✓ | Hushed Whispers ⋆ Will Herondale [2]

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE: FIERCE

"Aye!"

"Yes!"

"We should torture her and then send her of to her father's doorstep as a warning."

"The old rag will have to take our opinion into account, then!"

"Silence, you greedy animals," the woman in red spat venomously. Her posture was aristocratic, sparing no attention to the deadly glares she had received. Her eyes rested upon the brunette girl, watching her as a lioness watched her prey. "Listen here, Miss Wayland. We are not exactly accepting of Nephilim - except your friend Herondale. We will accept your payment and promises, under one condition."

"And, pray tell," Marie lifted her head. "What might that be?"

"You stop buying yin fen from us," she said, eyes cold as stone.

"Stop buying yin fen?" Marie repeated. It was a preposterous demand; Will and herself had bought the drug Jem needed from the same den years now. They've paid quite an amount of money for it too. So why would the woman suggest such a foolish proposition? The results would have been catastrophic; Jem would end up being dead and they would lose their income. "I don't understand. Will had been thorough in his payments of the drug for years now. Why would you demand such a thing? No side will have a good outcome of it."

"I am afraid you're wrong there, little Wayland," the silver-haired man spoke. "The market is changing. There are higher bidders - people who are putting in more money for the drug than you and your friend."

"You mean someone like you?" Marie challenged, observing the way the man's eyes lit up with anger. "You're experiencing the effects of it. I can see it," the brunette lifted her finger and pointed to his hair. "Your hair is almost white. I'd say you're regularly taking it. Maybe a little too much."

He growled, but didn't answer. He simply looked at the woman in red.

She had her arms crossed over her chest. "We've heard things about you, dear," she said, walking toward Marie. "Kept as a prisoner by the Dark Sisters. There are rumors of a warlock getting her hands on you. Imogen?"

A loud sneer passed through the crowd.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Marie kept her posture steady, calming the untamed heart that kept on pumping more and more blood into her veins. "And to answer your question about yin fen - we are not going to stop buying it. Our friend needs it to live and I will not stop searching for it, even if that means that-"

A loud noise of a slap lingered in the air, followed by a few shrieks.

Marie didn't feel anything as her head snapped to the side. Her eyes closed instinctively, her palm flying to her cheek. Her fingers touched the surface of her skin lightly, feeling the burning sensation spreading underneath.

The woman had slapped her and as the tips of Marie's fingers kept on examining the area, they came upon a warm liquid.

As Marie brought her palm in her vision field, she noticed a tiny, shapeless drop of blood. The gift left by the woman's sharp nails, meant to match the bold red of the polish.

Marie chuckled low, shaking her head. She allowed her gaze to fall upon the woman. "Do you really think that was smart?"

"Your selflessness was bothering me," she said, acquiring a handkerchief from the crowd. She used the cloth to clean her nails. "All that sacrifice for a pathetic boy! We cannot deny you the services, but we sure will try. We can start with you, for example. We could tore your limbs apart first. We sure have a lot of werewolves hungry of a little blood. One Nephilim less to intrude on our plans at a time."