They made their way downstairs, Natalie trailing after Sam, with Gwen and Jewels following behind her. As they passed the bar at the bottom the smell of alcohol was still strong, but it was near silent. Nothing like the raucous noise that had drifted out the door as they'd passed the night before.
"Everyone sleeping it off this morning." Sam's voice was full of disapproval, and Jewels snorted.
"You can't resist making some remark every time we come down here, can you?"
"She encourages this type of behavior," he said shortly. "Those that drink themselves silly every night and sleep all day don't resist when her soldiers and mercenaries take over the towns."
The other two were silent for a moment, as they trooped out the entrance, which Natalie took to mean he had made a good point. The daylight was a stark contrast to the dim interior of the bar, and all of them paused at the entrance for a few seconds, eyes adjusting.
It appeared that most of the town was already awake at this hour. Natalie watched as a chestnut colored horse pulled a cart full of hay past, passing through the crowded traffic of the street, as people wove in and out, carrying baskets of fruit and washing.
"How many towns like this are left?" She looked at Sam's broad back, at the daggers' leather- wrapped handles.
"Not many," Sam said.
"Five major towns," Gwendolin said.
"And a few outlying villages that she doesn't think are worth bothering with," Jewels added. "They're holding out. We're holding out."
Natalie looked back on time to see Gwen and Jewels exchange a look. More secrets.
She wasn't stupid thought, it didn't take a lot of careful thought to guess that these people were involved in some kind of revolution or rebellion. They were hiding out at least, that was clear. Sam had said the place above the bar was just temporary. But that begged the question, why did they already have the room? There was obviously something going on they didn't want to talk about.
Outside the air was crisp and cool, and smelled faintly of lavender, and Natalie breathed deeply. They were plunged almost immediately into the chaos of the marketplace, which had seemed to spill out of the square and into the side streets here and there. They walked past stalls of food, and Natalie found herself looking more carefully this time. Many of the things she'd mistaken for "normal" were not. There were fruit stands she'd glimpsed last night, thinking they were full of apples. Now they turned out to be stacks of some kind of other fruit. Round and red like an apple, but with jewel bright skins, full of small, green seeds that spilled out when the woman at the stand cut one open.
They passed a cart of pastries that were covered in what looked like multicolored sugar that glittered under the sun, and Natalie's mouth watered as they walked through a cloud of pie scent.
Jewels must have noticed the look on her face, because she laughed. "We'll get one on the way back. Trust me, you've never tasted anything like it."
Just from the scent Natalie believed her. She couldn't help remembering fairy tales though, stories about forbidden food, of being stuck forever in fairyland if you ate anything. She hesitated. "Are they safe for me? I mean, I won't turn into a pumpkin or anything?"
There was snort from in front of her, and she turned, surprised to see Sam's shoulders shaking with laughter. She felt herself smile, and wished she could see his face. It was the first time he'd laughed since she'd met him, and she thought she'd like to see him actually smile. Not the thin, grim smile he seemed to wear so often, but a real one.
"You'd be fine." Gwen seemed amused too. "I mean, don't get me wrong, there are parts of the market that you don't want to go to."
"Like the very jewelry stand you're making me take her to," Sam grumbled.
"Serena may be terrible but she does know a lot of people," Jewels said. "And besides, Natalie will be perfectly safe with you standing there behind us looking all broody."
Now Sam did turn, grimacing at her. "I do not brood."
"You're a champion brooder," Gwen said. "Don't even try to deny it. You take brooding to new and interesting heights."
Sam looked indignant, and Natalie hid a smile behind her hand, before she found herself distracted by yet another stand. This one was full of colorful glass bottles, stopped with wooden corks, and all full of bright, rainbow liquids. The man behind the stand, about the same coloring as Edward and nearly as tall as Sam, was shouting as people passed.
"Tinctures and potions. Cure gangrene and leprosy and the common cold. Any ailment you can think of, we've got the solution!"
Sam reached back and grabbed her sleeve. "We have snake oil salesmen here too. Don't let him waylay you."
They gone about halfway through the market now, where it was packed shoulder to shoulder with people, and Sam kept hold of her sleeve, towing her behind him as he cleared a path for them. No one seemed to notice Natalie, much to her relief. The only thing they noticed was Sam, who was several inches taller than most of the shoppers, and was one of the only people who had visible weapons on his person. Sam stood out in the market. The others wore loose flowing silk shirts and breeches, and next to them his coarse wool shirt and heavy boots looked out of place, never mind the leather harness and knives. He was obviously a hunter.
People gave him cautious looks, and steered out of his way. This proved very effective in getting them from one corner of the market to the other, and soon they found themselves at the same jewelry stand that Natalie had been so drawn to before.
To her relief the pendant she had seen the eye in was no longer center stage. Perhaps someone had bought it. The woman behind the stand was the same though, her smile still slightly unnerving. Even without her second set of teeth showing, it looked like a predator's smile. Like she might bite if you made the wrong move, or just looked at her the wrong way, or she decided she simply didn't like you.
"Samuel," she purred, and her pale gaze swept over him, as if she were thinking about sleeping with him, or perhaps eating him. Natalie wasn't sure which.
The longer she looked at Serena the more unsettled she was. There was some strange, dark energy about the woman. She fairly buzzed with it. How on earth hadn't she realized this before? How could she ever have wanted to touch anything on this table? All the jewelry hummed with a kind of sick energy that raised the hairs on the back of her neck.
Jewels, perhaps seeing the look on her face, leaned closer and whispered, "The ring is working, isn't it? You should be able to sense some of the stuff we can pick up on. Even if it's muted."
This was muted? Natalie had to resist the urge to rub her arms. Her skin was crawling.
"Serena," Sam's voice was firm, and it seemed to get her attention, because she stopped grinning around at all of them and focused on him.
"Samuel," she said, mockingly. "What brings you here? Looking to buy a necklace for a lover?" Her gaze slid across them, first to Jewels and then to Natalie, who felt herself flush at the implication.
Jewels was the one who spoke first, stepping forward to stand beside Sam. "Actually we were hoping to ask you a few questions."
"Were you now?" Serena arched one brow delicately, her expression amused. "And what sort of questions do you think I would have answers to? And if I did have answers what motivates me to give them to you, pray tell."
"It's too open out here. Will you invite us into the back?" Sam glanced back over his shoulder. "Too many listening ears."
"Listening eyes, watching ears." Serena cackled. "Fine, come in. But you're lucky you've intrigued me enough to indulge you, hobbyist." This last she spat at Jewels, who did not rise to the bait but merely rolled her eyes and stepped around to the front of the stand, to where there was a split in the canvas tent. A moment later the dark-haired woman pushed the canvas back, and Serena stood in the entrance, waving them on impatiently.
"Come on, all of you. Don't waste my time."