Dammit. We didn’t need this, not so early in our journey. From the grunts and noises of struggle just beyond, it sounded like Sage was in her own battle. I had about two seconds to decide whether I should take off my cuffs and blast this bastard into powder but expose my scent, or keep covered and kick his ass in my human form.
I decided that he still might not know who I was and just attacked because we were wolves and he was a dick.
‘Stay covered,’ my wolf agreed.
Finally, I was able to suck in a lungful of air before the bastard reached me. With a grunt, the Ithaki and I crashed together. He landed on top of me, but I was able to get my legs up in time so that he crashed into the bottom of my boots. Kicking out with all my might, I launched him off of me as he screeched, arcing through the air before he hit the ground with a thud. Knowing I had only seconds to act or he’d be on me again with his vampire speed, I popped up onto my feet and threw myself forward. Pulling a stake from behind my back, the one I always now kept in my waist belt, I grappled with him as he reached for me.
Grabbing my right stake arm, he grunted, trying to keep me from stabbing the shit out of him. His fingers pressed so hard into my wrist that I whimpered, afraid it would snap. He was inhumanly strong, and I was very much human level strength right now, which was annoying.
‘Plan B. Take off the cuffs,’ my wolf said.
‘You read my mind,’ I growled, trying to reach for my cuff with my free arm just as the vamp-fey froze, a guttural breathy grunt leaving his lips as blood dripped from his mouth. I looked down just in time to see the front tip of a stake poking through his chest. Glancing back up, my gaze met Sage’s.
“Thanks.” I breathed a sigh of relief as the dude went crashing to the ground. A black network of veins crawled up his neck and his skin sank in as he started to decompose.
I studied my bestie. Sage’s hair had been pulled from its bun and she was covered in dirt, same as me but otherwise unharmed.
“Welcome,” she breathed, trying to catch her breath. “I would have used the gun but didn’t want to accidently shoot you.”
“Appreciate that.” I gave a sly smile.
Sage slung an arm around me and I chuckled. Where there was trouble, I could always count on her.
“I totally had him,” I added.
“Totally.” She winked.
Our horses waited just a few feet away as we scanned the trees, preparing for a possible next attack. When nothing came, I nodded. “Well, let’s move on I guess.”
She bobbed her head in agreement but said nothing; she didn’t need to. We were both thinking it. Hopefully that attack wasn’t a portent for what the rest of the trip was going to be like.
As we got onto our horses, they climbed back up the hill and jumped over the small three-foot-tall cobblestone fence that signaled our leaving the Wild Lands and entering Troll Village. We immediately came up behind a few stone buildings and into a bustling marketplace.
“Showtime,” I muttered to Sage, who nodded, pulling the hood lower over her bright red hair. We both made quick work of patting off the dirt and leaves and evidence of our recent scuffle as we led the horses to an open area at the back of what looked like a market.
Trolls hurried about, running from stall after stall and buying items in a rush. Sage and I shared a look. Something wasn’t right here. They were fighting each other to push to the front of the lines and acting aggressively. My head snapped to my right, where I noticed two women warring over a small jar of honey.
What in the hell is going on here?
“Traders!” someone screamed, and then the crowd turned toward us. They rushed forward, pressing in on Sage and I. My horse reared upward as I yanked her reins, clenching my thighs and trying not to get bucked off.
“Back up!” I thrust a hand out to the trolls rushing us, and they obliged.
“What have you got? Any corn?” a woman asked with desperation in her gaze.
I frowned.
This wasn’t the Troll Village I’d visited over a year ago. Had the war done this? Were they low on food?
I nodded. “Blue corn. Some deer skins. And seeds.”
At the mention of seeds the crowd went nuts. They rushed forward, grabbing at my legs, and I was about to panic when a gunshot went off right beside me.
Everyone hit the ground, covering their ears, and I looked over at Sage, who held a sleek black handgun.
“Be civil or you get nothing!” Sage cried.
Okay, we’d agreed no guns on this trip unless absolutely necessary, but I guess that was needed lest I be torn apart by this mob.
Scared into compliance, they lined up one by one, single file. There must have been fifty people in total and more coming out of their houses and huts to see what was going on.
I slipped off of my horse and grabbed the trader bag that Willow had packed us. Sage stayed on her horse, gun in hand, as she stared down at the scene below.
I knelt, opening the red cloth and smoothing it into the ground as I laid my items out. There were gasps, and ohhhs and ahhhs as I arranged the seeds.
“She’s got seeds!” someone said from deep in the line, and my brow furrowed again. I looked up at Sage, who held her gun trained on the crowd, and she shrugged.
The first woman came up from the line clutching an old blanket. “I’ll trade you for five seeds?” She sounded unsure, like she knew it was a shitty trade. To be honest, the trader items were a front. I needed information, not a blanket.
It was a ratty-ass blanket too, the edges torn and frayed, and why the hell did everyone look so skinny? I didn’t want to act too clueless and raise the alarm that I clearly didn’t know what was going on in the magical world, but I had to find out why they looked half-starved and were fighting over seeds.
I swallowed hard, lowering my voice. “How about you tell me about why everyone needs seeds so bad? Why you are all fighting over food? Then I’ll give you any five seeds you like.”
Her eyes glittered with excitement at the prospect of being able to hang on to the blanket and the seeds. She leaned forward, nodding. “The vampires burned down all our farms nearly a year ago in order to force us to fight in the war against the wolves.” She licked her lips, eyeing the broccoli, corn, squash, and carrot seeds I had.
Those bloodsucking motherfuckers! Burned down all the farms!
Marmal.
“All the farms? Did you know someone named Marmal? Marmal from Rose-something.” My heart pounded against my chest as I struggled to remember where my friend was from. The lady shrugged.
“Yes, all the farms, but I don’t know any Marmal. Can I have my seeds?”
I nodded and she kneeled down, picking five seeds out carefully and then running off like she was escaping a fire. The man who was next looked at me quizzically.
“I know of a story about a Marmal from Rose-something. Might be your same one, but it will cost you ten seeds,” he whispered.
He’d been eavesdropping.
I nodded. “Deal.”
He was chubby, clearly not as starved as the others, and his nostrils were so big I could see his brain as he towered over me. The tusks in his cheeks were yellowing.
“Marmal of Rosedale was one of the first farms to burn. She lived near the vampire border.” His voice was scratchy like he was a smoker.
Excitement thrummed through me. Rosedale! That was it. “Yes. That’s her! Did she get away safely?”