Page 95 of Centaur Bolt

Well, I’d been having trouble with that lately. After years of little to no physical contact, all this touchy-feely stuff was starting to rub off on me. Trusting another person to carry me through a gate was more than a bit scary. But there was something about Vali—a steadfastness—that I responded to.

Kiko took Vali’s arm, too. “Ready?” the Dragona asked.

“Yep,” I said.

“Yeah,” Kiko added.

The light danced around us, and all the fine hairs along my arms stood on end. The longer strands attached to my head whipped around as though attacked by gale-force winds, and my skin tingled.

When I blinked the light out of my eyes, we stood in an alley. Hulking figures lurked in the shadows cast by the buildings, watching us.

Kiko followed my gaze. “Gate guards,” she said. “Ordinarily, we’d have to pay the keeper, but the crystal Cara gave us will automatically grant us access.”

I pulled my arm from Kiko. My instincts were to have them free, just in case I needed to defend myself. Under the suspicious stare of the guards, I suddenly craved a weapon, even just a pocketknife.

“The market is busy day and night, but with very different crowds,” Kiko explained as she led the way out onto the street. “This isn’t a place to hang around at night. But We have hours before the predators prowl.”

Gaping around us, I barely heard her. The market was huge, with narrow aisles winding between booths filled with merchandise of every description. My head was on a swivel, staring at the racks and display cases. And then, embarrassingly, my stomach growled. Seems it had forgotten all about my snack.

Satyrs had good hearing. “Let’s get our supper to go,” Kiko said. “Then we can see if Emmanuel is at his booth. I think he closes it at night, but it is open during the day.”

“He’s more likely to be looking for Marcus,” I said.

The Satyr’s brow wrinkled. “From what I’ve heard, Isobel has been evasive for months. He’s not likely to find him.” She caught the look on my face. “Not without help, anyway.”

“Food is this way,” Vali stated, leading us to the left.

The scent of things cooking intensified as we wound our way past merchandise that I desperately wished to stop and stare at. But I had no currency to buy anything, something I reminded Vali of.

“Yes. They’ll exchange it for you at this booth.”

I dug the money out of my pocket and approached the man behind the counter. He appeared human until his eyes gleamed a deep bronze. Was he a Dire?

He barely looked at the Canadian currency I offered him, simply exchanging it for a series of silver coins stamped with a Unicorn on one side, and a Dragon on the other. They felt heavy in my pockets as I followed Vali and Kiko amid booths featuring all kinds of finger-type food, or others on small cardboard trays.

My pockets were considerably lighter a few moments later. Kiko and I munched away as we followed Vali through the booths. The aisles were crowded, and I would have been hopelessly lost in an instant. Especially as there was so much to see.

The Dragona led us to a large booth that clearly sold weapons and armor of every description. Only one other customer was within it.

Then a large form stepped from the back of the shop. A Centaur, but not Emmanuel. Not unfamiliar, though. It was the one Kiko had ridden to the gate.

Immediately, her scent intensified. I saw his nostrils flare and did my best to ignore the sexually charged atmosphere—and his rather too-obvious reaction to it—as I explained that we needed to see Emmanuel.

“He lives in the colony just outside of town. We all do,” he said. “But you won’t find him there. He’s out looking for Marcus.”

I knew it. No way that big Centaur would be able to sit and wait for anyone else to look for his son.

“Triss is there, though,” he continued. “She teaches our youngsters. Would she be able to help? I can take you to her.”

Marcus’s mother might be easier to talk to than Emmanuel. Although the last time I’d seen her, she’d looked every bit as fierce. “That would be great.”

“Let me lock everything down here,” he said. And he strode to the one other customer, speaking to her in low tones.

The customer chose a knife and sheath, paid for it, and then left. The Centaur bustled around, lowering first grills, and then solid doors that ratcheted down from above and locked to plates in the floor. Security was serious enough that it gave me insight into what the market might offer at night. So not a place to mess with. Hopefully, we wouldn’t have to, if we were quick enough.

Minutes later, we followed Kiko and the big Centaur through the market. Having him with us effectively cleared a path through the crowds. I stayed close to his muscled hindquarter and tried not to stare at every shiny thing we passed.

He took us down a side street that was instantly quieter. He and Kiko were making small talk, but her scent was enough to make a monk blush. Judging from the glimpses I saw, any rendezvous was destined to be awkward at best.

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