed mellowed a spider out. My whole focus was my kids. My kids, who Ravana said were safe. Then I remembered. She'd said, "They're all right, now."

  Fuck.

  "Cops are on their way. Ambulance too. Better wait outside." She slipped the twenty into her pocket and I left the bar, glad to get out of the crush and away from the noise.

  Abilene. Ludicrous. I didn't want to wait for the cops or talk to them about Zech. Could I get away with saying I'd found him? No, I doubted they'd believe me. I didn't want to say who I was either. It'd be hard to explain how I was in Texas and Nebraska at the same time if they checked out who I was.

  I needed Tytan. Closing my eyes, I reached for the Skriven power. I tugged, thinking of him but I couldn't get through. I didn't know if he was pissed and ignoring me or if Ravana was blocking contact between us. I sighed and concentrated on her, instead.

  It wasn't a good idea.

  A bolt of heat shot through my body, then a stabbing pain lanced through my head. It drove me down to the sidewalk, gasping, causing a biker dude and his leather-clad date to stare at me as they passed. Nice. "My children." I panted hard, realizing as I did that my Lamaze classes were finally coming in handy. Both Liam and Bethy had ended up being born by C-section and I'd never had to use the breathing method. I used it now.

  She swirled in smoke, gray and formless. Her voice curled and wove inside my head. "Home. Safe and sound. With their Daddy and Mummy. They won't remember a thing."

  Safe. I put my face in my hands, the tension leaving my shoulders, the distress leaving my gut. "You're sure." I didn't like the idea of her messing with their heads, but I couldn't focus on that now. "They're safe?"

  "For now. I need souls, Devany Miller. Two tonight, or you won't be seeing your children for a long time."

  Why? Why did this always happen? I gained one thing to lose another. Choices sprung up that weren't choices but tortures. Would you rather be mauled by a grizzly or run over by a truck? "What about those two men in Midia? Neutria killed them."

  "The soul must be collected before death."

  More rules I didn't fucking know about. "And how am I supposed to collect them?"

  The smoke curled and twisted in front of me. "You need the ring."

  Uh huh. The ring. Right. A magic ring? Ring around the roses? "What fucking ring?"

  No Ravana. I cursed the air, batted at the smoke until it dissipated. Stupid ass Skriven bitch. And she didn't even have the decency to stick around and let me yell at her. Instead, POOF, she vanished, leaving me to wonder what she was talking about.

  Ring. Ring. What stupid fricking ring?

  The cop car arrived first, the ambulance a close second. I led them to the warehouse where Zech still lay dying. The paramedics let me know he was still alive but that was the last question I asked. The police barraged me with questions, questions my tired brain had a hard time sorting through. I was about to give up when Arsinua moved forward in my awareness. It was so strange, I stopped what I'd been saying in mid-sentence, leaving the cop hanging.

  Let me. Please. I can help.

  Hell yes. I gladly gave up the reins, letting her take over the speaking role. Except for the slight change in cadence, there wasn't much to indicate to an outsider that a new person was speaking. I stayed out of the way, let her weave the tale, which was better than anything I could have come up with, tired as I was.

  It also gave me hope I would be spending the night somewhere other than jail. By the time Arsinua was done, she had the police convinced that Zech was our homeless brother, slightly mental, whom we'd be looking for a long while. She held out my ID and I cringed at that, but when the cop read it, I was amazed to hear him read aloud another name, another address.

  'How'd you do that?' I hadn't felt the tug on the heart. She'd spelled the cops without even an indication she'd done it.

  Shh, was all she said, too busy charming to give explanations. We watched the medics load Zech into the back of the ambulance and they allowed us to climb in behind him. I must have fallen asleep because one moment we were sitting at Zech's feet, the next the doors were opening, and the medics were helping me down.

  We found the waiting room and sunk into one of the chairs by a snack machine. It looked delicious. I was starving but I only had a twenty. 'How're we going to get my energy back? And do you know what ring she meant?'

  I don't know. I've not heard of such a thing. Why would she ask you to collect souls? You aren't Skriven.

