THE BAZAAR (The Devany Miller Series)

by Jen Ponce

  He nodded.

  I wanted to punch him again. Instead I sat up, my head ringing as my inner critic harangued me with all that was wrong. I was ignorant. Inadequate. Too slow, too human. I didn't know anything about fighting. I would surely die. Look at what a lousy wife I was. What a lousy mother, I couldn't even keep my kids safe.

  "Enough," I told myself then realized I'd shouted aloud. I shook my head. "Enough. I'll do it. I can't live like this but I sure as hell can't lie down and give in, either." I eased to my feet, testing my leg to see if it would hold me. Then I drew the sheet tighter around me. "Unless I have to fight naked, I need pants." Tytan's gaze caressed me, and I could feel his thoughts as if they were his hands. I had to distract him. "Marantha said you fetched me a weapon. Where is it?"

  Tytan's grin made me wary. He stepped out of the house for a moment. When he came back in, he had a wild-eyed woman by the hair. Dreadlocks, the bitch from the fair.

  He gave her a hard shake and she stopped struggling, standing there shivering like a wet Chihuahua. "Yarnell used her to take your kids. She volunteered to help, wanted to be at the top of the list of those who got body parts."

  Rage left me cold. Had to count to fifty before I could speak without spitting in the woman's face. "What good will she do me?"

  "You have to take a soul into battle. I didn't think you'd mind if this one got used up."

  No. I didn't think I would mind, either.

  THIRTY-TWO

  "I look silly." Right. As if how I looked had anything to do with my upcoming battle. A battle in which I would probably die, according to Tytan. And just when I was sorta not hating him. I was wearing a pair of Marantha's pants. I could slip another me inside them with room to spare and they sat two inches above my ankles. "I can't face Ravana wearing these."

  Tytan had the same look on his face Tom would get when I fussed over what to wear. I jabbed a finger into his chest. "I need all the confidence I can get and these do not inspire anything but laughter." I pulled the sides away from my body and heard Marantha giggle. I nodded as if she'd proved my point.

  He sighed. "Fine. I'll get you something different." He held out his hand to Marantha, who sniffed then crossed the room to a jar on the table. She plucked out a few coins and slapped them into his hand.

  "Thank you." He winked at me as he left and I almost called him back. If he didn't leave, I reasoned, then I could put off this ridiculous battle I was sure to lose. But no. The sooner I challenged the bitch the sooner I'd be done. Dead or with my kids. My stomach cramped and I bent over, unable to breathe. "Oh god."

  "It'll be all right."

  I laughed. "How can you say that? You don't know that. There is no certainty. That's what's so damned scary about life. All the well-wishing in the world won't help change anything. I'm alone and I'm scared. I don't have anyone to lean on and I have the sneaking suspicion I'm going to fail." My cheeks were wet with tears. "I want to be with my kids and I want them to be okay. Is that so much to ask?"

  She didn't answer. There wasn't an answer and she knew it. Anything else would be empty platitudes. I sat on the couch and tucked my knees up under my chin. My eyes burned and my nose ran but I ignored it the best I could and concentrated on victory. I doubted that positive thinking could do anything besides make me feel better but I figured I had nothing else to lose. I could walk into the Slip thinking I'd win or believing I'd fail. At least thoughts of winning might make me more proactive; if I believed I actually could unmake the inviolable, maybe my puny human brain would come up with the solution.

  My gaze flicked to the woman Tytan had gagged and tied to a chair. She'd tried tears first, muffled begging, and when that didn't work, curses. They were garbled because of the rag in her mouth but I could still make them out. "You would've participated in the murder of my children?" Why was I surprised? She'd told me she planned to have my head, after all.

  She glared, her face flushing red. More curses.

  "You're disgusting. Worse than disgusting. And you're unlucky to have met me now. A few weeks ago I might have been a tiny bit forgiving." I cocked my head for a moment. "On second thought, not even then would I have forgiven something so heinous. You deserve what you're going to get in the Slip."

  She shook her head and then began thrashing in her bindings. Fat chance she'd get out of them. I'd pushed a little magic into the ropes as Tytan had tied her. She wouldn't be going anywhere until I was ready to leave.

