Marked Prince - Michelle M. Pillow Page 0,53
down the street another fight, by all evidence unrelated to the first, broke out between a merchant and customer. Shouts escalated to into a brawl within seconds. The customer knocked over a stall of metal trinkets. Onlookers began to cheer, though it hardly seemed they were invested in who won. A woman ushered her child past the throng as if such were an everyday occurrence.
“Meat. Less than a week old,” a woman yelled, not sounding very enthusiastic as she pointed toward her questionable wares. “We accept trade.”
Jaxx escorted her at hurried pace as they turned through a narrow marketplace.
“Half price love,” a gruff voice yelled. The man wore a dirty yellow shirt with holes in it. “One stone will get you a date with a pleasure droid.”
“Half price for half a droid,” another man teased, mimicking Yellow-shirt’s voice. “Half a stone will get you his hand.”
“He’d have to pay me for his hand,” a woman cackled. She jumped up and wiggled her hips, grinning a toothless grin. “Fifty-five stones!”
Yellow Shirt dismissed her with a wave. “Even the mites won’t go under those diseased skirts.”
Toothless pursed her lips to mimic a kiss and then smacked her backside.
“That’s the man who stole our food simulators,” Jaxx said, nodding toward Yellow-shirt. “We’re still trying to find where he hides them.”
She tried to pull her hand from his, but he held on tighter.
“You don’t have to,” he said. “We’ll find another way.”
“I’m here to help these people. Let me help.” Fiora slipped her hand from Jaxx’s and stared at the grotesque merchant.
Ash started to fall, and all the people around her looked up at the sky in shock seconds before debris began to rain down upon them. She pushed past the dominant vision to peek beneath. She saw Yellow Shirt sneaking out of his house, and a vision of him in black ghosted over his currently lewd gestures toward the toothless woman.
Fiora followed him with her mind, trying to pick out his secret. She watched him pull a piece of the warped walking boards behind his shop where he kept a stash of goods.
“What are you looking at?” Yellow Shirt yelled. The present pulled her from the future. “What’s wrong with her? She got the radiation sickness?”
Fiora touched her nose. It was bleeding. Blocking the death event made it harder to concentrate on the information she sought. Jaxx grabbed her hand.
“We don’t want no sick here,” the toothless woman added.
“Get her out of here,” another man yelled, his gruff voice indicating he was ready to make it happen if Jaxx didn’t.
Jaxx quickly led her from the marketplace. They came out on a new street.
“I hate using you for visions. I know how much it hurts you,” he said.
“I appreciate that, but if I’m going to have visions—and I am—they might as well be useful,” she answered.
“What did you see?” he asked, as they continued to walk after Grier and her sister.
“I think your missing simulators are behind his shop, under the walkway, inside a large pit dug into the dirt. It’s where he stores all his goods,” Fiora answered. “It’s all I saw.”
“Thank you.” Jaxx nodded. “That’s more than we had a few moments ago.”
The roads were unmarked, and after several more turns, Fiora knew she’d be lost in the city if left on her own. She held tighter to Jaxx’s hand.
“What is it?” he asked, concerned.
“I’m lost,” she answered. “I was too busy watching people that I forgot to pay attention to where we were going.”
“We’re almost there,” he assured her. “I won’t leave your side. I’ve stared at this city from above until I memorized its patterns. We’re not lost.”
Salena glanced back to make sure they were still following before she and Grier turned a corner and moved out of sight
A redheaded woman shoved a piece of dirty parchment into her hands. “Join us in the fight against—”
“Back off,” Jaxx warned.
“Don’t fall victim to fear,” the redhead said. Her stained gown had been patched and appeared clean. Her hair was pulled to the top of her head, twisted around the crown to keep the locks out of the way. “We must fight if we want our freedom from the tyranny of Shelter City.”
Fiora pulled her hand from Jaxx. She unfolded the paper to read it before she thoroughly considered the action. The ash began to fall. She tried to ignore it.
The redhead’s timeline flashed, but the instant burst was replaced with stronger images. The woman didn’t move. Her skin began to smoke