AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Only if they get really greedy," she said dryly. "That sounds like far too much work."
"Indeed it does, but when people get a hunger for power…" I ran a hand over my head. I didn't think whatever was going on was as big as that. At least not yet. This was the start of something which might get ugly if it got out of hand. It was my job to ensure that didn't happen.
"Who, though?" she asked as though thinking out loud. "Does the temple want more power? Is it Slade? The witches? Some other group or paranormals?"
"Maybe Slade wants to expand," I said. He always was ambitious. I preferred to think it was that, or even the witches, than some other group who hated shifters.
"Maybe none of these things are related and we're jumping at illusions and shadows."
She snapped her fingers. "Or that's what they want us to think."
"What do you mean?"
"Who has something to gain from us running around looking into all of these things?"
"Dex. He's getting his money's worth out of us today."
She looked at me in surprise. "Bain, did you just make a joke?"
The side of my mouth tugged upward. "I might have. What are you getting at anyway?"
"What I'm getting at," she walked beside me as we made our way toward the marketplace, "is that while we're doing this, we're distracted from other things."
"That's true," I agreed. "If they want us to look in a different direction, then which wayshouldwe be looking?" The question was rhetorical. I didn't expect an answer and I didn't get one.
We stepped to the edge of the marketplace and began a slow walk around the perimeter.
Within was a cacophony of noise and bustle. Sellers called out about their wares, buyers haggled and jostled for the best fruit, vegetables, leather, cloth, cheap electronics, and car parts; just about everything imaginable.
Men and women wove through the crowds dressed in the deep purple of the Intimacy Guild. The oldest organisation with the Vault. Older even than the roles of Keeper and Alpha. Each and every one of the Intimates was impossibly beautiful, apart from the knowing look in the eyes of the older ones. Men and women alike wore their hair long and loose, to hang down their backs in waves, or pin straight. Each wore a smile, which broadened each time they spotted a potential customer.
I eyed a woman who stood behind a table full of what she claimed were dragon eggs. A dubious claim at best, they looked more like painted wood. She smiled at me as I passed, but the look was a nervous one. She clearly expected me to take the 'eggs' and shut down her little business.
I wouldn't bother. If people wanted to let themselves be taken by such an obvious scheme, then so be it. She was unlikely to be the worst in the market.
"I hate this place." Kerina wrinkled her nose. "I can't look without seeing strings and cloth of lies and deceit. Only the Intimates seem to be honest."
I murmured agreement. If I let my senses wander across the crowd, I might be overwhelmed by the emotions of sellers and buyers alike.
Kerina probably exaggerated the level of deceit; many would be minor lies, such as suggesting a pair of trousers fit better than they did. That was a normal part of business anywhere.
Kerina went on. "It makes it hard to tell who might be watching us or planning something."
"This is the perfect place for them then." I said. "If they know what we do. Where better to confuse us?"
She stopped and turned in a slow circle. "I can't think of a better place."
"Nothing says 'trying to blend in' like doing that," I pointed out.
"Is that what we're doing?" Kerina gave me a lopsided smile.
"Apparently not," I said under my breath. "You could try shouting for anyone who might be up to something."
Kerina cupped her hands around her mouth, but grinned at me through them. "Don't worry, I wouldn't do that. I can do subtle, you know."
"I never would have guessed." Over her guard uniform, she wore leather pants and jacket, which clung to her every curve. Her hair, the colour of flame, was rare for the Vault. She had a good dose of fox shifter blood inside her. Her boots ended halfway up her thighs and sported a blade on either calf. She undoubtedly wore a few which weren't so obvious.
Subtle wasnotthe word I would use for her. I wouldn't have brought her here if it was. No, I wanted whoever watched us to know I knew. I wanted them to show their hand, the sooner the better. I would leave subterfuge to others. Of course, no one would approach us directly. That would be far too—