  Marantha brought me a cup of tea spiced, she said, with herbs to help my physical stamina and bolster my courage.

  "I might need a few dozen more cups, then." I took the cup with a word of thanks.

  "Strangely, I can picture you saying, 'Excuse me evil woman, but I have to break for the bathroom. Hold on.'"

  The corner of my mouth tipped up into a grin then faded. "How on earth am I going to kill this thing?"

  Sighing, Marantha sat across from me on a small hard backed chair. "What do you know of her? Of these creatures?"

  I ticked off what I knew on my fingers. "Soulless. Unkillable. Ruthless. Powerful. You? Know any helpful lore?"

  She lifted her own cup of tea to her lips, and sipped. "It has always been said here that the first Skriven were Midians who died committing acts of cruelty. Murder, rape, torture, practicing evil magic. They somehow managed to kill their souls and trap their physical bodies in the spaces between worlds so that they would be immortal."

  Great. "Not allergic to garlic, wooden stakes, sunlight, or silver by any chance?"

  She looked puzzled, and then smiled. "Ah, the human superstitions of the vampire. I'm sorry, I don't believe so. Then again, I've never encountered a Skriven until yours."

  I clunked the teacup on the small side table. "He's not mine."

  Her smile was mild. "He sure seems to be."

  After more conversation that stayed safely in neutral areas, Tytan returned, sack in hand. He dumped the bag on my lap and handed the remainder of the change to Marantha.

  I stood with the bag in hand. "Thank you both. I'm going to change and then I'm ready." To fight, to spar, perchance to die. I shut myself in the bedroom and tipped the contents of the bag onto the bed. All the clothes were red. I'd kinda been hoping for black leather. I could feel kick ass in black leather. But no.

  Underwear too. I glared over my shoulder at the door, as if Tytan were leering at me on the other side. I dressed, a fleeting celebration at the sizes pushed its way into my morbid mindset. I didn't have time to be happy about my appearance for heaven's sake. I was headed to my probable doom.

  Downstairs, I gestured to my outfit. "Why red?"

  "She hates the color."

  Psychological warfare. Goody. "What else does she hate?"

  "You."

  Great.

  His hand grasped my arm, flooding me with calm. "You are strong. The heart makes you so, taking two Skriven as your Draws make you so."

  I let the feelings of tranquility wash over me for a moment before pulling away. "I hope you're right." I smoothed my hands down the front of my red pants. "I'm ready." I paused. "Okay, what do I do? I don't want another one of those things popping out at me."

  He steered me through the door to Marantha's backyard. In the midst of purple and blue flowering trees and a myriad of brightly colored herbs Tytan led me through a formal recitation of the challenge acceptance. My tongue tripped over the words but he said they were mere formality and not anything that needed precision. A gateway appeared out of the air, similar to a hook but darker and meaner.

  I don't want to do this, I moaned in my head, not even willing to say it aloud. Tytan left me to get the woman and I trembled.

  I'll be there for you.

  'In the Slip?' Doubt flavored my thoughts.

  Yes. This time I won't hide. If you have the courage to face her, then so do I.

  And I. We will defeat her and eat her flesh in victory.

  Go team.

  He dragged the woman to me. I called on Neutria
's strength to hold her. "Wish me luck."

  "You won't need it." His eyes were steady and certain. I almost believed I could win, looking at him.

  "I'll need all the help I can get." I stepped through the spinning archway of ugly light and left Tytan, Marantha, my entire life behind.

  THIRTY-THREE

  The air pulled at me like the long fingers of monsters. I didn't step through to the other side as I would have with a hook; instead, I stepped into the energy that separated Midia from the Slip, a trip designed to creep out the traveler long before they reached their destination. And it worked.

  The woman I dragged along with me choked on her cries. I wondered if she'd ever been in the Slip. Doubtful, which meant this trip ought to scare the shit out of her. I removed her gag, remembering my first reaction to the awful place. Sure enough, as soon as we set foot on the spongy there-but-not-there ground, she took in her surroundings and vomited.

