Page 65 of Marked By the Dark Lord
“What? Where did you get all those ideas?” he asked.
“Uh. Books? I read a lot from the library. There isn’t much else to do when growing up on the streets,” I said awkwardly.
“Right. Well, we’re not going to do any of that. We’re going to go to one of my contacts who does a lot of business in Faerie. Then I’m going to ask him what he’s heard. He works in the marketplace. It’s going to be boring.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I said, sad we wouldn’t get to sneak around.
Korr’ok just shook his head and led me from the library. The trip was brief, only several blocks. The closer we got, the thicker the push of people around us. Ahead, I could hear the sound of vendors hawking their wares, people chatting excitedly, buyers haggling with sellers, and the cries of “Make way!”from those who thought they were better.
I thought I was prepared, but then we turned the corner into the open-air marketplace in a giant square. I’d clearly had no real idea what I was getting into. Scents hit me in the face like a mallet—freshly cooked food mixing with savory spices, burning wood and incense, but also sulfur and less pleasant aromas.
“Busy place,” I remarked as we plunged into the sea of people without hesitation.
Korr’ok took my hand to ensure we wouldn’t be separated, but even there, people moved aside for ‘Lord Rokk’ as best they could. We made swift time to the other side of the square,where the stalls were larger, the people finer dressed, and the oppressive throngs of bodies more spread out.
We approached a short tripodal being with two big eyes on the side of his head and a pair of antennae sticking up. His skin was brown like mud with a slightly moist sheen to it. There was no hair anywhere on his body. He was standing in the middle of a tent, surrounded by tables laden with articles of clothing piled high in a multitude of bright and fun colors.
“Arresh,” Korr’ok greeted, crossing his wrists in front of him and bowing his head.
“Lord Rokk!” Arresh exclaimed, bowing from the waist and going a near ninety-degree bend. “It is good to see you. Come to buy the pretty lady something nice?”
I started to speak, but Korr’ok gripped my hand tighter in a warning.
“Yes. Do you have anything new?”
“Hmmm,” the merchant said, looking me up and down. “A robe, perhaps. She would look good in blue, no?”
“Red,” Korr’ok said immediately.
Arresh shot a look at the Fae but simply shrugged and nodded. “Yes, red is also an excellent color. Perhaps something like this would suit the lady’s tastes?” He clomped over to a table and pulled up a beautiful scarlet robe with thick cuffs and collar and gold embroidery over the seams.
It was absolutely not my taste—how it could be, I’d never owned a robe before! —but when I ran my fingers over the material, I was immediately won over. The softness wasto die for. I almost started purring just feeling it, and when the odd merchant draped it over me, I practically melted.
“I think we’ll take it,” Korr’ok said with a smile.
“Very good, very good,” Arresh said, clasping his hands together. “Anything else I can help you with?”
“Information,” Korr’ok said, keeping his voice low so it didn’t carry, though with the din around us, I wasn’t sure he had anything to fear.
“Of course. What do you seek?”
“News, mostly. Have there been any changes in Faerie lately? Things not making the public rounds just yet?”
Arresh frowned. “You have not heard?”
“I rarely care to stay abreast of the news. You know this. What is it?”
Arresh grinned. “House Duloke, the greatest of the Houses, is purportedly under new management.”
“Purportedly?”
“They have not confirmed anything, but rumors are circulating that there was a coup of some sort. The father and several brothers were taken out.”
I stifled a gasp. Korr’ok’s family was dead?
“But nobody is talking about this?” Korr’ok demanded.
“Not publicly, not yet.”