  'Yeah, I sorta am.' I explained what she'd missed while in hiding. She shuddered with shock and disapproval. 'I'd do anything for Liam and Bethy.'

  Even take the souls of others?

  I squirmed in my seat, the padding not so soft now. 'I guess so.' She stayed silent. My stomach grumbled so I pulled money out of my pocket. A man at the desk dug through his wallet and came up with some battered bills to exchange for my twenty. I fed the same dollar into the machine five times before it slid in and stayed there. I picked the over-priced Reese's first. The peanut butter and chocolate hit me hard and fast but it was a mere flash in the pan. I needed a buffet to slake my hunger.

  Sleep threatened to incapacitate me. I forced myself to my feet.

  I'm sorry. I shouldn't judge what you have done, for I made the same bargain.

  I fed another dollar into the machine. 'For love?'

  Yes. And pride. I wanted to defeat the Theleoni and thought I could outwit the Skriven, knowing full well no one who entered into an arrangement with them ever came out better for it. My bid failed and I was taken into the Slip.

  Her dread was my own and it overwhelmed me. I gripped the snack machine until the memories let her go.

  I would still be there but for Tytan. Said if I made the heart he would set me free. And I did it, because I would have done anything to get away from that torture.

  'And then you changed your mind? At the last minute, you found your courage, your conviction.'

  I'm afraid it was too late to redeem myself. But I hoped that by getting rid of the heart I would at least make my death worthwhile. I did it to keep Zech safe. He planned to face Yarnell in a contest of magic. That sort of thing is outlawed, but Zech was insistent. He was certain he could win.

  The machine sucked in the dollar and I chose another candy bar, a Hershey this time. I unwrapped and inhaled it. 'A duel at midnight. Swords or pistols?' I didn't mean to make light of what she'd told me, but my tongue didn't always listen to my sensible side.

  Something like that. Only Zech didn't have it in him to use dark magic. And I knew Yarnell would.

  The last bite melted away on my tongue even as my stomach growled painfully. 'So, if you could go back to the moment before you made the bargain, would you still do it?' I tried to ask the question casually, but I a lot was riding on her answer. I didn't know how I would ever manage to take a soul from a living person, knowing firsthand how awful it was. But I also didn't kno
w how I would be able to live without my kids if I didn't.

  If I could go back to that moment, knowing what I know now, knowing that Zech hates me—

  My heart sunk.

  I would do it again.

  Surprise. I straightened in my seat. 'You would? Even if it meant you would still be alive?'

  Yes. I would rather have Zech hating me and alive, than dead. It's shameful and selfish. But yes. I would do it again.

  My mind hopped back to that moment I first walked into that other world. Zech smiling at me as he gave me the sugar, the woman who sold me the lover's balm, the fortunetelling bug, the moment Arsinua had slipped the heart into my hand and changed my life forever.

  You should hate me. Just as Zech does. I ruined your life as surely as I did my own. I'm truly sorry and I know that's inadequate.

  She was right. I should hate her. I wasn't sure why I didn't. I didn't blame her for the choices she'd made any more than I blamed the women who came into the Caring Shelter for their choices. An outsider could look at a situation and see what was wrong with it. When you were embroiled in the mess, though, when mud covered your glasses and blurred your sight, it was hard to see through it to the truth.

  Could I, in my truest heart of hearts, say that I would have done things differently? I didn't know. I did wish for some omnipotent outsider to look down on my situation and tell me what the obvious mistakes were and what I should do to make it right again. I needed a kind lady to sell me a magical necklace that would give me the power to see through the bullshit to the truth. I needed—

  The ring! I flew up out of my chair, banging the back against the wall. The ring, the ring, I knew the ring I needed. The ring that had lain in segregation in the woman's jewelry case. The ring she'd disdainfully referred to as the assassin's ring.

  I'd been drawn to it, even then. I wasn't sure what that meant, I only knew that I had to get that ring to get myself back to my kids

  "The jewelry seller. At the fair. Do you know her?" I was so excited, I asked Arsinua aloud. The lady manning the ER front desk looked at me over her bifocals.