  I waited, my hand still gripping her arm. I was in an open-air arena, reminding me of the horseshoe shaped outdoor theater at my college. On the steps sat a frightening crew of Skriven, some looking like demons from a movie, some so beautiful my eyes kept straying to look at them. Purple dreadlocks kicked at me but the move was half-hearted and Neutria had control over her.

  "I curse you, stupid cow. I wish Yarnell had killed your children. I would have taken their hearts!"

  I slapped her and then balled my hand into a fist at my side to keep from knocking her senseless. I could feel her thoughts throbbing at me and pushed them away.

  "Little mutt, you've come."

  Ravana resolved from blue and white clouds on the far side of the arena. To say that she wore the clouds wouldn't be correct. She was made of the clouds; she didn't look like she had any solidity to her at all. Shit. How was I supposed to hit a cloud? "I need a fan," I muttered. “I could blow her away. Where’s Acme Incorporated when you need them?”

  Across the arena, Ravana said, "You accepted my challenge. I'm impressed. Let me guess, Tytan convinced you to come." She came closer and I saw her feet forming. When they did, footprints appeared in the dust behind her.

  "I had to come, you gave me no choice."

  Skrivens stirred on the seats. Nearby a Skriven that looked more tree than anything else, spoke. "What manner of thing is this, Ravana?"

  Huh. It was a fine one to talk and call me thing. I had boobs and they weren't exactly hidden from view in the low cut red shirt. If it couldn’t tell I was a human female, well, then it needed to get out more.

  The thing continued to speak. "It smells human. Midian. Fleshcrawler. Skriven. I even smell a hint of chythraul. Why do you seek to destroy it?"

  Ravana smiled at me, close enough I could see the clouds swirl in her eye sockets. It reminded me of the strange Skriven I took as my Draw. "I am an Originator. Yet she dared take me as her Draw as if I were a common animal." Her gaze flicked to the spectators and yup, there was stormy-eyed guy. He didn't look pleased that she considered him a common animal.

  "I don't see how this calls for a challenge. If you were stupid enough to be caught by a mere," the deformed thing faced me full on. It had five eyes, each a different color. "whatever it is, then you deserve to be left to your fate."

  Yay. I opened my mouth to agree but Arsinua stayed me. Don't speak to it. Please.

  'Okay.'

  The woman jerked again, her sobbing causing the thing's attention to turn to her.

  "Shut up," I hissed. "Do you want to draw attention to yourself here?"

  "It brings tribute." The thing turned—and it had to turn its whole body because the head was fused to its trunk—back to Ravana. "It knows our ways."

  "She had help from my spawn," she snapped, and then something in her expression made my heart leap with hope. She'd made a mistake. I don't know what that mistake was, but it had her worried.

  A murmuring rose from the crowd. I tried to swallow but the spit wouldn't go down my throat. Good? Bad? I couldn't gauge their reactions at all, except for stormy-eyes. He smirked at me.

  "Another of your mistakes, Ravana. These experiments will be your undoing." The thing aimed its next question at me. "What are you called?"

  My heart thunked. "Devany."

  "What do you hope to gain here?"

  "My life."

  A low grating sound came from it. I clenched my teeth tight at the noise. It said, "Power? I sense you have a lot of it but no grasp of the reins. And there is a bond between you and Ravana. You are her Archaeon and she is your Draw."

  Okay Captain Obvious. I knew all this. Ravana knew all this. Old news. "I don't want power.” Not anymore. Not now that I know how damned awful it was. “I don't want anything to do with any of you. I want to go home."

  "I want her soul," Ravana sighed, as if imagining a drink of ice-cold tea after an hour of walking in the hot sun.

  "She is Tytan's Archaeon as well." Stormy-eyes had spoken up.

  I frowned at him. Was he helping me? Since I knew that couldn't be true, I wondered what he was up to.

  "Is she, Ravana?"

  One minute she stood in the middle of the amphitheater, the next right in front of me, her clawed hand an inch from touching my neck. "I took her. She pledged herself to me. I banished Tytan and their bond no longer applies." Her fingers snapped shut, then she blinked back to the same spot as before without even a stir of dust.

  Another murmur, this one louder. I still didn't know shit. "Listen, I'm willing to break all bonds with her if she will break with me. I don't want any of your power."

