Page 13 of Ties of Bargains

“No. The Anywhere Doors are pickier than the Law of Hospitality.” Val grimaced, flexing her fingers on her knife. “Nor would claiming the rights of the Court of Revels help in this case. The Court of Knowledge, which controls the Anywhere Doors, has bannedmembers of the Court of Revels from using the Anywhere Doors. They’ve also banned any use of the Doors that involves the transport of humans into captivity.”

That would explain why they were walking instead of just using the magic of these Anywhere Doors.

The Court of Knowledge sounded intriguing. He would have to learn more as that sounded like the place to go for help, should he manage to escape.

“I have a question for you.” She gave him a sidelong glance. “Where did you learn to bargain like that?”

“Like I did with Queen Mab?” Harm just shrugged, the motion reminding him of the weight of the pottery on his back. Heavy as it was, he didn’t regret bringing the items along. “Every Tulpenlander learns to haggle from the cradle. Getting a good bargain is a way of life. The bargains are more monetary and less binding, but the concept is still the same.”

“Hmm.” Her hum held something that almost bordered on grudging approval. As if for the first time, she had some hope that he wouldn’t get himself killed off through sheer foolishness. After a moment, her face hardened again. “Don’t get used to such success. Mab is a pixie. She can be bought with any pretty bauble. Other fae aren’t so easily bribed.”

Harm sighed through his teeth, hoisting his pack high to try to relieve the strain on his shoulders. So much for bonding with the pricklyfeewho was attached to the other end of his rope.

A shrill, animalistic scream pierced the air, coming from a stand of brush ahead.

Harm reached for his boot before he stopped himself, his heart hammering in his throat. “What’s that?”

“Our supper.” Val strode forward without so much as a hitch in her stride, even as the animal shrieked again.

The animal’s cries ended a moment before Daisy crashed through the brush, all three heads making an appearance. The dog gripped something brown and furry in the mouth of her middle head. She halted, then whipped her head back and forth, the muscles all along her sturdy frame standing out, as she made very sure the creature was dead.

Harm swallowed and forced himself to straighten.

Val strode to the dog. “Drop it, Daisy.”

Daisy whipped the dead creature back and forth yet again, as if it was her new favorite toy.

Val slipped her hand into a pocket, pulled out what looked like a dried piece of meat, and held it out. “Sit.”

Daisy sat, the eyes of all three of her heads focused on the meat Val held. After a moment, the dog dropped the animal carcass and tipped her noses up, her ears going back in a seal-pup appearance that would have been cute…if she hadn’t had three heads.

Val tossed the treat, and Daisy raced after it. As soon as the dog’s back was turned, Val snatched up the animal carcass. Even as Daisy’s two spare heads merged back into the middle one and she snarfed down the treat, Val stuffed the animal carcass into a pocket without so much as a flinch. Strangely, her clothesdidn’t bulge with the size of the animal. It just…disappeared.

Harm adjusted the fit of the straps on his shoulders and gave himself a good shake. This strangefeeënwoman and her dog weren’t on his side, exactly. But right now, that was as good of allies as he was going to get.

Chapter Five

As evening settled deeper around the seemingly endless fern forest, Val turned a spit over a crackling fire, roasting the carcass of the rodent Daisy had killed earlier that day. The pleasant spring warmth abated into a mild chill while a crisp breeze whispered through the ferns overhead.

The human—Harm—sat on a toadstool seat across the fire from her, the flames doing nothing to the cord that lay between them. His eyes were still slightly wide after watching her produce a tent, bedrolls, firewood, and miscellaneous camping supplies from her pocket.

Not the same pocket that held the dead rodent. One should never use the same pocket for dead things as one’s other supplies.

She had then started the fire with her bottled dragon fire in its small stone jar, which had earned her further wide-eyed astonishment.

As she turned the spit, Val kept a wary eye on the darkness surrounding their little camp. She’d picked aspot among a tight cluster of ferns, the moss beneath them dotted with yellow flowers. The ferns weren’t a circle, which would have been a cause for concern, yet they were close enough that they would provide some shelter for their camp.

Mischievous sprites roamed these wilds between the Court of Dreams and the Court of Revels, venturing out of their toadstool homes once the sun retreated below the horizon. They weren’t dangerous, exactly. But they weren’tnotdangerous either.

Besides the sprites, there were also the faerie circles and the rifts where monsters could slip between the realms. Sure, Val lived in the Realm of Monsters and dealt with monsters all the time. But in the Realm of Monsters, she had the rest of her Wild Hunt backing her up. Grutte, with his massive muscles and even more massive great sword. Ignatius and Abelardo with their tricks. Chela and Jesenia, who always had Val’s back. The rest of the Wild Hunt who, though they were not part of her gang of acquaintances, would still ride at her side into battle.

Here, she was alone with just Daisy to help her guard the hapless human.

Well, he wasn’t as hapless as she had assumed. He’d bargained like a fae with Queen Mab.

But his soft hands and the bewildered look he got around weapons told her that he couldn’t handle that knife he had tucked in his boot. If it came to fighting monsters, he would be about as much help as a log chained to her arm.

Once the meat was done cooking, Val hacked off ahunk, stabbed it on a skewer, and held it out to Harm. “Eat.”

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