page23 (1/2)
“Oh,” the“Sorry, lady, didn’t know you were one of the Market people I’m pied, you see”
“You’re pie?”
He smiled “Not Market, then I’m a pied piper We make the music for the Market, but we’re not Market people ourselves: We use ic I can start a tune and s follow me anywhere”
Mae grabbed the two blossoms from her pocket and waved them under his nose “That must be a useful skill Where’s Trish?”
The piper grinned “Didn’tby it,” he said “Honestly, you’re not my type And I haven’t seen Trish”
Toby blew a bubble of saliva into Mae’s ear “Great”
The pied piper sly at her pain and moved on
Mae cauy, but surely she could go knock on the door and Sin could tell her what to do with the kid Sin didn’t see long enough
Shea good deal more carefully with Toby in her ar downhill, and clutched at the baby too tight in panic Hesounds whenever she did that Either she was being row up to be a fan of danger sports
Mae put one foot in front of the other, walking blind and burdened, and reached the shadowy gathering of wagons just in tion and be let in
11
Caveat Emptor
Mae burst into a breakneck run for the wagon even as the door swung shut, the curtain billowing gently in the night air
She had a hand on the door and a warning on her lips before it occurred to her that they were two girls alone, and once Gerald’s cover was blown he would have no reason to play nice
And she was holding a baby Sin wouldn’t thank her for carrying her little brother directly into the line of fire
Okay, Mae thought Back to the Market, alert theon with the heir apparent, save Sin, and et someone else to hold the baby
Before she went, she wanted to check that Sin was all right
She shifted Toby into the crook of her elbow and reached out with her free hand to twitch the curtain aside just a fraction
There were lit candles floating in the bowl of rose petals and water
Sin was standing by her bed, wrapped in red silk with black flowers and thorns stenciled on it The silk looked fragile enough to tear at a movement, and there was plenty of potential for movement in the curves beneath
For now she was still, dark red lips curved and dark eyes thoughtful
All Mae could see of Gerald was his back and a sliver of his face as he tilted his head to look at Sin His eye was lit by a gold gleam from the candles “You said you wanted to talk”
He took a step toward her, and she flowed toward hiainst him, hand at the nape of his neck where his sandy hair curled Gerald’s hand hesitated, wavering in midair, and then settled on her hip
Sin laughed, her eyelids lowered as if she was sleepy, as if she’d just risen froht back in
“Sure,” she murmured, throaty, and slid the red silk robe off both brown shoulders at once
Then she grasped ivory handles and drew out long knives with the sleek sound of tearing silk Before Gerald could take a step back, the blades were kissing behind his neck
Sin said, “Let’s talk”
Mae felt her lips curve into a grin There was no need for a rescue mission after all Apparently Sin had the situation under control
That hen she felt the hand touch her shoulder
She refused to let herself screa to face whatever was behind her Her hand was suddenly cradling Toby’s head, her first strange impulse to shield it
Behind her was Merris Cro surprised and displeased, as if she’d caught Mae trespassing in her garden
“There’s a ician in there,” Mae said, low
“Cynthia has already notified ician away from the Market,” Merris replied in her norht be appropriate entertainine”
“I did not know—”
“Well, now you do,” Merris said “Could you perhaps remove the child from the vicinity before—”
The door to the wagon banged open, Gerald stu as Sin pushed him out and then followed close behind hi easily until she saw Mae
“What’s Toby doing here?”
Gerald’s eyes flashed to Mae’s face and then to the child in her arhtness of Sin’s tone He looked thoughtful
“He andering,” said Mae “I thought I should bring him back to you Sorry to interrupt”
“Yeah,” Sin said, kicking Gerald in the back of his knees so they buckled and he went down hard onto theht”
“Sin,” Gerald asked, “do you knoho you are serving?” He jerked his head tohere Merris Cro in stone “Do you knoho she is, the cold mistress of Mezentius House? Do you knohat that means?”
Mae couldn’t help but re tortured by a de him from the inside out Merris made the relatives of the possessed people pay to have them restrained, and pay extra to stay with them and watch them die slowly
Judging from what Mae had seen of Mezentius House, she made them pay a lot
p>
“Oh,” the“Sorry, lady, didn’t know you were one of the Market people I’m pied, you see”
“You’re pie?”
He smiled “Not Market, then I’m a pied piper We make the music for the Market, but we’re not Market people ourselves: We use ic I can start a tune and s follow me anywhere”
Mae grabbed the two blossoms from her pocket and waved them under his nose “That must be a useful skill Where’s Trish?”
The piper grinned “Didn’tby it,” he said “Honestly, you’re not my type And I haven’t seen Trish”
Toby blew a bubble of saliva into Mae’s ear “Great”
The pied piper sly at her pain and moved on
Mae cauy, but surely she could go knock on the door and Sin could tell her what to do with the kid Sin didn’t see long enough
Shea good deal more carefully with Toby in her ar downhill, and clutched at the baby too tight in panic Hesounds whenever she did that Either she was being row up to be a fan of danger sports
Mae put one foot in front of the other, walking blind and burdened, and reached the shadowy gathering of wagons just in tion and be let in
11
Caveat Emptor
Mae burst into a breakneck run for the wagon even as the door swung shut, the curtain billowing gently in the night air
She had a hand on the door and a warning on her lips before it occurred to her that they were two girls alone, and once Gerald’s cover was blown he would have no reason to play nice
And she was holding a baby Sin wouldn’t thank her for carrying her little brother directly into the line of fire
Okay, Mae thought Back to the Market, alert theon with the heir apparent, save Sin, and et someone else to hold the baby
Before she went, she wanted to check that Sin was all right
She shifted Toby into the crook of her elbow and reached out with her free hand to twitch the curtain aside just a fraction
There were lit candles floating in the bowl of rose petals and water
Sin was standing by her bed, wrapped in red silk with black flowers and thorns stenciled on it The silk looked fragile enough to tear at a movement, and there was plenty of potential for movement in the curves beneath
For now she was still, dark red lips curved and dark eyes thoughtful
All Mae could see of Gerald was his back and a sliver of his face as he tilted his head to look at Sin His eye was lit by a gold gleam from the candles “You said you wanted to talk”