 |
| Xan smiled that charming grin and pulled the fae close. |
[Previously...“Snowdust.” Kif read the question on Willow’s face, puffed out his chest and adopted his mock commercial-voice. “Pharmaceutical powders that you dissolve your drink! Flavors for every ache, pain and pleasure that you can imagine. Fizzy candy for your fix - excellent for parties, pick-me-ups, relaxing, recreation and medicinally – brought to you from Biovael, YOUR drugstore.”
Willow blinked at Kif. "They cannot possibly be good for
a person. Nothing in this market seems natural, good or whole. It all just
seems to be mild to..." She gestured to the powder packs. "...not so
mild poisons."
“It used to be a prescription thing,” Kif bowled
through the crowd as if they were no more than wooden pins, “Then Snowdust got
legalized for mass-market production.”
Willow seemed in shock for a moment until
Nickel roused her with a touch to the shoulder. “Don’t worry. Keep moving
before they try to sell you something."
Up ahead, Xan had waited, pulling them aside between
two booths. Towards the back was where they traded. A rather large red haired
woman was behind it, who smiled when she saw the group of humans, and when she
noticed the two additions, she gasped softly.
"Xan... are they... are they the ones?"
Xan smiled that charming grin and pulled the
fae close. "Siobhan, meet Willow and Gwydd. Siobhan is our inner-city ear
to the ground, as it were."
As the group made their rounds of introduction,
Kif hung back on the excuse of watching the door. The truth was that he preferred to avoid that
red-headed she-devil. Every time he came
around, she made fancy eyes at him. It
was plain too much.
Siobhan and Xan wasted no time trading
news. Cyin were nosing around, cautioun
advised – Biovael had its spies everywhere but it was unclear what had caused
the surge in activity. Willow asked how
long ago that had started and discovered had been a week or two. That was disconcertingly close to the time of
the meeting at Stone Circle.
While they spoke, Gwydd edged toward Nickel and
exchanged a quiet conversation. The
human girl nodded intermittently and then slipped back into the Drug Market.
“So, if the Greenhouse is self-sufficient, why
even venture into the city?” Willow tucked a platinum strand behind a pointed
ear but when Siobhan raised a brow, she covered it back up.
“There is sort of a secret ‘council’ of
outlying communities.” Xan elaborated, running a hand through his purposefully
messy hair. “There was talk awhile back of trying to unify, maybe start a
movement of some sort – that’s what started us going inner-city.” His face darkened in perplexity. “No one is
particularly sure how though, so the
idea has been sitting.”
"I don't understand." Willow
took a deep breath and asked the big question. "What is everyone so afraid
of?"
Siobhan absently made a sign against evil and
Xan just whispered it. "The Man. "
Nickel came running in past Kif with a battle-ready
face on. "We got issues..."
*****
 |
| "Tell me, Maeve, what comes to my city?" |
Montague had moved from his visionaries. He
walked into his private quarters with an unhappy look to his face. There was a
soft tinkling, like tiny bells, from movement and he gave a wry smile.
"Tell me, Maeve, what comes to my city?"
His footfalls led him to a bed, curtained in
sheer black panels. A thin, iron chain hooked to the bedpost. Something moved
behind the curtain and it pulled the chain tighter within.
A soft voice spoke, raspy, haunted. "Here
within these walls of sin, Enter freely, my own kin. Rise they will and bring
your fall, down comes the Giant, City and all..."
Vørst's face contorted in anger and he
growled, loudly. He turned and moved back out to his club. "Cyin! I want
them found! I want them brought to me! Go now!"
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