  "Then you're stupid," the thing said. "Ravana, I consent to let you fight this person. When you win you may have her soul."

  Ravana laughed and now she looked solid. That was good. I might get a few punches in before she vaporized me. She stopped a few yards from me. "Shall I give you a head start?"

  "Wait a minute. What if I win?"

  She cocked a brow. "What if you win?" She addressed the crowd. "What if she wins?"

  Laughter from some. Not all, though. Some gazed at me as if assaying my chances. Then a few of those laughed. Stormy-eyes didn't but he wasn't rah-rahing for me, either. The other Skriven spoke. "If you win, you will be an Originator."

  "No. I don't want to have anything to do with you people—things—whatever you are. I don't want to be anything to you but a distant dream."

  It didn't listen to me. "It is decided."

  "Damn it." The words barely left my mouth before she hit me. It felt like a fist to my jaw and sent me reeling but she hadn't moved anything but her lips. The next blast lifted me off my feet and tossed me in the dirt. I rolled, instinct screaming at me to move! and the ground where I'd been cratered like a meteor strike. A small one, but it would have left me smashed. Nice word, that. Smash.

  I drew on the heart, pulling hard through Ravana. She gasped, clutched at her stomach. Harder and faster I drew from her, trying to spool away all her power so she didn't have access to it. Should've known that was stupid. I knew better, I'd felt that her power was limitless. A violent red pulse shot from me, kicking me back like the recoil on a shotgun.

  She laughed. Didn't even blow back her hair, which curled around her head in white blonde tangles. "You can't expect to kill me with my own power."

  Shit. I ducked as she tossed a small ball at me. It exploded on the seats, blowing a Skriven into bits. The bits ran together like droplets of mercury and reformed. Not good.

  Think of your kids, Devany. You can't give up now.

  "I can't defeat her." The next volley whined through the air. Three hit my shoulder, two my side, one my leg. Gasping, I stumbled into the legs of a Skriven who pushed me back toward the middle. "What do I do? I don't know what to do." I had another Draw but I had no idea how to pull from him instead of Ravana and didn't know if even that would work.

  Move to the left. Now!

  I spun away as a whistling silver star grazed my cheek. I yanked magic from the heart, but didn't Draw it through her. It would wear
me out but I couldn't use her power. I set a shield around me as another volley shattered against the shield and exploded in front of my face. I could already feel the magic draining from me.

  Use your weapon.

  The woman. She'd balled herself up at the side of the arena as far away from the Skriven as she could. I dropped the shield and ran to her, yanking her to her feet, gathering the shield around us both. "How? Throw her?" As if I could. Another burst of energy against my shield. Ravana hadn't moved, didn't look like she'd broken a sweat. She was playing with me, wearing me down.

  He said you'd need a soul.

  "But why?"

  "Talking to yourself? Will that help?" Ravana cocked her hip to the side and propped a fist on it. "You're already looking worn out. Shall I finish you off quickly or let you squirm on the hook for hours?"

  The Skriven on the sidelines called out their answers. Squirming on the hook seemed the popular choice. They were heartless. Without souls.

  The woman clawed at me, catching my neck with her nails. "Damn it. Knock it off."

  "Kill me. Kill me now. I don't want them to take my soul. You hear? That thing of Yarnell's touched me once. That Cambion. I burned for days." She kicked and this time connected with my shin. She made a break for it.

  My concentration broke as I tried to catch her. Ravana sent a storm of magic down on me. I couldn't get the shield up in time, couldn't move. I panicked and formed a hook, hoping another syntarsus wouldn't crawl through. It didn't. I couldn't go anywhere, though. The way was blocked but my actions had Skriven sitting forward in their seats.

  "What is it doing?"

  Ravana tipped her head. "Opening a doorway."

  The burnt Skriven five eyes leveled on me. "The way has been blocked as a challenge has been made. You cannot step through a portal." Two eyes looked at my foe. "She is Skriven."

  Ravana shook her head. "No. I did not make her. I don't feel her essence in our power stream. But there is something that makes her similar."

  The thing grunted. "Bring Tytan. He will tell us."